Listed stakes winners Vast and Spanish Point head a field of six entered in an open-condition allowance race for 3-year-old fillies Sunday at Gulfstream Park.
Vast, a daughter of Lea trained by Bill Mott, won a maiden race at Saratoga on debut last July 12 and the Hollywood Wildcat Stakes at Monmouth Park in September from four starts as a 2-year-old. She has not raced since being disqualified from third to fourth in the one-mile Tempted Stakes on Nov. 1 at Aqueduct.
All was right again with the racing world on Thursday after even-money favorite Sunshine City came flying down the center of the course to win the second race at Gulfstream Park, finally giving trainer Wesley Ward his first 2-year-old winner of the year.
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Santa Anita is making advanced plans to resume racing on May 15 following a break of nearly two months caused by the coronavirus outbreak, according to a letter top track executive Aidan Butler sent to executives of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, California Thoroughbred Trainers association, and Jockey’s Guild on Wednesday.
In the two-page letter, Aidan Butler wrote that Santa Anita “is targeting May 15 for the resumption of live racing under strict protocols,” which includes no spectators.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Churchill Downs in Louisville will be able to open its backstretch beginning May 11, according to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who made the announcement during his daily afternoon briefing on Wednesday about the COVID-19 virus and the state’s efforts to contain it.
Tiz the Law has worked three times since his resounding victory in the Grade 1 Florida Derby while trainer Barclay Tagg awaits the opportunity to run the horse next.
Tiz the Law’s most recent workout came Sunday at Palm Meadows, where he went a half-mile in 49.60 seconds by himself.
:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more
“He’s doing great, I’m just scared to death of not having a goal,” Tagg said Wednesday.
Trainer Danny Gargan will use the two overnight turf stakes Saturday at Gulfstream Park as the seasonal debuts for a pair of promising 3-year-old progeny of Kitten’s Joy.
Don Juan Kitten, who went 1 for 2 as a 2-year-old, will make his 3-year-old debut in the $75,000 English Channel Stakes, while Astoria Kitten, who went 1 for 3 as a 2-year-old, will return in the $75,000 Honey Ryder Stakes. Both races are scheduled for 1 1/16 miles.
Don Juan Kitten won his debut Oct. 5 at Belmont Park and then finished third, beaten 1 3/4 lengths, in the Awad Stakes three weeks later.
It’s been a decade since Big Drama won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, clinching an Eclipse Award as North America’s champion sprinter, but you can still hear the excitement in trainer David Fawkes’s voice when the horse’s name is mentioned.
“Big Drama was a blast, what a nice horse,” Fawkes said Wednesday. “He took me a long way.”
WHO’S HOT
Farmington Road, who most recently finished second in the Oaklawn Stakes on April 11 and is in the second division of the Arkansas Derby on Saturday, is the newest member of the Derby Watch top 20. He is 50-1 on the future line set by Marty McGee of Daily Racing Form for the Kentucky Derby, now on Sept. 5. Tiz the Law remains McGee’s favorite, at 3-1.
:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more
The migratory patterns are well-known. Every winter the gray whales make their way to Baja California. The swallows return to the mission at San Juan Capistrano every April. And the first weekend in May, trainer Todd Pletcher is in Louisville.
