ARCADIA, Calif. - Last fall, Sentimental Value won stakes on a firm turf course at Santa Anita and a sloppy main track at Hollywood Park.
Sentimental Value has not started on a wet turf course, the sort of conditions that could be present for Monday's $150,000 Buena Vista Handicap at Santa Anita.
"I'm hoping we don't get any more rain," trainer Kristin Mulhall said. "I think she'll be better on the firm with the speed she has."
OLDSMAR Fla. - A new chapter in the relationship between Florida horsemen and management at Tampa Bay Downs will take place April 6 when Florida-breds will take center stage in a series of six races collectively worth $500,000 in purse money.
Florida Cup Day became a reality through an agreement among Tampa Bay Downs management, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners Association, and the local chapter of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association.
NEW ORLEANS - So far, San Diego Sue's career has been like produce: good when fresh, but prone to wilting over time.
San Diego Sue won her career debut about 16 months ago at Arlington Park. Then she lost three races, went on the shelf for nine months, and fired fresh off the bench here Jan. 18, winning a first-level turf allowance race by almost three lengths with a sustained rally from the half-mile pole to the finish.
NEW ORLEANS - Badge of Silver, Indy Dancer, Saintly Look, and Seattle Hoofer all have hit the national radar as 3-year-olds with a chance to become Kentucky Derby contenders. Now, let's see if they can run.
The quartet of promising colts square off Sunday in the $150,000 , a bridge to the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby and what lies beyond.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Stareaux will get the distance she needs when she takes on nine other older fillies and mares in Sunday's $10,000 Sweetheart Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Portland Meadows.
Stareaux, a 5-year-old daughter of Northern Park, won a pair of mile races here last season and finished a creditable fourth in the nine-furlong Belle Roberts Handicap last September at Emerald Downs. But she has not yet had an opportunity to go around two turns at this meeting.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - At the half-mile pole of the Dec. 28 W.L. McKnight Handicap, trainer Rick Violette thought the frustrations his Man From Wicklow had experienced in graded stakes company all year long were going to continue.
After steadying early, Man From Wicklow was farther off the pace than Violette had anticipated. A slow pace further complicated matters and had Violette thinking back to past near-hits in such Grade 1 events at the Sword Dancer Invitational and Man o' War Handicap.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Harmony Lodge is finally realizing the potential trainer Todd Pletcher saw in her before she ever ran.
Thirty-three days after coming from off the pace to win the Grade 3 First Lady Handicap, Harmony Lodge posted a front-running victory in Friday's Grade 3, $100,000 Shirley Jones Handicap at Gulfstream Park.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Carl Nafzger has a pleasant problem on his hands: deciding which of his talented 3-year-old fillies, My Boston Gal or Westerly Breeze, to run in next Sunday's Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes.
The Davona Dale is one of two stakes for 3-year-old fillies on that program, along with the $50,000 Charon Stakes, an overnight race at seven furlongs. The 1 1/16-mile Davona Dale is a prep for the $250,000 Bonnie Miss Stakes on March 14.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr., who was released from prison on Thursday, said that he hopes to begin riding races at Aqueduct within the next two weeks.
On Friday, Arroyo met with the Aqueduct stewards. The stewards said Arroyo must follow proper procedures, including filling out paperwork, standard for someone that has been convicted of a crime, before being cleared to return to competition.
It is not anticipated that the New York State Racing and Wagering Board will take any action against the rider in regard to his license.
