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the $200,000 Las Palmas Handicap on Nov. 9, a Grade 2 race for fillies and mares over 1 1/8 miles on turf, has been replaced by an overnight handicap.
Spurred on by nearly 1,500 slot machines, the once tiny Delta Downs in Vinton, La., is rapidly becoming one of the top tracks on the Louisiana-Texas circuit. Last year, slot machines enabled Delta to quadruple its purses and introduce the Delta Jackpot, a $500,000 race for 2-year-olds.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For a stretch of nine or 10 months, San Dare got some kind of good. Having labored without winning so much as an entry-level allowance, she suddenly became a major player in filly-mare turf stakes, and her career peaked with back-to-back Grade 3 wins at Gulfstream Park last winter.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Gulchie has been the exacta player's friend and a win bettor's nightmare since May.
Racing in allowance races and optional claimers, Gulchie has finished second in four consecutive starts, a streak that may end in a $48,000 optional claimer over 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on Friday.
"He kind of has seconditis," said trainer Kristin Mulhall. "He always wins the battle, and something comes on the outside and catches him."
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - One Only Knows and My Real Quiet Lady are both getting significant class relief in Friday's Woodbine headliner, an $80,000 allowance/optional claimer for fillies and mares.
One Only Knows, a 3-year-old trained by Bob Tiller, has won 4 of 10 starts at the meeting, while earning $223,039 in her first year of competition. She won four consecutive dirt allowances in the spring and early summer and was second as the favorite in the Sept. 27 La Lorgnette Stakes.
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Gray Ghost Starter Handicap, which is restricted to gray- or roan-coated runners, will be run at Portland Meadows on Friday's Halloween night card.
The Gray Ghost lured six older runners to vie under $3,200 starter allowance conditions at six furlongs.