DEL MAR, Calif. - Firth of Lorne, the runner-up in the French 1000 Guineas in 2002, makes her American debut in a $63,000 optional claimer on turf at Del Mar on Friday.
But trainer Eoin Harty is reluctant to predict victory, worried that the Del Mar turf course could work against her running style.
Firth of Lorne is a closer, and the course has produced more front-running winners than Harty likes to see.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Trainer Steve Hobby's "A" team will take the field Saturday at Arlington. Friday, the backups get their chance.
Hobby has Sue's Good News ready to start here Saturday in the $100,000 Singapore Plate, where she will have a chance to rebound from a sixth-place finish last month in the $500,000 Delaware Oaks. Hobby theorizes that Sue's Good News tied up before the start of the race, since she was listless during the warm-up period and raced without picking up the bit from start to finish.
EDMONTON, Alberta - With Sly Lady on the sidelines with a throat infection, Friday's $40,000 Madamoiselle for older fillies and mares has become wide open.
Sly Lady is unquestionably the top older mare in Alberta and is riding a five-race winning streak, but trainer Ron Grieves elected to keep her out of the race as she recovers.
Northern Neechitoo, who has not won a stakes this year, will look to take advantage of Sly Lady's absence in this 1 1/16-mile race after having finished second to her last out.
DEL MAR, Calif. - The 109 pounds that Sister Girl Blues has been assigned for Sunday's $300,000 Clement Hirsch Handicap is both a blessing and a hindrance to owner Jeff Nielsen and trainer Terry Knight.
Sister Girl Blues will carry as much as 18 pounds less than topweight Azeri, who is seeking her 11th consecutive win and carrying 127 pounds, a burden equal to the highest assignment of her career.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Haskell Day was a banner afternoon for New Jersey racing, and it came at an opportune time.
Monmouth Park smashed every attendance and handle record on Sunday. The presence of Kentucky Derby and Preak-ness winner Funny Cide and a welcome break from the recent rainy weather combined to produce a memorable day at the races.
The crowd of 53,638 was a record for any New Jersey track. The original Garden State Park held the old record of 51,077, set May 30, 1967.
Five graded winners were among the 12 3-year-olds entered Wednesday for Saturday's $600,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Race Track.
Post positions for the 1 1/8-mile West Virginia Derby were to be drawn on Thursday morning at a breakfast at the track. Last year, the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby became the first race in the state to carry a grade.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - May Gator took advantage of surface change, a field drastically reduced by scratches, and a bad start by the other speed in the race to win Wednesday's $63,800 Waya Stakes by 6 1/2 lengths at Saratoga.
Kathy K D rallied up the rail to be second by a head over Suave Queen. Spice Island, the 6-5 favorite, finished last in the field of four.
The Waya, originally scheduled to be run at 1 3/8 miles on turf, was transferred to the dirt and run at nine furlongs over a sloppy track. Seven of the 11 horses entered were scratched.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba - The top two finishers from last Monday's Manitoba Derby could be headed for a rematch in the $150,000 Canadian Derby at Edmonton's Northlands Park on Aug. 23, which would make for a smashing horse race.
The winner of the Manitoba Derby, Hero's Pleasure, is just learning how to run, while the horse he beat, Taiaslew, set too fast a pace and then found out just how long the Assiniboia Downs stretch is.
Taiaslew won't have that problem when he's back on the bullring at Northlands, where races are won on the lead into a short stretch.
Michael Gill, the nation's leading owner, has sent a small string of horses to Louisiana Downs, and said he may send many more to race in Louisiana.
Gill said he had sent sent five horses to Louisiana Downs in the last week and that he "would like to have 50 to 70 starting with Fair Grounds, enough to give Cole Norman and Steve Asmussen a run for their money," referring to the two dominant trainers in Louisiana.