OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The pain in Robbie Davis's left knee made it impossible for him to ride any longer. The responsibilities awaiting the 41-year-old jockey may make it impossible for him to stay away.
That is why Davis is preparing to undergo two separate operations in the next two months - one to repair the meniscus ligament and another to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. The surgeries could dictate whether Davis continues his career or is forced to hang up his tack.
ALBANY, Calif. - Golden Gate Fields stewards have fined three assistant starters after having received complaints about the mistreatment of horses schooling at the starting gate during training hours. The stewards received four complaints but dismissed two of the cases.
The complaints stemmed from incidents that occurred last spring and summer at Golden Gate. The California Horse Racing Board also received other complaints that did not lead to charges, according to Bob Gai, supervising investigator for northern California.
NEW ORLEANS - Mineshaft has done little wrong since he came to this country last fall, easily winning two allowance races and impressing his trainer with his professional demeanor. Mineshaft looks like a stakes horse and Sunday he will get the chance to prove it in the $75,000 Diplomat Way Handicap.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The main race on Wednesday's program at Santa Anita is the $75,000 Paseana Handicap for fillies and mares, but many bettors will be focusing on a pick six carryover of $156,552.
The pick six covers the third through eighth races, and includes the Paseana Handicap, which will be run over 1 1/16 miles and drew seven entrants.
The pick six includes five races on dirt - three sprints and two routes - and one race on turf, a route.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Eddie Delahoussaye, a Hall of Fame jockey with more than 6,000 victories and one of only four riders to win successive Kentucky Derbies, said late Monday that he was retiring because of injuries suffered in a race last August at Del Mar.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Calkins Road, the top California-bred 3-year-old of 2002, will miss the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic on Jan. 25 due to an infection in a foot, trainer John Shirreffs said on Sunday.
Shirreffs said the infection has kept the 4-year-old Calkins Road from training during the last week. Shirreffs was uncertain how much time Calkins Road will need before he can resume serious training, but said the $400,000 Strub Stakes for 4-year-olds at Santa Anita on Feb. 1 was an unlikely return start.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The fields for Magna Entertainment Corp.'s $3.6 million Sunshine Millions on Jan. 25 are starting to take shape, and there could be some notable omissions when the line-up of Team Florida is determined at next Monday's post position draw. Pre-entries for the Sunshine Millions will be taken this Wednesday.
There is very little change from longstanding tradition in the stakes schedule, released Monday, for the Keeneland Race Course 2003 spring meet, which runs April 4-25.
In all, 19 stakes worth a total of nearly $3.7 million will be run during the 15-day spring meet, with the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes on April 12 serving as the traditional meet cornerstone. As usual, the $750,000 Blue Grass will be run three weeks before the Kentucky Derby.
Gulfstream Park has instituted a 35-second odds board cycle, the shortest of any track in the country, according to the track's director of mutuels, Ed Mackie, and Amtote officials.
Amtote officials said on Tuesday that they believed the shorter cycle will allow for a more accurate representation of the direction that odds move. Last year, Gulfstream updated the mutuel odds every 60 seconds.
