SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Jerry Bailey needs to be in two places at the same time on Aug. 18. Anybody know how to clone a jockey?
That's the only way Bailey could ride both Flute in the $750,000 Alabama at Saratoga and Hap in the $1 million Arlington Million in Chicago, which are both run on the same day. Friday, at Saratoga, he rode both horses to prep race victories en route to a three-win day.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Invisible Ink, runner-up to Monarchos in the Kentucky Derby, joined that 3-year-old on the list of horses who won't run for the rest of the year, his connections announced Friday.
According to owner John Fort, head of Peachtree Stable, the Triple Crown took its toll on Invisible Ink both mentally and physically. Invisible Ink has been battling a skin disease since the Belmont Stakes and he seems "depressed" mentally, according to Fort.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Apt To Be's lack of appetite has landed him in Arlington's Sunday feature.
Apt To Be, owned by Dick Duchossois and trained by Chris Block, probably would have been favored here in Friday's feature, a money allowance race at one mile on dirt. But when Apt To Be failed to clean up his feed Thursday night, Block, taking a cautious approach, pulled him out of Friday's race to start Sunday in a fourth-level turf allowance with a $75,000 claiming option.
MIAMI - There's only one word to describe jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr. here on Friday. Perfect.
Homeister won with each of her five mounts on the card, including both ends of the early daily double. She completed her perfect day by guiding Ms. Brookski to the rail for a come-from-behind victory in the finale, and thrusted her fist in the air as she crossed the wire in celebration of her feat.
DEL MAR, Calif. - The most popular horse at Del Mar on Thursday was a 6-year-old on a four-race losing streak who has never won a stakes.
Quianlong won the seventh race, an allowance race on turf, as the second choice in the betting and was the subject of five $100,000 claims. When the random draw was completed to determine the new owner, trainer Bob Hess Jr. and owner Jay Manoogian had a new member in their stable. Trainers Craig Dollase, Peter Eurton, Dean Greenman, and John Sadler walked away disappointed.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - A total of 101 nominations were received for the seven stake races that make up the B.C. Cup Summer Celebration, scheduled for next weekend. For the first time since its inception seven years ago, the B.C. Cup will be contested over three days, instead of one big day.
"We wanted to turn it into more of a summer festival," said Hastings general manager Phil Heard. "We have events scheduled for each day, and of course the biggest day will be B.C. Day [Monday], with the Classic, Distaff and Sprint."
AUBURN, Wash. - Ray Staudacher has owned Thoroughbreds for about 25 years, and he estimates that he has campaigned between 30 and 40 horses during that span.
Staudacher, 72, a retired school teacher and counselor, has won his share of races and has thoroughly enjoyed his relationships with both horses and horsemen, but there is one aspect of the sport he has never experienced. Because he has always owned claiming runners, he has never had the thrill of watching one of his horses compete for the money and prestige associated with stakes racing.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Patrick Byrne hopes he's making like Ricky Martin, shaking his bon bon and livin' la vida loca, after Sunday's $150,000 San Clemente Handicap. Burne has sent La Vida Loca, a recent addition to his barn, to Del Mar for the Grade 2 San Clemente, a prep race to next month's Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks. She could be a slight favorite against seven rivals.
The San Clemente is the day's fourth race, and serves as a supporting feature to the main attraction, the $250,000 San Diego Handicap. Both the one-mile San Clemente and the 1 1/8-mile Oaks are on the turf.
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - Ms. Lady Rose will be looking to reassert her dominance of the 3-year old filly division here in Sunday's $6,000 Classic Handicap.
A winner of 3 of 4 starts this season, including an impressive six-length score last out in the James Leakos Sophomore, Ms. Lady Rose has never finished worse than second in seven tries and has earned $21,427 for owner Gerald Wilson.
The Classic Handicap is at one mile, the distance at which Ms. Lady Rose has been victorious in her past two outings.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Fenton Platts has experienced his share of ups and downs during his 25 years on the racetrack.
Platts, a younger brother of Canadian Hall of Fame jockey Robin Platts, has gone from exercise rider to jockey to trainer to jockey agent, back to exercise rider and on to training at the racetrack and then on the farm before returning to the track as a public trainer two years ago.
But now it appears the 40-year-old Platts may be ready to embark on a steady upswing, with the recent addition of two stakes-caliber 3-year-olds to his stable at Woodbine.
