Leo's Last Hurrahy, a two-time stakes winner, will lead the charge of Ken Murphy-owned starters Saturday night on Texas Champions Day at Sam Houston Race Park.
The rich card, made up of eight stakes for statebreds and one for open company, is worth a cumulative $625,000.
NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Riders Lyndon Hannigan and Randy Wilson are good examples of how tough and determined a jockey has to be.
Hannigan, 45, has been a regular here for the past seven or eight years and was enjoying his best season before a series of incidents sidelined him for at least eight weeks. Hannigan was first hurt when a horse flipped in the gate injuring his leg.
Manhattan Miner, an impressive winner against open allowance company in her return from a layoff last month at Philadelphia Park, is clearly the horse to beat in Friday night's $50,000 Blue Mountain Juvenile Stakes at Penn National.
A daughter of Miner's Mark trained by Robert Seegar, Manhattan Miner faces nine 2-year-old Pennsylvania-bred fillies in the six-furlong Blue Mountain. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 61 when she drew off to a 4 3/4-length victory in a seven-furlong race on Oct. 19.
ANDERSON, Ind. - Hurricane Hebe and Deviled Ham, both undefeated, pack a solid one-two punch for trainer Ray Stifano in Friday night's $70,000 Miss Indiana Stakes at six furlongs. Owned by the Circle S Ranch of Mari George, the coupled entry will take on eight other Indiana-bred 2-year-old fillies.
The Hawthorne main track's bias toward speed was never more evident than on Illinois Festival of Racing Day last Saturday. Six of the eight dirt races were won by horses who were on the lead, or within a half-length of it, after the opening quarter-mile. (One winner was disqualified.)
Less than 24 hours later, though, the main track was bias-free for Sunday's program. Only two of the nine winners led throughout, while the rest enjoyed midpack stalking trips or came from well off the pace.
A pair of horses who ran second in Grade 2 stakes earlier this fall are among eight older distance runners entered in Saturday night's $100,000 Mountaineer Mile at Mountaineer Park.
Generous Rosi, who finished a neck behind Tenpins in the Washington Park Handicap, a 1 3/16-mile race at Arlington Park in September, and Dash for Daylight, beaten three-quarters of a length in the six-furlong Forest Hills at Belmont Park in early October, are the most prominent names in the field.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - You know a trainer has attained icon status when he wins a race named for a horse he trained many years ago.
Bill Mott, the Hall of Fame trainer who began winning races in bunches at Churchill Downs in the early 1970's, will try to pull off such a feat twice this week.
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.