ALBANY, Calif. - With only three probables earlier in the week, Saturday's $60,000-added Miss California Stakes at Golden Gate Fields looked as if it wouldn't even be run. But on Thursday six 3-year-old fillies were entered in the six-furlong sprint, and it has turned out to be a strong race.
"For this kind of field, I think they deserve to run for more money," said trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who will run two.
PORTLAND, Ore. - The amount of money wagered through the interstate account-wagering hubs - services such as Television Games Network or Youbet - based in Oregon has grown exponentially over the past four years, and it is starting to make a difference to the state's racing.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - After the demise of racing in the Detroit area in 1998, trainer Gerald Bennett dramatically downsized his large operation. In the last few years, he has rebuilt his stable and he is off to a good start at this meet with five wins and six seconds in 30 starts.
In Saturday's $60,000 Pasco Stakes for 3-year-olds, Avid Skier makes his first start since capturing an allowance race Oct. 31 at Mountaineer Park. Avid Skier, 2 for 2, was being pointed to the Inaugural Stakes here Dec. 13, but he spiked a fever just before the race.
Last month in the Gowell Stakes at Turfway Park, Leading Lioness took advantage of a hotly contested pace over a muddy strip and rallied to upset favored Ready and Tough at odds of 25-1.
Saturday in the $50,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes at Turfway, she may not receive quite the same dream setup, but she may not need it, either. Ready and Tough is being pointed toward a winter campaign in Florida, leaving Leading Lioness to face weaker opposition than those she just defeated.
Jockey Rex Stokes, who will be sidelined for at least six weeks after injuring his hip in a spill last week, hates missing the mount on Britt's Jules in Saturday night's $40,000 Triple Sec for 3-year-olds at Delta Downs in Vinton, La.
Stokes has ridden Britt's Jules to two wins in the horse's last three starts, with both of those victories coming at five furlongs at Delta, the same conditions of the Triple Sec. In his most recent race, Britt's Jules ran third in the $60,000 Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds.
On the surface, anybody in the field can win the $75,000 What a Summer, a sprint for fillies and mares, on Saturday at Laurel. There are seven entrants and each comes off an excellent race.
Each ran in the money in her last start, six of them finishing a length or less from the winner, and the seventh, Amazing Lady, ending up a clear second, beaten only 2 1/4 lengths.
But while the What a Summer is a toss-up in terms of current form and conditioning, one mare, Gazillion, stands out on class and consistency.
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - Saturday's $125,000-added Pepsi Cola Handicap for statebred 3-year-olds going six furlongs has drawn a field of six, but all eyes will be cast on one horse, Larry Teague's homebred Rocky Gulch.
After five career races, Rocky Gulch has impressed many local observers as the best New Mexico-bred since Bold Ego, who finished second to Pleasant Colony in the 1981 Preakness. Time will tell, but right now Rocky Gulch is certainly the best member of the 2001 crop.
PHOENIX - Rockin On faces two major hurdles in Saturday's $40,000 Sun Devil, a one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies. The Sun Devil is Rockin On's first start around two turns, and she faces two swift Southern California invaders in a field of 10.
Rockin On took on winners here in her debut Nov. 17, and did well to run third to stakes-caliber It'slonelyatthetop. She followed that up with big wins in the Arizona Breeders Futurity and the Valid Leader, beating many of her Saturday foes in both outings. Regular rider Glen Corbett again will ride her for trainer Kory Owens.
California Challenge Derby winner A Special Sno Flo makes her first start since finishing third in the Grade 1 Challenge Derby Championship Nov. 1, in Saturday nights $18,000 Sand Dollar Beach Handicap for 4-year-old fillies Saturday night at Los Alamitos.
In the Challenge Derby Championship, A Special Sno Flo ran a strong race but could not contend with the fast 19.62-second time recorded by winner Prima LD. A Special Sno Flo finished three-quarters of a length behind.
Freefourinternet's win in an off-the-turf race two starts ago has opened up a whole new world for him, as he starts as the 119-pound highweight in Saturday night's $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup Handicap at Sam Houston Race Park.
A 6-year-old, Freefourinternet has built his reputation on turf, with wins in races like the Grade 2 Kelso Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park last October. But when he captured a tough optional claimer on dirt at Fair Grounds on Dec. 14, his connections began looking at some main-track races for the horse, starting with the Maxxam.