JC / Railbird

News Archive

Noted: January 5

– Funny Cide makes his comeback this weekend. The six-year-old veteran will start in the Mr. Prospector Handicap at Gulfstream on Saturday. “I wanted to get a competitive race under his belt,” said trainer Barcley Tagg, “and whether he wins or loses, it shouldn’t exhaust him.”

– After a two month vacation, Lost in the Fog is back in trainer Greg Gilchrist’s barn. Gilchrist plans to train Lost in the Fog lightly this month and is considering the April 22 Golden Gate Fields Breeders’ Cup Sprint for the colt’s 2006 debut. Unlike last year, Lost in the Fog won’t be criss-crossing the country for races this year. “I don’t think he is going to take that many trips,” Gilchrist said. “If he stays sprinting, we will try to stay in California.”

– Jennie Rees has a few wishes for the new year: A Kentucky Derby winner that races past June, 10-cent superfectas at Churchill, and one racing network that allows betting on all racetracks. The last is my most fervent wish for 2006 — living in TVG land, with no hope of subscribing to HRTV, I am without both Santa Anita and Gulfstream right now, which does not make me a very happy racing fan.

– “Horse racing — having let television slip by — cannot afford to give up print media without a fight,” writes Stan Bergstein in his latest DRF column. Sorry, Mr. Bergstein, print media has already been lost (and not just to racing). The real situation the sport is facing that’s analogous to TV is the Internet, and racing is letting online opportunities slip by with barely a murmur.

Posted in News on January 5, 2006

Checking In …

– Happy holidays, everyone, and best wishes for the new year. Railbird is on semi-hiatus through January 2.
– Santa Anita opened on Monday with a crowd of nearly 35,000. “It’s wonderful,” said Rick Hammerle, Santa Anita’s racing secretary. “It’s almost like the old days when we didn’t have the Hollywood fall meet, and we went straight [from the Oak Tree meet] to here. People are just glad to be back.” Cal-bred longshot Proud Tower Too won the Malibu over favorite Attila’s Storm. Thor’s Echo was third; Wilko finished a distant eleventh, bringing his losing streak to seven since his upset win in the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
– Michael Blowen, founder of racehorse retirement haven Old Friends Farm, “is a real, legitimate do-gooder.”
– Trainer Tim Ritchey gears up for winter with 35 horses at Oaklawn and another 15 at Gulfstream, including four promising juveniles.
– “A year ago, Greater Good was billed as one of Oaklawn Park’s ‘Big Three’ Kentucky Derby hopefuls. Today, Greater Good is simply trying to rebuild his once promising career.”
– It’s Eclipse balloting time: Dave Litfin, Ed McNamara, and Paul Daley reveal their votes.

Posted in News on December 27, 2005

Noted: December 18

– In the Derby Watch: Brother Derek wins the Hollywood Futurity; Bally’s posts Derby Futures.
– Funny Cide preps for a 2006 campaign at Gulfstream. Sidelined for half of 2005 with an achy back, the gelding returned to the track on Friday, working five furlongs in :58.2 handily. Trainer Barclay Tagg suggested Funny Cide could start next in the January 7 Mr. Prospector Stakes and then the February 4 Donn Handicap, which may also be the next start of Andromeda’s Hero, winner of Saturday’s Hooper at Calder.
– Film Maker wins the La Prevoyante. The five-year-old mare trained by Graham Motion beat runner-up Kate Winslet by three and a half lengths in the race.
– NYRA president Charles Hayward said on Friday that “the clock is ticking” toward the day NYRA goes broke. “I’ve said all along we’re going to run out of money by the end of the year.” Hayward is planning to take NYRA into bankruptcy, if necessary, rather than shut down racing.
– Massachusetts racetracks prepare for layoffs as the squabbling continues over simulcasting legislation.

Posted in News on December 18, 2005

Noted: December 16

– Kieren Fallon will ride at Santa Anita this winter, said the new agent for the English six-time champion jockey. Or he won’t. “I was looking forward to going, but I’ve had second thoughts,” said Fallon.
– Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo worked an easy half-mile at Hollywood Park on Thursday, “but appeared eager to do much more.” He’s expected to make his first start since the Belmont sometime in January.
– New York officials denied trainer Todd Pletcher’s appeal of a 45-day suspension and $3,000 fine for a medication positive in one of his horses last year. Pletcher plans to appeal again, in court. “At this point, we’re planning on appealing,” Pletcher said. “We really don’t have any idea how the horse came up positive. Other than that, my attorneys have asked me not to comment.”
– The Jockeys’ Guild claims that “its proposed slate of directors for the Disabled Jockeys’ Endowment was rejected, and that associates of former president Dr. Wayne Gertmenian were named to oversee the fund.” The Thoroughbred Times reports that Gertmenian remains on the Endowment’s board of directors, along with former Guild vice president Albert Fiss and lawyer Lloyd Ownbey. In a press release sent on Thursday, the Guild suggested that anyone interested in donating to the Endowment give to alternate charities for disabled riders.

Posted in News on December 16, 2005