STICKNEY, Ill. - Steve Hobby has won more than his fair share of races at Oaklawn Park, and many a talented 3-year-old has come out of Hobby's barn to race well in Arkansas.
So, how in the world was Smart Juliet 62-1 when she won her debut March 23 at Oaklawn?
"I still haven't figured that one out," Hobby said Friday.
Take Charge Lady, who would have been an odds-on favorite in Friday's $300,000 Louisville Breeders' Cup, was scratched from that race due to a bruised left front foot, trainer Ken McPeek said.
McPeek also scratched White Cat from the Crown Royal American Turf due to a ligament injury that could threaten his career.
"They came up here without any troubles from Gulfstream which is supposed to be the worst racetrack in the world," McPeek said. "It isn't."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Final Round earned a berth in the Acorn Stakes when circling the field and going on to a length victory in the $111,800 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Pounded down to 6-5 favoritism in a field of six fillies, Final Round was confidently ridden by Jerry Bailey when dropping back to last during the early running of the Grade 3 La Troienne. Always clear while gradually making up ground, Final Round surged past Fast Cookie nearing the sixteenth pole, then outfinished Lovely Sage when completing seven furlongs in 1:22.13 over a fast track.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Only on Kentucky Derby Day could a race like the Churchill Downs Handicap become such an afterthought. For a number of reasons that become obvious after just a few minutes of handicapping, the $200,000 Churchill Downs Handicap is a Grade 2 race richly deserving of its own spotlight, even though everyone understands that such a scenario is impractical in the shadow of the Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The only item missing from Gold Mover's resume is a Grade 1 stakes win. For a few fleeting moments last May, it appeared as though that objective had been achieved.
But shortly after Gold Mover outlasted Celtic Melody by a head in the Humana Distaff, her number on the infield tote board began to blink. A few minutes later, the order of finish was reversed when the stewards ruled that Gold Mover had bumped and interfered with Celtic Melody leaving the eighth pole.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With Anticipation is an 8-year-old, coming off a successful 2002 season in which he was a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding turf male.
Rouvres is 4, a two-time stakes winner in France last year who has run well in his first two starts in this country.
The two are the leading contenders in Saturday's $400,000 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, a 1 1/8-mile race that could set the tone for the male turf division as the major stakes of the spring draw closer.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Nothing can steal the show from Saturday's Kentucky Derby, but there are two very good stakes at Aqueduct on Derby Day.
The $150,000 Withers for 3-year-olds features graded stakes winners Halo Homewrecker, New York Hero, and Alysweep. The $100,000 Beaugay Handicap is the first race of the year for Voodoo Dancer, Wonder Again, and Owsley, among the top female grass runners in 2002.
Halo Homewrecker, who has shown plenty of promise in a short amount of time, is the likely favorite in his first start at a mile in the Grade 3 Withers.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mobil and Quiet Dare, two of the top 2-year-olds in Canada in 2002, will join the road to the Queen's Plate Saturday at Woodbine in the $160,500 Queenston Stakes.
Mobil is one of two contenders for the June 22 Queen's Plate trained by Mike Keogh, who also has the race's winter-book favorite, Wando. Mobil hasn't run since he finished in a dead heat for first with Arco's Gold in the Nov. 2 Coronation Futurity. He was disqualified and placed second in that race because his rider's whip struck Arco's Gold.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trebizond, who faced some of the nation's top jumpers in the last six months, reverted to the easier novice division in Thursday's $106,200 Hard Scuffle Steeplechase, scoring his first stakes win.
Ridden by Robert Massey for trainer Katherine Neilson, Trebizond rallied from the middle of the pack to rundown longtime pacesetter Naughty Prince in the run from the last jump to the finish.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Bay Meadows racing officials face a problem that has become all too familiar for them with Saturday's $60,000-added Santa Clara Handicap.
Eleven fillies and mares were nominated for the one-mile race, but track conditions may ultimately determine the field size, as continued unseasonable rains remain in the forecast.
Trainer Bill Mahorney entered Marty's Zee in the race. He wants to run her, but he may scratch her Saturday after assessing track conditions following predicted heavy rainfall Friday and more showers Saturday morning.