SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The Sonoma County Fair's closing day is Monday, and racing is going out with a whimper instead of a bang.
An otherwise successful two-week meeting has been plagued by the absence of nominations for stakes races, and Monday's closing-day feature, the six-furlong Elie Destruel Stakes for fillies and mares, was canceled because of a lack of entries.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Follow Me Home continued her dominance of the local 3-year-old filly sprinters with a victory in Saturday's $50,000 Trenton Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Follow Me Home is unbeaten in four starts at the meet, the last three stakes races.
Follow Me Home ($4.40) beat the late-running Randaroo by 1 3/4 lengths in 58.13 seconds. Nicole's Dream was third.
The Trenton, slated for five furlongs on the turf but shifted to the muddy main track, posed Follow Me Home's biggest challenge to date.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Chopinina, last year's Sovereign Award-winning champion turf female, won her first stakes at Woodbine in the Grade 3, $209,050 Royal North Handicap.
Chopinina ($5.10) stalked a three-way pace speed duel while four wide in the six-furlong grass race for fillies and mares. Leading Role, Mille Feville, and Mysterious Affair battled through splits of 23 and 47.21 seconds over the soft going, before Chopinina assumed command at the quarter pole.
French Charmer ($12.40) overtook even-money favorite Rock Slide in deep stretch and pulled away for a one-length victory in the $144,500 John D. Schapiro Memorial Breeders' Cup Handicap at Laurel Park.
Rock Slide held a 2 1/2-length lead with a furlong remaining in the 1 1/8-mile race, run over soft turf, but French Charmer, under Chris DeCarlo, closed between horses and drew clear. The winning time was 1:55.56.
Broad Hopes ($2.60), one of only three fillies left from a field of 10 after the race was moved from the turf to the main track, cruised to a 19 3/4-length victory in the $68,5250 Denise Rhudy Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park. Ridden by Ramon Dominguez for trainer Jonathan Sheppard, Broad Hopes covered 1 1/8 miles over a track that was fast despite showers in 1:58.08.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Young jockey Ryan Fogelsonger, the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice in 2002 and the nation's third-leading journeyman rider this year with 209 wins, will move his tack from Maryland and begin riding full-time in Southern California in early September.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Five friends from northern California turned a visit to the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa into the most lucrative payoff in California pick six history on Friday.
John Dado, the father of Del Mar's vice president for marketing, Craig Dado, and four friends bought a $128 pick six ticket which paid a record $1,562,818.60. It was the only winning ticket. The payoff broke the previous record of $1.1 million set at Bay Meadows in December 1985. The previous Del Mar record was $1,039,259 to one ticket-holder on Sept. 7, 1995.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It would appear Stroll is a quicker study than his older brother Patrol.
A year ago, Patrol went into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes as a heavy favorite. But, his ineffectiveness racing from off the pace proved his undoing when he got off slow, rushed to the front, and eventually tired to third. Patrol has since learned to rate and has won several stakes.
Five-furlong turf specialist Tangier Sound ($20.20) went wire to wire over a soft course to defeat 2-1 favorite Go Go Baby Go by 1 3/4 lengths in the $50,000 Jenny Wade Handicap at Penn National.
The 4-year-old Tangier Sound, ridden by Julian Pimental for trainer James Ryerson, combined with 58-1 maiden winner Chirundu for a daily double that paid $4,080.
Tangier Sound is now 5 for 9 lifetime on grass, with all but one of those races at five furlongs. She was timed in 57.65 seconds.
EDMONTON, Alberta - After capturing Alberta Horse of the Year honors in 2002, Sixthirtyjoe had a difficult start to his 2003 campaign.
Sixthirtyjoe arrived at Northlands Park winless on the year after making four starts at the Stampede Park spring meet. He managed to turn things around by winning the $40,000 Journal here June 21 and finishing second in the Spangled Jimmy on July 5.