DEL MAR, Calif. - For the second consecutive year, the Los Angeles County Fair may ask the California Horse Racing Board for permission to relocate its 2003 race meeting away from Fairplex Park in Pomona, track officials told the board's dates committee on Friday.
Earlier this year, Fairplex Park asked the board for permission to move its September meeting from Pomona to Santa Anita. The request was denied by the board in late June.
NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Thistledown and Beulah Park have reached an agreement to revive the "seven and seven" race format when Beulah Park reopens on Sept. 14.
Three Ohio tracks - Thistledown, Beulah Park, and River Downs - had raced under the format from 1993 until 2001. The format called for Thistledown and either Beulah or River to alternate races during a 14-race combined card.
Gus George, the president of the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, said the resurrection of the format will boost purses at both tracks.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - There are two possible ways the feature race at Hastings Park will unfold Sunday afternoon.
Most likely, Mr Superior Knight will break on top, and they won't catch him. Or, The Devil 'n Honey will try to go with Mr Superior Knight early, and if he does, it could soften up Mr Superior Knight enough so that either Ryson or Titan Steel will overtake him in the stretch.
Leading rider Pedro Alvarado will ride The Devil 'n Honey, and he holds the key in the 6 1/2-furlong race for $15,000 claiming horses.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - While trainer Ronny Werner is known for his expertise with 2-year-olds, he has been just as successful this meet with turf sprinters. Werner has won two $50,000 turf stakes at five furlongs this summer and he guns for his third with No Other Name in Sunday's feature at Monmouth Park, the $50,000 Klassy Briefcase Stakes for fillies and mares.
CHICAGO - After 47 lengths worth of losses in the first two races of her career, the filly Trixie Wac made a wonderful discovery - turf.
The switch from brown to green made all the difference for Trixie Wac, who has raced six times on grass, winning twice and finishing second in another race. A three-length Churchill allowance win May 18 earned Trixie Wac a berth in the Grade 3 Regret a month later, but that level of competition was a bit too much for the filly, at least at this point.
NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Majestic Dinner should be the lukewarm favorite at Thistle-down on Sunday, where he will face 11 of his Ohio-bred peers, including two stable couplings, in the 23rd George Lewis Memorial Stakes, a $50,000 race for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles.
Mr Ross, one of the best handicap horses in the region, is back in training following a summer layoff and is pointing for the $150,000 DeBartolo Memorial Breeders' Cup Turf at Remington Park in Oklahoma City on Sept. 29.
One of his other major objectives at the meet is the $75,000 Oklahoma Classics Day Classic on Oct. 27, a race he has won the past three years. Remington Park opens Aug. 10.
Mr Ross went on vacation in April. The last two weeks, he has been working at Remington Park.
The post fits the plan for Nuclear Assembly, who will break from gate No. 9 for the $40,000 Airline Stakes for 3-year-olds at Louisiana Downs on Sunday.
Before the draw for the six-furlong race Friday morning, trainer Brent Davidson said he hoped to see his horse, the quick Nuclear Assembly, settle behind the leaders early. When the overnight came out, the trainer had to be pleased.
SALEM, N.H. - Trainer Art Maniatis is one of the most optimistic denizens of the Rockingham Park backside. He's never afraid to aim high when he gets a talented runner in his barn, and if Basil's Rhythm can come out of Sunday's $25,000 Lou Smith Memorial Handicap with a good performance, Saratoga will be in Maniatis's sights next.