Thu, 01/31/2013 - 12:20

WinStar kicks off 2013 Fantasy Derby contest

WinStar Farm has launched its Fantasy Derby contest for 2013. The contest, part of the Versailles, Ky., farm’s WinStar StableMates community, allows fans to create a Fantasy Stable, selecting Triple Crown contenders in different categories whose earnings will be tallied throughout prep season.

Wed, 01/30/2013 - 17:53

Tampa Bay Downs: Dynamic Sky returns for Sam Davis Stakes

Tom Keyser
South Florida-based Dynamic Sky already has a win over the Tampa Bay Downs track.

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Dynamic Sky’s explosive burst carried him to victory in the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 12 and hinted that he may have Triple Crown potential. He will take the next step toward such a goal Saturday when he tops a field of 10 3-year-olds entered Wednesday for the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, the highlight of Festival Preview Day at Tampa.

Wed, 01/30/2013 - 17:36

Aqueduct: Withers could propel Revolutionary onto Kentucky Derby trail

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Revolutionary could join three of his Todd Pletcher stablemates on the Kentucky Derby trail with a good performance in Saturday's Withers.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Revolutionary will try to join his more celebrated stablemates Shanghai Bobby, Violence, and Overanalyze on the Triple Crown trail when he heads a field of eight entered in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.

The Withers, run at 1 1/16 miles over the inner track, offers 17 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby on a 10-4-2-1 basis to the top four finishers. None of the horses entered in the Withers has earned any Derby points.

Wed, 01/30/2013 - 16:39

Santa Anita: Den's Legacy part of field of four for Robert B. Lewis Stakes

Benoit & Associates
Den’s Legacy will be part of a field of four in Saturday’s Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Last fall, Den’s Legacy was the top 2-year-old turf prospect in trainer Bob Baffert’s stable.

The colt’s performances in the last six weeks have shown he may be much more than that.

After a third in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity on the synthetic main track at Betfair Hollywood Park in December and a second in the Sham Stakes on dirt Jan. 5, Den’s Legacy has been entered for Saturday’s $200,000 Robert Lewis Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on the main track for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita.

Wed, 01/30/2013 - 14:12

Dick Jerardi: Pitino's basketball team, trio of 3-year-olds slumping, but he still has Goldencents

Benoit & Associates
Goldencents, owned by Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, looks like a good Kentucky Derby prospect.

I went down to South Philly on Jan. 22 to see Rick Pitino. Figured his Louisville team, a 12-point favorite, would beat up on Villanova at the Wells Fargo Center and he would be in a mood to talk horses after he did his postgame obligations.

All night, I kept waiting for Louisville to blow the game open and win easily. Then, I figured they would just win the game, but not as comfortably. Then, in the final minutes, after nearly two hours of assumptions, I realized Louisville was not going to win the game at all.

Wed, 01/30/2013 - 11:21

Shanghai Bobby tops Experimental Free Handicap at 126 pounds

Tom Keyser
Shanghai Bobby is the exemplar of 2-year-old form for the 2013 Derby, with a clean slate in five starts.

Shanghai Bobby, unbeaten at age 2 and the Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male of 2012, on Wednesday was given top weight of 126 pounds in the Experimental Free Handicap, a weight-based ranking of the previous year’s 2-year-olds put out annually by The Jockey Club.

The Experimental weights are based on a theoretical race at 1 1/16 miles on dirt, the exact conditions of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, which Shanghai Bobby won to complete a 5-for-5 season. He also won the Champagne and Hopeful.

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 15:05

Gulfstream Park: Holy Bull top two to skip Fountain of Youth and await Florida Derby

Barbara D. Livingston
Itsmyluckyday (left) came out of this upset victory over Shanghai Bobby "110 percent," said trainer Eddie Plesa Jr.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Grade 2 Fountain of Youth is one of the most important prep races on the Kentucky Derby trail, and this winter it is a second-tier race worth 50 points to the winner in the new system used to determine eligibility for this year’s Derby field.

But barring some late changes of heart, it would appear the four major players from last Saturday’s program could all wind up bypassing the Fountain of Youth on Feb. 23, including Itsmyluckyday and Shanghai Bobby, the first- and second-place finishers in the Grade 3 Holy Bull.

Sun, 01/27/2013 - 13:24

Santa Anita: CashCall Futurity runner-up Fury Kapcori will miss Robert Lewis Stakes

Shigeki Kikkawa
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who won three stakes last weekend in California, will try to continue his success with Fury Kapcori in Satuday's CashCall Futurity.

ARCADIA, Calif.- Fury Kapcori, second in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity at Betfair Hollywood Park in December, will miss the $200,000 Robert Lewis Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita this Saturday, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Sunday.

“He’s got a little problem,” Hollendorfer said. “It might cost him a little time.”

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

Sat, 01/26/2013 - 18:27

Gulfstream Park: Itsmyluckyday defeats Shanghai Bobby, sets track record in Holy Bull

Barbara D. Livingston
Itsmyluckyday pulls away from Shanghai Bobby in deep stretch of the Holy Bull.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Itsmyluckyday ran back to his huge performance in the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year’s Day, and then some, when upsetting reigning Eclipse Award champion Shanghai Bobby and setting a new track record in the process in Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park.

Itsmyluckyday completed a mile and one-sixteenth in 1:41.81 - slashing .54 seconds off the old mark set by Endorsement one year earlier - en route to his two-length victory over Shanghai Bobby. It was another 11 1/2 lengths further back to the tiring Clearly Now in third.

Sat, 01/26/2013 - 14:21

Santa Anita notes: Gutierrez, O'Neill still trying to teach He's Had Enough to pay attention

Tom Keyser
Mario Gutierrez has been trying to teach He's Had Enough to give 100 percent in his workouts.

ARCADIA, Calif. – He’s Had Enough, the 3-year-old colt who was second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita last November, has a racing record that is much more appealing than his workout style.

Friday at Santa Anita, just before the first race on a rainy day, He’s Had Enough worked in company with his 4-year-old stablemate Handsome Mike in preparation for the $200,000 Robert Lewis Stakes over 1 1/16 miles this Saturday.