VINTON, La. - The slots parlor at Delta Downs was temporarily closed early Wednesday by the Louisiana State Police for the second time in less than a week. The latest closure was to "ensure the accounting systems are continuing to adequately process the large volume of business the property has experienced since its February 13 opening," according to Delta Downs officials.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The lack of a standout and the lure of a $1 million purse has made Saturday's Santa Anita Handicap one of the most wide-open runnings in the race's 65-year history.
And the richest race of the meeting could be a gold mine for bettors, who will be assured value in a field loaded with potential winners.
There were 14 horses entered on Wednesday, which would be the largest field to start since 17 ran in 1983. Last year, Tiznow beat 11 others in a campaign that ended with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Belmont Park last October.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The surprise announcement that the front-runner Sky Jack will start in Saturday's $1 million, Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap has altered the complexion of the race, and possibly compromised the chances of one of the favorites, Giant Gentleman.
Instead of being loose on the lead in the 1 1/4-mile Big Cap as expected before the announcement, Strub runner-up , who will wheel back just three weeks after a huge comeback race.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - Arthur Wendel understands that he is in a no-win situation Thursday afternoon at Aqueduct.
That is when Wendel, the coldest trainer on the New York Racing Association circuit, will saddle , the hottest horse anywhere, for the first time since he claimed the 9-year-old for $50,000 on Feb. 2. Win, and the horse and his previous trainers likely get the credit. Lose, and it's all Wendel's fault.
"If anything happens the fall guy is me, not the horse," said Wendel.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Despite a training setback caused by fever and a wet track, Breeders' Cup Mile winner Val Royal will start Saturday in the $300,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile, according to trainer Julio Canani.
"I missed a work, but it's not the end of the world," he said. "This is a horse you don't need to pound, anyway."
JAMAICA, N.Y. - With Evening Attire forced to miss the March 9 Stymie Handicap because of illness, the favorite's role for that $100,000, Grade 3 race might fall to Ground Storm. On Tuesday, the 6-year-old Ground Storm gave an indication that he would wear the title well.
In his last serious workout before the Stymie, breezed five furlongs in 1:02.33 over Belmont's training track, the third-quickest of 10 moves at the distance. Track clockers caught Ground Storm's last three furlongs in 35.67 seconds, and got him galloping out five furlongs in 1:15.60.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Cojet, considered one of the best 3-year-old sprinters at Oaklawn, will chart new territory Saturday when he makes his two-turn debut in the $75,000 Southwest, a one-mile race that serves as a stepping-stone to the $500,000 Arkansas Derby on April 13.
has been well prepared for the task at hand by his trainer, Bob Holthus, who has won the past two runnings of the Southwest, taking the 2001 edition with Son of Rocket and the 2000 with Afternoon Affair.
NEW ORLEANS - Bay Eagle, eighth in the Preakness Stakes last spring, returns from a layoff in Fair Grounds's featured ninth race on Thursday. But more relevant than his finish in the Preakness was Bay Eagle's near-miss in the $200,000 Virginia Derby last summer, since that race, like Thursday's, is on turf.
NEW ORLEANS - Trainer James Bond said Monday that , winner of the Grade 1 Donn Handicap in his last race, was likely to ship to New Orleans this week and run in Sunday's $500,000 New Orleans Handicap.
Mongoose's presence would further strengthen a race that's coming up very tough. The field is also likely to include Whirlaway Stakes winner Valhol and two other Florida shippers, Kiss a Native and Graeme Hall. Kiss a Native finished third and was placed second in the Donn. Graeme Hall, a Grade 2 winner, finished eighth in the Donn, his first start since November.
ALBANY, Calif. - Weight is often an issue around the racetrack, and it could be a big issue in Thursday's feature at Golden Gate Fields.
The two top contenders, Sharp Park and Glittering Stone, finished a nose apart when they met on Feb. 6 in a six-furlong race with a $25,000 claiming tag, which was similar to Thursday's race.
