HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Barclay Tagg was packing the car and heading off to Ocala shortly after training hours on Sunday, but not before relaying the news that Tiz the Law came out of his impressive three-length victory over Ete Indien in Saturday’s Grade 3 Holy Bull in good order.
“He scoped clean after the race, ate up last night, and his legs are good,” said Tagg.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Storm the Court, the champion 2-year-old male of 2019, was pronounced fit and ready for his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 9 after a five-furlong workout at Santa Anita on Sunday.
Storm the Court was timed in 1:01.20, continuing a steady pattern of workouts since Dec. 22 in advance of the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Max Player, the 3 1/4-length winner of Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes, will most likely make his next start in the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 4, meaning he’ll have one more chance to earn enough qualifying points to make the May 2 Kentucky Derby.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Sir Winston, the 2019 Belmont Stakes winner, made a successful 4-year-old debut, rallying from last to win an allowance race Friday at Aqueduct and put himself back in play to run in the $12 million Dubai World Cup on March 28.
In his first dirt race and just second start since he upset the Belmont Stakes last June, Sir Winston was content to sit last of seven through the opening six furlongs. Under Dylan Davis, he was seven lengths behind pacesetting Leitone, who ran an opening half-mile in 48.33 seconds.
Lone Star Park has added the $300,000 Texas Derby to its stakes schedule for 2020, the Dallas area track announced Friday. The mile and a sixteenth race will be run May 25 and the new Memorial Day feature will share a card with the $100,000 Lone Star Park Turf Stakes.
Lone Star will have a total of 12 stakes worth $1.4 million this meet, an increase of $300,000 from a year ago and the richest stakes calendar at the track since 2011, according to a press release.
The Lone Star season runs from April 16 through July 19.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association has set mandatory payout dates for the Empire 6 wager for the remainder of the winter and spring Aqueduct meets.
Starting Feb. 9, there will be bi-weekly mandatory payouts in the Empire 6. The other mandatory payout dates will be Feb. 23, March 8, March 22, April 5, and April 19, closing day of the spring meet.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While Bill Mott will send out Harvey’s Lil Goil for her 3-year-old debut in Sunday’s $100,000 Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct, his top horse in that division, Lake Avenue, is still at least a month away from her return to action.
Lake Avenue won the Grade 2 Demoiselle by four lengths here Dec. 7 and had her first workout since that race on Monday, going three furlongs in 37.40 seconds at Payson Park.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Two weeks after their successful return to the races, Mind Control and Joevia each could be making his second start of the year earlier than anticipated.
Mind Control, who returned from a 147-day layoff to win the Grade 3 Toboggan Stakes on Jan. 18, could make his next start in the $125,000 Stymie Stakes on March 7 at Aqueduct. Joevia, who returned from a 223-day layoff to win a second-level allowance here Jan. 17, is now being considered for the Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Stakes on Feb. 17 at Oaklawn Park, according to trainer Gregg Sacco.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Rafael Bejarano is glad to see January end and February begin.
Bejarano was winless from 39 mounts from the opening day of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting on Dec. 28 through Thursday.
“February will be my month,” an optimistic Bejarano said Friday morning. “I hope so.”
Sunday, Bejarano has one mount on a seven-race program, and it could be a good one. Mastering, a $500,000 purchase as a yearling, will have his debut in a maiden special weight race for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita has canceled racing next Thursday, and as a result there will be no racing here on Thursdays for three consecutive weeks. In late January, Santa Anita canceled the card for Thursday, Feb. 13, and the track is not scheduled to race Thursday, Feb. 20.
Track officials are hoping that racing fewer days will reverse a trend of declining field size this meet.
