Tag: Racing

Churchill Downs Releases All-Dirt Stakes Schedule For September, Fall Meets

Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., will present 22 stakes events that total $7.01 million during the second half of the year.

The 12-date September meet (Sept. 16-Oct. 3) will showcase 11 stakes races cumulatively worth $3.26 million, and the 21-date fall meet (Oct. 31-Nov. 28) will have 11 stakes events that total $3.75 million.

Racing at Churchill Downs during the 2021 September and fall meets will be exclusively run on the main dirt track. In July, Churchill Downs closed its stable area to install a new $10-million turf course that will be ready for turf racing to resume at the start of the 2022 spring meet.

Horsemen can return to Churchill Downs for stabling on Wednesday, Sept. 8, and the main track will be open for training the following day.

The stakes schedule for the ninth annual September meet will begin in primetime under the lights on Saturday, Sept. 18 with a quintet of races, including two important 1 1/16-mile fixtures for juveniles that could produce starters in next spring's Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) and the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). The $300,000 Iroquois (G3) kicks off the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series (Top 4 Points: 10-4-2-1), while the $300,000 Pocahontas (G2) starts the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” (Top 4 Points: 10-4-2-1). Also, both races are Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge events, which means the winners will receive automatic berths in the starting gate for their respective Breeders' Cup races on Nov. 5 at Del Mar with full entry fees and travel expenses paid.

Distaff and Filly & Mare Sprint prospects may surface in a pair of Sept. 18 stakes for fillies and mares, the $400,000 Locust Grove (G3) over 1 1/16 miles and the $300,000 Open Mind (Listed) at six furlongs.

The $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society, an open sprint for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs, wraps the Sept. 18 “Downs After Dark” stakes-laden program. It is one of six newly-created races. The others are the $275,000 Bourbon Trail (3-year-olds at 1 3/16 miles) on Sept. 25; $275,000 Harrods Creek (3-year-olds at seven furlongs) on Sept. 25; $160,000 Seneca Overnight Stakes (3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles) on Oct. 1; $200,000 Lively Shively (2-year-olds at 6 ½ furlongs) on Nov. 27; and $200,000 Fern Creek (2-year-old fillies at 6 ½ furlongs) on Nov. 27.

Other marque events during the September meet include the $275,000 Dogwood (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs on Sept. 25. The eventual champion demale sprinter Covfefe used the race in 2019 as a springboard to a successful run in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita.

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Closing weekend for the September Meet is anchored by the $400,000 Lukas Classic (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles and honors Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the iconic four-time winner of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks and conditioner of 26 Eclipse Award-winning champions who has been based at Churchill Downs' Barn 44 since 1989.

Also run on Saturday, Oct. 2, is the $300,000 Ack Ack (G3) for Dirt Mile prospects.

Churchill Downs' 132nd fall meet, which follows Keeneland's fall meet in Lexington, is once again anchored by the $750,000 Clark presented by Norton Healthcare (G1). The 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds and up on “Black Friday,” Nov. 26 annually lures some of the top horses in North America and is one of six stakes events to be contested over Thanksgiving weekend.

2021 CHURCHILL DOWNS SEPTEMBER MEET STAKES SCHEDULE

Date Running Grade Purse Race Conditions Distance Surface
Saturday, Sept. 18 53rd II $300,000 Pocahontas 2yo f 1 1/16 M Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 18 37th III $400,000 Locust Grove 3&up, f&m 1 1/16 M Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 18 40th III $300,000 Iroquois 2yo 1 1/16 M Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 18 12th Listed $300,000 Open Mind 3&up, f&m 6 F Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 18 1st $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society 3&up 6 F Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 25 46th Listed $275,000 Dogwood 3yo f 7 F Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 25 1st $275,000 Bourbon Trail 3yo 1 3/16 M Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 25 1st $275,000 Harrods Creek 3yo 7 F Dirt
Friday, Oct. 1 1st $160,000 Seneca Overnight Stakes 3yo f 1 1/16 M Dirt
Saturday, Oct. 2 8th III $400,000 Lukas Classic 3&up 1 1/8 M Dirt
Saturday, Oct. 2 29th III $300,000 Ack Ack 3&up 1 M Dirt

* All purses include prize money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund 

2021 CHURCHILL DOWNS FALL MEET STAKES SCHEDULE 

Date Running Grade Purse Race Conditions Distance Surface
Sunday, Oct. 31 9th $200,000 Street Sense 2yo 1 1/16 M Dirt
Sunday, Oct. 31 9th $200,000 Rags to Riches 2yo f 1 1/16 M Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 6 13th $300,000 Bet On Sunshine 3&up 6 F Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 13 16th $300,000 Dream Supreme 3&up, f&m 6 F Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 20 36th III $300,000 Chilukki 3&up, f&m 1 M Dirt
Thursday, Nov. 25 106th II $500,000 Falls City 3&up, f&m 1 1/8 M Dirt
Friday, Nov. 26 147th I $750,000 Clark presented by Norton Healthcare 3&up 1 1/8 M Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 27 95th II $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club 2yo 1 1/16 M Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 27 78th II $400,000 Golden Rod 2yo f 1 1/16 M Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 27 1st $200,000 Lively Shively 2yo 6 ½ F Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 27 1st $200,000 Fern Creek 2yo f 6 ½ F Dirt

 

* All purses include prize money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund

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Del Mar: Juveniles Clash In Best Pal; Quality Runs Deep In Yellow Ribbon Field

A stakes doubleheader – featuring the Grade 2, $200,000 Best Pal Stakes and the Grade 2, $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap – will provide some extra spice to an enticing Saturday racing card at Del Mar that kicks off at 2 p.m. in Del Mar, Calif.

Seven juveniles will lock horns in this 51st edition of the Best Pal over six furlong that goes as the ninth race on an 11-race program. Then 10 older fillies and mares will go 1 1/16 miles on the lawn in the 69th running of the Yellow Ribbon, which goes as race 10.

The likely favorite in the juvenile race is the eastern shipper Pappacap, a Gun Runner colt owned by Rustlewood Farm and trained by newly minted Hall of Famer Mark Casse. The bay homebred was a smart winner of his lone start on May 14 at Gulfstream Park in Florida and has been in steady training since then. Newcomer Joe Bravo gets the call.

Another promising runner in the lineup is Gary Barber's Bet On Mookie, a son of the Lion Heart stallion Uncaptured who has been to the post twice and shows a win and a second for his efforts. His tally came at Santa Anita on June 11 when he simply outran his field in a straight maiden affair to score by five and a quarter lengths. Trainer Peter Miller has given the assignment of Bet On Mookie to Abel Cedillo.

In the Yellow Ribbon the competition runs deep. Among the distaffers who rate more than a casual look in the turfer are Slam Dunk Racing Stable and Currency's Maxim Rate, LNJ Foxwoods' Dogtag, Agave Racing Stable and Medallion Racing's Charmaine's Mia.  Also in the mix is last year's Yellow Ribbon winner – Calvin Nguyen's Bodhicitta.

In fact, all 10 runners in the lineup are stakes winners.

Here are the fields for the two stakes from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Best Pal —  Bet On Mookie (5/2); Chapman or Tsumimoto's Our Empire (Tyler Baze, 20-1); Pappacap (8/5); Lovingier, Fasihuddin or Navarro's Finneus (Umberto Rispoli, 3-1); Lovingier, Beckerle or Carrillo's Thirsty Always (apprentice Cesar Ortega, 7/2); Peter Redekop's Aquitania Arrival (Juan Hernandez, 4-1), and Opas or Sinatra's Olympic Legend (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 10-1).

Yellow Ribbon – Bodhicitta (Trevor McCarthy, 6-1); Little Red Feather Racing or Sterling's Raymundos Secret (Tiago Pereira, 6-1); Charmaine's Mia (Joe Bravo, 4-1); Dogtag (Rispoli, 4-1); El Tata Stables' Brooke (Kyle Frey, 12-1); Tommy Town Thoroughbreds' Keeper Ofthe Stars (Cedillo, 12-1); George and Martha Schwary Racing's Ippodamia's Girl (Geovanni Franco, 12-1); Susan and John Moore's Princess Grace (Kent Desormeaux, 8-1); Maxim Rate (Hernandez, 7/2), and Gary Barber's Laura's Light (Valdivia, Jr., 15-1).

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Weyburn Tops Aug. 6 Edition Of Power Rankings For 2021 Queen’s Plate

Woodbine Entertainment today released its latest edition of Power Rankings for the 162nd running of the Queen's Plate.

The 162nd Queen's Plate will take place on Sunday, Aug. 22 at Woodbine Racetrack. Canada's most famous horse race will launch the 2021 OLG Canadian Triple Crown, which includes the Prince of Wales on September 14 at Fort Erie and the Breeders' Stakes on October 3 at Woodbine.

The Power Rankings highlight the most talented 3-year-old Thoroughbreds eligible to enter for a spot in the $1 million race. Votes are cast by expert horseplayers and racing personalities from Woodbine and the Daily Racing Form: Jeff Bratt, Robert Geller, Ron Gierkink, Jason Portuondo, Monique Vág and Mark McKelvie. The rankings are based on votes following a points system (five points for a first-place vote, four points for second-place vote, etc.) for top five selections, and honourable mentions.

After receiving all first-place votes in Woodbine's first power rankings, Weyburn remains in top spot on the list, receiving five of the six first-place votes. The Jimmy Jerkens trainee ran last weekend in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga, finishing a disappointing fourth in a five-horse field. The Chiefswood Stables Limited homebred was making his first start since a runner-up effort in the TVG.com Pegasus Stakes on June 13 at Monmouth.

Weyburn now sports a career record of two wins, two seconds and $343,520 earned in seven career outings. The G1 Travers was on the radar for Weyburn, but his most recent outing does open the possibility of his connections changing paths and considering an appearance in the $1-million Queen's Plate.

Keep Grinding moves up from number three to two in the latest rankings. The Tino Attard trainee has not run since a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes on July 11. Keep Grinding most recently breezed six-furlongs in 1:15.60 over Woodbine's tapeta surface on August 1.

Woodbine Oaks winner Munnyfor Ro makes her first appearance on the power rankings at number four following a strong performance in last Sunday's $500,000 event. Raroma Stable and trainer Kevin Attard are considering supplementing the filly to the Queen's Plate.

Sam-Son Farm's Dance Some Mo (number three) and WellSpring Stables' Safe Conduct (number five) are also part of the latest power rankings. A total of 12 different three-year-olds received votes in the latest power rankings.

The entry box for the 162nd Queen's Plate closes the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 18.

The 162nd Queen's Plate is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 22 at Woodbine Racetrack. Tickets are currently on sale and Woodbine will be announcing further event details next week. Fans can track the Power Rankings and all information regarding the Queen's Plate by visiting QueensPlate.com and on Woodbine Entertainment's social media platforms via @WoodbineTB.

Queen's Plate Power Rankings (Week 2 – August 6, 2021) 

Rank – Horse – Career Record – Earnings – Trainer – Points – First Place Votes – Previous Ranking

1 – Weyburn – 7-2-2-0 – $343,520 – Jimmy Jerkens – 25 – 5 – 1st
2 – Keep Grinding – 5-1-1-1 – $87,982 – Tino Attard – 15 – 0 – 3rd
3 – Dance Some Mo – 5-1-2-0 – $54,175 – 11 – 1 – NR
4 – Munnyfor Ro – 9-2-2-2 – $320,985 – 11 – 0 – NR
5 – Safe Conduct – 6-2-1-0 – $135,250 – Philip Serpe – 6 – 0 – NR

Honourable Mention: Hombre, Tio Magico, Avoman, Harlan Estate 

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