HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Tap Day proved as tenacious as he is talented, holding off several challenges through the stretch en route to a head victory over Zakocity in the $66,300 Dave Feldman Stakes at Gulfstream.
The Feldman was switched from the turf to a sloppy main track due to heavy showers that struck midway through the card.
Put Me In had never won a stakes race, and went off at odds of 22-1 in the Dr. A.B. Leggio Handicap at Fair Grounds. On the other hand, Eddie Martin was riding her. Martin won six races on Sunday's card, tying a Fair Grounds record, and guided Put Me In ($47.20) to a surprisingly easy 4 1/2-length win over Leslie's Love in the $60,000 Leggio.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The largest payout in the 18-year history of the pick six wager in New York was paid on Saturday at Aqueduct with two winning tickets worth $1,120,287 each.
One of Saturday's winning tickets belonged to J. Randy Gallo, who made the bet through the Bettor Racing OTB, which he owns in Sioux Falls, S.D. Gallo, a professional horseplayer, declined to reveal how much he wagered.
ALBANY, Calif. - Jockey Jose Luis Rivera Jr. was taken to Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley for precautionary X-rays and a CAT scan after Brave Solution broke down in Sunday's sixth race at Golden Gate Fields.
Rivera was examined for possible head, neck and chest injuries after Brave Solution fell. Brave Solution, a 3-year-old colt, suffered fatal injuries and had to be euthanized.
ARCADIA, Calif. - When Island Fashion, the expected heavy favorite, scratched from Sunday's $150,000 , the Grade 2 race was gutted, leaving seven runners who collectively had never won a graded stakes race. The only one who had even won a restricted stakes, Victory Encounter, proved the beneficiary, as she rallied for a 1 1/4-length victory over favored Personal Legend.
Sir Cherokee punched his ticket to the Grade 2, $500,000 New Orleans Handicap with a rousing, three-quarter length win over Freefourinternet $100,000 at Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday night. It was another two and a half lengths back in third to Dusty Spike.
Britt's Jules remained perfect at Delta Downs on Saturday night when he outdueled Next Bandit in deep stretch to win the $40,000 by a neck. It was another seven and a half lengths back in third to Iron Expectations.
Britt's Jules($4), racing in fog and over a muddy track, contested the pace from the start in the five-furlong race for 3-year-olds and covered the distance in 59.03 seconds. The win was the fourth in his nine-race career, and his third at Delta, where he also won an allowance in track record time on Nov. 5, and the $40,000 Delta Beau on Nov. 29.
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - Owner-breeder Larry Teague's Rocky Gulch more than lived up to expectations in Saturday's $125,000-added , drawing off in the stretch under Mike Clark to win by 2 1/2 lengths while covering six furlongs in 1:09.16 despite a poor break.
Breaking last in the field of six, Rocky Gulch literally dragged Clark to the front and set fractions of 21.79 and 44.12 seconds with Jonnygetachex all out to keep up. Nearing the stretch, Clark loosened the reins a bit and Rocky Gulch took over and won with only mild urging.
ARCADIA, Calif. - is the lone graded stakes winner in Monday's $150,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita, but the six-month gap since her last race concerns trainer Patrick Biancone.
Whoopi Cat won the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga last August but missed important stakes later in the year because of a minor foot injury.
"She was supposed to be one of the best on the East Coast, but she had an abscess in each foot," Biancone said. "She's good now."
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - ran lights-out in his inner-track debut on the day after Christmas. If he runs back to that race, Ottawa Chief is the one to beat in Monday's $75,000 Fred "Cappy" Capossela at Aqueduct.
The six-furlong Capossela drew seven 3-year-olds.
