Railbird 2004–2019

Miscellany Archive

Noted: July 8

– The New England Turf Writers Association named Senor Ladd 2004 Horse of the Year. The award was given out at NETWA’s annual dinner on Thursday night. Jockey Stewart Elliott was honored with a special achievement award; Winston Thompson earned the Eli Chiat Jockey Award. Horses honored included Milky Way Guy (Turf Male) and Lady Beezlebub (Three-Year-Old Filly).
– Saratoga season passes are on sale by telephone and mail. The passes are $35 for the grandstand and $75 for the clubhouse, and good for admission every day of the meet including Travers Day. Call 516-488-6000, ext. 4433 for more information.
– Noble Threewitt is 94 and still training. “People are always asking when I’m going to retire, and I always tell them that they’ll have to close the track down first. I have no hobbies. I don’t play golf. I don’t even know how to play checkers.” The veteran horseman will receive the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award at Hollywood Park on Saturday for his service to the industry. (LA Times)
– Seriously? “I will ride your Thoroughbred, Quarterhorse, Arabian or even Mule, in any sanctioned pari-mutuel race in California this summer, for only 10 cents” (eBay). [Link via Oregon Racing News]

Posted in Miscellany on July 8, 2005

Noted: July 7

– “Trainer Juan Serey, once the terror of the claiming game in New York and New Jersey racing, roared back to action yesterday when he saddled three horses at Monmouth Park after more than three years in the wilderness” (New York Post).
– A solid group of 93 has been nominated to the Claiming Crown. The event will take place at Canterbury Park on July 16. Runaway Russy, last seen barely keeping up with Funny Cide in the Suburban, and Lord of the Game, recent winner of the Cornhusker, are among the 11 named to the day’s big race, the $150,000 Jewel (Blood-Horse).
– Prairie Meadows has fined Corey Nakatani $300 for not riding Cee’s Irish to the wire in the Iowa Oaks last week. “It didn’t affect the outcome of the race, but the stewards said that it presented a poor image” (Des Moines Register).
– Ryan Fogelsonger makes his MTV debut tonight in “True Life: I Want a Perfect Body II.” A camera crew from the show followed the jockey for six months as he worked to add eight pounds of muscle to his 104-pound frame (Laurel).

Posted in Miscellany on July 7, 2005

Headlines: July 5

– Lost in the Fog settles in at Calder. The undefeated three-year-old will start in the Carry Back Stakes next Saturday. Trainer Greg Gilchrist said that following the Carry Back, Lost in the Fog may run in the King Bishop’s Stakes at Saratoga and possibly in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. After that, “At some time, he’ll obviously need a long rest because we plan to race him as a 4-year-old” (Blood-Horse).
– A full field is expected for next Saturday’s Hollywood Gold Cup. Lava Man, Limehouse, and Perfect Drift are among the likely starters (LA Times) … Musique Toujours worked out on Monday in anticipation of the Cup, going six furlongs in 1:12.2. “Nice and smooth,” said trainer John Sadler of the work (Blood-Horse).
– A spill at Lone Star Park on Monday sent jockey Casey Lambert to the hospital with a broken jaw and cracked ribs. Lambert was on Eunever in the afternoon’s last race when the horse broke down in the stretch. Two other horses crashed into the fallen pair, but neither they nor their riders were seriously injured (Star-Telegram).

Posted in Miscellany on July 5, 2005

Summer Vacation

I am off to Cape Cod for the week, trading in trips to the track for trips to the beach. Posting will resume on Saturday, or 25 days to Saratoga, as I’m thinking of it.
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One last Suffolk Downs note for the week: Reynaldo Abreu, the former Nick Zito assistant who was hired as the private trainer for the Marylou Whitney Stables in May, earned his first win today in race five at Suffolk Downs, a maiden special weight. Abreu ran Caged Glory, a three-year-old filly making her fifth start. She won easily by more than 13 lengths, with jockey Winston Thompson sitting almost motionless throughout the race, except for a quick look back at the rapidly fading competition in the stretch.

Posted in Miscellany on June 27, 2005

Headlines: June 18

– Churchill Downs has suspended and fined three jockeys for wearing unapproved ads during the Kentucky Derby. Jeremy Rose, Corey Nakatani, and Kent Desormeaux have each been suspended seven days and fined $5,000 for the infraction. The ruling has been appealed, which means the jockeys may continue to ride pending the outcome. (Inq.)
– NYRA is considering raising admission prices at Saratoga for Travers Day. Gate prices on August 27 could rise to $10 for general admission and $20 for the clubhouse. (TU)
– The California legislature is considering a bill that would require CHRB to write regulations pertaining to conflicts of interest among its members. An earlier version of the bill tried to bar CHRB members from having any financial interest in racing. (TT)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com

Posted in Miscellany on June 18, 2005