Racing News

Game On Dude, who topped the first edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2014, heads the seven-horse field for the 75th renewal of the Gold Cup at Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) June 28 at Santa Anita Park.

The Gold Cup, which will air on NBCSN from 7-8 p.m. (EDT), is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” race that will award the winner an automatic berth to the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) at Santa Anita.

Game On Dude, who has earned $6.4 million, will be seeking his third consecutive victory in the 1 1/4-mile, $500,000 race that was run as the Hollywood Gold Cup at the now-shuttered Hollywood Park when he won in 2012 and 2013. The 7-year-old Awesome Again   gelding is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

Designed To Be exorcised some demons in a big way by winning a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes race at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs on Wednesday night (June 18), matching a world record in the process. The race was one of two $98,100 Sire Stakes divisions held at Pocono for 3-year-old trotting fillies.

The last time she was at Pocono, Designed To Be (Donato Hanover-Sheer Soul), trained by Julie Miller, broke stride as the heavy favorite in a Breeders Crown elimination race in October. This time around, in just her second start of the year following a Sire Stakes win at Harrah's Philadelphia in early May, the filly, an 8-5 second choice, had to face off with defending division champ Shake It Cerry.

Driver Brian Sears made the lead with Designed To Be on the front stretch and rebuffed the challenge of Shake It Cerry on the final turn. In the stretch, she trotted away from closing Lifetime Pursuit to win by 2-3/4 lengths with Shake It Cerry fading to third. The winning time of 1:51.3 matched the world record for 3-year-old trotting fillies on a five-eighths-mile track, previously set by Check Me Out at Pocono in 2012.

Orion Moon, who missed her first graded stakes win by a neck in the recent Beaugay Stakes (gr. IIIT), should be the one to beat in the $100,000Eatontown Stakes (gr. III) June 21 over the turf at Monmouth Park.

The 5-year-old French-bred mare has two wins and two seconds from five starts in the United States for trainer Christophe Clement since transferring from her native country in the spring of 2013. She made her first try in graded stakes company in the 1 1/16-mile Beaugay May 3 at Belmont Park, narrowly missing at odds of 5-2 toWaterway Run after getting the lead late.

She'll be back at the same distance Saturday, when she faces eight other older fillies and mares. The Eatontown is race 11 on the card with a 5:43 p.m. PDT scheduled past.

Merry Meadow, who has placed in 18 of her 20 career starts, will try to post a second straight grade III victory when she faces an expected 10 other older fillies and mares in the $150,000 Bed o' Roses Handicap June 21 at Belmont Park.

William Parsons Jr. and David Howe's Merry Meadow secured the first stakes victory of her career at odds of 6-1 May 17 at Belmont when she pressed the pace early before taking command in the stretch to register a 3 3/4-length victory in the Vagrancy Handicap (gr. III). The 4-year-old  daughter of Henny Hughes registered her third victory in six starts in the 6 1/2-furlong Vagrancy. She has two wins and five placings in seven lifetime tries at Belmont.

In the Bed o' Roses, Merry Meadow will stretch out to seven furlongs and has been assigned 118 pounds, making her the co-highweight for trainer Mark Hennig. Rajiv Maragh has the return mount from post 8.

The Captain is ready.

Two-time defending Pacer of the Year Captaintreacherous makes his seasonal debut Friday night (June 13) in the $100,000 Meadowlands Maturity for 4-year-old pacers at Meadowlands Racetrack. He starts from post 10 in the field of 10, with regular driver Tim Tetrick at the lines for trainer Tony Alagna.

To his inside, from the rail, are Tarpon Hanover, Dovuto Hanover, Apprentice Hanover, Rockin Amadeus, Sunfire Blue Chip, Word Power, Dedi’s Dragon, Odds On Equuleus, and Twilight Bonfire.

Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) winnerUntapable will make her first start since cruising to a 4 1/2-length victory in that top Churchill Downs test when she faces an expected five other 3-year-old fillies in the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes (gr. I)June 28 at Belmont Park.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' homebred Untapable, a daughter of Tapit   who established herself as the leading 3-year-old filly in the country this spring, has prepared for Saturday's 1 1/16-mile race with five workouts at Churchill Downs since May 26, including a four-furlong move in :49 3/5 on June 23.

"We're just trying to stay in a nice rhythm with her; keep her happy and comfortable," said trainer Steve Asmussen after the latest workout. "I thought she went over the racetrack well. It was a pretty warm morning, a little humid, but all is good."

Together with the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey, The Meadowlands will be implementing a bonus program for several of its overnight races for New Jersey sired horses.

The program will begin on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014. Beginning with that date, races meeting the condition of non-winners of one, two, three or four pari-mutuel races will carry a 60 percent bonus to the purse for New Jersey sired horses. The bonus program encompasses both sexes of horse as well as gait.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer confirmed to the Daily Racing Formthat Gary Stevens will be in the saddle when Fury Kapcori goes to the post in Saturday’s Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita.

Stevens replaces jockey Corey Nakatani, who had ridden the colt to a second-place finish in his most recent start, the G2 Californian on May 31. Prior to that, the 4-year-old son of Tiznow had won four straight under Rafael Bejarano. Bejarano was injured in a spill May 10, and has been on the sidelines since.

Trainer Chris Hartman notched the 1,000th victory of his career Sunday, June 22 when Silver Rock Star prevailed by a neck in the seventh race at Prairie Meadows.

Hartman, who has trained horses throughout the Southwest and Midwest, picked up a graded stakes victory in 2011 when he saddled Schramsberg to a win in the John B. Connally Turf Cup Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Sam Houston Race Park.

Race fans were treated to plenty of action at the Greene County Fair this week, starting off with Carrollton Stables’ own Naty, in her Greene County debut, taking first place in the opening race.

Driver Ryan Anderson of Chicago brought her to the finish line. Naty is trained by Robert Walker of Carrollton and owned by Hart and Robert Walker.

“Racing is a family affair. It has to be,” explained race fan Judy Robinson of Rushville. Indeed, each time a racer crossed the finish line, the proud entourage of owners, family members and friends crowded around the race’s champion for congratulations and a photo.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has entered three for the $200,000 Summertime Oaks (gr. II) June 21 on the main track atSanta Anita Park, headed by three-time winner Delta Flower.

Dual stakes-winning Delta Flower is joined by by Fleet of Gold and Stop Smiling, both seeking their first stakes win for Hollendorfer. Three trainers account for seven of the eight 3-year-old fillies entered in the Summertime Oaks, previously the Hollywood Oaks, with Eoin Harty (Arethusa, Live for Now) and Bob Baffert (Jojo Warrior, Front Range) also well-represented. The other filly, Kentucky shipper La Mejor Fiesta, is from the globe-trotting Wesley Ward stable.

The 1 1/16-mile Summertime Oaks, to be contested on dirt for the first time since 2006, is race 8 on the Saturday card with a 4:30 p.m. PDT tentative post time.

Foiled Again vs. Captaintreacherous -- round two, plus the continuing march of Father Patrick towards possible harness racing immortality, are the main storylines to be on display this Saturday night (June 21) at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

The northeast PA track presents elimination races for the $500,000 Ben Franklin Free For All Pace, the $500,000 Earl Beal 3-year-old colt trot, the $500,000 Max C. Hempt 3-year-old colt pace, and the $300,000 James Lynch 3-year-old filly pace, with those rich finals a week from this Saturday on the $2.3 million Sun Stakes Saturday card.

The Franklin and Beal will each have two elimination races Saturday; the top four finishers plus the faster of the fifth-place finishers will punch their tickets to their rich championship races. The Hempt and Lynch have three eliminations, meaning that one would have to be among the top three finishers in his or her elim in order to progress to the big money next Saturday. The track intends to hold consolation races for those not qualifying for the finals next week, if interest permits.