Quick notes on a couple of Saturday’s Derby prep races:
Consolidator looked great in the San Felipe at Santa Anita, sitting off the pace until six furlongs and then drawing off from the rest of field, winning by 6 1/2 lengths and setting two records. (LA Times)
Afleet Alex’s dismal last place finish in the Rebel at Oaklawn was more than surprising — it was downright shocking. This is a horse who’s never run worse than second in his seven previous starts. The news today though is that Alex has a lung infection and will return to the track after a five-day course of antibiotics. That’s a good excuse for a poor race, but it also means that his next start in the Arkansas Derby on April 16 will only be his second real prep, and it’s also his last chance before the Kentucky Derby to win a two-turn race. (Daily Racing Form)
Posted by JC in Racing on 03/20/2005 @ 11:00 am / Tagged Kentucky Derby / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Former Massachusetts governor Paul Cellucci recently resigned as ambassador to Canada after nearly four years of service to join Magna as the vice president of corporate development (Thoroughbred Times). The Boston Herald reports that this development has some Suffolk Downs owners and trainers hoping that Cellucci will rescue the endangered track by convincing Magna to buy it:
“I am looking at Mr. Cellucci as being someone who could be the right person, at the right place, at the right time to bring a fresh breath of air to thoroughbred racing,” said Anthony Spadea Jr., who owns a stable of horses that race at Suffolk….
Bill Lagorio, a Suffolk horseman, wants Cellucci to sell his new boss at Magna, Austrian-immigrant-turned-business-tycoon Frank Stronach, on adding Suffolk to his empire.
“It’s a great track for Stronach,” Lagorio said, citing the money the gambling chief could make “resurrecting this track and making it a showplace.”
I don’t remember Cellucci as much of a friend to horse racing during his brief governership. That he’s being put forward as a possible savior can be taken as a sign of how desperate Suffolk’s situation has become.
Posted by JC in Suffolk Downs on 03/20/2005 @ 9:00 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
There’ll be no posts to the site until Sunday, as I’ll be away in Saratoga doing a little advance work for the summer. Enjoy this weekend’s races.
3/20 Addendum: Saratoga was as lovely in winter as it is in summer. The only bad part of the trip was my visit to Saratoga Raceway, easily the most dreary, horrible little racino in the Northeast. The first floor slots area was dark and cramped, the second floor simulcasting lounge was unbelievably depressing. With TVs crammed along the walls, cheap fold-out tables for sitting at, a drop ceiling, and fluorescent lighting, the second floor resembled a badly converted basement or Chicago Midway airport — before renovations. I fled the scene in less than 10 minutes.
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 03/17/2005 @ 9:00 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
