ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Julio Canani would have rather shipped this weekend to Chicago, to start a horse in the Breeders' Cup. Unfortunately for Canani, his stock was not good enough.
Next fall, it might be a different story. California-based Canani, who trained BC Mile winners Silic in 1999 and Val Royal in 2001, can stay home in 2003 when the Breeders' Cup comes to Santa Anita. By then, Canani may have genuine contenders for all three Breeders' Cup grass races.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer David Donk shoots for his third career Pilgrim win in Sunday's $75,000-added Pilgrim at Aqueduct with Rhythmic Motion. Donk won the grass race for 2-year-olds with his star Awad in 1992 and again in 1998 with Incurable Optimist.
Rhythmic Motion, who is 2 for 2, is one of 11 entered in the 1 1/8-mile Pilgrim, which doesn't feature a standout runner. Blakelock is entered for main track only. A fair amount of rain was expected early in the weekend, which will likely leave Aqueduct's turf course less than firm.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Stage Classic, a 4-year-old son of Sky Classic, will try to win the Grade 2, $279,500 Sky Classic Handicap for the second year in a row at Woodbine Sunday.
Stage Classic was prominent throughout the 1 3/8-mile Sky Classic in 2001, winning by a comfortable margin over older runners on yielding turf. Trainer Dave Cotey said he was somewhat surprised to see Stage Classic win that event.
Bien Nicole took her established Southwest form on the road Friday at Arlington and captured her fourth straight stakes, easily winning the $100,000 Estrapade over Verruma.
A 4-year-old owned by John and Kristine Richter and trained by Donnie Von Hemel, Bien Nicole showed promise last year at age 3, but hit her peak this summer. Since she was beaten a neck in a Lone Star allowance race on June 9, Bien Nicole has won five races in a row, and only once during her streak has a horse come within two lengths of her.
Riddlesdown was awarded a controversial victory Friday in the $100,000 John Henry Handicap after the Arlington Park stewards deemed first-place finisher Tap the Admiral guilty of fouling him in midstretch.
Boos rained down from the crowd as Riddlesdown was led into the winner's circle following the John Henry, a 1 3/16-mile turf race. Tap the Admiral, ridden by Edgar Prado, finished first by a length after getting a perfect stalking trip. But Riddlesdown's rider, Jorge Chavez, claimed foul and the stewards decided to reverse the order of finish.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Cat Genius won his stakes debut and remained unbeaten in three starts with a front-running win in Friday's $100,000 Gilded Time Stakes at Arlington Park.
Never threatened, Cat Genius ($4) completed seven furlongs in 1:23.01. He took the lead a few strides out of the gate, angled over to the rail on the backstretch, and was always in command through fractions of 22.62 and 45.33 seconds.
"When I saw the first sixteenth of a mile, I thought, shame on them," trainer Tom Amoss said. "That gave him a huge advantage."
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - In the end, the connections of Allspice could not say no to the $100,000 Eliza, one of two stakes on Sunday, Arlington's closing day. And while the 2-year-old filly runs in the shadow of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, continued progress would propel her toward the head of her class.
PORTLAND, Ore. - In Search of Fame, who has dominated Quarter Horse racing at Portland Meadows like no runner since Destiny Drummer two decades ago, will have a new distinction when he makes his yearly debut in Sunday's $6,000-added Autumn Handicap at 350 yards.
In Search of Fame, 6, will enter the race with a six-figure bankroll, having inched over the barrier in his last start of 2001 with a second in a stakes at Boise. He now boasts $100,570 in earnings from 19 wins in 34 starts.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - There have been a lot of horses with outstanding records at both Stampede and Northlands Park who have shipped over the mountains to the West Coast, but not many of them have been successful.
Of course there have been exceptions. It was only last year that the Alberta prodigy Fancy As earned horse of the year honors in British Columbia with his impressive wins in the B.C. Derby and Premier's.
Penn National Gaming Inc., the owner of two racetracks and several casinos, had net income of $9.9 million in the third quarter of 2002, or 25 cents a share, on record revenues of $175 million.
Revenues in the quarter from Charles Town Races and Slots in West Virginia were $69 million, dwarfing Penn's other properties. Charles Town recently installed 500 additional slot machines.