Bankruptcy attorneys for the Fair Grounds Corporation were expected to file an amended Chapter 11 reorganization plan in court late Wednesday afternoon in New Orleans, according to Jan Hayden, an attorney working on the case. The filing sets the stage for a Sept. 24 court confirmation hearing on the plan, which has been amended to include an agreement for Churchill Downs Inc. to purchase the Fair Grounds assets for about $47 million.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park does not have a grandstand or a clubhouse, but as of Wednesday it did have an $8.4 million stakes schedule for the 2005 meeting, which begins on Jan. 3.
Gulfstream Park is undergoing a major renovation project that includes a new 1 1/8-mile main track and a one-mile turf course. The 2005 meeting will house fans under tents and other temporary structures, as the new grandstand and clubhouse are not scheduled to be completed until 2006.
MIAMI - After dealing with Hurricane Frances and its aftermath last weekend everybody in the local area has seen about enough rain for the time being. Everyone that is except trainer Milt Wolfson.
Wolfson wouldn't mind seeing just enough precipitation at the end of the week to keep Saturday's $150,000 Miami Mile Breeders' Cup Handicap at Calder off the turf for the second straight year. Wolf needs rain to give his handicap star Super Frolic a chance to run.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Frank Kirby had no luck in stakes racing here last week, and he might be losing the most accomplished horse in his barn to retirement, but Kirby came into Wednesday's Arlington races still atop the trainer standings, with just two racing weeks left in the meet.
Major Rhythm returned to his Arlington Park base at 2 a.m. on Wednesday off a course-record win in the $125,000 DeBartolo Memorial Breeders' Cup at Remington Park on Monday, but there was no time to rest for his trainer, Ed Beam.
Beam, 61, operates a three-horse stable, and is hands-on when it comes to the care of those animals. He tended to all their needs Wednesday before allowing himself to regroup from his excursion to Oklahoma City.
"I galloped the other horses," he said. "I'm used to this. I do it all myself. I shoe and everything."
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Trainer Doug O'Neill didn't make any wrong moves in winning his first Del Mar training title, so his decision to run 3-year-old Areyoutalkintome against older in Saturday's $100,000 California Sprint Championship merits a close look.
"He's such a cool horse, and Corey [Nakatani] knows him so well," O'Neill said. "I'm glad he's riding him Saturday."
A field of five seems likely for the six-furlong race, a good prep for the Cal Cup Sprint.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Perfect Soul's progression toward a fall campaign has not been smooth.
But after Perfect Soul worked five furlongs on the Woodbine training track turf course in 1:00.80 Wednesday morning, trainer Roger Attfield was hopeful that it will be all systems go for the Grade 1, $1 million Atto Mile here Sept. 19.
"It seems like we're in good shape," said Attfield, who watched Perfect Soul prep on a course officially rated firm with the dogs well out. "There was a bit of give to that turf today, which is good."
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - Six 3-year-old fillies will contest Friday's one-mile City Centre Bingo Handicap, the $5,000 feature on the Marquis Downs meet's next-to-last card.
There is really no standout here this year in the 3-year-old filly division, and Megan's Way and Danzig Ballerina, winners of two of the three previous stakes for 3-year-old fillies, are absent from this race with injuries.
That leaves only Lucky in the Lead, winner of the James Leakos Sophomore, who could turn the trick again in this event.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - The abbreviated 81-day Fort Erie meet ended Monday with a gain in total daily handle and a decline in ontrack handle. The meet was originally scheduled to end Nov. 22, after 117 racing days, but was shortened to make way for a rebuilding of the dirt track.
The daily average wagering from all sources at the meet was $824,085. That represented a gain of 5.7 percent when compared to the same time frame last year. The boost was the result of an 11.2 percent gain in betting from sites carrying the track's signal. This source made up $670,694 of the daily handle.
