HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - This could be a memorable week for jockey James Lopez. Not only does he have a chance to sweep two major stakes at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, but Lopez could also take back the lead in the rider standings over the sidelined Terry Thompson, who led the colony by three wins coming into Wednesday's card.
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DRF Past Performances
ARCADIA, Calif. - Mountain Rage may yet be a derby horse. It just won't be the one in Kentucky.
A 3-year-old who is strictly a turf specialist, Mountain Rage will forsake the Kentucky Derby meat grinder and focus instead on becoming a top 3-year-old on grass. Good move. Races such as the Del Mar and Hollywood derbies beckon, but not before Mountain Rage starts favored Thursday at Santa Anita in the $75,000 Academy Road Stakes.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The rapidly improving 3-year-old Sunday Break chose the wrong week for a growth spurt. He worked six furlongs in 1:15.80 Tuesday at Hollywood Park, but trainer Neil Drysdale said later that he is not a definite starter in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Less than two months ago, Nokoma was laboring over the Gulfstream Park racetrack during training hours. On Monday, he flew over the same ground, working five furlongs in 58.20 seconds in his final drill for Saturday's $1 million Florida Derby.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - Monday's 30-degree temperatures and Wednesday's unappealing nine-race card notwithstanding, spring has arrived for New York horseplayers. After 14 weeks and 69 cards over the inner track, Aqueduct's main track opens Wednesday for its 38-day spring meeting.
The opening of the main track also brings a return to a 1 p.m. post.
Penn National's infield tote board was leveled on Sunday afternoon, a dark day at the track, when extremely high winds ripped through Pennsylvania.
Wind gusts of nearly 60 mph blew through Grantville, where the track is located. The 200-foot long tote board, made primarily of wood and cinder block, fell front to back, collapsing the entire structure. The tote board, with more than 8,000 bulbs to display odds and wagering pools during evening racing, also housed the track's race-timing system.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The prospective starting lineups for two of this week's key attractions lost some of their luster when trainer Todd Pletcher announced he will not run Smok'n Frolic in Friday's $250,000 Bonnie Miss Stakes or Smooth Jazz in Saturday's $150,000 Swale Stakes.
Smok'n Frolic finished a disappointing seventh making her 3-year-old debut in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes on Feb. 24. She had closed out her 2-year-old campaign with easy victories in the Grade 3 Tempted and Grade 2 Demoiselle stakes in New York.
ALBANY, Calif. - Yougottawanna became the meet's top 3-year-old by winning the El Camino Real Derby last weekend, and on Saturday the meet's top older horse will likely be determined in the $200,000 Golden Gate Breeders' Cup Handicap.
Nineteen were nominated to the Grade 3, 1 1/8-mile turf race, with trainer Bobby Frankel planning to send two horses up for the race.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - Saarland, unraced since winning the Remsen Stakes last November, arrived at his Belmont Park barn Monday afternoon to continue preparations for his 3-year-old debut in Sunday's $200,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
After working a sharp five furlongs in 1:00.20 Saturday at Gulfstream Park, boarded a van along with a few other Shug McGaughey-trained horses on Sunday morning. He arrived at Belmont at 12:30 p.m. Monday.
"He got in here just fine,'' said Buzz Tenney, assistant to McGaughey. "I assume it was a pretty uneventful trip.''