Tag: Racing

Saturday's Hall of Fame Night racing program at Canterbury Park will bring together many of the best Minnesota-bred thoroughbreds in four $50,000 stakes races. Three-year-old fillies run in the Frances Genter and 3-year-old colts and geldings in the Victor S. Myers, both at six furlongs on the main track. Older fillies and mares race on the turf in the Minnesota Turf Distaff while males run in the Ralph Strangis Stakes. Both grass races are contested around two turns at a distance of 7 1/2 furlongs.

Potentially the most heavily bet favorite in the four stakes will be Cupids Crush in the Frances Genter. She has four wins, a second and a third from six career starts. Cupids Crush is undefeated in 2023 with one win at Oaklawn and two at Canterbury including an allowance victory by 8 1/4 lengths over Lover Girl who had defeated her last season in the $100,000 Northern Lights Debutante, and a win in the $79,500 Curtis Sampson Oaks. Lover Girl also is entered in the Frances Genter.

Owned by Vicki and Mike McGowan's Xtreme Racing Stables LLC, Cupids Crush is now trained by Nate Quinonez after trainer Mac Robertson was provisionally suspended by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) following a positive test in a June 4 race for a substance banned for use in male horses but allowed in fillies and mares. While Robertson awaits adjudication the entirety of his 70-horse stable has been transferred to the care of Quinonez. Eduardo Gallardo has the mount on Cupids Crush.

The Victor S. Myers attracted an evenly matched field of seven. Sir Sterling, off a front-running win in the $54,000 MTA Stallion Auction Stakes, is the 2 to 1 morning line favorite. He is trained by Tony Rengstorf and will be ridden by Lindey Wade for owner and breeder Chad Kuehn. Rengstorf also trains West Island for Suzanne Stables. West Island led gate to wire to break his maiden in his first start of the year on June 17.

Crocodilehunter, bred and owned by trainer Tim Padilla and Pete Mattson, is 9 to 2 in the Myers. He is one of three horses that will be racing in stakes Saturday night out of the mare Garden Gloves. Half-sister, 4-year-old She's My Warrior, is entered in the Minnesota Turf Distaff and 5-year-old half-brother Thealligatorhunter is entered in the Ralph Strangis. All three are owned by Mattson and Padilla.

Canterbury's 2022 horse of the meet Midnight Current defends her Turf Distaff title as the 8 to 5 morning line favorite for trainer Joel Berndt and owner Bob Lothenbach. The 5-year-old mare was an undefeated in five starts last season and began 2023 with consecutive second-place finishes, most recently in the $76,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes. Leading rider Harry Hernandez will be aboard. Berndt also trains Let's Skedaddle in the same race.

Thealligatorhunter finished first in the 2022 Strangis but was disqualified and placed third for interference in the stretch. Saturday he faces the improving Stagecoach Boys, trained by Berndt and owned by Lothenbach, who most recently lost by a nose in the $76,000 Brooks Fields Mile. Thealligatorhunter will likely be forwardly placed in the early stages with Stagecoach Boys and the Qunionez-trained Xavey Dave chasing.

First post for the nine-race card is 5:07 p.m. CT. The wagering menu includes four 10 percent takeout pools: the Post Time Pick 4 beginning in race 1, two traditional Pick 5s beginning in races 2 and 5, and an All-Turf Pick five encompassing races 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7.

The post Canterbury: Hall Of Fame Saturday Card Features Four Stakes Races appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The first of 25 races spread over 16 dates during the next two months at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., and Saratoga Race Course in Upstate New York is only days away.

The summer season, which runs from July 14 through Sept. 8, offers steeplechasing the opportunity to broaden its appeal to a wider fan base, especially at Saratoga, the highest profile race meet in the U.S. All 25 races will be part of the flat-racing cards at Colonial on Fridays and Saratoga on Wednesdays. At both meets, the jump races will be at the beginning of the day. Post times at Colonial are 12:15 p.m. and 12:50 p.m. At Saratoga it's 1:10 p.m.

Colonial will host 18 races worth a total of $730,000. All will be contested at 2 1/4 miles. Most of the races have been carded as open maiden special weights hurdles. There are also several filly and mare maiden contests as well as maiden events restricted to four-year-olds. All carry $40,000 purses. In addition, there are five handicaps, worth $30,000 to $35,000, for horses rated at 110 to 115, and several $30,000 maiden starter handicaps (for horses who have previously run for a claiming tag).

Two stakes for fillies and mares highlight the meet. The $75,000 Randolph Rouse on Aug. 11 and the $75,000 Life's Illusion on getaway day, Sept. 8. Buttonwood Farm's 2021 Eclipse-Award winner The Mean Queen is being pointed to the Life's Illusion, which would be her first race in a year and only her second since she ended her championship run with a win in the Grand National at Far Hills in October 2021. Fans can watch the races from Colonial Downs via live stream from the NSA web site.

Steeplechasing commences at historic Saratoga Race Course on July 19, with the G1 $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Stakes at 2 1/16 miles, one of two Grade 1s on the calendar. The other, the $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard at 2 3/8 miles, will be run on Aug. 16. The remaining five jump races include a pair of $75,000 novice stakes, the Jonathan Kiser at 2 1/16 miles on Aug. 2, and Michael G. Walsh at 2 3/8 miles three weeks later; and three $70,000 allowance contests. All told, Saratoga is offering $660,000 in purses this year.

In a just-announced move, the July 26 allowance hurdle at the Spa, for non-winners of two races, will be named the Woody Maloney Memorial in honor of the late steeplechase rider and son of Hall of Famer conditioner James “Jimmy” Maloney. Two engraved trophies will be awarded to the winning connections. Immediately after the race, a memorial celebration will be held in the tent at the Reading Room. Lunch will be served and all steeplechase owners, trainers and jockeys are invited.

In the most recent NSA Ratings of horses in training, many of the sport's top runners could see action this summer, including stakes winners winner Noah and the Ark (G1 Lonesome Glory); Welshman (G2 David Semmes Memorial); Caramelised and Historic Heart (the past two winners of the Carolina Cup); Freddy Flintshire (Queen's Cup); Howyabud (Jonathan Kiser); Redicean (Appleton); and Theocrat (Michael G. Walsh).

NYRA races are broadcast live on Fox2 TV, with replays available on NYRA website, https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/replays.

Full summer schedule:

Colonial

• July 14 open maiden and filly & mare maiden

• July 21, open maiden and 115 ratings handicap

• July 28, filly & mare maiden and maiden starter handicap

• Aug. 4, open maiden and 110 ratings handicap

• Aug. 11, open maiden and Randolph Rouse stakes

•Aug. 18, four-year-old maiden and 115 ratings handicap

• Aug. 25, maiden starter handicap and 110 ratings handicap

• Sept. 1, open maiden and four-year-old maiden

• Sept. 8, Life's Illusion stakes and 115 ratings handicap

Saratoga

• July 19, AP Smithwick stakes

• July 26, allowance

• Aug. 2, Jonathan Kiser novice stakes

• Aug. 9, allowance

• Aug. 16, Jonathan Sheppard stakes

• Aug. 23, Michael G. Walsh novice stakes

• Aug. 30, allowance

The post Steeplechase Summer Season Kicks Off July 14 At Colonial; Saratoga Jumps Races Start July 19 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The top three finishers in the 2022 Punch Line Stakes will renew their rivalry Saturday, July 15 in the 2023 edition as Colonial Downs culminates its opening week action with four Virginia-Bred Stakes. The turf quartet also includes the Edward P. Evans, Tyson Gilpin/Glenn Petty, and Brookmeade Stakes and each features a $125,000 purse.

D Hatman Thoroughbreds and Kingdom Bloodstock's Determined Kingdom prevailed by a convincing 5½ lengths in last year's Punch Line. The 4-year-old Animal Kingdom gelding, who was best in the 2021 Jamestown Stakes, has earned $250,189 from 15 outings and will be ridden by Mychel Sanchez. Larry Johnson's Embolden, Punch Line runner-up, is a Michael Trombetta trainee with a robust $342,641 bankroll. Colonial's all-time leading rider Horacio Karamanos has the mount. K Ed & Susie Orr's Boldor finished third in the Punch Line but did win the Meadow Stable Stakes last summer. The Steve Asmussen trainee, best in the 2021 Punch Line, boasts a bankroll of $562,183.

Iapetus Racing & Diamond T Racing's Gigante heads a field of ten 3-year-old and up horses in the one-mile Evans. The 3-year-old Not This Time colt captured the $125,000 Kitten's Joy Stakes along with a maiden special weight last year in New Kent. The Steve Asmussen trainee, 3-for-7 with $262,900 in earnings, will be ridden by Adam Beschizza. Last year's second- and third-place finishers are both in to go. Ten Strike Racing's Alex Joon, who finished one-half length behind the victorious Largent last year, has bankrolled $232,399. The 6-year-old Flatter gelding won a turf allowance at Colonial one month after the Evans. Kendama took third in both the Evans and Bert Allen Stakes and sandwiched a second between the pair in a New Kent turf allowance. The two will be ridden by Forest Boyce and ​Jeiron Barbosa respectively. Reiley McDonald's 7-year-old Hold Me Back gelding Passion Play, who won the 2021 Evans, is in the field as well.

Chambeau, the 2022 M. Tyson Gilpin Stakes winner, heads a field of seven in the 2023 edition slated for fillies and mares three and up at 5½ furlongs. Owned and bred by Sam English II, the lightly raced 6-year-old Karakontie mare has made just five life starts — all last year — and will get the riding services of Karamanos Saturday. Robert D. Bone and Edward J. Brown Jr.'s Carolina Sun was second in last year's Gilpin and also had a pair of other top three finishes at Colonial last summer. Stonestreet Stables' Aisha R N, an Asmussen trainee, is fresh off a turf allowance triumph at Lone Star May 11. This year's stakes has been renamed to include former VTA Executive Director Glenn Petty in the title.

The Brookmeade Stakes, for fillies and mares three and up at 1 1/16 miles, attracted a field of seven led by Morgan's Ford Farm's Surya, who collected maiden special weight and allowance turf wins in New Kent last summer. The 4-year-old daughter of Street Sense is trained by Brittany Russell and will be ridden by Forest Boyce.

Post time Saturday is 1:30 PM. Colonial Downs continues its 9-week summer racing season through September 9 racing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 1:30 PM.

General Admission and parking are free at Colonial Downs except for the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing on Saturday, August 12. Premium tickets, full racing schedule and information are available at www.colonialdowns.com.

The racing action from Colonial Downs will be broadcast on FanDuel TV and FanDuel Racing. Racing fans can wager on racing from Colonial Downs via www.TwinSpires.com, the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Inc. and its family of racetracks. TwinSpires.com also offers access to unmatched insight and analysis from our horse racing experts, handicappers, insiders, educators and Bloodstock Research Information Services (Brisnet).

About Colonial Downs

Colonial Downs Racetrack, in New Kent, Virginia, hosts live thoroughbred racing on two nationally renowned surfaces – the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest turf course in North America at 180 feet wide and on a 1 1/4-mile dirt track, second in length to only the world-famous Belmont Park.

The Colonial Downs Group, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates Rosie's Gaming Emporiums® in Richmond, Hampton, New Kent, Vinton, and Dumfries which offer innovative historic horseracing (HHR) gaming technology and full card simulcasting as well as Rosie's Game Room in Collinsville, which features a limited selection of some of their best HHR titles plus full card simulcasting. The 2023 live racing season, which consists of 27 days from July 13 through September 9, is highlighted by the Grade 1 Arlington Million, Grade 1 Beverly D. and Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes on August 12 and the Grade 3 New Kent County Virginia Derby on September 9. The Beverly D. is a Breeders' Cup Challenge “Win & You're In” race.

The post Four Virginia-Bred Stakes Races Highlight Saturday’s Card At Colonial Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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