ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The clock is running out for Sovereign Award hopefuls.
The Sovereign Award ballots go out Tuesday, and horses who have not made three starts in Canada this year as of Nov. 29 will not be eligible for the divisional categories.
There is a bit of a wrinkle to this year's procedure, however. The voting deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday, Dec. 6. In previous years, the deadline had been on the Friday following the dispatch of ballots.
NEW ORLEANS - The finish line and starting gate at Fair Grounds will sport a new logo when America's third oldest racetrack opens for its 133rd season Thursday. The green and white twin spires brand identifies Fair Grounds as part of the Churchill Downs empire along with Hollywood, Hoosier, Arlington, Ellis, and Calder.
NEW ORLEANS - Gold Storm would have been one of the favorites in Thursday's Thanksgiving Handicap at Fair Grounds, but trainer Bubba Cascio made a last-minute decision not to enter the horse in the race.
"I worked him last week, and he bled just a little bit," said Cascio. "Not too much, just two or three little trickles. I just wanted to give him a break. I would have entered him if they didn't have enough horses and asked me to run, but they ended up with seven in there."
Robby Albarado has done down time before. Twice during races he has fallen off his horse and onto his head, once in bad way, and a few years ago Albarado smashed his pelvis. When he made his comebacks, people rooted for him, especially in New Orleans, where Albarado has become the main man. "Robby!" the fans call out at Fair Grounds, and Albarado flashes his smile, boyishly charming.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - There might be many reasons to give thanks Thursday at Churchill Downs, but for the folks with horses in the Falls City Handicap, there will be none bigger than what was announced Tuesday at Barn 44.
That's where D. Wayne Lukas said Azeri will remain in her stall when the $300,000 Falls City is run, a development that instantly gave the other seven fillies and mares vastly improved chances in the Grade 2 race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Nobody likes to show off a good horse to the racing public more than D. Wayne Lukas does. So the fact that Lukas, in consultation with owner Michael Paulson, chose not to run Azeri in the Falls City Handicap before a festive Thanksgiving crowd at Churchill Downs seems to underscore what was at risk if they had decided to run her.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - There may be only one item on the menu for your Thanksgiving Day meal, but there is variety aplenty when it comes to Thursday's Grade 3, $100,000 Fall Highweight Handicap at Aqueduct.
Connoisseurs of speed may opt for Medallist, Primary Suspect, or the pace-pressing Friendly Island. Those who prefer a strong late kick will lean toward Bwana Charlie or possibly the longshot Dubai Sheikh. If none of those whet your appetite, there are six other flavors from which to choose in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight at six furlongs.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - As part of his record-setting season, Steve Asmussen won 19 races and had a 25-percent win rate in New York from May through Sunday. Now, Asmussen will see what he can do here the other five months of the year.
For the first time, Asmussen will maintain a New York string during the winter. He will have approximately 30 horses stabled at Belmont Park for the upcoming winter meet at Aqueduct. Aqueduct's inner track opens Wednesday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Conventional class handicapping points to Grade 1 winner Noches de Rosa as the most likely winner of the $60,000 Hermosa Beach Handicap at Hollywood Park on Thanksgiving.
It is an untimely day to break with tradition, but skeptical horseplayers usually distrust horses that are overqualified. When a Grade 1 winner shows up in a minor stakes, it makes sense to bet against them. may win the Hermosa Beach at 1 1/2 miles on turf, but her 121-pound impost is high, and her odds are low. Seven other fillies and mares will try to beat her.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The surprise defection of Greek Sun from the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on Sunday has thrown the race into disarray and left it without a legitimate favorite. Greek Sun, winner of the Grade 2 Oak Tree Derby in his most recent start and an apparent standout in the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Derby, will instead be sidelined for several months, trainer Bobby Frankel said Tuesday.
"He's going to have a few months off, but he'll be back," Frankel said. "He just has a little problem. He'll be all right. He might have a good 4-year-old year."
