OLDSMAR, Fla. - It's the horses shipping up from Calder in Miami that horseplayers must reckon with at Tampa Bay Downs, especially in the opening weeks of the meeting.
Veteran players here already know that, but for newcomers and visitors to Tampa Bay Downs it's wise to give Calder runners a long look for several reasons.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - With a quarter crack and an aborted sale behind him, things might finally be looking up for Echo Eddie. One of the elite sprinters in the country when at his best, Echo Eddie returns from a five-month layoff in Sunday's $70,000-added Dayjur Handicap, highlight of the closing-day card at Hollywood Park.
The Dayjur, at 5 1/2 furlongs, was written in the condition book for the turf. But because so much rain fell here in recent days, and more was predicted for the weekend, the race will be run on the main track.
NEW ORLEANS - The ovation from opening day has died down now. The audience is waiting to see what Mountain General will do for an encore.
Mountain Generalis Thanksgiving Day Handicap performance at Fair Grounds was good for a 6 1/2-length win. It also set a track record for six furlongs, and even on a fast-playing surface, his time of 1:08 at Fair Grounds was exceptional.
Observers were amazed at how fast Mountain General ran through the stretch.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The pathway between the barns of trainers Doug O'Neill and Bobby Frankel at Hollywood Park spans about a quarter-mile, but it's getting shorter. O'Neill on Friday was on course to beat out Frankel and claim the training title at this track's fall meet, which closes on Sunday.
He also trudged through the mud on Friday morning to look at a horse for private purchase.
"I'm picking up his crumbs," O'Neill said, joking.
MIAMI - The fastest 2-year-old in the country, at least according to Beyer Speed Figures, isn't Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Vindication or the undefeated Sky Mesa. He isn't stabled in California, Kentucky, New York, or at either Gulfstream Park or Payson Park in Florida.
The 2-year-old with the highest Beyer Speed Figure this year resides with trainer Ralph Ziadie at Calder Racecourse. His name is Trust N Luck and he received a 110 Beyer after breaking Unbridled's 13-year-old stakes record by more than a full second winning the Dec. 14 What a Pleasure Stakes.
The $500,000 Lone Star Derby and the $150,000 Stonerside for fillies, which are two of the richest races for 3-year-olds at Lone Star Park, will both be tied to bonuses next year. The stakes are part of a 30-race, $4 million stakes schedule at Lone Star, which was purchased by Magna Entertainment in October.
The track's 70-day Thoroughbred meet will run from April 3 to July 13.
To win a $250,000 bonus tied to the Grade 3 Lone Star Derby, to be run at
ALBANY, Calif. - Jockey Chad Schvaneveldt, tied for sixth in the Golden Gate Fields jockey standings, returned to full-time riding this week after missing two weeks with a severe attack of pancreatitis that left him hospitalized for four days.
Schvaneveldt, 38, had his first winner since returning, and 12th of the meeting, on Thursday.
Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas. Schvaneveldt has had previous attacks, and they are sometimes a byproduct of his occupation. Falls and severe jolts to the body can cause the painful inflammation.
Hawthorne National LLC, the new business entity that combines Hawthorne Race Course and the National Jockey Club, named a management team and staff on Friday.
Hawthorne National begins operation in March, when racing returns to Chicago after a winter break, but not at its usual early-spring locale, Sportsman's Park. Sportsman's has been shuttered, and the National Jockey Club that ran meets there joined with Hawthorne's ownership to form the new company, which will race exclusively at Hawthorne.
Harrah's Entertainment, which operates 26 casino properties around the country, became majority owner of Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La., on Friday. The company will enter partnership with a group of five Louisiana businessmen in the track, which was purchased from John York, son-in-law of the late Edward J. Debartolo, Sr., for $73 million.
Plans are for an ontrack casino housing 900 slot machines to open on Memorial Day, 2003, said Anthony Sanfilippo, president of Harrah's Central Division. The track's annual meet opens on June 27.
