HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Vinemeister will be one of the outsiders in Saturday's $100,000 Artax Handicap. But after blowing out three furlongs in 34.80 seconds at Gulfstream Park on Wednesday it might be wise not to take the graded stakes winner too lightly in the seven-furlong dash.
Vinemeister registered the most important victory of his career, the Grade 3 Salvator Mile, around two turns, but trainer Alan Seewald plans to keep his horse in sprints this season.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Lilah will be favored to capture Friday's turf feature at about five furlongs at Gulfstream Park despite the fact that she has never won on grass. But turf sprint specialist Petrina Above could be primed to spring a minor upset when she returns to her favorite surface in the $46,000 main event, an open allowance race.
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Governor's Speed Handicap at Portland Meadows on Saturday is mainly the same race that was called off a week ago with four entrants, but it is a little different.
The difference isn't so much the addition to the cast of City Parkway, a razor-sharp sprinter in the mid-level claiming ranks. City Parkway probably will not attract much attention in a field that includes highweights Yesss, Knightsbridge Road, and Star of Elttaes, the three most accomplished older horses in training here.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which on Monday purchased Hastings Entertainment, and a local developer have formed a subsidiary of Great Canadian Gaming to operate Hastings racecourse. The developer, Peter Wall, will own 40 percent of the the new venture.
Great Canadian Gaming bought the racetrack from Woodbine Entertainment Group.
A decision to give Handpainted more time between races has made the $75,000 Goddess at Delta Downs on Friday night a stronger race. Her presence in the race is an added attraction alongside Salty Farma, who is the defending champ in the Goddess, a one-mile race for fillies and mares.
A 4-year-old who has won four of seven starts, Handpainted turns up in the Goddess after bypassing the Grade 3, $200,000 Oaklawn Breeders' Cup earlier this month at Oaklawn.
The same security precautions that have been in effect at the Kentucky Derby and Oaks since Sept. 11, 2001, will be in place again this year, Churchill Downs officials announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
Those security measures include magnetic-wand searches, strict limitations on the type of items that can be brought into the track, and high visibility of uniformed security personnel. Churchill also will again have a large facility in the infield to sell commonly used items at prices comparable to convenience stores.
Friday's featured ninth race at Fair Grounds is a $38,500 Louisiana-bred allowance with no conditions. It just happens to resemble a stakes race.
Three of the 11 entrants in the 1 1/16-mile turf race are past winners of the Dixie Poker Ace Handicap at Fair Grounds: 2002 winner . It also includes several of the horses who finished behind Bebe Garcon in this year's running.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Funny Cide moved one step closer to his homecoming Wednesday morning by breezing six furlongs in 1:11.20 at the Palm Meadows training center in Florida. It was his penultimate move before shipping back to New York next week, where he is expected to start in the Grade 3, $200,000 Excelsior Breeders' Cup Handicap on April 3 at Aqueduct.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Jockey Eddie Martin Jr. and trainer Bret Calhoun, who team together on a regular basis and who are having strong meets at Fair Grounds, both plan to invade Oaklawn.
Martin plans to ride in Hot Springs after the close of the Fair Grounds meet on Sunday. He was third in the standings in New Orleans heading into Thursday's races.
"We'll be at Oaklawn from March 31 to April 10," said Bobby Kelly, agent for Martin.