Afleet Alex settles into barn 18 at Belmont. (Daily Racing Form)
Kitten’s Joy is among the 36 nominees to the Firecracker Breeders’ Cup. The race would be the 2004 turf champion’s season debut and his first race since having knee surgery last fall. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Rock Hard Ten is back galloping. Trainer Richard Mandella is pointing him toward the Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap, with the eventual goal of running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic this October. (Blood-Horse)
And owner Rick Porter reports on rockportharbor.com that Rockport is back on the track. Trainer John Servis told the Daily Racing Form that the colt will not be ready for the Haskell, but could make the Travers.
Posted by JC in Horses on 06/23/2005 @ 2:50 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Texas racing has a problem with milkshakes. Out of 266 blood samples taken from horses in randomly selected races at Lone Star Park during two weeks in May and the third weekend in June, five were positive for excess carbon dioxide. The random, blind survey was conducted by the state racing commission, which has directed its chief veterinarian to develop a plan to squelch the problem. (Star-Telegram)
Gary West: “The commission must move quickly and decisively to shut down the soda fountain.”
Posted by JC in Misdeeds & Wrongdoing on 06/23/2005 @ 2:20 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
The Los Angeles Business Journal is reporting that the owners of Bay Meadows put in the leading bid of $275 million to buy Hollywood Park. Stockbridge Capital Partners entered the bidding process late and submitted a bid that was 10% higher than any others; it also agreed to hire Hollywood’s current owners, Churchill Downs, to manage the track for another three years, giving Hollywood Park a temporary reprieve from becoming a condo development.
Posted by JC in Track Notes on 06/21/2005 @ 6:00 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
