JAMAICA, N.Y. - Forest Heiress, beaten at 3-10 in the Old Hat Stakes at Gulfstream on Jan. 6, appears to have found a soft spot to make amends when she heads a six-horse field entered in Saturday's $100,000, Grade 3 Cicada Stakes at Aqueduct.
A daughter of Forest Wildcat, Forest Heiress won 4 of 5 starts as a 2-year-old, including the Sorority at Monmouth Park and the Valley Stream at Aqueduct, both Grade 3 races.
ALBANY, Calif. - Because Fancee Bargain was willing to allow Art and Steve Sherman to train her, the three might meet in the winner's circle following Saturday's $55,000-added Soviet Problem Handicap at Golden Gate Fields. The six-furlong Soviet Problem has a field of eight fillies and mares.
Fancee Bargain used to be high-strung and hard to train, said Steve Sherman, assistant to his father, Art. But she has settled down enough to have won both her starts this year.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Several trainers had a surprise awaiting when they picked up Saturday's overnight. They found the $46,000 open allowance they had chosen for their horses also attracted Macho Uno, who returns to action for the first time since finishing fourth in the 2001 Breeders' Cup Classic.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The cancellation of racing at Aqueduct on Wednesday helped Oaklawn Park reach its highest offtrack handle of the meet, as out-of-state patrons bet $4,537,572 on the 10-race card. Another $623,598 was bet on the program by the ontrack crowd of 5,883, bringing Oaklawn's total handle on its races Wednesday to $5,161,170.
The previous offtrack best this meet was reached on Feb. 16, when Oaklawn handled $4,189,228 on nine races, which were delayed because of a tote malfunction. The delay forced the track to cancel its final race.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - After losing 13 juveniles worth approximately $1.3 million in a barn fire last month, owner Carl Lizza would have been forgiven had he wanted to avoid any horse auctions for a while.
But as a man who has been in the game of Thoroughbred racing for several decades, Lizza has learned one thing.
"This game isn't for the faint of heart," said Lizza, who races under the name Flying Zee Stable and who co-owns Highcliff Farms in upstate New York. "I'm not in it for the money. If I was in it for the money, I'd get out."
FLORENCE, Ky. - Although Saturday's running of the Spiral Stakes is the 31st, this is the fourth time in the last five runnings that the race has sported a different name.
Tom Dawson, who has produced the Spiral for Winner Communications television for many years, said he jokingly sent a message to his graphics personnel saying simply to label it the "Spiral/Jim Beam/Galleryfurniture.com/Lane's End/Spiral Stakes."
To explain . . .
FLORENCE, Ky. - At Turfway Park, there are two days a year when the quality of racing far exceeds the everyday fare: Spiral Stakes Day in the spring, and Kentucky Cup Day in the fall. Each program consists of at least five stakes, with nary a claiming race to be found.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Werblin is off the Triple Crown trail, a decision that may land him in the winner's circle of a stakes for the first time at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Werblin will be favored in the $75,000 San Pedro Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs, a race he is expected to dominate. On opening day of this meeting, Dec. 26, Werblin won a six-furlong allowance race by a convincing 1 1/2 lengths. He was subsequently beaten in two of the meeting's top races for 3-year-olds.
TORONTO - Phillip (Pudge) Brown, director of racing and racing secretary at Fort Erie, has had his license as a racing official suspended for one year and has been fined $5,000 by the Ontario Racing Commission.
The ORC order, issued Wednesday, said Brown had violated the rules of racing "by permitting horses to be entered or to race that had not been tattooed and fully identified."
The suspension will run from April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2003.
NEW ORLEANS - On the one hand, they have combined to make one start in the last 22 months. On the other, they have combined to win 10 of their 12 career races, and both were Group 1 winners during their former lives as European turf stars.
They are Beat Hollow and Suances, two California-based horses shrouded in mystery who have shipped to New Orleans for a start Sunday in the $700,000 Explosive Bid Handicap.