Gender and surface are key issues Friday night at The Meadowlands, as One Eyed Joker and Summer Colony head of field of 12 in the $75,000 Rutgers Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on the turf.
Summer Colony, a 3-year-old filly trained by Mark Hennig and to be ridden by Eibar Coa, comes into the Rutgers off back-to-back smashing victories in first- and second-level allowance races at Belmont and Saratoga. But both wins were on the main track.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Aclare comes off two strong seconds and rates the edge in Friday's featured seventh race at Bay Meadows, a six-furlong allowance race with a purse of $32,000. First post is 7:15 p.m.
Aclare was claimed by trainer Dennis Patterson for $12,500 last December at Hollywood Park. He did not run again until August, finishing second in a six-furlong allowance sprint.
Aclare came back a month later with another strong performance in allowance company. He closed from fifth to finish second to Baby Wave.
Pivotal Decision, the winner of last year's Grade 1 Dash for Cash Futurity, will put his six-race winning streak on the line Friday night in the Grade 1 $179,800 Dash for Cash Derby for Quarter Horses at Lone Star Park.
Pivotal Decision, owned by 24-year-old Joshua Harner and trained by John Buchanan, is ranked fourth in the national Quarter Horse poll conducted by the American Quarter Horse Association. He is the second-ranked 3-year-old, only one point behind All American Derby winner Stoli.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The long-term forecast is favorable for Changeintheweather, the four-length winner of the Grade 1 Grey Stakes here last Monday.
And, keeping that future in mind, trainer David Bell said Changeintheweather is unlikely to see action again this season.
"We're talking about giving him a bit of time off, then heading to Florida," said Bell, who trains Changeintheweather for the Pin Oak Stable of Josephine Abercrombie. "That's the tentative plan, right now.
"He's sound, but I don't want to drill on him. He's probably done enough as a 2-year-old."
LEXINGTON, Ky. - At this time last year, trainer John T. Ward Jr. was able to look into the stalls of some of his 2-year-olds and feel good about his chances of winning the 2001 Kentucky Derby. With Holiday Thunder and Hero's Tribute, Ward had two of the most promising colts not only at Keeneland, but in North America as well.
Ward was in the right church, but the wrong pew. He won the 127th Derby in May all right - but he did it with Monarchos, who last October was still several months from winning so much as a maiden race.
ELMONT, N.Y. - It All Adds Up was developing into a useful filly for trainer John Kimmel last winter when an injury sidelined her for most of the spring and summer.
Thursday, It All Adds Up returns in a second-level allowance race that Kimmel hopes ignites a powerful fall campaign for her. The seven-furlong allowance heat is the featured race on Belmont Park's nine-race card.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The days of top-class racing at Arlington Park are fading as quickly as the late afternoon daylight as this marathon meet winds its way toward an Oct. 28 conclusion. Arlington ceded the Midwest's racing spotlight to the glamour Keeneland meet last week, and with last Saturday's Arlington Matron the track completed its graded stakes schedule.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Dan Hendricks had thought that by this time in Good Cop Bad Cop's career, the 3-year-old colt would be good enough to run in the California Cup. But Good Cop Bad Cop has done everything just a little slower than first anticipated.
Good Cop Bad Cop is still eligible for a California-bred first-condition allowance race. But he has run three strong races since returning from a 10-month layoff, and he is bred to run well on turf, which makes him one of the leading contenders in Thursday's featured seventh race at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Alfurune, a shipper from Emerald Downs, has found an inviting spot to gain his second victory in Thursday's feature race at Bay Meadows, a $32,000 starter allowance at one mile.
Alfurune has been competing in stakes in Washington and should find this a much easier field. Thursday's feature, for nonwinners of two races, is the seventh race and offers a $22,000 purse.
Alfurune, trained by Larry Ross, won his maiden against $16,000 maiden claimers in his debut May 31 at Emerald. He finished third in his second start, against $32,000 claiming company.
NEW YORK - The Mid-Atlantic Cooperative has reached an agreement with Keeneland that will immediately restore the track's signal at racetracks and simulcasting facilities throughout the eastern seaboard, racing officials said Tuesday.
The Keeneland signal was scheduled to be restored Wednesday, the officials said, the fifth racing day of Keeneland 17-day fall meet, with the signal available throughout the remainder of the meet.
