ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The 2001 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championship Day Saturday at Belmont Park will not be remembered as a banner afternoon for Woodbine participants.
But the good news is that all came out of their races in good order and will be back to race another day.
The most difficult pill to swallow was the one administered to the interests of Numerous Times, who did not even make it to the post.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Morluc, the Churchill Downs-based horse who quietly has become a world-class turf sprinter, will run next in the $1 million Hong Kong Turf Sprint on Dec. 16, trainer Randy Morse said Tuesday.
Morluc finished second, beaten a head, in the same race last year. After an impressive victory in the Oct. 5 Nureyev Stakes at Keeneland, Morluc was extended a preferred invitation to the Hong Kong race late last week.
The 2002 World Thoroughbred Championships may have to be moved to an alternate site because Arlington Park has so far failed to secure state funding for temporary renovations, officials for Breeders' Cup Ltd. and Arlington acknowledge.
Located just outside Chicago, Arlington Park was named the likely site for the 2002 championships early in September, but the selection was contingent on several developments, including $3 million in funding from the state to build temporary seating. Breeders' Cup mandates that all host tracks have seats for at least 45,000 people.
STICKNEY, Ill. - The marathon ended Sunday. Now Chicago racing shifts into sprint mode. On the heels of a six-month meet at Arlington Park, Hawthorne Race Course opens a short two-month meet Wednesday. The meet, the second held at Hawthorne this year, will conclude after 47 days with a New Year's Day program.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - To some, it's a scary thought. To others, it is a howling good time. Whatever the case, for the next six months, New York horseplayers will be getting their tricks and treats at Aqueduct beginning with Wednesday's Halloween Day nine-race card.
With a few exceptions early in the meet, Aqueduct will race Wednesdays through Sundays with first post daily at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. Aqueduct will be open Tuesday, Nov. 5 (Election Day) and Monday, Nov. 11 (Veterans Day) and be closed Wednesdays Nov. 7 and 14.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - With many horses and horsemen shipping to places like Portland Meadows, Turf Paradise, and northern California, Hastings Park came up short for their last mid-week card of the season. Only six races filled for Wednesday evening and the featured race, an $8,000 conditional sprint for fillies and mares, will go as the last and offers superfecta wagering.
STICKNEY, Ill. - It's back. Hawthorne's guaranteed pick six, the bet that sent sharp players around the country scurrying to the windows last spring, returns this fall. The exposure the guaranteed pick six generated for the track in May was great, but the promotion turned rather disastrous when it was hit five times in the meet's first seven days. Without a multiday carryover to enhance the pick six pool, Hawthorne had to cover the guaranteed payoffs itself.
STICKNEY, Ill. - The palatial suburban splendor of Arlington Park is gone for this year. Ringed with grape vines, and the host of the first million-dollar horse race, Arlington has been left behind for the gritty urban area that houses Hawthorne Race Course.
And that's just fine with many local horsemen.
CHICAGO - Running deeper into autumn than it ever had before, Arlington Park experienced significant declines in business during September and October, clouding what otherwise was a successful meet.
Still, Arlington officials were pleased with the core of their 2001 racing season. With two fewer racing dates than last year, Arlington's 101-day meet, which began June 13, was up 3 percent in total handle from $335,567,238 to $345,463,483. Daily all-sources handle averaged $3,420,431, up 5 percent from last year's $3,257,934.