LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - There is no doubt that Sign of Lanty has been one of the top 870-yard runners in Quarter Horse racing history. In 2000 and 2001, he was named Quarter Horse Distance Champion. Most of his $455,542 bankroll was earned at 870 yards.
Now, the 8-year-old Sign of Lanty has a chance to earn a purse worthy of his reputation.
Sunday, Sign of Lanty starts in the $200,000 Marathon National at Los Alamitos, the richest 870-yard race in Quarter Horse history.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Mike Smith will not soon forget Composure's loss in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Arlington Park in October.
Smith guided Composure to the lead past the heavily favored Storm Flag Flying in midstretch only to see that rival launch a remarkable rally in the final furlong to deny Composure victory by a half-length.
The rematch may not occur until the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs in May, and until then all Smith can do is help Composure prepare for her 3-year-old campaign.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Piensa Sonando, one of trainer Ron McAnally's recent acquisitions from South America, may be arriving in the California handicap division at an ideal time.
With no clear-cut leader in the older horse division, Piensa Sonando is in a field with little depth in Saturday's $100,000, 1 1/8-mile Native Diver Handicap at Hollywood Park.
A victory would propel Piensa Sonando into the preps for the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 1, although McAnally hesitates to think that far ahead.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Fans of Xtra Heat breathed a sigh of relief when she was bought by S. David Plummer's ClassicStar and he decided to keep her in training instead of sending her to the breeding shed.
On Saturday at Aqueduct, Xtra Heat will be in action for the first time since the sale in the $75,000-added Garland of Roses Handicap. The last time Xtra Heat ran at Aqueduct, she won the Interborough by 5 1/2 lengths on Jan. 1. She is 3 for 3 over the inner track.
Walk in the Snow and Oak Hall meet on Saturday in round two of a blossoming Louisiana rivalry. Oak Hall is twice Walk in the Snow's age, but in their first meeting last month at Delta Downs, the 3-year-old Walk in the Snow was the better horse, beating Oak Hall by more than three lengths.
"We've got some ground to make up," said Keith Bourgeois, Oak Hall's trainer.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A day after announcing the creation of a $2 million bonus for a 3-year-old filly who sweeps the Mother Goose, Coaching Club American Oaks, and Alabama, the New York Racing Association released its 2003 stakes schedule on Thursday. In addition to purse increases previously announced for the Mother Goose (from $250,000 to $300,000) and Coaching Club American Oaks ($350,000 to $500,000), the purse for Grade 1 Vosburgh jumps from $300,000 to $500,000.
PORTLAND, Ore. - All 11 races are for statebreds Saturday, the annual Oregon-bred Day program at Portland Meadows. There are six stakes and two starter handicaps, plus a pair of maiden special weight races and one claiming race.
The marquee matchup will be provided by the day's richest stakes, the $25,015-added Os West Oregon Futurity, which will pit Yada Yada Yada against Stately Jack Flash in a field of eight at a mile.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Trainers Nick Lowe and Cookie Root are both looking for a big day on Saturday, when five stakes and four starter handicaps will highlight a program devoted exclusively to Oregon-breds. But both will not get the prize they want most.
With no filly and mare sprint on the Louisiana Champions Day card at Fair Grounds on Saturday, the $50,000 Gardenia at Delta Downs on Saturday night will fill a void. The five-furlong race for statebred fillies and mares drew a field of eight, including Mike's Sister, Fuse It, and Lettuce Loose.
EAST BOSTON, Mass. - Things are going so well for jockey Joe Hampshire that he can afford to fire his wife and agent, Kim, to let her stay home with their new baby, and re-hire agent Max Hall.
Hampshire, 39, has won at least once on 28 of the last 30 racing days he has ridden, and is on his way to a 300-win year and his sixth straight riding title. Hall, 55, has won more than 20 New England titles with his riders and is the agent who sent Norberto Arroyo on his way to success in New York.