Mountaineer Park

Mountaineer Park will expand its 2021 racing season by eight dates, tacking on Dec. 5-8 and 12-15 to its existing calendar. "We had five cancelled days due to lack of entries. But honestly, we wanted to finish out [with] a full [racing] week," said Jim Colvin, Mountaineer's manager of racing operations. "So we applied for eight racing days, which would give us a total of 133 for this year instead of 130." Approval was granted during Tuesday's monthly West Virginia Racing Commission meeting.

Calumet Farm's Bourbonic (Bernardini), overmatched in two legs of the Triple Crown after scoring a Grade II upset this spring, will step a few rungs down the class ladder Saturday when invading Mountaineer Park for the track's signature race on the calendar, the GIII West Virginia Derby. Breaking his maiden by open lengths for a $50,000 tag Dec. 6 at Aqueduct, the homebred repeated in a starter/optional claiming spot there Jan. 17 and was runner-up in a sloppy Parx allowance/optional claimer Feb. 23. Ambitiously spotted by Todd Pletcher off that...

In a reversal from an earlier announcement, the Aug. 1 West Virginia Derby program at Mountaineer Park has been cancelled. Changes in West Virginia's COVID-19 policy and the logistics of shippers, both equine and human, prompted the change. The regular racing program, which had already been scheduled to be conducted without patrons, will not be affected.

On paper, it's easy to dismiss Silver Maple (Creative Cause) in Friday's fourth race at Keeneland. The 2-year-old cost just $5,000 at the sales and shows a string of slow workouts at Belterra Park and Mountaineer Park. But trainer Eric Reed says the filly can absolutely win the race, and right now Reed's opinion is not to be dismissed. Reed may not be as well known as some of the trainers he will face in the 5 1/2-furlong maiden, but no trainer is hotter. Silver Maple will be his first...