Racing News

After shipping in from Saudi Arabia, Emirates Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) hopeful and former American grade I winner Ron the Greek was out at Meydan for a light canter March 25. 

"It was uneventful," said Nicholas Bachalard, who trains for King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and sons. "He's done everything right. He's a pro and is used to shipping."

The 7-year-old son of Full Mandatearrived from his Saudi base March 23 without incident and will have his first jaunt on the all-weather surface for the first time March 26  at 4 a.m. local time.

He likely will be a sentimental favorite in North American pools for the $10 million World Cup, which is set for March 29.

Wise Dan, the reigning two-time Horse of the Year, continued on a resolute path toward a comeback when he breezed six furlongs Tuesday morning in 1:13.20 over the Polytrack surface at his home base at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Trainer Charlie LoPresti said he is “keeping his fingers crossed” in hopes that Wise Dan continues to thrive toward his targeted return, the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile on April 11 over the Keeneland turf.

“The track was a little slower and deeper than normal this morning,” said LoPresti. “He came home the way he usually does – he got his final quarter in 24. He got a good blow out of it. We’re happy.”

LoPresti said he hopes to work Wise Dan again next Tuesday and that “everything is going the way we’d hope” toward the start of a 7-year-old campaign. This latest workout was the fifth for Wise Dan since late February.

As the 2013 harness racing season came to a close, the then 3-year-old Captaintreacherous headed to the Meadowlands for a race against the sport’s best older male pacers.

Although “The Captain” finished sixth in that race -- the $512,000 TVG Free for All Championship won by ageless Foiled Again -- trainer Tony Alagna was happy with what he saw.

Now as the 4-year-old Captaintreacherous gets ready to compete regularly in the older division, Alagna remains pleased. Captaintreacherous returned to Alagna’s stable in February after two months of R&R at Brittany Farms in Kentucky and is being pointed toward a June return to action.

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is pleased to announce its 2014 ballot.

A total of 36 horses and people, including 18 Standardbred racing candidates and 18 Thoroughbred racing candidates, have been selected to appear on this year’s ballot. A 20-person Election Committee for each breed will declare the winners in their respective categories. Results will be announced Tuesday (April 8).

In guiding We Miss Artie to victory in the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati Spiral Stakes (gr. III) March 22 at Turfway Park, Racing Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez became the first rider in history to reach $300 million in North American purse earnings.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s We Miss Artie secured $282,000 in purse earnings for his connections, which appropriately enough included multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher. The Spiral marked the 353rd time Velazquez and Pletcher had teamed for a stakes win and 226thtime they’d won a graded stakes together.

Velazquez, who added a stakes victory in the $85,000 New Mexico Breeders’ Oaks March 23 at Sunland Park, finished the weekend with $300,330,477 in career purse earnings. That figure is more than $2 million ahead of the next closest rider, Pat Day, and nearly $50 million ahead of the next closest active rider, Mike Smith, who ranks fifth on the career earnings list at $250,690,498.

Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) winnerMucho Macho Man has settled back into familiar surroundings at trainer Kathy Ritvo's Gulfstream Park barn following his disappointing fourth in the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) as the 6-5 choice.

Mucho Macho Man completed the cross-country trip from California to his winter home on the evening of March 12, four days after being defeated by Game On Dude by 10 1/2 lengths in the Big 'Cap.

Owned by Frank Stronach and Dean and Patti Reeves, the 6-year-old son of Macho Uno   has yet to go back to the track since the race, where he was also beaten by 3-year-old champion Will Take Charge and caught late for third by Blingo.

Saturday’s Cal Expo finale of the Jim Grundy Trotting Series is named for the driver/trainer who was a California mainstay for four decades. He died in 2009 at the age of 74.

Jim Grundy made 2,617 trips to the charmed enclosure as a driver, with more than $10.3 million in earnings and was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2007.

Originally a hockey player in his native Canada, a knee injury forced Grundy to hang up his skates and stick in 1958. Going into the family business of harness racing, he found his second niche in life as a driver/trainer.

Trainer Joe Holloway hopes to have a good time racing 4-year-old female pacers Shebestingin and Somwherovrarainbow this season and thinks both mares could have strong campaigns as they make the jump to facing older foes.

Shebestingin, who last year set the record for the fastest mile ever by a female pacer when she won in 1:47 at Lexington’s Red Mile, likely is two weeks from qualifying. Somwherovrarainbow, who joined Holloway’s stable at the end of last year, makes her seasonal debut Friday night in the B1/A2 handicap for fillies and mares at Meadowlands Racetrack.

The Dubai World Cup is quickly approaching. Many of the world's best are likely entrants for the March 29 Dubai World Cup race card.

Here are my thoughts on the Dubai World Cup races. Be sure to follow all the Dubai World Cup coverage on BloodHorse.com with previews, analysis and a live stream of the entire day!

As the 2013 harness racing season came to a close, the then 3-year-old Captaintreacherous headed to the Meadowlands for a race against the sport’s best older male pacers.

Although “The Captain” finished sixth in that race -- the $512,000 TVG Free for All Championship won by ageless Foiled Again -- trainer Tony Alagna was happy with what he saw.

Now as the 4-year-old Captaintreacherous gets ready to compete regularly in the older division, Alagna remains pleased. Captaintreacherous returned to Alagna’s stable in February after two months of R&R at Brittany Farms in Kentucky and is being pointed toward a June return to action.

 The Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund kicked off its preliminaries for sophomores on Monday (March 24) at Dover Downs with three $20,000 filly pace divisions with two favorites and a longshot posting wins.

Seboomook Fool Yah, winner of last Fall’s $100,000 freshman final, returned in top form in her first start of the year as Allan Davis guided the Garnet O’Marrow homebred daughter of Gambler’s Dream-Seboomook Mao to a 1:55.3 win, overtaking front pacing Fashion Guru (Ben Stafford, Jr.) in the dash to the finish line. Wayne Givens conditions the winner, who now has won eight of 11 starts with two thirds, racking up $120,286 in purses.

When Drew Monti started driving at Buffalo Raceway last April he was following in the footsteps of three generations of his family in the business. Drew picked up the niche from his father (Darrin Monti) and his grandfather (Carl Monti) who both are still in the game, training and owning Standardbreds.

Monti was born Oct. 4, 1994, in Western New York and was also raised here. He currently attends Canisius College where he is studying management and had been studying veterinary science.

Monti received his provisional license in 2012 and started racing in the New York fair circuit and qualified horses. His first pari-mutuel win came in September 2013 at Batavia Downs behind Right Back At You, trained by his father.

Dawn wasn't even a whisper when Hall of Fame horseman D. Wayne Lukas swung aboard his stable pony March 14 and headed for the Oaklawn Park gap with a blaze-faced chestnut by his side.

Will Take Charge sauntered along, neck bowed, shoulders rippling with each stride. Two days back from his runner-up finish in California he looked none the worse for wear, though speedsterGame On Dude avenged his Clark Handicap (gr. I) defeat from the end of last season in a rip-roaring edition of the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) contested in stakes record time. As the son of Unbridled's Song headed off to jog the wrong way on the muscle, Lukas surveyed his progress with an eagle eye.

Lord Windermere stormed through the field in the final stretch to win the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup in a photo finish before a sellout crowd of 67,500 March 14 on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival.

Friday (March 14) qualifiers showcased several returning stars on a chilly morning in East Rutherford, N.J.

Sevruga made his second appearance for the Andy/Julie Miller barn and continued his return to form with a 1:54.2/:28.1 win out of the pocket. He followed Detour Hanover’s even fractions around the track before edging out at the head of the stretch and widening as he pleased.

Heston Blue Chip made his seasonal bow, plodding along through slow fractions for Tim Tetrick before a :27.1 sprint through the final quarter in a 1:55 mile, pretty much all in to hang on over a hard charging Escape The News.

Game On Dude, who recently won the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) for a record-breaking third time, heads the first edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2014. The list is comprised of 3-year-olds and up that raced between Jan. 1 and March 9.

Already the winner of the Big 'Cap"in 2011 and 2013, Game On Dude secured his hat-trick at Santa Anita Park with a 1 3/4-length triumph over Will Take Charge, with the remainder of the field eight lengths and more behind.

Will Take Charge, who had edged out Game On Dude by a head in the Clark Handicap (gr. I) at Churchill Downs in November, had already shown his well-being this year when finishing a fine second to the progressive Lea in the Donn Handicap (gr. I) at Gulfstream Park in February. Lea was following up his success in the Hal's Hope Stakes (gr. III) at Gulfstream in January, and put up a career-best performance in the Donn, which he won by 1 1/2 lengths.