ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The British Columbia invasion is officially under way.
Illusive Force, Lord Shogun, and Regal Rebel were flown from Vancouver on Tuesday night and checked in to Woodbine at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Awaiting the trio was Lani VanOverschot, wife of and assistant to Rob VanOverschot, who trains both Illusive Force and Lord Shogun. Exercise rider Sam Shirley also made the trip east.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Friday's $80,900 allowance prep for the May 24 Connaught Cup Stakes highlights a nine-race card and is the first turf race of the Woodbine meet.
A high-quality field was drawn for the seven-furlong race, which includes 2001 Atto Mile winner Numerous Times, who also won the Sovereign Award for Canadian turf champion that same year.
WINNIPEG, Man. - The bugs are hot at Assiniboia Downs.
Shannon Beauregard, a 10-pound apprentice from Montreal, and Jason Leacock, a five-pound apprentice from Barbados, both shot up in the jockey standings here after the second weekend of the meet, winning four and three races, respectively.
Beauregard, who rides first call for trainer Caesar DeMarni, rode DeMarni's impressive winner Beetrap ($17.30) in last Friday's fourth race and followed up that performance with Say Grace Jo First ($23.50) in the sixth race for trainer Jim McDonald.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Starrer, one of the nation's top older females, will miss a meeting with reigning Horse of the Year Azeri in the Grade 1 $200,000 Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap at Hollywood Park on May 24. Starrer has missed training in recent weeks because of an ankle problem.
Owner George Krikorian said the 5-year-old Starrer will be pointed for the next major race for the division at Hollywood Park - the Grade 1 Vanity Handicap June 21.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Bit of Luck was such a bargain at a sale last fall that if he wins the first race at Hollywood Park on Friday the prize money will exceed his purchase price.
Bought for $34,000 in England, Bit of Luck has been a success story for owners David and Holly Wilson and trainer Vladimir Cerin. A 4-year-old gelding, Bit of Luck won two races this year before finishing fifth in the Grade 2 San Francisco Mile at Bay Meadows on April 26.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Crowned King, who finished a troubled fourth last week in the Grade 3, $500,000 Lone Star Derby, will likely make his next start on turf in the $200,000 USA Stakes at Lone Star Park on May 26.
The USA, for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, is one of seven stakes on a card called Lone Star Million Day. Among the local horses pointing for the race are Lone Star Deputy, winner of the $100,000 Grand Prairie Turf Challenge; Lots of Sizzle, who has been working sharply for trainer Dallas Keen; and recent allowance winner River Mountain Rd.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Canterbury Park opens for its 17th season of live racing in what promises to be one of its strongest renewals since the track resumed live racing in 1995.
The ongoing success of the Canterbury Park Card Club - featuring poker and casino games - has solidified a $120,000 daily purse structure, and the added possibility of slot-machine revenue has filled the 1,550-stall backstretch to capacity.
MIAMI - It has been seven months since Lawbook last raced. And now, trainer Thomas Heard Jr. will have to wait even longer to start his star 3-year-old after Lawbook dropped his exercise rider and ran off on the training track last Saturday, the day before he was scheduled to begin his comeback in the $40,000 Western Borders Stakes.
Don't be late for Friday's 7:20 p.m. opener at Bay Meadows, as the San Mateo, Calif., track is putting its best foot forward with its top offering of the night going as the first race. At issue is a $28,000 purse, easily the largest on Friday's eight-race card.
The first race will match a field of five 3-year-old fillies, each eligible to be claimed for $32,000, at six furlongs.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After trainer Barbara Holbrook was shot to death last fall, investigators were unable to locate her former husband and suspected killer, Roger Holbrook. The trail for the suspect went cold in a hurry, and updates concerning the murder soon vanished from the media.
This weekend, the heat is being turned up again.
"America's Most Wanted," the popular television program that is watched each week by as many as 10 million viewers, is featuring a piece on the Holbrook murder on its Saturday telecast. The show airs on FOX at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.