Lone Star Boosts Overnight Purses By 20 Percent

Lone Star Park Racing Officials announced Thursday they are raising all overnight purses by twenty percent across the board.

Purses that ranged from $12,000 to $39,000 will now be worth $14,400 to $46,800. The increase is to go into effect immediately.

Lone Star's next live racing day is Friday, June 11.

Beginning then and for the remainder of the meet all overnight purses will reflect the increase.

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11-Race Card Opens Woodbine’s 2021 Meeting This Saturday

The long awaited 2021 Thoroughbred season kicks off at Woodbine Racetrack this weekend with an 11-race card set to begin at 1:20 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, June 12.

With the Government of Ontario launching the first stage of its 'Roadmap To Reopen' plan allowing horse racing to resume, Woodbine will host live racing without spectators. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse app, or tune in to the live stream available on Woodbine.com.

The 2021 meet will get underway with an 11-race card on Saturday that includes a $50,000 guaranteed Pick 5 pool and $100,000 guaranteed early Pick 4. The Jackpot Hi-5 will resume, with a carryover of $117,062.64.

Sovereign Award-winning jockey Rafael Hernandez will be busy on opening day as he looks to defend his Woodbine title after earning a meet-leading 129 victories last season. The multiple graded stakes-winning reinsman is listed on nine mounts, including the Roger Attfield-trained three-year-old filly Speightstown Shirl in the eighth race, a $123,200 maiden allowance over one mile of turf.

A full sister to graded stakes winner Shirl's Speight, the Charles Fipke homebred will look to break through for her first win following three consecutive runner-up efforts. Speightstown Shirl will face a field of 13 other fillies and mares that includes the debuting Ontario-bred Astrological, who is a Malibu Moon half-sibling to 2018 Woodbine Oaks champion Dixie Moon. Emma Jayne-Wilson is listed to ride Astrological for Woodbine's top trainer Mark Casse and owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber.

The highly anticipated opening weekend will feature live racing on Saturday and Sunday, with post time also slated for 1:20 p.m. The racing schedule will add Fridays (4:50 p.m. post time) and Thursdays (1:20 p.m. post time) as it expands to its normal schedule in the coming weeks.

Follow @WoodbineTB and visit Woodbine.com for more information.

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‘Rock The Downs’ This Saturday At Downs After Dark

Churchill Downs will get loud Saturday night as the Louisville, Ky. racetrack hosts the final Downs After Dark presented by Budweiser of the Spring Meet.

The theme for Saturday night's Downs After Dark is “Rock the Downs.” Guests are encouraged to break out their best rocker wear with vintage band T's, leather jackets, denim, plaid or even glam as they catch the grooves and dance to favorite rock covers between live races.

The first race on the 11-race nighttime card is 6 p.m. (all times Eastern).

The spacious 30,000-square-foot Plaza adjacent to the saddling paddock will be the heartbeat of the party. There will be live music on the Plaza Stage throughout the night, including Amos Hopkins & Friends from 5:30-8 p.m. and classic rock hits from Aerosmith to ZZ Top and every rock band in between by Rock United from 8:30-11:30 p.m.

Other features events include CirqueLouis Stilt Walkers, LED Jugglers, and three between-race music performances from the Pagoda as local actors perform rock ballads from the jukebox musical We Will Rock You. Additionally, there will be a laser light show on the facades of Churchill Downs' clubhouse once the sun sets.

Two specialty cocktails will be sold at the Old Forester Paddock Bar and Spend a Buck Bar on the second floor of the Clubhouse in the Food Court. “All Started With the Blues” is a tribute to legendary American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Robert Johnson and features Old Forester, Sweet Tea, Lemonade, Triple Sec and a Lemon and Mint garnish. “The Wolfman” is an homage to the legendary rock disc jockey and includes Finlandia Vodka, Chambord, Lemonade and a Blackberries garnish.

Admission gates will open Saturday at 5 p.m. and the first race is 6 p.m. The final race will be 11:10 p.m. and the on-track party will continue in the Plaza area until 11:30 p.m. The last call for alcohol will be post time for the final race of night.

Saturday's marquee entertainment event is paired with stellar horse racing, including the $150,000 Old Forester Mint Julep Stakes (Grade 3) for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with a high near 90.

General admission to Downs After Dark is $12 and it includes an official program. No one under the age of 18 will be admitted to the track unless they are accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. Limited premium dining packages are available starting at $69 per person. Outdoor-third floor box seats are on sale for $27 per person. Reserved seating can be purchased online at www.ChurchillDowns.com/Tickets.

Churchill Downs will be back to normal with no restrictions starting Friday as the Commonwealth of Kentucky is slated to allow Kentucky businesses, venues and events to return to full capacity.

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Notable US-Bred & -Sired Runners in Japan: June 12 & 13, 2021

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Chukyo and Tokyo Racecourses, including the first career start for an immaculately bred son of Tapit who goes out for one of that sire's biggest Japanese-based supporters:

Saturday, June 12, 2021
1st-CKO, ¥9,680,000 ($88k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m
DANON PULSE (JPN) (c, 3, Malibu MoonCurlin Hawk, by Curlin) was acquired for $800K in utero at Keeneland November in 2017 a little more than a month after the dam's foal of 2015, Seabhac (Scat Daddy), won the GIII Pilgrim S. on the turf at Belmont Park. Unplaced in a single racetrack appearance, Curlin Hawk–herself a $500K KEESEP yearling–is a half-sister to champion and multiple Classic winner Afleet Alex (Northern Afleet) and to his SW & MGSP full-brother Unforgettable Max. B-Shimokobe Farm

3rd-TOK, ¥9,680,000 ($88k), Maiden, 3yo, 1600m
Darby Dan's overachieving Dialed In is represented by his first Japanese starter in the form of North Hills Co. Ltd.'s NIL ADMIRARI (c, 3, –Into Reality, by Untuttable). A half-brother to the stakes-winning Meadowood (Harlan's Holiday), the March-foaled bay cost $30K at KEENOV in 2018 before maturing into a $130K purchase at the Fasig-Tipton July sale the next summer. One of only five horses to go a quarter-mile in :20 3/5 (bullet was :20 2/5 for American Pharoah's Kyoto debut-winning daughter Russian Samovar), Nil Admirari was hammered down for $275K at last year's OBS March Sale, making him the most expensive colt from that crop. B-Scott Dilworth (KY)

7th-TOK, ¥14,360,000 ($131k), Allowance, 3yo/up, 1600m
ALIENOR (JPN) (f, 3, Nyquist–Land Over Sea, by Bellamy Road) was well-beaten trying the local turf course on her career debut last November, but she shaped as a different proposition altogether when switching to the dirt at Niigata Apr. 18, running out a five-length winner. Her dam, a half-sister to the hard-knocking MGSW $3.2-million winner War Story (Northern Afleet), won the 2016 GII TwinSpires.com Fair Grounds Oaks and was runner-up in that year's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks before selling for $1.3 million with this filly in utero at FTKNOV in 2017. B-Shadai Farm

Sunday, June 13, 2021
5th-TOK, ¥13,400,000 ($122k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800mT
FIFTY CHEVY (c, 2, Tapit–Stopchargingmaria, by Tale of the Cat) attracted a final bid of $825K from Yuji Hasegawa last fall, the same owner who gave $1.5 million for Vanishing Point, a full-brother to two-time Eclipse Award winner Unique Bella, at the same auction 12 months prior. Winner of the 2014 GI CCA Oaks and GI Alabama S. for owner Mike Repole, Stopchargingmaria was a $3.15-million buyback at that year's FTKNOV sale before being purchased privately by Louise and Kiki Courtelis' Town and Country Farms. Upset winner of the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, the mare remained in training through her 5-year-old season and was knocked down to Three Chimneys for $2.8 million at FTKNOV in 2016. She was most recently acquired by Whisper Hill Farm for $4.4 million with this foal in utero at the 2018 FTKNOV sale. Three-year-old filly Stillchargingmaria (Pioneerof the Nile), a $1.9m graduate of FTKNOV and her dam's first produce, won her maiden at Lone Star Park this past April. Coincidentally, Vanishing Point is entered for a Saturday allowance at headquarters. B-Three Chimneys Farm LLC & Whisper Hill Farm LLC (KY)

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