PORTLAND, Ore. - With Houston Shuffle away, will it be Tom Won's turn to play in Saturday's six furlong Columbia River Stakes for 2-year-olds?
Houston Shuffle, the undisputed local divisional leader with three wins in as many starts, is sitting out the Columbia River in order to come into the Dec. 13 Oregon Futurity as a fresh horse.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Improving the average field size, which has been down about 1 percent this year, will be one of the major goals of the Woodbine Entertainment Group in 2004.
But it certainly hasn't been a problem during the last few days of this meeting, with the entry box being filled by horsemen seeking a last kick at the can.
Racing secretary Steve Lym said more than 200 horses had been entered for Friday, including those in races which were not carded. A total of 138 horses were on the overnight for the 11-race program.
Philadelphia Park-based trainer John Servis is resisting the temptation to get overly excited or look too far ahead with his highly promising 2-year-old Smarty Jones.
Last Saturday, in just his second career start, Smarty Jones won the seven-furlong Pennsylvania Nursery by 15 lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 103. The filly Forest Music (105) and Judiths Wild Rush (105) are the only 2-year-olds to run faster this year.
Shiny Sheet and Undercover, the two best horses in Saturday's $100,000 Geisha Handicap at Laurel Park, will have to overcome poor post positions. They will break from posts 8 and 9 in a field of nine Maryland-bred fillies and mares.
The 5-year-old Shiny Sheet, who comes into the Geisha off a win and a close third against open stakes company, drops back in with statebreds for the first time since finishing fifth against males in the 1 3/16-mile Maryland Million Classic in October. Her last three Beyer Speed Figures (90-96-97) are the best recent dirt figures in this field.
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - Sunland Park led the nation in starters per field last year at 9.9, and Saturday's $50,000-added KLAQ Handicap hits that number just about on the button, with a field of 10. The race, for 3-year-olds and upward at 5 1/2 furlongs, drew horses from tracks around the country, making for an excellent player's race.
PHOENIX - With the region's top juvenile filly, Bugsy Marrone, chasing bigger game elsewhere, it's a chance for 11 other 2-year-old fillies to try and grab the spotlight in Saturday's fillies division of the $25,000 Arizona Breeders Futurity at Turf Paradise.
In the $25,000 colt-and-gelding division, Samurai Nanao will likely be favored in a field of 12. The two events, which go as races 6 and 7, are both carded at six furlongs.
ANDERSON, Ind. - Edgerrin puts his perfect record on the line while trying a mile for the first time in the $35,000-added South Bend for 2-year-old Indiana-breds, the final stakes of the Hoosier Park meet.
Trained by Jeff Jones, Edgerrin was a most impressive maiden winner here on Nov. 6. Bumped at the start, he rallied strongly and drew off under wraps by 6 1/2 lengths while getting the six furlongs in 1:11.82.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The record books don't say a thing about Col. M. Lewis Clark's opinion on big fields, but it is probably safe to assume he was all for them.
It could be further assumed, then, that Col. Clark would be happy about what Churchill Downs has assembled in his honor. The $500,000 Clark Handicap, the traditional fall-meet showcase run at 1 1/8 miles, has drawn the maximum of 14 starters for its 129th running here Friday, and if a horseplayer doesn't get a little excited about betting into this one, well, he probably just doesn't get it.
