Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Hawthorne enters deal with TVG

STICKNEY, Ill. - Hawthorne Race Course has entered into a multiyear agreement with Television Games Network that will make Hawthorne one of the network's featured tracks on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Hawthorne races also will be shown intermittently on its other live days, Friday through Sunday, although other racetracks will still have preference on those days.

Since The Racing Network went out of business in 2001, Hawthorne had not been carried on either TVG nor the new racing channel, Horse Racing Television.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Under construction

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Despite an initial inclination to limit admissions for the 2004 Kentucky Derby, officials at Churchill Downs now have decided they will exhaust all measures to "accommodate everyone who wants to come to the Derby next year," according to Churchill vice president David Sweazy.

The 2004 Derby, which track officials have billed the Demolition Derby, faces major logistical problems because of the massive restructuring of the track's grandstand and clubhouse.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Robledo may miss El Camino Real

ARCADIA, Calif. - Robledo, who emerged as a Triple Crown hopeful last month with his victory in the Turf Paradise Derby in Phoenix, may miss the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields next weekend because of a minor foot injury.

Friday, trainer Vladimir Cerin said that Robledo has suffered a cut on a heel. Robledo did not train on the racetrack Friday, and only walked at the barn.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Choices aplenty in Suwannee

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Sunday's $100,000 Suwannee River Handicap is an ending for Calista and Amonita, who are both headed to the breeding shed after the race. It could also be a beginning for Party Queen, who makes her stakes debut in the Grade 3 race.

Then again, the nine-furlong Suwannee River could be just another notch in the holster of Stay Forever, who has been on a roll since returning from a bowed tendon that sidelined her for 18 months.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Crafty C.T. can get his Grade 1

ARCADIA, Calif. - The good looks of a racehorse do not guarantee victory, but when looks are combined with credentials as imposing as those of Crafty C.T., good things often follow.

Seven older horses will race seven furlongs Sunday in the Grade 1 San Carlos Handicap at Santa Anita, and Crafty C.T. merits standout status against top-class late-runners Aldebaran and Grey Memo, front-runners Total Limit and Roman Dancer, and longshots Mellow Fellow and Shah Jehan. It is only March, the first start of the year for Crafty C.T., and a perfect time to erase a past-performance void.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Supah Blitz may get rematch

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Supah Blitz surprised most of the betting public when he finished second to Trust N Luck at 33-1 in the Grade 1 Fountain of Youth. The only thing that surprised trainer Manny Tortora that day was the price.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Badge of Silver perks up for key workout Monday

NEW ORLEANS - Badge of Silver put in a sharp gallop Friday morning at Fair Grounds and is on target to work here either Sunday or Monday. That breeze is intended to set Badge of Silver up for next Sunday's Grade 2 Louisiana Derby.

Badge of Silver's physical appearance during his gallop this morning starkly contrasted with the horse's condition earlier in the week. After a strong gallop Feb. 22, Badge of Silver "was knocked out," trainer Ronny Werner said.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Lessons Learned in unusual places

NEW ORLEANS - He has spent quality time with cows, llamas, and Tennessee walking horses in rural Alabama, but on Sunday at Fair Grounds, Learned is in with Grade 2 stakes horses in the New Orleans Handicap.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Say Florida Sandy back off three-day rest

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Will the third time be the charm for the $75,000-added Hollie Hughes Handicap on Sunday at Aqueduct?

The Hollie Hughes for New York-breds has been postponed twice because of weather-related cancellations. First scheduled for Feb. 16, the six-furlong Hollie Hughes was delayed and brought back a week later. It again was canceled when racing was scrapped after last Sunday's fifth race because of poor track conditions due to rain.

Rain is again in the forecast.

Fri, 02/28/2003 - 00:00

Slider makes trip worth it

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Lost in the shuffle of Colorful Tour's game win in the Grade 3, $100,000 Essex at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 22 was the big race Slider ran two races earlier on the card when he rolled to a six-length win in a one-mile allowance and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 108.

Because Slider ran so well, he will face Colorful Tour in his next start, the $100,000 Razorback Handicap on March 16.

It was not the first big Beyer for Slider. Last year, the horse earned a 120 in a seven-furlong race at Keeneland.