Racing News

He's been in the sport for more than 35 years as a trainer/driver, but in the probably hundreds of horses Ed Hart has worked with he’s never seen a horse as skittish as Tober.

“He’s a homebred and has matured to be a really nice horse,” said the Middletown, N.Y., resident. “But he was definitely one of the shyest horses I ever had. I did not start him too many times at 2 and I drove him myself because I knew him so well. I could not get him in between horses or outside of horses at all. It wasn’t just on the track either. He would be shy about anything you did with him -- even at the barn.”

Bred by Bernard White and Kristie Leigh Farm and now co-owned by Kristie Leigh Farm and Joseph Betro, Tober is a 6-year-old son of Credit Winner and the Cumin mare La Tapatia. He has been in Hart’s barn since he was a baby and his conditioner was the one that broke him.

Elite Awards won the fastest of three $20,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund 3-year-old male pace preliminaries on a speed-filled Thursday (March 28) at Dover Downs.

George Dennis took Elite Awards to the front and continued on for a 1:54.2 success, winning for the second straight time this year and building his career record to nine wins and a second in 10 races. Karen Walls owns the Powerful Toy-Silk Slips gelding who is trained by Dave Rearic and now has earned $114,225 lifetime. Art Retreat (Tim Tetrick) came on strong to finish second ahead of Hawker (Jeff Fout).

The second DSBF prelim was all Casino Bags Carlo as Vince Copeland sailed out of post seven and never looked back in a 1:54.4 decision. Last November’s $100,000 DSBF final winner made his seasonal debut in this one for Cavalli Pazzi Stables. The Roddy’s Bags Again-Casino Bus gelding won for the sixth time in his career and now has banked $108,911 in his two seasons of racing. West Star Director (Ben Stafford, Jr.) flew down the lane to finish second ahead of By A Noggin (Vic Kirby).

Devil's Cave, 3 1/2-length winner of the Feb. 16 Sabin Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park, heads a field of eight including multiple graded stakes winner Unlimited Budget in the $150,000 Rampart Stakes (gr. III) March 29 at the South Florida oval.

The 1 1/8-mile Rampart, with an estimated post time of 1:22 p.m. EDT, kicks off the Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I) card at Gulfstream, and has trainers Marty Wolfson and Todd Pletcher saddling half of the entrants between them.

Wolfson trains 2-1 morning line favorite Devil's Cave, a 4-year-old Put It Back filly who secured her first graded stakes score for Alpha Delta Stables in the Sabin. He will also send out Chasing Tail Stables' Gamay Noir, an allowance-winning daughter of Harlan's Holiday who ran fifth in the Sabin and came back with a fourth in the March 15 Wayward Lass Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Javier Castellano gets the mount from post 2 on Devil's Cave, highweight at 123 pounds, while Paco Lopez rides Gamay Noir, carrying 117, from the 6 hole.

Unbridled Forever has the same end goal as her dam—2010 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) Lemons Forever—did at this time eight years ago: a blanket of lilies on the first Friday in May.  

But that's where the similarities seem to end for the mother and daughter, who differ in looks, personality, and running style, trainer Dallas Stewart said. The one thing they do share, however, is a desire to win and the talent to support it.

Unbridled Forever, who is set to contest the March 29 Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II), has a strong set of connections in Stewart and owner/breeder Charles Fipke. Stewart also trained and co-campaigned Lemons Forever, who paid $96.20 for her Oaks victory at odds of 47-1.\\Fipke, a highly acclaimed geologist, has raced a number of other successful horses, including 2013 Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I) victor Java's War.

An elite group of 70 horses remain eligible to the 31st edition of the Pepsi North America Cup, one of harness racing's most prestigious events and Canada’s richest harness race with a C$1 million final.

The one mile pace for 3-year-olds at Mohawk Racetrack, is scheduled for Saturday (June 14).

Headlining this year's group of nominees is the Dan Patch Award winner and undefeated He’s Watching, who set two world records last season along with six track records for trainer and co-owner David Menary.

Native’s Revenge made quite an impression in his California debut last weekend, dominating his rivals in that conditioned affair for the team of owner Harold Actkinson, trainer Bob Johnson and pilot Mooney Svendsen.

Sent off at 20 cents on the dollar off a 16 length qualifying romp in 1:54.1, the 4-year-old son of Allamerican Native waltzed home by six lengths in last Saturday’s ninth race. He went his first half in a leisurely :59, then turned on the afterburners to cover the second part of the race in :55.3 without breaking a sweat.

“Wins as easy as that one are few and far between,” Svendsen related after the impressive once-around. “He looks like a nice prospect, and I think Bob found a real diamond in the rough at the Meadowlands sale.”

Blueskiesnrainbows, whose front-running tactics nearly paid off with an upset in last fall's Breeders' Cup Marathon (gr. II), will try another long-distance journey in the $100,000 Tokyo City Cup Stakes (gr. III) March 29 at Santa Anita Park.

The 1 1/2-mile event attracted a field of eight, led by Blueskiesnrainbows, the 123-pound highweight trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. The 5-year-old son ofEnglish Channel   led the BC Marathon, at 1 3/4 miles on the Santa Anita main track Nov. 1, until deep stretch when he was passed by London Bridge. Sent off at odds of 7-1, he settled for second, beaten by one length.

Since then, Blueskiesnrainbows won both the Native Diver (gr. III) and San Pasqual (gr. II) stakes before being cooked in a speed duel withGame On Dude in the San Antonio Stakes (gr. II) Feb. 8 and retreating to a sixth-place finish. This will be the first start since for the chestnut horse owned by Bad Boy Racing and Whizway Farms.

John Campbell, harness racing's all-time leading money winning driver with more than $285 million in career earnings, returns to the sulky on Friday night (March 28) at the Meadowlands.

Campbell has been out of action for six weeks due to a fractured collarbone sustained in a non-racing accident. He has drives­­­ in nine of the 13 (two of those are restricted to amateur drivers) races on Friday and a full slate on Saturday as well.

"I'm certainly looking forward to getting back to racing horses," Campbell said when reached this morning for comment. "I got a really good report from the doctor this last visit. Strength and mobility are back to where I was before the break. I've been training some the past few weeks to get back in the swing.

Victor Espinoza, regular rider of the brilliant 3-year-old California Chrome, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium as the Dodgers and Angels get set to begin their annual three-game Freeway Series which gets underway at 7:10 p.m.

A brilliant 7 ¼ length winner of the Grade II San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 8, California-bred California Chrome has thrust himself into the role of the early favorite for the Grade I, $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 5, and is widely considered to be one of the top three prospects to win the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3.

Following his San Felipe score, Espinoza said, “He’s an amazing horse.  He has been since the first time I rode him.  He blew them away today.”

Sheikh Hamdan fears a lack of experience on the Meydan track's Tapeta surface could cost his runner Mukhadram in Saturday's Dubai World Cup, with the owner raising concerns over the consistency of the racing surface.

"We have worked him on the all-weather track in England, particularly at Kempton, and he seemed alright. But the Tapeta is very different to all the synthetic tracks.

Driver Andy Miller and trainer Julie Miller dominated Bobby Weiss Series action on Wednesday night (March 26) at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs as Take The Money and Perfect Alliance each stayed unbeaten in 2014 with victories.

Overall there were three Weiss divisions held at Pocono for 3- and 4-year-old trotting fillies and mares, with each of those races carrying a purse of $15,000.

Take The Money (Donato Hanover-Repetitions) won for the third time in three starts this year by taking the first division by 3-3/4 lengths in 1:56.1.

Thursday's (March 27) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Northfield Park and Saratoga Casino and Raceway.

Nikki's Sandcastle and Csaba, both seeking a return to winning ways, share co-high weight of 123 pounds in the $100,000 Skip Away Stakes (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park March 29.

With an approximate post time of 5:35 p.m. EDT, the 1 3/16-mile Skip Away drew a field of 11 older runners including Stuart S. Janney III's 3-1 favoriteNorumbega and Repole Stable's Micromanage, the 4-1 second choice.

Distance-loving Inimitable Romaneeaims for her third graded stakes win in a row when she takes on eight other older filly and mare rivals in the $150,000Orchid Stakes (gr. IIIT) on the grass March 29 at Gulfstream Park.

The Orchid, at 1 1/2 miles, is one of seven graded stakes on Saturday's Florida Derby program at Gulfstream. It goes as race 10 with a projected post of 4:26 p.m. EDT.

Trained by Graham Motion, the stalking Inimitable Romanee delivered a one-length score at odds of 10-1 in The Very One Stakes (gr. IIIT) at 1 3/8 miles over the course Feb. 15 for owner Gallagher's Stud. That was the first start in more than three months for the 6-year-old gray mare byMaria's Mon. It followed her one-length tally in the 12-furlong Long Island Handicap (gr. IIIT) late last year on the Aqueduct Racetrack turf, which ended an 11-race losing skid.

Distance-loving Inimitable Romaneeaims for her third graded stakes win in a row when she takes on eight other older filly and mare rivals in the $150,000Orchid Stakes (gr. IIIT) on the grass March 29 at Gulfstream Park.

The Orchid, at 1 1/2 miles, is one of seven graded stakes on Saturday's Florida Derby program at Gulfstream. It goes as race 10 with a projected post of 4:26 p.m. EDT.

Trained by Graham Motion, the stalking Inimitable Romanee delivered a one-length score at odds of 10-1 in The Very One Stakes (gr. IIIT) at 1 3/8 miles over the course Feb. 15 for owner Gallagher's Stud. That was the first start in more than three months for the 6-year-old gray mare byMaria's Mon. It followed her one-length tally in the 12-furlong Long Island Handicap (gr. IIIT) late last year on the Aqueduct Racetrack turf, which ended an 11-race losing skid.

Foiled Again turns 200 this Saturday night.

Well, not exactly. He’s a spry 10-year-old, but harness racing’s richest-ever pacer makes his 200th career purse start in the second round of Yonkers Raceway’s George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series.

He landed post position No. 4 in race No. 11, the evening’s fourth and final Levy division. It appears a simple task, with Foiled Again the strongest third of a Ron Burke-trained troika that opens at 3-5 on the morning line and figures to close much shorter than that.

Horse Racing Radio Network returns to Gulfstream Park March 29 and will provide 5 1/2 hours of exclusive live radio coverage beginning with the $10 million Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) at noon EDT. 

HRRN will continue their "Road to the Kentucky Derby" broadcast series with coverage of the Florida Derby (gr. I) and Louisiana Derby (gr. II) beginning at 4 p.m. EDT. In addition to the two $1 million Derby preps, the broadcast will showcase Gulfstream's Orchid (gr. III), Appleton (gr. III), Skip Away (gr. III), and Pan American (gr. IIT) stakes, as well as the Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) from New Orleans.

Coverage of the Dubai World Cup will be presented by BetAmercia and feature the Dubai Duty Free and Dubai Sheema Classic (both UAE-I) as well as the UAE Derby (UAE-II) on taped delay.

When the calendar pages turn to March, and the days slowly count down to the final Saturday of the month, the annual anticipation for one of the greatest days in horse racing begins to build. It all starts halfway across the world, in Dubai, where the always-amazing Dubai World Cup program showcases top-class international competition over a variety of distances and surfaces. And just when the action in the desert is wrapping up, American race fans can turn their attention to their own tracks, which will play host to twelve excellent graded stakes races at Fair Grounds, Gulfstream Park, and Santa Anita. Those twelve races include two eagerly-anticipated Kentucky Derby prep races: the $1,000,000 Louisiana Derby (gr. II) and the $1,000,000 Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I). So get ready, everyone—we’ve got a lot of handicapping ahead of us!

Harness racing driver Aaron Merriman’s view toward the sport changed somewhat after suffering a serious accident in 2010.

It made him not take the sport as seriously as he once did.

What makes that so ironic is he’s putting up some serious numbers with his new attitude.

The Ohio native currently sits No. 1 in North America in wins and No. 7 in earnings this year, driving predominantly at his home track of Northfield Park just outside of Cleveland, and The Meadows, which is two hours away in western Pennsylvania.

I Like My Boss, Briefs Or Boxers and Bosston BNZ won their $20,000 first leg Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund 3-year-old male trot preliminaries on Wednesday (March 27) at Dover Downs.

Unbeaten I Like My Boss extended his win streak to five as Jonathan Roberts steered the altered son of Don Boss Vita-Wild One to an easy 2:01.1 victory in the first $20,000 prelim. Jimmy and A.M. Parsons and Bobby Shahan bred and own the winner of two races this year and $85,000 in lifetime earnings. Call Me Hal (Vic Kirby) finished second in front of Boo’s The Boss (Allan Davis).

Owner, trainer and driver Carlo Poliseno and Briefs Or Boxers got up in the last step to win the second DSBF prelim, edging Winmando (Frank Milby) in 2:01.1. LG’s Pride (Jim Morand) had the lead in the stretch and held on for third. The victory was the second in nine starts for thePolitical Briefing-Prestigious Roz gelding.