DEL MAR, Calif. – The best horse and presumptive favorite in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar will scratch from the six-furlong race and wait for the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs later this summer.
McKinzie, whose seven graded stakes and $3.4 million in earnings tops the 10-entrant Bing Crosby field, will scratch from the $250,000 sprint, trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – By My Standards was attempting to establish himself as the top older male in training when he went into the Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on June 27. That’s when he ran into Tom’s d’Etat, who asserted his authority and class to dominate the Stephen Foster by 4 1/4 lengths over By My Standards.
Star jockey Florent Geroux is named in one race Friday at Ellis Park, marking his first ride since announcing he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Geroux last rode on July 12.
Geroux once again ranks in the top 10 nationally in mount earnings this year with more than $5.7 million.
Meanwhile, a $40,000 third-level allowance (race 5) for filly-mare sprinters serves as the feature of a nine-race Friday card that starts at 12:50 p.m. Central. Irish Mischief is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Cox and Bridgmohan. A second allowance goes as race 8.
Anneau d’Or, a disappointment since finishing a close second last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, has joined the prospective lineup for the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9.
Art Collector, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes, figures as a heavy favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Ellis Derby, a 50-20-10-5 qualifier toward the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. Other probable starters include Dean Martini, Major Fed, and Shared Sense.
Mostly big fields with recognizable names were expected when entries were drawn Thursday for the third annual Kentucky Downs Preview Day, to be held Sunday at Ellis Park in western Kentucky.
Five $100,000 turf stakes will be run as designated preps for the Kentucky Downs meet, which runs Sept. 7-16. Brad Cox and Mike Maker are among the prominent trainers expected to have a multitude of starters in the preview races, with Factor This in the 1 1/4-mile Preview Turf Cup for Cox being the most notable.
Samantha Randazzo, a steward with experience at tracks in Minnesota, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey, has been named The Jockey Club steward at Finger Lakes racetrack, the Jockey Club announced on Wednesday.
Randazzo, who received her stewards’ accreditation certificate after working in the barn of Linda Rice for 27 years, will fill the seat most recently held by Don Combs, who resigned earlier this year due to health problems. Randazzo also has a law degree.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Marine Stakes winner Shirl’s Speight wasn’t the only unbeaten 3-year-old to impress last Saturday at Woodbine.
Fresh off a six-length debut score July 12, the flashy chestnut Red Hierarchy looked like a young Pink Lloyd when he doubled up with another dominating six-length tally, in another 6 1/2-furlong event for Ontario-sired runners. After earning an 83 Beyer Speed Figure at first asking, he got an 89 Beyer, the second-highest by a male 3-year-old at Woodbine this year after Shirl’s Speight’s 91 from the Marine.
Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., has raised its takeout rates across the board for its meeting starting Tuesday, officials of the track confirmed.
Rates for win, place, and show wagers will be raked this year at 18 percent, up from 16 percent during last year’s meet. Takeout rates for all exotic bets will be 22 percent, up from 20 percent last year. In addition, a pick five with a takeout of 12 percent has been eliminated, the officials said.
Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., has pushed back its first post for its live race card on Tuesday to 6:30 p.m. due to a heat wave that continues to affect the area, according to a track official.
Jill Byrne, Colonial’s vice president of racing operations, said that the decision to delay first post by one hour was made after consulting with veterinarians and horsemen.
“It’s a consensus of everyone,” she said. “Right now, we’re showing that the temperatures will probably start dipping at 6, so fingers crossed.”
