ALBANY, Calif. - There are few things as exciting in racing as a brilliant performance by a 2-year-old. There is the thrill of seeing it, as well as the fun of speculating about what the future may hold.
Golden Gate Fields was the scene of one of those performances on Saturday, when D's Bertrando won his second career start by 13 lengths and was given a 105 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest this year by a 2-year-old.
MIAMI - Calder president Ken Dunn said he does not expect any major problems for customers Thursday, when a new policy goes into effect to close betting about a minute before horses enter the gate for live races.
Churchill Downs Inc., which owns Calder, announced the change for all its tracks last week in response to concerns about late-odds changes and to restore public confidence in the mutuel system in the wake of the Breeders' Cup pick six betting scandal.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - She was one of the most impressive winners of an early 2-year-old race back in March, and then, just as quickly as she had won, she was gone. Long Term Wish won first time out going two furlongs at Santa Anita despite a poor start, but sore shins have kept her on the sidelines ever since.
The wait is now over. Long Term Wish returns to action in Thursday's featured seventh race at Hollywood Park, a six-furlong, first-level allowance for 2-year-old fillies. Her trainer, Caesar Dominguez, said Long Term Wish is cranked up and ready to go.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The eighth and final race at Hollywood Park on Monday was canceled because of a power outage that struck 10 minutes before post and could not be fixed by the time dusk fell, 40 minutes later.
The tote board, tote machines, and televisions all lost power. Only emergency lights were operable. The horses were on the track for 30 minutes before track management decided to cancel the race.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The Irish-bred filly Sulk arrived in New York at around 4 a.m. Tuesday. The rains that figure to soften up Aqueduct's turf course and enhance Sulk's chances in Saturday's Grade 2 Long Island Handicap came shortly thereafter, much to the delight of trainer John Gosden.
"She's unsuited to real firm ground,'' Gosden said Tuesday from Europe.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Sarafan and Reba's Gold were scheduled to leave late Tuesday night for Tokyo, where they will compete, respectively, in the Japan Cup and Japan Cup Dirt on Nov. 23-24 at Nakayama Race Course.
Sarafan was scheduled to work on Tuesday morning at Hollywood Park, but trainer Neil Drysdale instead opted to give Sarafan a strong gallop, in company with another horse, because the track still had plenty of moisture in it following heavy rain last Friday and Saturday.
MIAMI - Trainer Harold Rose had his left leg amputated above the knee last weekend because of complications from diabetes, according to his son, Barry. He is currently in a rehabilitation facility and is recuperating well, his son said.
"Dad had been suffering for several months due to complications from his diabetes," said the younger Rose. "He finally wound up contracting an infection in his leg which made it necessary to amputate."
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Josie Carroll has always been high on Buffalo Jump, a 2-year-old homebred filly she trains for Thor Eaton.
Buffalo Jump rewarded her trainer's faith on Sunday, capturing the seven-furlong Glorious Song in her last appearance of the meet.
"I think she's run tenaciously; Sunday was just her day," Carroll said.
A winner at first asking on July 13, Buffalo Jump had finished second in a pair of six-furlong stakes, the Ontario Debutante on Aug. 11 and the Fanfreluche in her last start Oct. 20.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The eighth and final race at Hollywood Park on Monday was cancelled because of a power outage that struck 10 minutes before post time of the race, and was unable to be fixed 40 minutes later, when dusk fell.
The tote board, tote machines, and televisions all lost power because of what was believed to be a problem with a transformer. Only emergency lights were operable. The horses were on the track for 30 minutes before track management decided to cancel the race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Although an entry trained by Nick Zito seems likely to be favored in the Wednesday feature at Churchill Downs, there are two other horses in the entry-level allowance who earned significantly superior Beyer Speed Figures in their last races.
Silent Fred and Crimson Hero are the Zito pair who drew favorable inside posts in Wednesday's eighth race, a $43,400 allowance at 1 1/16 miles.
