EAST BOSTON, Mass. - Jini's Jet will be a very short price when he tops a field of eight registered Massachusetts-breds in Monday's $25,000 Massachusetts Derby.
Jini's Jet, who is owned by Krystyna Stable and Anthony Spadea, towers over his rivals in talent and accomplishments and not even the 127 pounds he will have to carry over the 1 1/16 miles should keep him from picking up his fifth win of the year. Dyn Panell will again be in the saddle.
MIAMI - Trainer Scotty Schulhofer will never be able to erase World Thoroughbred Championships Day from his memory in light of the injury to his star 3-year-old filly Exogenous just prior to the Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Exogenous was one of two horses Schulhofer had entered in the World Thoroughbred Championships. The other was Chaste, who finished ninth behind Banks Hill in the Filly and Mare Turf. On Saturday, Chaste takes on much softer competition in the My Charmer Handicap, one of four stakes worth $100,000 apiece on the Grand Slam I program.
NEW ORLEANS - This was nothing new. Hallowed Dreams routed the opposition Saturday at Fair Grounds, winning the $60,000 Dr. A.B. Leggio Handicap* (click here for chart) by 4 1/2 lengths.
Hallowed Dreams won for the 25th time in 27 races, and will probably not wait long to go for her 26th victory. Trainer Lloyd Romero, who owns the filly in partnership with Johnny Gaspard, said that Hallowed Dreams will return next week in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Five years after his first try in the Grade 3 Vernon O. Underwood Stakes, and one year after he became the oldest horse to win the six-furlong race, 8-year-old Men's Exclusive is at it again.
"He's an old-timer, but he's got the legs of a 2-year-old," said optimistic trainer Wesley Ward. On Sunday at Hollywood Park, Men's Exclusive will need every ounce of his rediscovered youth. He faces eight rivals in the $100,000 Underwood, most of whom had never seen a bridle when Men's Exclusive made his debut Oct. 14, 1995, at Santa Anita.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - Four weeks away from her seventh birthday and four months away from retirement, Pentatonic begins her farewell tour Sunday when she heads a seven-horse field entered in the $75,000 Montauk Handicap on the last day of racing over Aqueduct's main track.
The nine-furlong race is the first time Pentatonic has faced New York-bred company since she won the Montauk last year. In between, she has faced some of the top fillies and mares in training with mixed results.
Sam Abbey, a racing official with more than 25 years of experience at numerous race tracks throughout the East Coast and Midwest, has been appointed the new racing secretary at Delaware Park.
Abbey replaces Daniel Eidson, who was dismissed after one season on the job shortly after the meet ended in early November.
Abbey most recently spent nine years as racing secretary at Hialeah Park.
Delaware Park also announced the retirement of John Rooney, vice president for finance who worked for 44 years in various positions at the track.
There will be one fewer Kentucky Derby prep on the calendar next year. The $500,000 Lone Star Derby, which was awarded Grade 3 status on Thursday, will be run a week after the Kentucky Derby next year, on May 11. In its past five runnings, the race was held two to four weeks before the Kentucky Derby.
In other changes to the race, the $1 million bonus that rewarded the Lone Star Derby winner who went on to win a Triple Crown race will not be renewed next year. In the two years the bonus was offered, 2000 and 2001, it was not hit.
NEW ORLEANS - It was a year ago that Concerned Minister wowed racing observers here, winning the Tenacious Handicap by more than 11 lengths, equaling the track record for 1 1/16 miles, and earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 121, one of the highest speed figures recorded in 2000.
It was a huge move forward for Concerned Minister, and if any of the six horses entered this year in the $75,000 Tenacious is to come close to duplicating Concerned Minister's performance, he, too, will have to step up his game.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A Fleets Dancer will be looking to cap a stellar campaign as the heavy favorite in Sunday's 1 3/4-mile Valedictory Handicap, the closing-day feature of the Woodbine meet.
Coronation Futurity winner Streakin Rob heads the other stakes on the 12-race card, the $130,625 Kingarvie, for Ontario-sired 2-year-olds. Pick six wagering will be offered on races 5-10.
