Jolie Olimpica, winner of two graded stakes at Santa Anita this year, is recovering from a recent health setback that prevented her from starting in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint on Sept. 12.
Jolie Olimpica was found to be ill in the hours before she was scheduled to be flown from Santa Anita to Kentucky Downs.
“She had a 104 temperature,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “Thank God we didn’t put her on the airplane.”
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Margot’s Boy, a game second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 6, is likely to start in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby on Oct. 18, trainer Craig Lewis said Thursday.
The $200,000 Twilight Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles on turf and could lead to a start for Margot’s Boy in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf Nov. 28 at Del Mar.
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Santa Anita officials canceled workouts for the second time in three days on Thursday because of poor air quality caused by a massive wildfire in the mountains near the racetrack.
Air-quality issues are likely to persist through the weekend, government officials said. As of Thursday morning, the fire had spread to more than 50,000 acres and was only 3 percent contained.
ELMONT, N.Y. – After watching Firenze Fire finish a distant fourth in the Grade 1 Carter this past spring and an even more distant seventh in the Grade 1 Forego in his most recent start, trainer Kelly Breen was reasonably certain it was the wet racetracks that were responsible for those two uncharacteristically poor performances. A Grade 1-placed sprinter, Firenze Fire had won three of his previous four outings on dry land, including the Grade 2 True North here early this summer.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Win Win Win, dramatic winner of the Grade 1 Forego on Aug. 29 at Saratoga, will train up to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, trainer Michael Trombetta said Thursday.
Win Win Win rallied from as far as 16 lengths back to win the Forego by a half-length in the slop. Trombetta said that considering how hard Win Win Win worked, he doesn’t think running him again before the Breeders’ Cup is a good idea.
“I’m just worried he put it all out there for that race, the ground loss and all the work he had to put in to get it done,” Trombetta said.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Liveyourbeastlife, runner-up in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy, worked five furlongs in 59.97 seconds Thursday morning at Belmont Park, after which trainer Jorge Abreu confirmed the 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper would be supplemented to the $1 million Preakness on Oct. 3 at Pimlico.
Because he is not Triple Crown nominated, Liveyourbeastlife would have to be supplemented to the Preakness for a $25,000 fee. Abreu said owner William Lawrence has indicated a willingness to do that.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Bill Mott has been on quite a roll lately, winning 11 races – including five stakes – from 43 starters from Aug. 29 through Sept. 16.
Mott, who will send out potential favorite Antoinette in Saturday’s Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, is hoping his recent run of success at the end of the summer leads to a big fall.
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The New Jersey Racing Commission on Wednesday adopted a rule that will prohibit a jockey from using a whip on horses “except for reasons of safety” beginning with the start of the Monmouth Park meet next year.
All-sources wagering at the 2020 Runhappy meet at Kentucky Downs totaled $59,828,444, crushing the former record set at the turf-only track in south-central Kentucky.
The six-day meet ran Sept. 7 through Wednesday, with a Tuesday substituting for a Sunday because of a rainout. The former record for gross handle ($41.2 million) was set last year during a five-day meet. Per-day handle averaged nearly $10 million, and a single-day record of more than $17.4 million was set last Saturday.
Jockeys who intend to ride at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore during the upcoming three-day Preakness Stakes meet will need to get tested at the track for coronavirus 72 hours prior to being allowed to ride, according to protocols the track has distributed to riders and their agents.
