ELMONT, N.Y. – Pure Sensation won the Jaipur Stakes in 2016 when it was a Grade 3 stakes. Next Saturday, the now 9-year-old Pure Sensation will attempt to win the Jaipur in its second year as a Grade 1.
On Friday, Pure Sensation worked a half-mile over the inner turf course in 49.37 seconds, striding out nicely while working by himself.
ELMONT, N.Y. – It’s been 17 years, but the 2003 Acorn Stakes where Lady Tak got beat a head by Bird Town still irks trainer Steve Asmussen.
“You mean she should have won?” Asmussen said.
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Perhaps Casual, Lady Tak’s seventh foal, can give Asmussen his first Grade 1 Acorn victory when she runs in the one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies Saturday at Belmont.
ELMONT, N.Y. – While trainer Steve Asmussen was to finalize his plans for the Belmont Stakes over the weekend, he is pretty set on whom he is going to run in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens, a seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds on the same card next Saturday.
After failing to excel around two turns, Shoplifted will cut back to seven furlongs and one turn in the $250,000 Woody Stephens. Asmussen also will run Echo Town, a recent allowance winner at Churchill Downs.
Gulfstream Park on Thursday will reopen its casino, shuttered for the past three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The newly redesigned casino floor will be open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, with strict safety protocols to be observed.
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Todd Pletcher closed down his winter headquarters at the Palm Beach Downs training center earlier this week. But the future Hall of Fame horseman will still have a major presence during the remainder of the spring-summer session after transferring a large contingent down the turnpike to stable at Gulfstream Park with longtime assistant Anthony Sciametta over the next several months, including Roman Empire, among the key contenders in Sunday’s co-featured sixth race.
The weekly coronavirus tests administered Wednesday to a group of jockeys at Santa Anita had to be "rechecked" on Friday before the riders were cleared to participate in races, according to a track statement.
The statement said “some screenings were rechecked” after initial tests were inconclusive.
“All of the jockeys at Santa Anita Park have tested negative for COVID-19 and racing will continue as schedule(d) this afternoon,” the statement said.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – For those who thought that the retirement of Woodbine’s perennial leading rider Eurico Da Silva wouldn’t last for too long, you thought wrong.
Da Silva said he’s content with his new endeavors and the newfound time for family life following a 30-year career in the saddle that ended Dec. 15 with another Woodbine riding title. That he currently weighs 123 pounds, 12 more than his riding weight, means a return to the tack is unlikely.
Da Silva, a native of Brazil who turns 45 on June 29, has been developing a business as a life coach.
The 40-day 2020 Century Mile meet begins Sunday, June 21 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1. Racing will be held mostly on Fridays and Sundays. There is racing on two Saturdays, Sept. 19 and 24. Post time for Sundays is 5:15 p.m. Fridays will begin at 7:15 p.m.
It will be the second meet held at the Alberta track, which is located next to the Edmonton International Airport.
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Penn National racetrack in Grantville has received approval from the state’s health department to re-open for spectator-free racing beginning June 19, according to state racing officials, but that plan is pending a discussion in front of the state’s racing commission.
