PORTLAND, Ore. - If Amelia True Heart is favored in Saturday's $19,280 Janet Wineberg Stakes for Oregon-bred 2-year-old fillies at Portland Meadows, it will on the basis of her sensational debut at Emerald Downs on July 25.
In that 5 1/2-furlong race for $16,000 maiden claimers, Amelia True Heart sat just off the early pace, took command on the turn, and drew out to score by nearly 10 lengths in a quick 1:04.40.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Just a few weeks ago, it appeared Dino Condilenios was going to waltz away with his second straight training title at Hastings. Although there is still a very good chance that Condilenios will repeat, a late surge by both Harold Barroby and Barb Heads has turned what was once a foregone conclusion into a real horse race.
Condilenios has won 34 races at the meet and has a clear lead heading into the stretch. But it is possible that Barroby, with 29 wins, and Heads, with 28, could pull off an upset.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Wimplestiltskin, a horse in search of a niche, makes his 10th straight stakes appearance Saturday night in the $60,000 Rushing Man Stakes for 3-year-olds at The Meadowlands Racetrack.
Wimplestiltskin has done it all this year. He tackled Grade 1 colts, and raced on both coasts, on turf and dirt, and at distances ranging from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/8 miles.
Through it all, he still hasn't established a preferred distance. Nor has he ever been first under the wire.
CHICAGO - You could imagine the first excuse coming centuries ago somewhere on the sands of the Arabian Peninsula. You could almost imagine one sheikh, the one shaking his head over a disappointing race, saying to another: My horse didn't handle the surface.
Yes, postrace explanation must extend back into time nearly as far as racing itself. But as for Saturday's horse races at Hawthorne, trainer Chris Block is having none of it.
MIAMI - The temperature may still be in the mid-80's in south Florida, but anybody who doubts winter is just around the corner need only look over the starting lineups for the split divisions of Saturday's $40,000 Soft Parade Stakes at Calder.
Of the 24 fillies and mares entered in the Soft Parade, three are from trainer Todd Pletcher and two are from Christophe Clement. Both trainers shipped the first wave of their powerful stables down from New York earlier this month.
Here's all you need to know about Aggadan.
Four months ago, he finished closer to Ghostzapper than 11 of the 12 challengers did in last weekend's Breeders' Cup Classic. That group included such stars as Funny Cide, Birdstone, and Azeri.
After stringing together five consecutive triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures, Aggadan drops in class to face Maryland-bred company for only the third time in the past year and shortens up substantially in distance for Saturday's $75,000 Challedon Stakes at Pimlico.
After chasing the likes of Ghostzapper, Midas Eyes, and Balto Star in his last four starts against graded stakes company, Unforgettable Max meets much softer competition in the $50,000 Shecky Greene, a 1 1/16-mile overnight stakes at Delaware Park.
Although he's 0 for 8 this season, the 4-year-old Unforgettable Max has posted Beyers ranging from 102 to 108 in five of his last six starts. During that span, Unforgettable Max finished third in a four-horse field, beaten 7 3/4 lengths by Ghostzapper in the Grade 2 Tom Fool.
Leaving on My Mind has figured the racing game out over his past several starts and on Saturday night will be favored to win his fourth straight stakes in the $100,000 Jean Lafitte at Delta Downs. The one-mile race for 2-year-olds is a prep for the $1 million Delta Jackpot on Dec 4.
Free Bonus puts her undefeated mark on the line Saturday night when she heads a field of seven Indiana-bred 2-year-old fillies in the $40,000 Miss Indiana Stakes, the featured race for Hoosier Park's fourth annual Ladies' Night festivities.
Accompanying the Miss Indiana is the Female Jockey Challenge, a series of six races that will match female riders from the Northeast, Midwest, Canada, and the local area.
HOUSTON - Probable champion juvenile Azoom and 2003 co-world champion Oak Tree Special are the marquee names on MBNA America Championship night Saturday at Sam Houston Race Park, where five Grade 1 races will be run.
Azoom is entered in the Grade 1, $150,000 Ford Challenge Championship, but owner Enrique Carrion and trainer Frank Cavazos have yet to make a final decision on whether Azoom will compete.