PORTLAND, Ore. - Les Crime will be the one to beat in Monday's feature at Portland Meadows, a $10,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs.
MIAMI - One year ago, New Economy used a fifth-place finish in Calder's $100,000 My Charmer Handicap as a stepping-stone to the most important victory of her career three weeks later in the Grade 2 La Prevoyante Handicap. This year New Economy didn't wait for the La Prevoyante, instead rallying to a half-length decision over 2-1 favorite Something Ventured in Saturday's Grade 3 My Charmer.
ALBANY, Calif. - Boston Common, a Grade 2 winner who set the pace in the 2002 Breeders' Cup Mile, scored a wire-to-wire victory in the $60,500 Oakland Handicap at Golden Gate Fields.
Boston Common ($3.40) broke on top from the rail and was never seriously challenged as he defeated My Captain and More Crafty by 2 1/2 lengths in the six-furlong race, which was run in 1:09.04 on a muddy track. My Captain was second by a nose.
Owner Richard Englander sent Boston Common west after he ran seventh in the Grade 1 De Francis Memorial at Laurel on Nov. 15.
Affirmed Dancer, making just her second lifetime start on dirt, edged clear down the stretch before holding on for a three-quarter-length victory against 11 other fillies and mares in the $49,500 My Charmer Stakes at Turfway Park.
Trained by John Kimmel and ridden by Willie Martinez, Affirmed Dancer returned $18.40 after finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.43 over a muddy track. Donnaree finished second, another neck ahead of Glitter Act, who led most of the way. My Trusty Cat, the 5-2 favorite, finished fifth.
VINTON, La. - Owner Kaaren Biggs and trainer Steve Wren resisted the urge to ship Louisiana-based colt Mr. Jester to California for the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile, deciding instead to wait for the $1 million Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs.
The decision paid $600,000 Friday night when Mr. Jester drove to a three-quarter-length win over Fire Slam in Louisiana's richest race. It was another neck back in third to a fast-closing Perfect Moon.
VINTON, La. - Salty Romance, who was excluded from the $1 million Delta Jackpot, picked up a nice consolation prize Friday night when she cruised to a 5 1/4-length win as a strong favorite in the $250,000 Delta Princess.
The one-mile race for 2-year-old fillies was one of three undercard stakes supporting the Jackpot.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Adoration is taking a massive pay cut to start in Sunday's $150,000 Bayakoa Handicap at Hollywood Park.
But then there are not many races as rich as the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff, which Adoration won in a 40-1 upset in her last start on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita.
Instead of giving Adoration a rest and pointing for major stakes early in 2004, owners John and Jerry Amerman and trainer David Hofmans opted for a start in the Grade 2 Bayakoa, run over 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Trainer Eduardo Inda was down to four horses in August when he won an allowance race at Del Mar that sparked a four-race winning streak.
For Inda, who trained champion older female Riboletta in 2000, the wins provided a much-needed boost to his confidence and his stature in the sport.
Through the fall, Inda's stable has slowly grown to 10, including Sparkling Ava, who starts in Sunday's $150,000 Bayakoa Handicap at Hollywood Park.
"I was down a little bit," he said. "I won four in a row, and that really helped."
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The Gallant Fox will be without a familiar face when it is run Dec. 27 at Aqueduct. Coyote Lakes, who competed in the Gallant Fox for the past five years and won the last three runnings of the 1 5/8-mile race, has been retired.
A 9-year-old gelding, Coyote Lakes earned $728,337 in eight years of competition and retires with a 20-8-3 record in 63 starts. In his last start Oct. 25, Coyote Lakes finished eighth as the favorite in a $75,000 claiming race at Belmont Park.
NEW YORK - Federal prosecutors and the New York Racing Association have reached a deal in which the association and several of its top officials would be indicted on tax fraud and conspiracy charges but the association itself would not be prosecuted, according to published reports.