Horse Racing

7th-Oaklawn, $60,000, Msw, 4-11, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.41, ft. EARNER (c, 3, Carpe Diem--Devious d'Oro {SP, $169,047}, by Medaglia d'Oro) was pounded into 4-5 favoritism off a debut second to 'TDN Rising Star' and subsequent Oaklawn allowance scorer Echo Town (Speightstown) in a six-furlong Fair Grounds maiden Jan. 18 and gave trainer Steve Asmussen a rolling personal Pick 3 with a dominating maiden victory Saturday at Oaklawn Park. Drawn outside in gate 11, the chestnut raced three deep around the first turn in the second flight of horses and improved...

A pair of American-bred 3-year-olds are among a field of six entered for Sunday's Yau Ma Tei Plate, the season's first race restricted to 'griffins' going the 1000-meter trip down the straight course at Sha Tin Racecourse. A griffin is defined as a 2-year-old or 3-year-old horse which has been imported into Hong Kong without having raced previously. The better-fancied of the two colts, each trained by second-leading and BMW Hong Kong Derby-winning conditioner Francis Lui, is Sunny Star (Flatter), who was trading overnight as the 19-5 third choice. Bred...

The longer live racing is suspended in California the deeper the economic toll, which is why the industry continues to push hard for that suspension to be lifted: that was the main takeaway from a broad-sweeping conference call Friday morning, organized by the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), for industry heads to outline and discuss the impacts from the coronavirus pandemic on racing and training in California. The call was presided over by TOC Chairman Nick Alexander, Greg Avioli, TOC president and CEO, The Stronach Group (TSG) CEO Craig Fravel,...

The Ohio State Racing Commission (OSRC) issued a new directive on Friday that extends an existing shutdown mandating that Thoroughbred and Standardbred tracks remain closed for live racing while stipulating that backstretch facilities at venues where meets were already in progress have to stay "open and operational until further notice." Right now, Mahoning Valley Race Course is the only Thoroughbred track in the state with an operational backstretch. There are about 800 horses and 95 caretakers living in the stable area. The track was supposed to race through Apr. 18,...

Ontario purse funds from races already canceled or expected to be canceled in April and May because of COVID-19 restrictions will be redistributed to the owners of Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds and Quarter Horses in the form of a monthly stipend that requires an application process, the Ontario Racing task force announced late Thursday. "These funds were already committed to the industry through the funding agreement for live horse racing between Ontario Racing and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG)," an Ontario Racing press release stated. "In order to be eligible...

Hot Springs has long been a sanctuary when people need to avoid New York. The mobster Owney Madden settled there in 1935; the following year, its casinos and obliging law enforcement made it an obvious place for Lucky Luciano to lie low. A relative concept, lying low: Luciano was swanking around the Hotel Arlington with his showgirl Gay Orlova, a Russian refugee described by Broadway impresario Earl Carroll as "the sexiest gal who ever worked for me." Luciano was dressed up for the races on Apr. 1 when he had...

Recognizing that stakes horses have limited options as to where to run due to shutdown of several tracks, Gulfstream has begun the process of adding new races to its schedule, including an Apr. 25 stakes for 3-year-olds. The race has been named the Unbridled S. and will be contested at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the dirt with a purse of $75,000. The story was first reported by horseracingnation.com. Though a $75,000 purse would not normally be big enough to attract top-echelon horses, the Unbridled could prove to be an attractive option...

Like most owners, Joe Sutton asks only for a level playing field, which is why he is still trying to make sense of the fact that Blackberry Wine (Oxbow) will be allowed to run in Saturday's fourth race at Oaklawn against his colt Scabbard (More Than Ready). Blackberry Wine has crossed the wire first on three occasions, but, so far as his official record goes, only one counts. He was disqualified from purse money in two of his starts after testing positive for the drug levamisole. Because of the demotions,...

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 Fukushima and Hanshin Racecourses. The latter venue plays host to the first of this year's Japanese Classics, the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas). Saturday, April 11, 2020 1st-HSN, ¥9,680,000 ($89k), Maiden, 3yo, 1400m MOZU DECORATION (f, 3, Declaration of...

Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (Constitution) was remotely crowned 2019 New York-Bred Horse of the Year and champion 2-year-old male Monday, the same day the New York Thoroughbred Breeders was to host its annual awards banquet at the Saratoga National Golf Club. The live event was canceled due to the coronavirus crisis. Bred by Twin Creeks Farm, which raced leading first-crop sire Constitution in partnership with WinStar Farm, Tiz the Law was a  $110,000 graduate of the 2018 Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale and broke his maiden by 4 1/4 lengths...

Aethero (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}), narrowly beaten into third as the $1.50 (1-2) favourite when last seen in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint Dec. 8, makes his return to action in Sunday's G2 Sprint Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse. The hulking chestnut was perfect and untouched in three runs last season, but stubbed his toe when a keen third in his Class 2 debut over 1200m last October. He clocked :54.69 when taking out a five-furlong test 11 days later and walloped the jurisdictions best short-trackers in the G2 Jockey...

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 Nakayama and Hanshin Racecourses: Saturday, April 4, 2020 5th-NKY, ¥9,680,000 ($89k), Maiden, 3yo, 2000mT LOUD AND CLEAR (c, 3, Giant's Causeway--Melody Maiden, by Saint Ballado) is the 11th foal to make the races from his dam, who has been responsible...