Fri, 04/23/2004 - 00:00

Regal Red comes into Fair Lady off big works

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Regal Red figures to be a solid favorite when she makes her 2004 debut in next Sunday's Fair Lady Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. She didn't win a stakes race last year, but her 10 1/2-length romp over Comic Opera in a maiden race last August was clearly the most impressive performance by any 2-year-old at the meet.

Fri, 04/23/2004 - 00:00

Will Ontheqt emerge a shooting star?

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Labatt Woodbine Oaks, the 1 1/8-mile race that is a major objective for any Canadian-bred 3-year-old filly, will be run June 13, in only seven weeks.

And Reade Baker, one trainer who is richer in prospects than in time when it comes to the $500,000 Oaks, will be looking to get rolling when he sends out Ontheqt in Sunday's Star Shoot.

Thu, 04/22/2004 - 00:00

Derby scramble greets new meet

Horsephotos
Rock Hard Ten soaks up the ambience of Churchill Downs and its famous twin spires.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Kentucky Derby is a delightful mess. Churchill Downs is a masterpiece-in-progress mess. And the weather is creating a wet mess.

Funny, but racing fans think it's all pretty neat.

Thu, 04/22/2004 - 00:00

Revamped stakes a more progressive array

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One needs to look no further than the dramatic physical face-lift that Churchill Downs is undergoing to know that change is inevitable in almost any place or endeavor.

Thu, 04/22/2004 - 00:00

Q & A: Rick Baedeker

Rick Baedeker, the president of Hollywood Park, has never been far from the racetrack.

The son of the late handicapper Bud Baedeker, Rick grew up around the sport in Southern California. He worked alongside his father in the family's public handicapping business and later worked as a marketing executive at Hollywood Park and for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. He also held leadership positions at The Woodlands racetrack in Kansas City, Kan., and at Television Games Network, before becoming president of Hollywood Park in November 1999.

Thu, 04/22/2004 - 00:00

Jockeys protest Valenzuela decision

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A group of 18 jockeys presented the California Horse Racing Board on Thursday with a letter of protest for granting jockey Patrick Valenzuela a stay that allows him to ride while he appeals the termination of his conditional license.

Thu, 04/22/2004 - 00:00

Well-stocked Pino barn ready for big meeting

Last April, trainer Mike Pino was mired in a deep slump. In 3 1/2 months, his horses won just seven races.

In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Pino wound up having the second-best meet in Delaware Park's 76-year history by saddling 99 winners. He finished 2003 with 127 victories and $2.1 million in earnings, by far his most successful year.

Armed with better stock and coming off a good winter at Fair Grounds, where he finished ninth in the standings with 15 wins from 63 starters, Pino figures to be even more dangerous when Delaware launches its 135-day meet Saturday.

Thu, 04/22/2004 - 00:00

Remind in favorable spot

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - With the successful team of trainer Bill Mott and jockey Jerry Bailey behind him, Remind is in a good spot to win his first graded stakes in Saturday's $100,000-added Fort Marcy Handicap at Aqueduct.

The Grade 3 Fort Marcy, the first grass stakes of the year in New York, features graded stakes winners Toccet and Bowman's Band, both of whom are unproven on the turf. Slew Valley, the 119-pound highweight in the nine-horse field, is without a win in 17 stakes tries and is suspect at the 1 1/16-mile Fort Marcy distance.

Thu, 04/22/2004 - 00:00

Gulf development in works

Magna Entertainment Corp. has reached an agreement with a real estate company to develop a portion of its property at Gulfstream Park in south Florida, Magna announced Thursday.

A Magna statement said the development will use 80 acres of Gulfstream's 250-acre site. The development will be a "mixed-use retail, entertainment, and residential project" that would be completed by 2006.

The real estate company, Forest City Enterprises Inc., will manage the development and raise the financing. Magna and Forest City will each have a 50 percent interest in the development.

Thu, 04/22/2004 - 00:00

Maryland dispute goes on

The Maryland Racing Commission met for a second straight day on Wednesday but adjourned without resolving a simulcast dispute between Standardbred and Thoroughbred factions or an ownership issue at Rosecroft Raceway.

The commission set aside May 11 and 12 to conclude the hearing. The commission is considering Northwind Racing as the potential owner of Rosecroft. Greenwood Racing, which owns racetracks, offtrack betting sites, and a telephone-betting network, owns 90 percent of Northwind.