Peninsula Gaming Partners, which owns a riverboat casino in Dubuque, Iowa, has an agreement to purchase 50 percent of Evangeline Downs in Lafayette, La., the group announced Thursday.
The sale is conditioned upon obtaining financing and regulatory approval from the Louisiana Racing Commission and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. William Trotter, a businessman in Lafayette, will retain 50 percent interest in Evangeline.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Bright Valour won the Grade 3 Hanshin Handicap last year, long after the race had ended. On the track, Yankee Victor beat him by almost four lengths, but when post-race laboratory tests turned up an illegal drug positive in Yankee Victor, his number came down and Bright Valour's went up.
At this time last year, Yankee Victor was perhaps the best dirt miler in the country, but the Hanshin this year, with a field of 10, has attracted no such standout. Bright Valour can win on his own merits.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Griffinite, whose career has been plagued by multiple foot problems, has been dealing with a new ailment the last six weeks: allergies.
But if he has recovered from them as much as trainer Jennifer Leigh-Pedersen thinks he has, Griffinite will run in Sunday's $150,000 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park. Griffinite, winner of the Lexington Stakes and the fifth-place finisher in the Preakness, arrived at Belmont Thursday afternoon and was scheduled to blow out Friday morning under jockey Norberto Arroyo.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Dianehill, who placed in two graded stakes in April, can give trainer Brian Lynch his first winner of the Hollywood Park meeting in Saturday's $100,000 Royal Heroine Stakes.
The Grade 3 Royal Heroine, run over a mile on turf, is one of two stakes for females on Saturday, a program that includes the $100,000 Bel Air Handicap.
The $100,000 Landaluce Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, a grade 3 over six furlongs, is the third race.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Any doubts surrounding the way Kona Gold is training were answered emphatically on Thursday when last year's champion sprinter blazed five furlongs in 56.60 seconds at Santa Anita.
Trainer Bruce Headley was not surprised at the final time, which was nearly two seconds faster than any of the other 28 works at the distance.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - First Spear has not been able to dodge the top 3-year-old turf horses in the nation in most of his starts. In Saturday's $75,000 Lamplighter Handicap, though, he has a great opportunity to capture a stakes race without the presence of the top turf runners of his generation.
SALEM, N.H. - The distances are starting to stretch out in the Brass Monkey starter handicap series at Rockingham Park. Seven older horses will go nine furlongs in the second leg of the series that ends on closing day with a 2-mile-and-40-yard marathon.
Apache Native ran away from his field when he scored in the initial installment of the Brass Monkey at
1 1/16 miles, and he will be favored under top weight of 122 pounds.
NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - The $40,000, 5 1/2-furlong Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes will match Ohio-bred 2-year-olds at Thistledown.
A full field of 12 will contest the Kindergarten, and Harlan's Holiday may leave the gate favored. A colt by Harlan out of Christmas In Aiken, Harlan's Holiday was second in his career debut at Churchill Downs on June 19 and has worked twice in Kentucky for trainer Kenneth McPeek. He appears to have the speed to set the pace and will be hard to chase down.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Sweet and Firm, who had the misfortune of chasing the sensational Hallowed Dreams home in her last two starts at Lone Star, should find the company much more to her liking at Louisiana Downs in the Suthern Accent Stakes. The six-furlong dash drew a field of five and will be worth $40,000.
Sweet and Firm, owned by K. K. and Vilsini Jayaraman and trained by Cole Norman, will be coupled in the wagering with Lady Virginia, who sports the same connections. The entry will draw the majority of the betting public's attention.
MUSKEGON, Mich. - Secret Romeo, the top 3-year-old in Michigan, looks for his fifth win in a row in the $50,000 Dowling Stakes at Great Lakes Downs. The one-mile Dowling attracted six Michigan-bred colts and geldings and is the seventh race feature.