The Sam Houston division of the Racetrack Chaplaincy of Texas has established a fund to assist the family of trainer Ramon Flores, who died in a car accident Tuesday in Schulenberg, Texas.
Flores, 34, left behind a wife, Amy; a son, Fernando, who is 8; and a daughter, Brisenia, 1.
Flores had a 25-horse stable based at Sam Houston, and the track plans to hold a memorial service in his honor Saturday at noon in the grandstand. His family will hold a memorial Friday in El Campo, Texas.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - What Leaping Plum has done on the race track is the stuff that legends - and possibly books - are made of.
The grand old 12-year-old, owned by Clyde Woods and Paul Miskimins, returned last weekend and won his eighth Grasmick Handicap in nine consecutive attempts. His only loss in the race was in last year's edition, when he broke a bit slowly and could not catch two opponents in the stretch.
"We were really proud of him," said trainer Joe Moss, as he was walking "The Plum" on Wednesday afternoon.
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - A pair of impressive maidens won on Tuesday's card, and both were bet down to favoritism.
In the fifth race, Overflight, owned by R. D. Hubbard and Constance Sczesny, made his first career start, and to the surprise of no one was an easy winner. Overflight's latest workout was a half-mile handily from the gate in 45.60 seconds.
NEW ORLEANS - Maybe sometime before they race Sunday in the New Orleans Handicap, Best of the Rest and Valhol can compare scars.
Best of the Rest, an 8-year-old, has undergone four surgeries on his knees. Valhol, 7, has been under the knife three times, once to take chips out of both knees, another time for an ankle chip, and once to remove a fractured splint bone. For good measure, he nearly died from a terrible case of pneumonia.
NEW ORLEANS - The field for Sunday's New Orleans Handicap continued to grow Wednesday, with the connections of Strive announcing he will run, swelling the prospective field to 11.
Strive will ship from trainer Bill Mott's base at Payson Park, where he has been breezing at regular intervals. Strive finished second in his only start this year, a Gulfstream allowance race, and has raced in stakes only twice, finishing fifth in the Aventura at Gulfstream last spring and a better fourth last fall in the Discovery Handicap at Aqueduct. Jerry Bailey is expected to ride Strive.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Sir Cherokee will bring more two-turn experience into the $75,000 Southwest Stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday than most of his rivals - if he goes.
The winter weather that has gripped Oaklawn Park since Monday night is threatening the colt's training schedule, and if he is unable to train Thursday or Friday he could pass the one-mile Southwest and wait for the $125,000 Rebel here March 22, trainer Michael Tomlinson said on Wednesday.
Entries for the Southwest were to be taken Thursday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - In a decision that will make jockey Jerry Bailey happy but likely disappoint race fans hoping to see a matchup of California's two best older horses, trainer Bobby Frankel on Tuesday said he would not run Medaglia d'Oro in Saturday's $1 million Santa Anita Handicap, citing what he believes is an illogical weight assignment.
Medaglia d'Oro, who comes off a seven-length victory in the Strub Stakes for 4-year-olds, was assigned 124 pounds, the same as the 5-year-old Congaree, who beat older horses in the San Pasqual and San Antonio handicaps earlier this meet.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Nine-year-old Kona Gold carried 124 pounds when he finished off the board in the Grade 2 Palos Verdes Handicap, nearly six lengths behind 6-year-old Avanzado, who carried 116. Kona Gold's trainer, Bruce Headley, did the math. "Eight pounds, six lengths, three years - that's a set-up for subtraction," Headley said, "There's got to be some [weight] subtracting in there."
