Fri, 01/10/2020 - 11:46

Brown looking forward to getting Feedback restarted

Barbara D. Livingston
Feedback, winner of the 2019 Forward Gal at Gulfstream, has not raced since April.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – They’ll be back in dribs and drabs, these graded stakes winners that Chad Brown has stashed away a little north of Gulfstream Park.

Although some won’t make their 2020 debut until later at this championship meet, and some won’t even resurface until Keeneland or Belmont Park in the spring, the first one is here: Feedback, who will be heavily favored at Gulfstream on Sunday when she faces five other filly-mare sprinters in the 10th of 11 races, a $52,000 second-level allowance at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Thu, 01/09/2020 - 14:56

Noda has big plans for First Line

Ronnie Betor
T Loves a Fight, claimed for $10,000, has been a success story for trainer Orlando Noda.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In his first year training horses, Orlando Noda made his mark reviving the career of T Loves a Fight, a stakes-winning horse who bottomed out at the $10,000 claiming level.

On Saturday, when he again runs T Loves a Fight in a stakes at Aqueduct, Noda hopes to make his mark with a different horse. To say Noda has high hopes for the 3-year-old first-time starter First Line, who debuts in Saturday’s third, would be understating it.

Thu, 01/09/2020 - 14:30

Skyler's Scramjet gets back to work

Barbara D. Livingston
Stakes winner Skyler's Scramjet has not raced since August.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Skyler’s Scramjet, winner of the Grade 3 Tom Fool in 2018 and runner-up in the Grade 1 Carter in 2019, is on the comeback trail.

Away since a last-place finish in the Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga in August due to foot issues, Skyler’s Scramjet returned to the work tab on Wednesday, breezing three furlongs in 38.20 seconds over the training track.

“He has in the past come around quick,” trainer Michelle Nevin said. “Every year is different. We’ll have to see if he can get himself ready.”

Thu, 01/09/2020 - 14:20

Overnight purses increased on upcoming Cal-bred stakes day

Benoit Photo
Santa Anita racing secretary Steve Lym is hoping the increased overnight purses on Cal-bred stakes day will lead to larger field size in those races.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The purses of four scheduled overnight races for California-breds at Santa Anita have been increased by $10,000 to $13,000 on Jan. 18. The program is highlighted by five stakes for statebreds: the $200,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic, $200,000 California Cup Derby, $200,000 California Cup Oaks, $150,000 California Cup Sprint, and $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint. It is the richest day of the year for California-breds.

Thu, 01/09/2020 - 11:30

Omaha Beach feeling good enough for a jog

Emily Shields
Omaha Beach

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Richard Mandella was all smiles back at the barn after watching Omaha Beach return to the track for a routine jog shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Thursaday. Omaha Beach is scheduled to make the final start of his career in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 25.

Wed, 01/08/2020 - 15:52

Omaha Beach, dealing with foot problem, has work pushed back a few days

Emily Shields
Omaha Beach is coming off a win in the Dec. 28 Malibu Stakes to cap his 3-year-old season.

Omaha Beach, scheduled to make his final career start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 25, will have his first local work at Gulfstream Park postponed, likely until Sunday, to deal with a minor foot issue, trainer Richard Mandella said Wednesday.

"This far out, I don't see it as a problem," Mandella said from South Florida while describing the issue as a "hot foot."

Wed, 01/08/2020 - 15:26

My Boy Tate looks for a second Say Florida Sandy win

Chelsea Durand/NYRA
My Boy Tate and jockey Dylan Davis win the Say Florida Sandy Stakes by three lengths.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – My Boy Tate will face six rivals when he seeks a second victory in the $100,000 Say Florida Sandy Stakes for New York-bred sprinters Saturday.

My Boy Tate, a 6-year-old gelding by Boys at Tosconova, won the Say Florida Sandy in 2018 as part of a four-race winning streak. He lost three straight after that and then was off 13 months before winning a division of the New York Stallion series here on Nov. 24.

My Boy Tate is trained by Michelle Nevin, who also owns the gelding in partnership with Little Red Feather Racing.

Wed, 01/08/2020 - 15:20

Truth Hurts earns shot at Busanda

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Truth Hurts, a two-length winner of a first-level allowance race Sunday, will be pointed to the $100,000 Busanda Stakes here Feb. 2, trainer Chad Summers said Wednesday.

Truth Hurts, a daughter of Tonalist, was very professional beating 4-5 favorite Autonomous in Sunday’s one-mile race. After tracking a longshot leader early, Truth Hurts sat behind horses approaching the quarter pole, split horses outside the eighth pole, and was drawing away late. She covered a mile in 1:40.05 and earned a 68 Beyer Speed Figure.

Wed, 01/08/2020 - 15:16

Trash Talker among Magner's good-looking young horses

Barbara D. Livingston
Fierce Lady (left) defeats Time Limit by a neck in the Seeking the Ante Stakes.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Dermot Magner has at least three young horses that inspire hope for a solid 2020 season. Included in that trio is Trash Talker who faces winners for the first time in Friday’s $70,000 first-level allowance/optional-claiming feature at Aqueduct.

Trash Talker, a son of Competitive Edge, won a six-furlong maiden race here Dec. 7 in what was his fourth start. Though he may have been aided by a surface that turned speed-favoring over the second half of that card, Trash Talker has come back with a series of solid workouts since.

Wed, 01/08/2020 - 15:06

Mike Smith to receive inaugural Jack Van Berg Horse Racing Award in Arkansas

Barbara D. Livingston
Mike Smith one both of Oaklawn Park's Grade 1 races in 2019.

Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith will be honored with the inaugural Jack Van Berg Horse Racing Award during the Oaklawn Kick-Off Banquet on Jan. 15, said Mark Schlesinger, a longtime owner and businessman in Arkansas. The event will be held at the Wyndam Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock, Ark. Schlesinger said a crowd of 500 to 600 is anticipated.