MIAMI – Late Sunday afternoon, in relative anonymity competing in front of only a handful of onlookers over a sloppy racetrack, a 3-year-old filly called Thissmytime ran seven furlongs faster than any horse had ever covered the distance since the track formerly known as Calder Race Course opened nearly 50 years ago.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Simply Ravishing, a troubled fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies earlier this month, is the biggest name expected for the Stars of Tomorrow card here Saturday. Winner of the Grade 1 Alcibiades, the New York-bred filly will be a decisive favorite in the Grade 2 Golden Rod, which shares co-billing with its colt-and-gelding counterpart, the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club, on a program entirely for 2-year-olds.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs officials on Monday announced plans for a new $10 million turf course at its flagship track, with construction scheduled to begin when the 2021 spring meet ends in late June.
Citing deteriorating conditions of a turf course first installed in 1987, Churchill has canceled turf racing for the balance of the current fall meet, with the last turf race having been held Nov. 12. The new course will “widen the running surface and increase the durability to allow increased turf racing throughout the year,” according to a press release.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tyler Gaffalione broke open what had been a tight Churchill jockeys’ race with an uncanny run last week.
Gaffalione won with 15 of 30 mounts during the five-day stretch, including a 13-for-19 patch in which his other six mounts finished second or third. He enters the final week of the fall meet with a 32-25 lead over Ricardo Santana Jr. atop the standings.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dennis’ Moment, perhaps better known for his losses than his wins, is entered in the Wednesday feature, but trainer Dale Romans said the enigmatic colt will be scratched in favor of a Friday allowance in which only four others are entered.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The last time John Velazquez rode at Churchill Downs, he won the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. The last time he rode in Kentucky, he won the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.
The next mount for Velazquez in this state comes Friday when the Hall of Fame jockey climbs aboard Code of Honor, the likely favorite in the Grade 1 Clark at Churchill. A victory would complete a remarkable triple, given that the Clark once again serves as the annual showcase of the Churchill fall meet.
Highland Ice died Wednesday night at the age of 27, according to a press release from Remington Park.
The top Oklahoma-bred sprinter won 16 races from 48 starts for earnings of $474.090. He won 15 races at Remington and ranks as the track’s all-time winningest horse alongside Elegant Exxactsy.
Highland Ice won nine stakes races during his career, including four runnings of the Oklahoma Classics Sprint. He retired in 2001.
Overnight purses at Santa Anita will be increased, but some stakes will have their purses cut, according to the stakes schedule for the upcoming meet that was released Saturday along with a press release regarding the upgraded overnight purses.
Santa Anita’s main winter meeting is scheduled to begin Dec. 26 with a blockbuster card featuring six stakes, including three Grade 1 races – the Malibu, La Brea, and the American Oaks, each worth $300,000.
Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, whose career has sputtered in recent years, is in an in-patient rehabilitation program to address his long-standing alcohol-abuse issues, and will seek to return to action when Santa Anita begins Dec. 26, according to his agent, J.R. Pegram.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Stan the Man, winner of the Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga and most recently third in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap, will make his next start in the Grade 3, $100,000 Fall Highweight Handicap on Nov. 29, trainer John Terranova said.
Though Terranova has tried Stan the Man at several different distances, Stan the Man has proven to be best sprinting. The Tale of the Cat was at six furlongs. He finished second to Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 True North at 6 1/2 furlongs.
