ARCADIA, Calif. - Even cheap claimers are pointed for Saturday's California Cup months in advance.
In July at Del Mar, Bernie Schiappa and trainer Frank Monteleone claimed Love that Lion for $16,000 with the $50,000 California Cup Starter Sprint Handicap over six furlongs at Santa Anita as a long-term goal.
On the way to Saturday's race, they lost Love that Lion for $20,000 in August, claimed him back for $25,000 in September, and risked him two more times for $40,000 and $50,000.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Funny Cide, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, will remain in light training, but will not run again this year, trainer Barclay Tagg confirmed Thursday.
Tagg said Funny Cide will be shipped to south Florida at the end of November or early December and be pointed to a 4-year-old campaign that will likely begin at Gulfstream Park.
"I'm not going to run him again this year, I'm going to take him to Gulfstream and plan everything out when I get there," Tagg said outside his Belmont barn.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The 2003 New Jersey Thoroughbred season, a year fraught with anxiety and experimentation, concludes Saturday night with an 11-race card at The Meadowlands.
The last of the 120 racing dates at the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority tracks drops the curtain on a year in which the anticipated threat of slots/video lottery terminal expansion in neighboring states did not materialize. New Jersey racing held its own, as efforts to expand gaming at racetracks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland fell short.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Three veterans of the California turf - Continental Red, Native Desert, and Spinelessjellyfish - can salvage lackluster seasons with a victory in Saturday's $175,000 California Cup Mile at Santa Anita.
Each has at least 40 starts and run outstanding races in past California Cups.
Continental Red was second in the 2002 Classic, a year after Native Desert and Spinelessjellyfish finished a head apart in first and second the Mile. Native Desert, a 10-year-old, also won the Mile in 1999.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The $100,000 Distance Handicap at 1 1/4 miles on turf, the longest stakes for fillies and mares on the California Cup program, produced the closest finish last year when Nicole's Pursuit caught Shalini to win by a nose.
Saturday, Shalini returns in the Distance Handicap, and the trainer who denied her a victory is back with top contender Valentine Dancer.
Both Shalini and Valentine Dancer have questions surrounding their chances.
ARCADIA, Calif. - House of Fortune and Silent Sighs have both displayed plenty of raw ability in their brief careers, but experience, and the post position draw make House of Fortune the deserved favorite in Saturday's $125,000 California Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Three stakes wins established Don'tsellmeshort as one of the leading 2-year-old Cal-bred sprinters. But the question remains - can Don'tsellmeshort run long?
A field of 10 entered the $125,000 California Cup Juvenile on Saturday, and there is no point in debating trainer Dan Hendricks on the issue of quality. Regarding Don'tsellmeshort, he said, "I think I've got the best 2-year-old in California."
ARCADIA, Calif. - Take a good look at Men's Exclusive and Native Desert when they walk onto the track for Saturday's California Cup at Santa Anita.
They have represented the California-bred program in major stakes for eight seasons, sustaining their talent over years, not just months.
In a sport that sends horses off to stud after fewer than 10 starts, Men's Exclusive and Native Desert, both 10-year-old geldings, have been as durable as their counterparts of 50 years ago.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Pat Day and Shug McGaughey have been teaming to win major stakes races for more than 20 years, with the 1983 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland marking their first notable success.
"For the Bell family," Day said between races Thursday at Churchill Downs, recalling his ride on Try Something New for the Jonabell Farm of John Bell III.