Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Kid rider Bisono starts fast

ARCADIA, Calif. - Becoming a jockey was the only profession that interested Alex Bisono when he was growing up in Hempstead, N.Y.

"I have no idea what else I would do," he said on Friday morning at Santa Anita.

Bisono, 19, seems to have found his calling. He is off to an impressive start in his career, which began last fall at Bay Meadows.

Through Thursday, Bisono ranked 10th in the Santa Anita jockey standings with 12 wins. He will not challenge leading jockey Alex Solis, but still is elated at the progress he has made in recent months.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Mr. Jester gets Desormeaux

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Kent Desormeaux has picked up the mount on Mr. Jester, a top 3-year-old who is scheduled to make his next start in the $200,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 20.

Desormeaux replaces Roman Chapa. The move comes a few days after Mr. Jester suffered through a costly, troubled trip in the Grade 2, $150,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 15. He finished second as the favorite, beaten a half-length by Gradepoint.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Fit Performer has link to Carson Hollow

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It's only fitting that trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. has one of the top contenders in Sunday's $60,000-added Carson Hollow Stakes at Aqueduct, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares.

Dutrow, who has entered , the likely favorite, trained Carson Hollow, a multiple graded stakes winner who died last summer from complications following colic surgery.

Fit Performer won the Interborough Handicap by 6 1/4 lengths on Jan. 1 and ran back 30 days later in the Correction Handicap, finishing second by a length to stablemate She's Zealous.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

'Mountain' back to defend Taylor title

NEW ORLEANS - Mountain General is back from a leg injury just in time to defend his title in Sunday's Taylor's Special Handicap. Six months have passed since his last race, and seven opponents stand in Mountain General's path in this six-furlong sprint stakes.

has the talent to overcome the obstacles. He set a Fair Grounds track record in the Thanksgiving Handicap last season and is trained by Steve Asmussen, whose 48 wins (and counting) are more than twice the total of the second-place trainer at this meet.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Account bets on Cal. Table

Members of the California Horse Racing Board and officials with the Thoroughbred Owners of California restated their desire to address problems in the state's account-wagering services at a parimutuel committee meeting on Friday.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Oaks back on Monmouth calendar

Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., has restored the Monmouth Breeders' Cup Oaks to its stakes schedule in 2004, one year after putting the race on hiatus.

The Grade 2, $200,000 Oaks will be run on Aug. 15 this year, one of 14 graded stakes during Monmouth's 72-day summer meet. Monmouth officials canceled the Oaks last year because of pressures on the purse account.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Two riders out for months

Jockeys Tony Black and Anibal Prado will be sidelined approximately three months while the recuperate from serious injuries as the result of a five-horse spill last Sunday at Philadelphia Park.

Black sustained a severe concussion, a broken left thumb, and small fractures to the bottom of his spinal column and pelvic bone.

Prado had surgery to repair a compound fracture of the bone above his right elbow.

Black and Prado were both released from Torresdale-Frankford Hospital on Wednesday.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Alberta Derby no longer Grade 3

Stampede Park's 2004 stakes schedule sports a very familiar look, with 12 events worth a total of $550,000 slated to be run at the Calgary, Alberta track this spring.

The only change involves the status of the Alberta Derby, the premier offering of the 47-day meeting, which had been a Grade 3 in recent years but now will be a listed stakes.

The $100,000 purse of the Alberta Derby remains unchanged. The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds will be run June 20, the next-to-last day of the meeting that begins April 2.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Sherman has top prospect

ALBANY, Calif. - Although he has run only once, winning his debut in a straight maiden race last summer at the Bay Meadows Fair, Don'tcallmefrisco is a Triple Crown nominee.

"I've always been a little high on the colt," said trainer Art Sherman, who will send out Don'tcallmefrisco for his 3-year-old debut in Sunday's feature race at Golden Gate Fields.

Don'tcallmefrisco has four rivals in the six-furlong allowance race, including Jupiter and Mars, who has back-to-back victories here against claimers.

Fri, 02/20/2004 - 00:00

Peeping Tom targets Toboggan again

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Peeping Tom, the winner of the 2001 Toboggan and last year's runner-up, will be back again when the Grade 3 Toboggan is run on March 13 at Aqueduct.

The $100,000-added Toboggan is run on the main track at seven furlongs.

Last Monday, Peeping Tom finished finished fourth as the third choice in the Grade 2 General George at Laurel Park. Peeping Tom, who won the 2001 General George, was beaten two lengths by Well Fancied, who set the pace. Peeping Tom entered the stretch six-wide and was running well in the final yards.