Leslie's Love, who will shoot for her fourth straight win Saturday night in the $40,000 Zydeco at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., is no longer strictly a turf horse.
Leslie's Love began her career on dirt, but last year at 5 began racing on turf on a regular basis and picked up the first two stakes victories of her career. She threw a wrench into the turf-only theory in her last start, however, when she won her first dirt stakes, the $50,000 Victoria, at Louisiana Downs on Oct. 11.
After hosting stakes for Texas and Alabama-breds earlier this meet, Louisiana Downs on Saturday will run the annual Razorback series, which is restricted to 2-year-olds bred in Arkansas. There are two divisions of the Razorback, and each will be held at six furlongs for a purse of $35,000.
Codes Miss Texas appears to be the one to beat in the fillies division. She won a maiden race by more than eight lengths two starts ago, and in her last start finished third against a tough field in a conditioned allowance. Luis Quinonez has the mount for trainer Kari Craddock.
PHOENIX - Saturday's Walter Cluer Handicap at Turf Paradise is so contentious that the 10 entrants are weighted within four pounds of each other. The 7 1/2-furlong turf event has lured the likes of 2001 winner Bristolville, 2002 runner-up Milk Wood, the razor-sharp Playing It Cool, and Komax, who was highweighted at 120 pounds for his dirt exploits but hasn't run since January.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It isn't often that fresh blood turns up this late in the season for a race such as the Jammed Lovely, a seven-furlong stakes for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies here Sunday.
But Sharp Miss will make her local debut in the Jammed Lovely, which has attracted a field of 12 and is worth $171,300.
Bred in British Columbia, Sharp Miss began her career with a victory for $35,000 at Hastings and later moved on to Golden Gate, where she won for $25,000 in February before being claimed for that price in her next start.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Unbeaten A Bit O' Gold, a full brother to the 2002 Coronation Futurity winner, Arco's Gold, will try to win his stakes debut Saturday in this year's running of the $250,000 Coronation, a nine-furlong race for Canadian-bred 2-year-olds.
The Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile for fillies and mares, is the co-feature on the 11-race card at Woodbine.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - With a win percentage of more than 20, trainer Troy Taylor has had, for him, a typical year. But he has had a disappointing Hastings meet, with only 3 wins from 27 starters.
Taylor, who is planning on heading to Portland Meadows in the next couple of weeks, has good reason to look forward to next year. Flying Memo, a 2-year-old California-bred filly trained by Taylor, set the track record of 39.40 seconds for the 3 1/2-furlong Nursery Course last Sunday.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Johar, the dead-heat winner with High Chaparral of Saturday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita, will return in the $3.9 million Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse on Nov. 30.
Trainer Richard Mandella said he made the decision after he watched Johar train in the days following the Turf, which had the first dead heat in the 20-year history of the Breeders' Cup.
"He acts like he's never ran and the race is a little more than a month away," Mandella said. "I'm going."
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The last time During ran at Aqueduct, he finished seventh as the favorite in the Bay Shore Stakes in April. During made up for that loss with a win in Wednesday's $111,800 Discovery Handicap on the opening day of Aqueduct's fall meet before a crowd of 3,096.
During, with Jose Santos aboard, endured a stretch-long battle with Unforgettable Max to win the Grade 3 Discovery by a nose. Inamorato finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Unforgettable Max in the eight-horse field of 3-year-olds. Congrats, the 5-2 favorite, finished fourth, beaten six lengths by During.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Overnight purses for the remainder of the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting have been cut 10 percent because of lower than projected handle figures, executives said Wednesday.
The development is a setback to the Oak Tree Racing Association, which hosted the Breeders' Cup last Saturday.
In addition, the $200,000 Las Palmas Handicap on Nov. 9, a Grade 2 race for fillies and mares over 1 1/8 miles on turf, has been replaced by an overnight handicap.