Saturday, April 3, 2010

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

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 10:26 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>: Eskendereya blows away field to win Wood Memorial

Posted: 03 Apr 2010 04:46 PM PDT

NEW YORK — And your likely Kentucky Derby favorite is ... Eskendereya, the overpowering winner of the $750,000 Wood Memorial.

Drawing away from a strong field in the stretch, Eskendereya pulled off a second straight blowout in a major Derby prep Saturday to state his case as the horse to beat on the first Saturday in May.

And that would be fine with Todd Pletcher, the trainer who has won just about every race you can think of but is 0 for 24 in the Derby.

"It would be big to win the Derby," Pletcher said. "We'll try to make it happen. We'll do the best we can."

Eskendereya looks like Pletcher's best shot to end his Derby drought, but the trainer could have as many as seven other 3-year-olds by the time an expected full field of 20 horses enter the starting gate at Churchill Downs.

Eskendereya, though, is the clear standout. And after fellow Derby top contender Lookin At Lucky finished third in the Santa Anita Derby about 30 minutes later, there's little argument as to who's the No. 1 choice for the Derby.

Pletcher couldn't hide a huge smile as he stood on the track and congratulated his assistant, Jonathan Thomas, before accepting handshakes from a large group in the winner's circle.

"It's amazing," he said. "The further he goes, the stronger he gets. He's a horse that has natural stamina."

Ridden by John Velazquez, 1-2 favorite Eskendereya stormed into the lead and won by 9¾ lengths over Jackson Bend. The margin of victory in the 1 1-8-mile Wood topped Eskendereya's 8½-length win in the Fountain of Youth Stakes on Feb. 20 in his last start.

The Derby on May 1 is 1¼ miles and appears to be a perfect fit for Eskendereya, a chestnut son of Giant's Causeway.

Owned by Ahmed Zayat, Eskendereya picked up $450,000 and boosted his graded stakes earnings to $600,000, more than enough to qualify for the Derby that has a 20-horse limit.

Zayat, who has filed for bankruptcy after a bank said he defaulted on $34 million in loans, was not at the race.

Jackson Bend, trained by two-time Derby winner Nick Zito, earned $150,000 for second to move to $230,000, likely enough to make the Derby field. That would give Zito two Derby starters — Florida Derby winner Ice Box is the other.

Eskendereya raced comfortably in third behind Most Happy Fella and Jackson Bend. By the time the field hit the final turn, Eskendereya was taking control as Velazquez eased the colt to the outside. From there, he was home free.

"He was just galloping," Velazquez said. "It was a good feeling."

Awesome Act was third, followed by Schoolyard Dreams, Carnivore and Most Happy Fella.

The winning time was 1:49.97. Eskendereya returned $3, $2.30 and $2.10. Jackson Bend returned $3.90 and $2.60, and Awesome Act paid $2.20.

Jackson Bend has finished second three times in a row in Derby preps — the Holy Bull, the Fountain of Youth and now the Wood, with two of the losses coming against Eskendereya.

"These guys have to run against Muhammad Ali," Zito said referring to Eskendereya. "That's Smokin' Joe Frazier (Jackson Bend). He won't give up."

Calvin Borel, who was aboard Zito's colt for the first time, agreed.

"The one thing about this colt is that he's gutsy," Borel said. "He's the kind of horse you want in the Derby."

If Borel remains with Jackson Bend, the jockey would be looking for a second straight Derby win following last year's stunner with 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird.

Awesome Act had a tough trip, stumbling at the start and losing a shoe. But the Gotham Stakes winner based in England finished strong under Julien Leparoux to gain third and earn $75,000 and give him $285,000 in graded stakes earnings.

"It was a great performance by the winner, but for my horse the pace was wrong," Awesome Act's trainer Jeremy Noseda said. "We'll move on to Kentucky and go from there."

Eskendereya was purchased by Zayat Stables for $250,000 at the Keeneland September sale in 2008. The name is the Arab translation for the Egyptian port city of Alexandria. Eskendereya also is defined as a flirty Alexandrian dance with a heavy veil, according to a bellydance glossary of Middle Eastern dance teminologies.

The colt won one of his first two starts before finishing ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile over Santa Anita's synthetic surface. Pletcher said Eskendereya had a rough trip and called the race a throw out. Now he's 3-for-3 this year and moving on to the Derby.

"We've never had a horse we knew could handle the mile-and-a-quarter and we've never had one put together a couple of preps like this one," Pletcher said. "We've had some good prep wins, but none as impressive as these two."

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Santa Rosa track adds third week of <b>horse</b> <b>racing</b>

Posted: 03 Apr 2010 08:59 AM PDT


By HOWARD SENZELL
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Bucking a nationwide trend of reduced racing dates, the Sonoma County Fair will run an extra week of competition this summer.


That adds up to 15 days of thoroughbred and mixed breed racing, compared with 10 dates last year. The actual fair, with the exhibits and carnival, runs from July 27 to Aug. 8. With the customary Wednesday through Sunday schedule, the first day of racing will be Wednesday, July 28.

The bonus five days of racing begin Aug. 11 and end Aug. 15.

This year's Northern California fair calendar will have a new look as the Solano County Fair will not have racing, and the Humboldt County Fair will overlap four days with the Santa Rosa racing. The Ferndale track will operate Aug.18-22 without any Northern California competition.

Golden Gate Fields in Albany wanted to race the week of Aug. 18-22, but the California Horse Racing Board elected to give Humboldt County a week with no competition.

This will be the second time the Sonoma County Fair has experimented with racing after the carnival leaves town. The 2007 extension played to mixed results. The betting handle and crowds were not as hefty as when the fair brought customers to the track. On the other hand, the field sizes did not decline, and enough higher class horses stayed around to make it interesting for customers.

Despite the economy and the downward trend of the racing industry, when Solano County elected to stop racing, Sonoma County board members applied for additional dates.

That's an exception to the nationwide trend of fewer racing dates. For instance, Michigan, which had 65 days of thoroughbred racing last year, will have only three programs in 2010.

To lure fans to attend the final week, fair management will offer free admission and parking and will attempt to create an atmosphere that is different from traditional racetracks.

"We're going to make it a party atmosphere," said Marlina Harrison of the publicity department. "We'll have live music, discounted beverages, and the box seat prices will be lower than the first two weeks. We'll also be announcing several other promotions in upcoming months."

Another lure to fans and horsemen is the turf course, which opened in 2005. It is the only grass course on the Northern California fair circuit and has improved the caliber of racing locally.


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