Wallop, a 4-year-old filly who has often been close but rarely a winner this season, picked a good time to end her bout of seconditis Tuesday night at Mountaineer Racetrack.
Facing eight other filly and mare sprinters, Wallop ($19.80) overtook pacesetter Glorious Again in deep stretch to earn a half-length victory in the $75,000 New Year's Eve Stakes. She covered six furlongs on a fast track in 1:10.53.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The first two days of the Santa Anita meeting on Sunday and Monday might have been a preview of a few of the Sunshine Millions races for California-breds and Florida-breds at Santa Anita on Jan. 29.
From She's a Jewel, the winner of the first race of the meeting on Sunday, to Alphabet Kisses, the winner of the Grade 1 late Monday afternoon, the thought of a start in the Sunshine Millions was on the minds of many participants - and even some that stayed in the barn.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Diligent Prospect scored a maiden win at Hollywood Park last May in the style of a future stakes winner. His connections are still waiting to find out if he will be that good.
was sidelined with sore shins through the summer and fall and returns from a seven-month layoff on Thursday in a $48,000 optional claimer for 2-year-olds over seven furlongs at Santa Anita.
What are the chances trainer Dick Small can sweep the three stakes at Pimlico this week?
Gauging from the track's morning line odds, Small has a big shot to accomplish the feat.
After winning last Sunday's Squan Song with the 3-year-old filly Perilous Night, Small has , the 4-5 early favorite for Thursday's Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship. The $100,000 stakes, restricted to Maryland-breds, was originally scheduled for one mile at Laurel Park, but has been shifted to 1 1/16 miles at Pimlico.
NEW ORLEANS - Multiple stakes winner Ambition Unbridled heads a tough field of 10 fillies and mares Thursday in a $38,000 allowance turf sprint at Fair Grounds, the Dr. A.B. Leggio Memorial Prep.
, trained by Gamaliel Vazquez for owner Michael Gill and ridden by Corey Lanerie, has been on a steady diet of turf and dirt sprint stakes this fall after a solid campaign at Saratoga.
NEW YORK - Is Bank Audit sharp enough to overcome a class rise and a tough outside post? That question will be answered in the competitive eighth race at Aqueduct on Thursday. The nonwinners-of-three-other-than allowance for fillies and mares has an optional claiming price of $65,000 and features several hard-hitting performers.
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Lloyd Mason hopes his talented 2-year-old filly Crisane will alter her performance pattern when she meets five rivals, including stablemate Lovin Glory, in Thursday's Golden Gate Fields feature, a $62,500 optional claiming sprint at six furlongs.
won her debut, her third start, and her fifth start. This is her sixth start, and Mason hopes she can finally record back-to-back victories.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Alphabet Kisses, the third longest shot in a field of 10, scored the biggest win of her brief career in Monday's $250,000 at Santa Anita.
The victory was not easy for the California-bred filly. Alphabet Kisses ($42.20) led for the first quarter-mile in 22.28 seconds, trailed Elusive Diva by a head after a half-mile in 44.58 seconds, but retook the lead and won by a length.
Ridden by Mike Smith, Alphabet Kisses finished seven furlongs in 1:21.38. The victory in the Grade 1 La Brea marked the graded stakes debut of Alphabet Kisses.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Santa Anita launched its winter-spring meeting on Sunday with the largest ontrack audience since 1999, booming handle, and an enthusiastic crowd celebrating what has become an added holiday for racing fans.
On a cool, overcast day, a crowd of 31,874 contributed to an all-sources handle of $15,769,125. The figures marked respective increases of 13 percent and 3 percent over the corresponding day last year.
