JC / Railbird

News Archive

Noted: February 16

– Round Pond makes her first start since last July in an optional claiming sprint for older fillies at Oaklawn today. Trainer John Servis had planned for Round Pond to begin her four-year-old campaign in the March 11 Azeri Breeders’ Cup, but changed his mind after the filly worked six furlongs in 1:13 on February 3. “After this work the other day, I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to hold the filly on the ground for another month?'” Servis said. “I had no plans on running her before then. It was some kind of work, buddy.” Round Pond isn’t the only member of the distaff division returning to the track this week: Splendid Blended, retired last summer and scheduled to be bred, instead returns on Saturday in the Hurricane Bertie at Gulfstream. Also on Saturday, the Grade 1-winning Lousiana-bred Happy Ticket will make her first start since the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Evangeline Downs.
– Attendance, handle, and field size are up at Aqueduct. “Off-season racing, once an enterprise at best grim and often unpalatable, appears to be coming of age.”
– “How many ways does this stink?,” Jay Hovdey asks of the USDA decision to allow the continued slaughter of horses in the United States, despite legislation passed with overwhelming support in congress last fall to end the practice by de-funding USDA inspectors at the slaugherhouses. The decision has angered lawmakers who supported the legislation, and on Tuesday, several humane groups and individuals filed a lawsuit challenging the decision.

Posted in News on February 16, 2006

Noted: February 12

– Balance wins Las Virgenes. “Today she was perfect. She broke nice and relaxed, and I did what I wanted,” said jockey Victor Espinoza. Wild Fit was second.
– Donn winner Brass Hat, headed to Dubai, is “as down-home as a horse can be,” which makes him an inspiration to everyone who breeds or owns horses on a budget.
– Lost in the Fog, in his first workout since starting in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, went three furlongs handily in :36.2 this morning at Golden Gate Fields. “He went even 12’s. It was very good for a first workout,” said trainer Greg Gilchrist.
– Merv wants a match race.

Posted in News on February 12, 2006

Noted: February 7

– Giacomo’s third place finish in last Saturday’s Strub Stakes pleased trainer John Shirreffs. “I’ll go home very happy,” Shirreffs said after the race.
– Jockey Russell Baze and apprentice Martin Garcia tie for Bay Meadows riding title. Both won 47 races during the 31-day meet. Baze has led the jockey standings almost every year at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate since 1981.
– NYRA doesn’t need Magna: “Frank’s not the only date at the ball,”said NYRA board member Charles Wait. “I don’t even think he’s the prettiest.”
– The final three members of the Committee on the Future of Racing in New York have been named.
– More reaction to the Yum! Derby deal: Maryjean Wall thinks “we should welcome the 132nd Derby presented by Yum Brands,” and Jennie Rees, declaring the deal “egalitarian,” says, “I rather like the idea that Churchill didn’t pair up with some elitist brand that many Derby fans can’t afford or identify with. The Derby spectacle draws on all walks of life, as does fast food.” Paul Daley suggests some other sponsorship possibilities: “How about Bob Baffert pairing with Just For Men Hair Color?”
– Despite the passage of a bill in Congress last fall to temporarily end horse slaughter this year by eliminating funding for USDA inspectors, the Agriculture Department announced today that horse slaughter would continue in the US after the date the law was to take effect.
– The racing blogosphere grows and grows: Take a moment to visit the newly launched and highly entertaining Longshots and Other Shots by Chris Garrity (who posted on Railbird last year about visiting Atlantic City Race Course) and the delightful Sue at Post Parade.

Posted in News on February 7, 2006