Tag: Racing

Following New York State Gaming Commission approval, the New York Racing Association Inc. has moved the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) from Sunday to next Saturday, October 7, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Friday's 11-race Aqueduct card was canceled due to a powerful coastal storm causing widespread flooding and hazardous conditions throughout New York City and Long Island. In addition to Friday's cancellation, NYRA moved Saturday's 11-race card to Sunday and pushed Sunday's 10-race program to Wednesday.

By moving the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, a 1 1/2-mile inner turf contest for 3-year-olds and up, Sunday's program will now feature 10 races, including a trio of Grade 2 events over the main track in the $400,000 Woodward, $250,000 Gallant Bloom, and the $250,000 Vosburgh, a “Win and You're In” for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, initially slated as Race 6 on the 11-race card, will not be replaced and will result in the cancellation of the Pick 3 and middle Pick 5 beginning in Race 4; as well as the Daily Double, Pick 3 and middle Pick 4 beginning in Race 5. All wagers beginning in Race 6 are canceled. First post on Sunday's revised 10-race program is 12:05 p.m. (ET).

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic will be re-drawn with entries to be taken on Wednesday, joining a stacked stakes card led by two Grade 1 “Win and You're In” qualifiers at one-mile for juveniles in the $500,000 Champagne [Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1)] and $400,000 Frizette [Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)].

The Saturday, October 7 card is supported by the $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint (G3), the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya (G3,; and the $500,000 Jockey Club Derby Invitational (G3).

The 10-race card originally scheduled for Sunday was moved in its entirety to Wednesday with a first post time of 1:05 p.m. Wednesday's action is co-headlined by a pair of Grade 2 “Win and You're In” qualifiers for juveniles at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The $200,000 Pilgrim awards a berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) while the $200,000 Miss Grillo for fillies awards a berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).

Friday's co-featured Ashley T. Cole was moved to Friday, October 6 as part of a card that also offers the $135,000 Gio Ponti, while the Noble Damsel (G3) was moved to Sunday, October 8. The Ashley T. Cole and Noble Damsel will be re-drawn Sunday and Thursday, respectively.

The Noble Damsel will join a lucrative Sunday, October 8 card that includes the final “Win and You're In” event of the meet with the $150,000 Futurity (G3) for juveniles sprinting six furlongs on the lawn in hopes of securing a spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1). Also featured are the $250,000 Beldame (G2) and the $150,000 Matron (G3).

The post NYRA Reschedules Joe Hirsch Turf Classic For Next Saturday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

It was a busy Saturday morning at Churchill Downs where 157 horses recorded published workouts, including graded stakes winners Caravel, Get Smokin. and Set Piece (GB).

Caravel, a Pennsylvania-bred horse of the year who won last year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1), made her return to Churchill Downs about three weeks ago from Saratoga to continue her regular training following a fourth-place finish in the Troy Stakes (G3) on soft turf. On Saturday, Caravel cruised a half-mile in :48.80 while her trainer Brad Cox watched from the grandstand. Caravel is nominated to next Saturday's Woodford (G2) at Keeneland.

A few minutes before Caravel worked, fellow Cox trainee Set Piece, winner of the Arlington Million (G1) in his most recent start, breezed an easy half-mile in :48.40 with jockey Florent Geroux in the irons. Set Piece is nominated to the $1-million Coolmore Turf Mile (GI) next Saturday at Keeneland.

Recent Kentucky Turf Cup (G2) winner Get Smokin returned to the work tab for the first time since his front-running score three weeks ago at Kentucky Downs. The Mark Casse trainee breezed a maintenance half-mile in :49.40.

Other notable horses that worked Saturday include Rebel (G2) winner Confidence Game (five furlongs, 1:00.20); impressive allowance winner Fibber (four furlongs, :48.80); Iroquois (G3) runner-up Risk It (half-mile, :50.40); and Hopeful (G1) runner-up Timberlake (five furlongs, 1:01.40).

The post Caravel, Set Piece, Get Smokin Anchor Churchill’s Saturday Work Tab appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The first two of 11 meets through mid-November take place this weekend at Shawan Downs near Hunt Valley in Baltimore County, followed by the Foxfield Fall Races in Charlottesville, Va.

After two months of high-profile flat-track steeplechase action at Saratoga, Colonial Downs, and Aqueduct, the National Steeplechase Association returns to the hunt-meet circuit this weekend for a combined 13 races that have drawn 129 entries.

What separates racing at the flat tracks from the hunt meets is the relaxed, family-focused atmosphere at the latter. At Shawan, for example, you'll find a kids zone and vendor village, petting zoo, and face painting, while Foxfield offers fun activities and events like a truck touch, pony rides, stick pony races, and junior pony races.

Seven races worth $167,000 are on tap for Saturday's fall opener in the Legacy Chase at the Shawan Downs equestrian center in Cockeysville, Md. Anchoring the eclectic card is the $35,000 Brown Advisory timber stakes at 3 ⅛ miles, where seven veterans, including two champions, are expected to face the starter.

At 13, Andi'amu, who runs in the colors of Tom and Roxy Collins' Ballybristol Farm, is still in top form. A winner of 11 races – nine stakes – in 16 outings since 2018, Andi'amu has finished second four times. In his 2023 debut, Andi'amu won the Middleburg Hunt Cup in April by a neck over a hard-charging Mystic Strike, a multiple stakes-winning 14-year-old, who turned the tables on the 2019 and 2022 timber champion in the four-mile Virginia Gold Cup at Great Meadow in May. This will be Andi'amu's first start for new trainer Neil Morris.

This season's leading conditioner, Leslie Young, who formerly trained Andi'amu, sends out Leipers Fork Steeplechasers' Tomgarrow, the 2019 timber champ. Tomgarrow began 2023 with a win in the My Lady's Manor stakes, and had won four of his previous five starts coming into the Virginia Gold Cup, where he fell. Young, who maintains a commanding lead in the standings, also saddles Boudinot Farm's Elusive Exclusive, who exits a narrow, hard-fought allowance win over The Hundred Acre Field's Cracker Factory in a timber allowance to close out the spring at the Radnor Hunt Races.

Cracker Factory, who is entered at Shawan, finished third in the Middleburg Hunt Cup for trainer Mark Beecher, less than six lengths behind Andi'amu and Mystic Strike, but went off course in the Virginia Gold Cup. Storm Team, who runs in the colors of Sheila Fisher and Northwoods Stable, was a stakes winner over timber and hurdles, and began a new career chapter last spring in steeplethon competition over mixed obstacles. But after a dazzling 14-length win at Great Meadow, he returns to timber seeking a second straight score in the Brown Advisory for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher.

Rounding out the field is Fat Chance Farm's Flaming Sword (Richard Valentine), who was third in the Brown Advisory last year.

The rest of the card consists of a $20,000 maiden hurdle for three-year-olds; $30,000 maiden special; $25,000 handicap for horses rated at 115 or less; $35,000 allowance hurdle; $15,000 maiden timber; and a $7,000 allowance race over timber restricted to apprentice riders.

First race post time is 12:30 p.m. Gates open at 10 a.m. For additional information, click here: https://shawandowns.com/events/legacy-chase/

For full entries, click here: Entries

Six races set for Foxfield

Following a two-year hiatus, fall steeplechasing resumes at historic Charlottesville, Va., for the second straight year on Sunday.

After years of decline, the meet was put on hold in order to reimagine the event. During that time new leadership was put in place, leading to partnerships with charitable organizations, major improvements to the course and grounds, a de-emphasis on the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and a commitment to becoming a good neighbor to the community.

This year's meet will be bigger and better than ever, with six races worth $140,000 on the program, representing a substantial boost over last year's $95,000 card.

The Foxfield card consists of six races, highlighted by a $35,000 handicap for horses rated at 120 or less. The other races are a $15,000 maiden claiming hurdle; $30,000 maiden hurdle for fillies and mares; $30,000 maiden hurdle for three-year-olds; $25,000 handicap for horses rated at 110 or less; and a training race on the flat at 1 ¼ miles.

Click here for complete entries: Entries

First race post time is 12:30 p.m. Gates open at 9:30 a.m., with activities starting at 10 a.m. For a full schedule of the day's events, food, and vendors, click here: https://www.foxfieldraces.com/schedule/.

If you can't make it to the races, be sure to watch the live stream, sponsored by Brown Advisory, at www.nationalsteeplechase.com.

The post Steeplechase: Legacy Chase Kicks Off Fall Season appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post