SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Secret Status, who was scratched from the Grade 1 Go for Wand Handicap after injuring herself in the starting gate, is scheduled to return to action Friday in a classified allowance race at Saratoga.
The nine-furlong race drew a solid field, including Princess Ellen, Search Party, and People's Princess. The connections of both Secret Status and Princess Ellen are hoping to use Friday's race as a prep for the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Handicap here on Aug. 24.
ALTOONA, Iowa - Robert Todd Roseberry, a veterinarian, had his Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission license revoked by the Prairie Meadows board of stewards following a hearing Saturday morning.
The stewards ruled that Roseberry was in violation of numerous rules, including hiring unlicensed employees; failing to submit daily reports; falsifying, omitting, and turning in inaccurate information on his official reports of treatments to the state veterinarian's office; and administering prohibited raceday medication.
Colonial Downs's first summer meet for Thoroughbreds came to a close Tuesday with gains in attendance and average handle.
Attendance for the 25-day meet, seven days shorter than in 2000, when the meet was conducted in the fall, reached 48,500, up 25 percent over 2000.
Average ontrack handle rose 21 percent from $136,969 to $165,829. The effect of the shortened meet, however, was reflected in the total ontrack handle, which dipped 5 percent, from last year's $4,382,997 to $4,145,716 in 2001.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Tiznow, the 2000 Horse of the Year, will make his next start in the $500,000 Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park on Sept. 8, according to his co-owner, Michael Cooper.
Unraced since winning the Santa Anita Handicap in March, Tiznow was out of serious training in the spring and early summer because of a back problem. He has been working regularly the past month, including seven furlongs in 1:24.60 on Tuesday. A 4-year-old, Tiznow returned from the workout in good shape, trainer Jay Robbins said.
MIAMI - Like any athlete whose older brother or sister has already made a name for themselves in their particular field, Pharmstar will have big shoes to fill and expectations to live up to when she goes to post in Saturday's $75,000 Desert Vixen Stakes.
Entries were taken Wednesday for Saturday's $500,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer - the richest race in West Virginia history.
Aided by a purse increase from $300,000 to $500,000, the West Virginia Derby attracted 10 runners, including headliners Outofthebox, and Thunder Blitz. Others entered are Buckle Down Ben, Marciano, Niner's Echo, Saratoga Games, Sunshinejack, Trion Georgia, Western Pride, and X Country. Post positions will not be assigned until a media luncheon on Thursday.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Package Store might be one of the better 3-year-old turf horses in the country, but his inclusion in the Grade 1 Secretariat Aug. 18 hinges on horses defecting during the next week. As it stands, the Secretariat will attract more than the maximum number of entrants, 14, and Package Store, second in a pair of New York Grade 3 stakes this summer, could be excluded from the field.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Monmouth newcomer Alex Beitia has a world of riding experience.
Beitia, 31, a native of Panama, started his career in the United States in 1989, and after riding in New York, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, relocated to Hong Kong. Beitia rode in Hong Kong for five years, but returned to the U.S. this week to begin riding at Monmouth. Danny Mellul, who had Joe Bravo's book before he was injured earlier in the meet, will be Beitia's agent.
HENDERSON, Ky. - Dean Kutz had a face full of dirt, but nothing could have felt any better.
"I felt like I won," Kutz said after he rode To the Test to a non-threatening eighth in the first race Wednesday at Ellis Park. "But with all that dirt on my face, obviously I didn't."
In one respect, Kutz was the biggest winner in the race, won by a 2-year-old filly named Never Out. Diagnosed with throat cancer in February 2000, the veteran jockey returned to action for the first time when climbing aboard To the Test for trainer Bernie Flint.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Phone Prospector, a long-time maiden who has now won two in a row, may offer some value as he steps up in class again in Friday night's six-furlong, $32,000 allowance feature at Bay Meadows Fair.
Phone Prospector, trained by Gil Matos, lost his first 15 starts, mostly in straight maiden company, but finished second eight times and third four times.
