The Road to the Kentucky Derby gets crowded at Aqueduct this weekend, but with no G$ at stake at Turfway Park, the John Battaglia has come up rather weak.
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And the news for Turfway Park does not get any better.
DRF – McGee – Turfway Park cuts purses 25 percent
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Two scoring race for road to the Roses Contest this weekend.
Gotham Stake GIII $400,000g 8.5f at Aqueduct
John Battaglia Memorial Stake $100,000g 8.5f atTurfway Park
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I am always at a loss at how much to believe of my own stories.
Washington Irving
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Kendall Hansen, 55, was ready to enter medical school after graduating from college, but decided to become a professional gambler instead. He spent more than two years betting at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky, and said he made enough to pay for some of his medical school tuition.
“I think that’s why I’m not a typical doctor,” he said. “Most doctors have to stay in the classroom and work 12 to 16 hours a day straight for so many years, and that sucks some of the personality out of you. Maybe I saved a little bit of my personality by betting on horses for a few years.”
NY Times Finley – Colorful Owner’s White Horse Is the Bettors’ Favorite
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Thoroughbred Times – Inside Post – Challenge
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The Globe And Mail – Dixon – The Canadian Oscar winner few have heard of
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ESPN – Cronley – Home sweet home page
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Horse Race Insider – Pleasant Dreams
NY Times – Finley – Union Rags Takes Fountain of Youth, Becoming the Derby Front-Runner
Horse Race Insider – Union’s Inception
Bloodhorse – True Nicks – Porter – Can Union Rags Stretch Out?
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I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand.
Al Capone
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Horse Race Insider – The Look Of Eagles
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DRF – Hersh – Fair Grounds: Mark Valeski not at his peak, Jones says
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DRF – Illman – Kentucky Derby 2012: Under the Radar – Scatman
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No kids should see that kind of violence where Batman is killing as many people as the bad guys.
Burt Ward
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DRF – Grening – Aqueduct: Stealcase jumping from maiden to Gotham Stakes
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Thoroughbred Times – Hansen looks to bounce back in Gotham Stakes
Thoroughbred Times – Road to the Triple Crown: Champion Hansen in New York state of mind
Bloodhorse – Shandler - Hansen Draws Post 12 in Jam-Packed Gotham
Downey Profile - Gotham Stakes Full of Gambles
DRF – Grening – Aqueduct: Hansen’s 12 Gotham challengers have much to prove
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DRF – Turfway: State of Play looks to rebound in Battaglia
Bloodhorse – Shandler – Mr. Prankster Goes for Sweep in Battaglia
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NY Times – Finley – Pletcher Loses a Derby Favorite but Retains Hope
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LA Times – Dwyre – With no Dude on hand, Ultimate Eagle is favored in Big Cap
DRF – Andersen – Santa Anita Handicap: Ultimate Eagle hardly a longshot anymore
DRF – Grening – Aqueduct: Caleb’s Posse prepping for Carter in Tom Fool
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DRF – Welsch – Gulfstream Park: Little Mike tries to make it five straight in Canadian Turf
By Greg Douglas
2012 THOROUGHBRED RACING SEASON AT HASTINGS
GETS LAUNCHED WITH OPENING WEEKEND APRIL 14-15
Friday Night Live Returns in Peak Summer Months
Vancouver, B.C. (Feb. 28/12)
“ Hastings Racecourse has announced its 71-day card for the 2012 season with Raj Mutti, Regional General Manager, BC Racing, calling it “a balanced schedule” geared to build on the momentum established last year.
“We are starting with racing two days a week in the early Spring and will add the popular Friday Night Live cards during our peak months,” Mutti said. “Our mandate is to build on the momentum we had in 2011 with increased handle figures and attendance.”
The new season begins on Saturday, April 14 and runs until Friday Oct. 14 with an exciting stakes schedule that is anchored by the two richest single day events of the year: BC Cup Day (Aug. 6) and BC Derby Day (Sept. 9).
There are 40 stakes races scheduled with a total of $2.5 million in purse money. Traditionally, the stakes program gets underway on Sunday, April 15 with the $50,000 George Royal as part of the opening weekend festivities.
The 2012 racing calendar consists of six dates in April, ten in May, thirteen in June, fourteen in July, fourteen in August, nine in September and five in October. August includes six matinee cards during the Fair at the PNE with special 3:20 p.m. starts.
The Friday Night Live cards (7:00 p.m.) begin on May 25 with twelve in total that will continue to run in June, July and August. All Saturday, Sunday and Holiday Mondays have 1:50 p.m. start times with the exception of BC Cup Day (Monday, Aug. 6) and BC Derby Day (Sunday, Sept. 9)
BC Cup Day has six stakes races totaling $325,000 in purses while BC Derby Day features six stakes totaling $700,000. Start times for both will be 12:50 p.m. to accommodate the two biggest dates on the 2012 racing calendar.
Mutti confirmed earlier that the $100,000 BC Premiers on Monday, Oct. 8 has been upgraded to Grade 3 status, joining the $100,000 Ballerina (on the same day) and the $200,000 BC Derby (Sep 9)
With more than 450 horses currently on the grounds at Hastings, training hours are 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday with starting gate training set to begin March 8.
The complete 2012 Hastings Racecourse schedule is available at Hastings Racecourse
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From The Insider -
Training track and Equiciser open today. Look who’s back!
After a three-hour trailer ride from his winter home in Laurier, Manitoba, the 2-year-old Manitoba-bred racing sensation, Jon’s Golden Run, named for the Olympic achievement of Jon Montgomery, returned to the Downs Monday (pictured with groom Clairmont Paris) to launch his 3-year-old career under the tutelage of trainer Emile Corbel (behind Jon holding 4-year-old colt Indefinite). The speculation begins! Can Jon top the Hollywood finish to his baby year in which he won the penultimate race for Manitoba-bred 2-year-olds–the $50,000 Buffalo Stakes? During spring training, anything seems possible.
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These old ballparks are like cathedrals in America. We don’t have big old Gothic cathedrals like they do in Europe. But we got baseball parks.
Jimmy Buffett
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Northlands Park – 2012 Stall List
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Bloodhorse – On the Move: Rafael Bejarano – By Tracy Gantz
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LA Times – Erskine – Jockeys on their other turf: the basketball court
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The Globe And Mail – Mittelstaedt – Cheat, lie, break the law? Chances are, you’re rich
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March 2
Aqueduct
Bold Brat Stake $75,000a, 4&up, Fillies & Mares 6f.
March 3
Aqueduct
Gotham Stake GIII $400,000g, 3yo, 8.5f.
Tom Fool Handicap GIII $200,000g, 3&up, 6f.
Top Flight Handicap GII $200,000g, 3&up, Fillies & Mares 8.5f.
Kings Point Stake (R), $75,000g, 3&up, New York-bred, 8.5f.
Delta Downs
Azalea Stake (R), $75,000g, 3yo Fillies Louisiana-bred, 5f.
Pelican Stake $75,000g, 3yo, 5f.
Fair Grounds
Sarah Lane’s Oates Stake (R), $60,000g, 3yo Fillies Louisiana-bred, 8f (turf).
Gulfstream Park
Canadian Turf Stake GIIIT $150,000g, 4&up, 8f (turf).
Laurel Park
Wide Country Stake $75,000g, 3yo Fillies 7f.
Oaklawn Park
Gazebo Stake $60,000g, 3yo, 6f.
Sam Houston Race Park
Maxxam Gold Cup, $150,000g, 4&up, 9f.
Santa Anita
Santa Anita Handicap GI $750,000g, 4&up, 10f.
Frank E. Kilroe Mile GIT $300,000g, 4&up, 8f (turf).
Las Virgenes Stake GI $250,000g, 3yo Fillies 8f.
Tampa Bay Downs
Challenger Stake $60,000g, 4&up, 8.5f.
Turfway Park
John Battaglia Memorial Stake $100,000g, 3yo, 8.5f.
March 4
Gulfstream Park
Ladies Turf Sprint Stake $60,000g, 4&up, Fillies & Mares 5f (turf).
Sunland Park
SPRC Claiming Stake $250,000a, 3&up, 6f.
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Phil’s Drink And A Flick
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There is certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one’s position, and be bruised in a new place.
Washington Irving
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Grantland – Pierce – In Defense of Ryan Braun
LA Times – Dwyre – Ryan Braun’s drug-testing case smacks of fantasy
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From The Insider
Trainer fined $10,000 and suspended for 2 1/2 years
In what Downs’ CEO Darren Dunn describes as “as severe a penalty as I can remember,” horse trainer Grant Flanders–who came from Arizona to race at the Downs for the first time ever last summer–was fined $10,000 yesterday and banned from racing for 2 1/2 years by the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission, the result of the discovery last August of “a multitude” of restricted drugs, needles, syringes and a tubing device in his trailer. His lawyer had argued, to no avail, at a hearing early in February that the trailer park which is on Manitoba Jockey Club grounds in not within the jurisdiction of the commission. Although the drugs were mainly class 4 (anti-inflammatories and the like) not usually thought to affect a horse’s performance, the commission was concerned about the quantity of the drugs, raising speculation that he was trafficking them to others.
But the tubing could have been tied to trying to fix a race, the commission contended. It is used for a potentially dangerous procedure of giving a horse a “milkshake,” a baking-soda concoction poured down a tube through the horse’s nostril directly to the stomach. It is supposed to neutralize lactic acid so a horse doesn’t get tired. Flanders’ horses only raced nine times. He had two wins and one second. He raced mainly at Turf Paradise. The ruling effectively bars Flanders from racing anywhere until April 30, 2014. Read the commission’s ruling here.
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Phil’s still waiting on Exothermic
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Important Dates to Note
Thursday March 1 Assiniboia Downs Training Track and Equiser open Saturday March 3 The Santa Anita Handicap Santa Anita John Battaglia Memorial Stakes 1 1/16 Mile Turfway Park $75000 Gotham Stakes GIII 1 1/16 Mile Aqueduct $400,000 Saturday March 10 The Swale Stakes Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Derby GII 1 1/16 Mile Tampa Bay Downs $350,000 San Felipe Stakes GII 1 1/16 Mile Santa Anita $300,000 Albastakiya About 1 3/16 Mile 1900 Meters Meydan Racecourse $250,000 Sunday March 11 Palm Beach Stakes GIII 1 1/8 Mile Gulfstream Park $150,000 Tuesday March 13 NCAA – March Madness – First Four Wednesday March 14 Northlands Park – Horses may begin to ship in Friday March 16 Northlands Park – Training opens Saturday March 17 Rebel Stakes GII 1 1/16 Mile Oaklawn Park $500,000 Saturday March 24 Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes GIII 1 1/8 Mile Turfway Park $500,000 Early Nominations for Hastings Stake Races due Sustaining Fees for the CTHS BC Sales Stakes Due Sunday March 25 Sunland Derby GIII 1 1/8 Mile Sunland Park $800,000 Saturday March 31 Dubai World Cup Florida Derby GI 1 1/8 Mile Gulfstream Park $1,000 ,000 UAE Derby Group II About 1 3/16 Mile 1900 Meters Meydan Racecourse $2000,000 Sunday April 1 Louisiana Derby GII 1 1/8 Mile Fair Grounds $1,000 ,000 Monday April 2 NCAA – March Madness – National Championship Thursday April 5 2011 Sovereign Awards – Woodbine Race Track – Toronto Friday April 6 Woodbine Thoroughbreds – Opening Day Fort Erie Race Track – Trainers may begin to set up stalls Saturday April 7 Santa Anita Derby GI 1 1/8 Mile Santa Anita Park $750,000 The Illinois Derby GIII 1 1/8 Mile Hawthorne Park $500,000 Resorts World New York Casino Wood Memorial GI 1 1/8 Mile GI Aqueduct $1,000,000 Fort Erie – Horses may begin to ship in Sunday April 8 Fort Erie Race Track opens for training Saturday April 14 Arkansas Derby GI 1 1/8 Mile Oaklawn Park $1,000,000 Toyota Bluegrass GI 1 1/8 Mile Keeneland $750,000 Hastings Park Opening Day Saturday April 21 Coolmore Lexington Stakes GIII 1 1/16 Mile Keeneland $200,000 Jerome GII 1 Mile Aqueduct $200,000 Saturday April 28 The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial GIII 1 Mile Churchill Downs $200,000 added Friday May 4 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs Northlands Park Opening Day Saturday May 5 Kentucky Derby Churchill Downs Sunday May 6 Fort Erie Race Track Opening Day Assiniboia Downs Opening Day Saturday May 12 2011 Night of Champions – Northlands Park Friday May 18 CTHS BC 2012 Sale Entry Fees Due Saturday May 19 Preakness Pimlico Race Track Friday May 25 Marquis Downs Opens Saturday June 9 Belmont Stakes Belmont Park Sunday June 24 Queen’s Plate Day Woodbine $1 million Queen’s Plate Friday June 29 CTHS Alberta – Nomination Deadline for 2012 Thoroughbred Sale Sunday July 1 Millarville Canada Day Racing Thursday July 12 TeePee Creek Stampede Opening Day Sunday July 15 The 77 th Edition of the Prince of Wales Stakes 1 3/16 miles $500,000 Fort Erie Race Track The 2nd Jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown Monday August 6th BC Cup Day at Hastings Park Saturday August 18 Arlington Million XXX GIT 10f (turf) Arlington Park $1,000,000 Beverly D. GIT 9.5f (turf) Arlington Park $750,000g Secretariat Stake GIT 10f (turf) Arlington Park $500,000g, Saturday August 25 South Cariboo Garlic Festival Sunday September 9th BC Derby Day at Hastings Park – 6 Stakes Monday September 10 CTHS BC Yearling Parade Tuesday September 11 CTHS BC Yearling & Mixed Sale Sunday September 16 CTHS Alberta Yearling & Mixed Sale Woodbine Mile Woodbine – Ontario Derby Monday October 8 Ballerina Stake GIIIC 9f Hastings Racecourse $100,000g British Columbia Premier’s Handicap GIIIC 11f Hastings Racecourse $100,000g, Sunday October 14 Canadian International Day – Woodbine Hastings Park Closing Day Friday November 2 Breeders Cup Santa Anita Saturday November 3 Breeders Cup Santa Anita Tuesday December 25 Christmas Day
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Bloodhorse – MacDonald – Strong Coolmore Team Headed to Dubai
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Phil M Stockmen