Friday, April 2, 2010

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<b>Horse</b> <b>racing</b> returns on April 10-11

Posted: 01 Apr 2010 10:40 PM PDT

Horse racing is returning to the Cochise County Fairgrounds.

Fairgrounds Manager Karen Strongin announced last week enough state funding has been allocated this year allowing her to put on one weekend of horse racing.

Strongin said the dates she was given were April 10-11.

"We plan to have a nice variety of Thoroughbred and Quarter horse races," she said. "The track has been maintained and we're excited to be able to bring the races back to Douglas this year."

The El Moro de Cumpas trials will be held in Douglas that weekend with the finals to be in Sonoita for the second straight year. The Sonoita Derby Trials will also take place in Douglas as will the John Ray Memorial.

Strongin is hoping to have at least 10 races each of the two days.

With the economic situation the way it is there will be no increase in the price of the admission or the cost of the programs.

A St. Patrick's Day dance is scheduled for this Saturday (March 20) from 8 p.m. to midnight. Money raised will be used for the upcoming horse races. There will be door prizes and green beer. Tickets are $5.

"This board is determined to continue onward with all the traditions we have here," Strongin said. "We're like everybody else … in a funding crunch."

Kingman has cancelled its horse races this year and Safford is running just one weekend like Douglas.

Safford will run this March 20-21, then Strongin said there will be no races the next two weekends.

Douglas will have its races; there will be no racing April 17-18 with Sonoita running April 24-25 and May 1-2 which is Kentucky Derby weekend.

Strongin says what happened last year was beyond her on anyone's on the boards control and they would have loved to have had the horse races but with the timing of the state budget cuts that was just not possible.

"Our legislators are working really hard for us," she said. "They don't want to see this go away either. … They just had to wait and see what kind of funding was going to be available for the fourth quarter period.

"We want to race, we will race but we had to wait to hear from the state as to if any funds were going to be available to help us put on these races. We weren't sure if there was going to be any funding at all."

Some of the money from the state is also purse money, Strongin said.

The fairgrounds manager said she met individually which each of our state representatives and explained to them how important this event is for this area and they were able to come through for her this year.

"This event is very important for this area," she said. "People around here really like the races and look forward to us having them each year. … But it takes a lot of money to put this on."

Some horses are already starting to work out on the track. Strongin expects most of them to arrive around April 1.

Strongin says she is also looking for race sponsors and volunteers.

"If anybody in the community wants to volunteer to help do something out here and they don't have a criminal background, we would love to hear from them," she said.

 

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<b>Horse</b> <b>Racing</b> Capsules: Top Derby contender Eskendereya heads Wood field

Posted: 01 Apr 2010 06:31 PM PDT

NEW YORK — After a two-week delay, Eskendereya gets a chance to show whether he's worthy of the role as Kentucky Derby favorite.

The 3-year-old colt is the 4-5 favorite in a six-horse field for Saturday's $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack, a final prep before the Derby on May 1.

Eskendereya won the Fountain of Youth Stakes by 8½ lengths on Feb. 20. Owner Ahmed Zayat then decided to skip the Florida Derby and run in the Wood, a decision he hopes will pay off in the Run for the Roses.

Trainer Todd Pletcher says Eskendereya (s-ken-DREY-uh) deserves to be ranked among the leading Derby contenders and call the colt's last race the "most impressive performance this year" in a prep.

"He has all the tools that you would like to see," Pletcher said. "The one thing we've been very confident in all along is that he wants to run the distance of the classic races."

Pletcher is 0-for-24 in the Derby, and one reason may be that his 3-year-olds were unable to handle 1¼ miles. The Wood is 1 1-8.

Eskendereya would seem to have no trouble with distance. A son of Giant's Causeway, the chestnut colt appeared to have plenty of run left after winning the 1 1-8-mile Fountain of Youth.

"He has tremendous natural stamina," Pletcher said. "He's physically a strong horse, he holds up to his races well, he eats well."

Taking on Eskendereya are Gotham winner Awesome Act, Fountain of Youth runner-up Jackson Bend, Tampa Bay Derby runner-up Schoolyard Dreams, maiden winner Carnivore and front-running Most Happy Fella, a winner in two of his last three starts at the Big A.

Eskendereya arrived at New York's Belmont Park from Florida on Wednesday, and has settled into his new home.

"He's gotten taller, grown from a boy to man, looks fantastic," Pletcher's assistant Jonathan Thomas said Thursday as Eskendereya playfully grabbed at the hay rack next to his stall and posed for photos.

Eskendereya is the Arab translation for the Egyptian port city of Alexandria. The name also is defined as a "flirty Alexandrian dance with a milaya (heavy veil), formerly used as a fashion accessory in the 40s," according to a bellydance glossary of Middle Eastern dance teminologies.

Pletcher is looking for a win Saturday, but knows a strong effort will be enough to send Eskendereya to the Derby. The Derby field is limited to 20 starters based on graded-stakes earnings. The colt ranks 28th on the list with $150,000.

"He hopefully runs well — he's capable of winning — and comes out of it well and continues to move forward," Pletcher said.

Pletcher has several other Derby hopefuls, including Discreetly Mine, Mission Impazible, Rule and Super Saver. He would set a record if he saddles more than five horses in the Derby.

"We're just focused on keeping these horses healthy and happy and not too caught up in whether it's one, two, five or whatever the number turns out to be," Pletcher said.

Awesome Act, the 9-2 second choice, is coming off a 1¼-length win in the Gotham at the Big A in his first race on dirt. The England-based colt remained in the New York after the win and has been training well for the Wood. He went for a casual breeze Thursday at Belmont, and assistant trainer Wayne Tanner said he's "settled in like he's been here all his life."

Trainer Jeremy Noseda says a strong race is needed "to keep moving forward and to believe that we are realistic about our dream of being in Kentucky."

Jackson Bend could give Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito a second Derby starter to go with his Florida Derby winner Ice Box. Jackson Bend has never finished worse than third in his eight starts, and was a distant second to Eskendereya in the Fountain of Youth.

Schoolyard Dreams appeared to have captured the Tampa Bay Derby, but the photo finish gave the win to Odysseus.

"I still can't believe he lost that race," trainer Derek Ryan said. "But he's a horse that is going in the right direction. He's training very well and I'm pleased with where he is."

In Saturday's other major preps, Lookin At Lucky is the 4-5 favorite in the Santa Anita Derby and Backtalk is the 3-1 favorite in the Illinois Derby.

Triple Crown nomination list grows by 6

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gotham Stakes runner-up Yawanna Twist is among six late additions to the Triple Crown.

The owners of Yawanna Twist, Raise the Bridle, Carnivore, Game Ball, Posse Power and Thomas Baines paid a $6,000 fee to add their horses to the list of Triple Crown contenders.

Yawanna Twist is owned by Steel Your Face Stables. The horse is trained by Rick Dutrow, who led Big Brown to victories in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in 2008. The 3-year-old is entered in Saturday's Illinois Derby.

Raise the Bridle is owned by Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerta Equine, who co-owned last year's Derby winner Mine That Bird.

There are now 372 Triple Crown nominees with a month to go before the May 1 Derby.

Cuff Me wins Big A's Lottsa Talc Stakes

NEW YORK — Cuff Me lived up her status as the 3-5 favorite, beating Bailzee by 1¾ lengths Thursday in the $58,000 Lottsa Talc Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies at Aqueduct.

Following a pair of fourths in open stakes in Florida, Cuff Me rebounded against state breds for her fourth win in six starts. Ramon Dominguez was aboard for trainer Tony Dutrow as Cuff Me ran the six furlongs in 1:10.01 on the fast track.

Cuff Me paid $3.40, $2.40 and $2.10. Bailzee returned $4.40 and $2.90. So N So paid $2.20 to show.

Self Made wins Santa Anita feature

ARCADIA, Calif. — Self Made rallied from last to win Thursday's $48,400 feature for California-breds by three-quarters of a length at Santa Anita.

Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Self Made covered 1 1-16 miles in 1:44.52 and paid $5.20, $3.20 and $2.60.

Warrens Summergold returned $3.40 and $2.80, while Green Card James was another nose back in third and paid $3.20 to show.

The victory, worth $28,880, increased Self Made's career earnings to $55,280.

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Emerald Downs will kick off <b>racing</b> season April 9 in Auburn

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 10:10 AM PDT

The thoroughbred horses will break out of the gates for the first time April 9 for Opening Night at Emerald Downs.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Auburn horse racing track.

The $83 million oval opened its gates June 20, 1996, four years after the closing of Longacres.

The cost of admission for adults is $7, which includes access to the first five levels of the stadium, the paddock and park. Children under 17 get in free and kids 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Preferred parking is $5 on Fridays and $7 on weekends and holidays, and valet parking is $10. Parking in the general lot is free.

The biggest day of racing at Emerald Downs this summer will again be the 75th running of the $300,000 Longacres Mile on Aug. 22.

The total purse for the marquee race was increased by $50,000 last year because of Breeders' Cup Stakes funding, and becomes one of the most important stops on the Road to the Breeders' Cup World Championships' $1 Million Dirt Mile.

The 89-day calendar reflects a Friday-through-Sunday schedule until Thursdays are added beginning June 10. There will be holiday racing on Memorial Day (Monday, May 31) and Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 6).

First race post times are 6 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Federal Way Mirror Sports editor Casey Olson can be reached at sports@fedwaymirror.com or (253) 925-5565.

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