INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Outta Here, the 4-year-old colt who has raced in three countries, is practically slumming when he appears in a $54,000 allowance race on turf at Hollywood Park on Friday evening.
Since the start of 2003, Outta Here has had a remarkably diverse international campaign. He finished fourth in the $2 million UAE Derby in Dubai, seventh in the Kentucky Derby, third in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park, and ninth in the Japan Cup Dirt at Tokyo Racecourse.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The star of the show is supposed to come in last. But will Mystery Giver even make an appearance during Saturday's Prairie State Festival of Illinois-bred racing?
That will not be made clear until Saturday, according to Chris Block, Mystery Giver's trainer and part of the Team Block family ownership group. Mystery Giver was one of 10 horses entered Thursday in the Cardinal Handicap, one of six Illinois-bred stakes scheduled for Saturday. But entering is one thing, running another, and a final decision on Mystery Giver's participation will have to wait.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The owner Frank Calabrese and trainer Pat Cuccurullo will claim the right horse for $4,000, but their operation has an upper end, too. Valiant Anna is part of it, and she runs Friday in Arlington's featured seventh race.
Valiant Anna's spot is a third-level allowance race with a $62,500 claiming option that allows her, Chilling Effect, and Golden Trevally into the field.
For Valiant Anna, running here will be like running at home.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Up until just over two weeks ago, trainer Roger Attfield had no plans to participate in this year's Queen's Plate.
But after Just in Case Jimmy won his maiden over 1 1/16 miles here June 12, earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 89, Attfield decided it was worth taking a shot at the $1 million race for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.
Bay Meadows showed increases in ontrack attendance and handle for its just-concluded 55-day spring meeting, although the overall handle fell from last year's meet.
Attendance rose 7.7 percent to 3,587 fans per day from 3,331 in 2003, thanks in part to 11,004 fans, the largest single-day crowd since 1993, coming to the races on Memorial Day.
CALGARY, Alberta - The 46-day spring meeting at Stampede Park came to a close last Sunday with mixed results on the wagering front.
Although the total handle on live Thoroughbred racing from all sources was $10,902,348, up 2 percent from 2003, the daily average handle dropped to $237,008, down 12 percent from a 39-day meet in 2003.
Meanwhile, talks continue to circulate of a new course in the Calgary area, and the future of live racing here remains a concern for management, horsemen, and fans alike.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Walter Bindner Jr. confirmed Wednesday that Colonial Colony, the stunning winner of the Foster Handicap at 62-1, will make his next start July 3 in the Grade 1 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park.
Bindner initially said Colonial Colony would run that day in the Cornhusker Breeders' Cup at Prairie Meadows but changed plans when it appeared the Suburban was coming up light.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Ocean Silk will be a big favorite in the Friday feature at Churchill Downs, but only if Pat Byrne actually leads her over from Barn 21 to run. Byrne said he also planned to enter Ocean Silk in the Grade 3 Locust Grove Handicap here Saturday and would make a final decision based on the depth of the Locust Grove field.
"We're going to take a look at the stake, anyway," said Byrne. "If it looks too tough, then we'll stay in Friday."
The Niner Account, who has won 10 of his last 13 starts, might get his first shot at stakes company next month after winning a starter allowance at Lone Star Park on Sunday.
Martin Lozano, who trains the popular horse, said he and owner Gary Owens are looking at the $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap on July 4.
"We're thinking about taking him to Prairie Meadows," said Lozano.
