Articles

    Oxbow, Stevens upsets Preakness at Pimlico

    Oxbow-Wins250webORB FINISHES FOURTH

    Mike Gathagan
    Vice President-Communications
    Maryland Jockey Club

    BALTIMORE, Md. – Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas made history at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday when he saddled Oxbow for a front-running upset victory in the 138th Preakness Stakes (G1). The 15-1 long shot gave his 77-year-old trainer his sixth Preakness victory, as well as his 14th triumph in a Triple Crown event.

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    Handicapping

    Orb made even-money favorite on Preakness line

    Ron Correll
    Senior columnist
    Tracksideview.com

    The field for the 138th Preakness to be run Saturday, May 18 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., with odds and post positions:

    1. Orb – even
    2. Goldencents – 8-1
    3. Titletown Five – 30-1
    4. Departing – 6-1
    5. Mylute – 5-1
    6. Oxbow – 15-1
    7. Will Take Charge – 12-1
    8. Governor Charlie – 12-1
    9. Itsmyluckyday – 10-1

    I…

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    View from the Grandstand

    Two weeks until the Derby – rankings and comments

    Verrazano-Wood275webBob Hill
    Staff writer
    Tracksideview.com

    There now is only one race remaining that carries with it qualifying points for the 2013 Kentucky Derby – The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial at Churchill Downs.  There is virtually no prospect of an entry in the Derby Trial making the Derby field. 

    This past weekend, Winning Cause captured the Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland and jumped into the Derby picture by earning 20 points.  Bob Baffert announced on April 23 that he…

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Race Results

Open Water stuns Lady of Fifty in Everett Handicap

Bob Mieszerski
Betfair Hollywood Park

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Taking advantage of a quick early pace, Open Water earned her first victory outside Kentucky, upsetting favored Lady of Fifty in the $150,250 Marjorie L. Everett Handicap Saturday at Betfair Hollywood Park.

The victory by the 9-1 shot gave jockey Joe Talamo a sweep of the afternoon’s stakes. More than three hours earlier, Talamo teamed with Unusual Hottie to capture the $100,500 Fran’s Valentine.

Trained by Eric Guillot for a partnership…

Skyring upsets Dixie Stakes

Skyring-2250webMike Gathagan
Vice President-Communications
Maryland Jockey Club

BALTIMORE, Md. – Calumet Farm’s Skyring, who captured the James W. Murphy at Pimlico on Preakness Day last year, returned Saturday to triumph in the $300,000 Longines Dixie Stakes (G2) at Old Hilltop.

One of two starters saddled by Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Skyring set all of the pace and held off a late-charging Wilcox Inn by a half-length in the 1 1/8-mile turf stakes. The Lukas-trained Optimizer…

Glorious View makes stakes debut a winning one in Vagrancy

Jon Forbes
NYRA/Belmont Park

ELMONT, N.Y. – Glorious View extended her winning streak to four, annexed her first graded stakes, and demonstrated her tenacity with a front-running victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Vagrancy Handicap at Belmont Park.

Backed as the 8-5 favorite in the 6 ½-furlong sprint for fillies and mares, Glorious View was away quickest of all from the rail post and maintained a one-length lead over Spectacular Sky through opening fractions of 22.14 and 45.04 seconds.…

Za Approval rallies to win Red Bank at Monmouth Park

John Heims
Monmouth Park

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Live Oak Plantation’s Za Approval waited patiently near the back of the pack before moving around the far turn, splitting rivals near the eighth pole and running down Tune Me In in the final yards of the Grade 3 $100,000 Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

Trained by Christophe Clement, Za Approval covered the mile over firm turf in 1:34 2/5 and paid $3.80, $3 and $2.80 as the odds-on…

Treasured Up wins Keertana

Treasured-Up250webDarren Rogers
Churchill Downs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Treasured Up, third in the Grade III Regret last fall, collected the first stakes win of her 12-race career with a come-from-behind victory Saturday in the inaugural $64,652 Keertana at Churchill Downs, narrowly defeating 5-2 favorite Qushchi-GB by a head.

Ridden by the meet’s top jockey Shaun Bridgmohan, Treasured Up covered 1 3/8 miles on firm turf in 2:15.16 for trainer Al Stall Jr. and owner B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm LLC.…

Sage Valley comes off layoff to win Maryland Sprint Handicap

Sage-Valley250webMike Gathagan
Vice President-Communications
Maryland Jockey Club

BALTIMORE, Md. – Michael Dubb’s Sage Valley pressed the pace before bursting away to a convincing score in the $150,000 Maryland Sprint Handicap (G3) at Pimlico Race Course.

Saddled by Rudy Rodriquez, the son of Discreet Cat left the gate as the narrow betting favorite at 2.30-1 in the six-furlong sprint on the main track. Hardened Wildcat, a very close second choice at 2.40-1, rallied to finish second, 2¼ lengths behind…

Picking Winners

Arlington features

Arlington Park kicks off its first graded stakes weekend of the 2013 season Saturday, May 25, with the Arlington Classic, Arlington Matron and the Hanshin Cup. All three races are Grade 3s, with one on the turf and the other two on the synthetic main track.

Race Preview

Ciao Bella Luna facing five in Railbird at Hollywood

Bob Mieszerski
Betfair Hollywood Park

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Ciao Bella Luna, the upset winner of the Grade II Beaumont Stakes April 14 at Keeneland, will make her Betfair Hollywood Park debut against five other 3-year-old fillies in the $70,000 Railbird Stakes Sunday.

Scheduled for seven furlongs over Cushion Track, the Railbird is the eighth of nine races. Post time Sunday is 1 p.m. Track gates will open at 9:55 a.m. for simulcasts.

Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer…

Racetrack Reports

Wilson wins jockey challenge

Emma-Jayne-Wilson275webMike Gathagan
Vice President-Communications
Maryland Jockey Club

BALTIMORE, Md. – She may ride regularly in Canada, but Emma-Jayne Wilson is finding herself right at home at Old Hilltop.

Wilson, 25, compiled 36 points to cruise to victory in the inaugural $34,000 Xpressbet ‘Battle of the Sexes’ Jockey Challenge on Friday afternoon at Pimlico Race Course.

Based at Woodbine, Wilson won three of four challenge races to finish with a 13-point edge on her runner-up, Hall of Fame jockey…

Iron Maidens

Fiftyshadesofhay up in time to take Black-Eyed Susan

Fiftyshadesofhay275webMike Gathagan
Vice President-Communications
Maryland Jockey Club

BALTIMORE, Md. – Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram & Paul Weitman’s Fiftyshadesofhay closed with a rush to claim a narrow victory in the 89th running of the $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) at Pimlico Race Course.

Trained by Bob Baffert, the daughter of Pulpit rated off the pace under jockey Joel Rosario before

NTRA Releases

Craig Dado elected to NTRA board of directors

(NTRA release)

Craig Dado, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), it was announced following the organization’s second quarter Board meeting held Friday, May 17, in Baltimore, Md.  Dado, 48, has been with Del Mar since 2001 after having previously worked at Santa Anita Park.   

In other action, the Board:

- Approved audited financial results for the fiscal year concluding…

Trainers and Jockeys

Mary Russ-Tortora wins Lady Legend race at Pimlico

Mary-Russ-Tortora275webMike Gathagan
Vice President-Communications
Maryland Jockey Club

BALTIMORE, Md.  -Nineteen years after her last victory and more than three decades after being the first female to capture a Grade 1 race, Mary Russ-Tortora was back in the winner’s circle on Friday afternoon.

With the 59-year-old Russ-Tortora at the controls, Haywired overcame an awkward start and held off a pair of late closers to win the $52,000 Lady Legends for the Cure IV presented by Wells Fargo at Pimlico…