Jennifer Hoyt
Oaklawn Park

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Mother Nature has blessed Oaklawn with much better weather this season and as a result, the track is raising overnight purses $5,000 per day beginning with Thursday’s 9-race card. Oaklawn was due some good fortune in the weather department after losing a record eight days to cold, snow and ice in 2011.

Through Sunday, Feb. 5, the 16th day of the 56 day meet, the Oaklawn was enjoying a 42 percent increase in attendance compared to 2011 and a 4percent increase in on-track handle. Off-track handle is up 47 percent. At the same point during the 2011 racing season, Oaklawn had only been able to race 10 of its scheduled 16 days.

“We have not lost one single day of training or racing, which has led to competitive field sizes and the nice weather has brought the crowds out that we don’t typically see until later in the season,” said David Longinotti, Assistant General Manager of Racing. “We are excited to share our good fortune with the horsemen and are hopeful these positive trends will continue as we head into our bigger races.”

The $5,000 purse increase will be divided as follows: $200 will be added to all claiming races; $1,000 will be added to all maiden special weight and starter allowance races; and $1,500 will be added to all allowance races.

The live racing season continues through Saturday, April 14. For more information, visit www.Oaklawn.com

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Calder Casino & Race Course announces its stakes schedules for the 2012 Calder and Tropical meets as it prepares to start this year’s live racing season on April 9.  Calder hosts two consecutive meets: the 85-day Calder Meet from April 9 to Aug. 31; and the 65-day Tropical Meet from Sept. 1 to Dec. 2.

The Calder Meet will be jump-started with three exciting stakes in the month of April, including the return of the Calder Derby (April 14) and Calder Oaks (April 28) after a one-year absence.  The Calder Derby, for 3-year-olds going a mile and a sixteenth on the turf, has a $150,000 purse and the Calder Oaks carries a $100,000 purse for 3-year-old fillies, also going a mile and a sixteenth on the turf.  The $125,000 Miami Mile Handicap (G3) at a mile on turf for 3-year-olds and up will be run on April 21.

The month of April will also feature the introduction of the “Calder Starter Series,” a four-race series designed for 4-year-olds and up that have started for a claiming price of $20,000 or less in 2011 or 2012, with two exciting incentives: attractive purse money and a lucrative trainer bonus.  Each race carries a $50,000 purse (including $5,000 in Florida Owners’ Awards) and the series offers a $5,000 bonus to the trainer of the horse that accumulates the most points after the fourth race of the series.  Points are allocated to the top six finishers of each race.  Dates for the Calder Starter Series are April 14 (7 furlongs, dirt), April 28 (1 mile, turf), May 12 (1 mile & 70 yds., dirt), and May 26 (1 1/16 miles, turf) with nominations closing on March 26. 

“The stakes races in April, along with the Calder Starter Series, are designed to be early hallmarks to Calder’s race meet,” says Calder Vice President and General Manager of Racing John Marshall.  “Players can expect to wager on quality racing at Calder beginning April 9th and continuing through December 2nd.”

Highlights of the 2012 Calder Meet include the nationally-recognized Summit of Speed on July 7, with a Summit Preview day on June 9.  Purses of the Princess Rooney Handicap (G1) and Smile Sprint Handicap (G2) on the Summit of Speed card have been increased to $400,000 each (from $350,000 in 2011).  The $150,000 Carry Back Stakes (G3), $150,000 Azalea Stakes (G3), $100,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint Handicap, and $100,000 Hollywood Wildcat Handicap round out this year’s Summit of Speed stakes program.  The Summit of Speed produced another Breeders’ Cup and Eclipse Award champion in 2011 with Bill Kaplan and Pinnacle Racing Stable’s Musical Romance.

Calder will present the Juvenile Showcase on August 25, a day dedicated to 2-year-old racing featuring the middle leg of the Florida Stallion Stakes.  The day’s six stakes races for racing’s future stars total $550,000.  Recent graduates of the Juvenile Showcase include Breeders’ Cup and Eclipse Award champions Awesome Feather and Big Drama and multiple Graded stakes winner Jackson Bend.

The 2012 Tropical Meet will feature three multiple-stakes event days: the Festival Preview on Sept. 15, Festival of the Sun on Oct. 13, and the Florida Million on Nov. 10; plus, five Graded stakes will be contested during the final weeks of the season.

The Calder Meet offers 31 stakes worth $3,475,000 and the Tropical Meet will feature 27 stakes totaling $3,175,000 for a combined stakes program worth $6,650,000.  The complete schedules are attached.

“Over $6.6 million in stakes purse money awaits horsemen to compete for on a schedule with enriched April racing opportunities for horsemen in addition to the traditional events,” Marshall adds.  “The entire Florida racing community is rooting for Calder racing this year and our horsemen and the racing office are sure to deliver top flight wagering action for racing fans across the country.”

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Assistant trainer Heather Craig doesn’t care if anyone thinks Grade II winner State of Play looks fat. When she saddles the colt for his 3-year-old debut in Saturday’s Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, she knows she’ll be sending out a fit horse.

Owned by Barry Irwin’s Team Valor International and trained by H. Graham Motion, the connections of 2011 Kentucky Derby winner and Eclipse champion Animal Kingdom, State of Play heads an 11-horse field for the mile-and-a-sixteenth Davis, the showcase race of the track’s annual Festival Preview Day Presented by Lambholm South.

Also featured are the Grade III, $150,000 Endeavour Stakes for older fillies and mares at about a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf and the $150,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at about a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf. First-race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Saturday’s festivities include an appearance by Steve Cauthen, the legendary Hall of Fame jockey who rode Affirmed to his 1978 Triple Crown triumph. Cauthen will sign autographs in front of the Tampa Bay Downs gift shop from 1-3 p.m.

Before both of State of Play’s victories at Saratoga – a 5½-furlong maiden event and the mile-and-a-sixteenth, Grade II With Anticipation Stakes, both on turf – Craig, Motion’s assistant, heard fans and commentators say the horse looked fat or out of shape. “It kind of got to be a running joke,” Craig said.

Both times, State of Play showed a sufficient level of fitness to win. Although he failed to perform his best in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs in November in his first start back after a slight illness, Craig says the Kentucky-bred son of War Front-Valeta has gotten even fitter since training over the deep, sandy Tampa Bay Downs surface the past month.

“He’s a pretty stocky, big-boned horse who might look to be on the heavy side, but he is all muscle,” Craig said Thursday morning. “I think he looks a lot fitter than he did as a 2-year. Tampa Bay Downs is not an easy track to handle, but he has been training great and has handled the dirt better than we could have imagined.”

Craig was aboard State of Play for his first three breezes at Tampa Bay Downs in January before turning the reins over to jockey Luis Garcia, who breezed him Saturday in 48.3 seconds for his final four-furlong workout. Alan Garcia (no relation) will be in to ride State of Play in the Davis.

Although it is his first start on a dirt surface, Craig believes State of Play can handle the switch based on his workouts. Of course, Motion-trained runners are no strangers to successful surface changes: Animal Kingdom won the Kentucky Derby in his first start on dirt.

State of Play’s prime challengers in the Davis should include a trio of stakes winners: Prospective, Reveron and Burning Time. Prospective, owned by John C. Oxley and trained by Mark Casse, won the $100,000 Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs three weeks ago. He will be ridden by Luis Contreras.

Reveron, who won the Gulfstream Park Derby on Jan. 1, is owned by Stipa Racing Stable and trained by Agustin Bezara. Fernando Jara has the return riding assignment. Burning Time, who won the Foolish Pleasure Stakes as a 2-year-old in September at Calder, is owned by Harold Queen and trained by David Fawkes and will be ridden by leading Tampa Bay Downs jockey Leandro Goncalves.

It’s impossible to discount the lightly raced Ecabroni from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher. Ecabroni, who will be ridden by Javier Castellano, seeks to become Pletcher’s third Davis winner in a row and his fifth in the past seven years.

Motion, who won two of three stakes on the 2011 Festival Preview Day card – with Silver Reunion in the Endeavour and Dynamic Holiday in the Florida Oaks – seeks to repeat the feat Saturday with State of Play and Endeavour entrant Master Shade, a Team Valor 4-year-old filly who won the Middle Stage Stakes at Aqueduct in November.

The 10-horse Endeavour field includes the French-bred 5-year-old star Zagora, who won the Grade I, $500,000 Diana Stakes last July at Saratoga and finished second in the Grade II New York Stakes at Belmont and the Grade III Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs. Owned by Martin Schwartz and trained by Chad Brown, Zagora will be ridden by Javier Castellano.

Other possible contenders include Grade III winner Jenny’s So Great, the winner of the Lightning City Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Dec. 3 under jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr., and Keertana, who won a trio of Grade III turf stakes in 2011 for trainer Thomas Proctor.

The Florida Oaks is being contested on turf for the second time. A pair of Grade III winners headline the eight-horse field. Kentucky-bred filly More Than Love, owned by Newtown Anner Stud and trained by John Terranova II, is 2-for-3 lifetime, including her Nov. 25 victory in the Grade III Miesque Stakes at Hollywood Park in November. Castellano has the riding assignment.

Ontario-bred filly Northern Passion, who is owned by Oxley and trained by Casse, captured the Grade III Natalma Stakes at Woodbine on Sept. 17. Regular rider Contreras will be in the irons. She will run as a coupled entry with Ontario Lassie winner Dixie Strike.

Saturday’s festivities also include an appearance by Steve Cauthen, the legendary Hall of Fame jockey who rode Affirmed to his 1978 Triple Crown triumph. Cauthen will sign autographs in front of the gift shop from 1-3 p.m. and fans will receive free Affirmed-Alydar postcards while supplies last.

Additionally, Tampa Bay Downs will host the Taste of Tampa Bay Food Truck Festival, with seven food trucks and six tents strategically located to satisfy every connoisseur. Live racing resumes Friday with a 12:25 p.m. first-race post time. Tampa Bay Downs is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits poker in the Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at the Downs Golf Practice Facility.

NYRA file photo
State of Play

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Five Grade 1 stakes, among them the Toyota Blue Grass, Central Bank Ashland and the newly upgraded Jenny Wiley Stakes, headline the 16 stakes worth $3.625 million slated for Keeneland’s 2012 spring race meeting.

The 15-day spring meeting will be held Friday, April 6 through Friday, April 27. There is no racing on Mondays, Tuesdays or Easter Sunday (April 8). Post time for the first race is 1:15 p.m. daily.

Five Grade 1 stakes will be featured opening week, bookended by Keeneland’s signature classic preps, the Central Bank Ashland, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for three-year-old fillies on April 7 which carries a purse of $500,000, elevated from $400,000 in 2011, and the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass, a 1 1/8-mile event for three-year-old colts, scheduled for April 14.

Many of the nation’s top handicap horses will be showcased in the $300,000 Vinery Madison Stakes (G1), for older fillies and mares going seven furlongs on April 12, and the $300,000 Maker’s 46 Mile (G1), for older horses at a mile on the turf on April 13. Formerly known as the Maker’s Mark Mile, the stakes has been renamed in honor of Maker’s 46 bourbon, which is the distillery’s first new product in more than 50 years.

Three other graded stakes will form a strong undercard on Toyota Blue Grass Day, including the Jenny Wiley, for older fillies and mares at

1 1/16 miles on the turf. The Jenny Wiley was promoted to Grade 1 status this year by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and received a purse hike of $100,000 to $300,000.

“The racing world converges at Keeneland in the spring, and we are proud that our stakes schedule will once again provide lucrative opportunities for horsemen and exciting wagering options for our fans,” said Keeneland Vice President of Racing W.B. Rogers Beasley. “The elevation of the Jenny Wiley to Grade 1 status, and purse increases for both it and the Central Bank Ashland are very positive steps. We continue to pursue initiatives to grow our racing program in order to remain competitive in today’s very challenging environment.”

Rounding out Toyota Blue Grass Day are two sprint stakes for three-year-olds and up – the $175,000 Commonwealth Stakes (G2) at seven furlongs, and the $100,000 Shakertown Stakes (G3) at 5½ furlongs on the turf.

Keeneland will host an additional Kentucky Derby prep with its $200,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes (G3), for three-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on Saturday, April 21.

The complete 2012 spring stakes schedule is as follows:

2012 Keeneland Spring Stakes Schedule

DATE STAKES DIVISION DISTANCE

April 6 $100,000 Transylvania (G3) 3YO 1 1/16 Miles (T)
April 7 $500,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) 3YO F 1 1/16 Miles
April 12 $300,000 Vinery Madison (G1) 4YO & Up, F&M 7 Furlongs
April 13 $300,000 Maker’s 46 Mile (G1) 4YO & Up 1 Mile (T)
April 14 $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G1) 3YO 1 1/8 Miles
April 14 $300,000 Jenny Wiley (G1) 4YO & Up, F&M 1 1/16 Miles (T)
April 14 $175,000 Commonwealth (G2) 3YO & Up 7 Furlongs
April 14 $100,000 Shakertown (G3) 3YO & Up 5½ Furlongs (T)
April 15 $150,000 Beaumont (G2) 3YO F 7 Furlongs, 184 ft
April 19 $100,000 Appalachian (G3) 3YO F 1 Mile (T)
April 20 $100,000 Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare (G3) 4YO & Up F&M 1 1/16 Miles
April 21 $200,000 Coolmore Lexington (G3) 3YO 1 1/16 Miles
April 21 $100,000 Giant’s Causeway (L) 3YO & Up, F&M 5½ Furlongs (T)
April 22 $150,000 Ben Ali (G3) 4YO & Up 1 1/8 Miles
April 26 $150,000 Grey Goose Bewitch (G3) 4YO & Up, F&M 1½ Miles (T)
April 27 $150,000 Elkhorn (G2) 4YO & Up 1½ Miles (T)

Keeneland Association Inc. file photo
1978 Blue Grass Stakes. Keeneland. Alydar with Jorge Chavez aboard greeting Mrs. Markey before the race.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will offer a new $150,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack beginning this Friday, February 3, and continuing through April 20, the final Friday of the meet.

The Late Pick 4 spans the final four races on the card and requires bettors to select four consecutive winners. By guaranteeing the wager, NYRA will supplement the net difference if the total pool is less than $150,000.

In addition, NYRA presents a $250,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 every Saturday at Aqueduct. This upcoming Saturday’s card will also feature the $100,000 Correction, Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan, and Grade 3, $200,000 Withers. On April 7, the day of the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World New York City Casino Wood Memorial, Aqueduct will offer a $500,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer David Fawkes is optimistic about his chances in Saturday’s $1.3 million Florida Sunshine Millions … and why not? 

Not only will Fawkes saddle the 2-1 favorite and Mr. Prospector (G3) winner Apriority in the $150,000 Sprint, but he’ll also send the hard-knocking, stakes-winner Duke of Mischief to post in the $400,000 Classic.

Apriority and Duke of Mischief will be just two of the 17 Graded Stakes Winners on Saturday’s six-race Florida Sunshine Millions program, one that includes Eclipse champions Musical Romance and Awesome Feather, who will be attempting to run her undefeated streak to nine in the $300,000 Distaff. Mucho Macho Man, the popular third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, will go to post in the Classic.

For Fawkes, he’ll send Apriority to post after an outstanding performance Dec. 31 in the Mr. Prospector. Despite stumbling badly coming out of the gate, Apriority was able to recover under jockey Luis Saez to gamely beat Zero Rate Policy by a nose.

“That race was a heartbreaker,” said Fawkes. “He grabbed his quarter pretty good.  He was bleeding in the winners circle. I mean, he got himself right up there after the start and he wins by a nose.” 

In last years Sunshine Millions Sprint, run at Santa Anita Park, Apriority raced off the pace and finished well but was beaten a head by eventual Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner, Amazombie.  

“Last year, I think he lost his footing,” Fawkes said. “He broke OK but he is usually not that far off the pace.Then throughout the year, he had a lot of foot issues.” 

Two months after his performance in last year’s Sunshine Millions, the son of Grand Slam returned in an allowance race at Gulfstream. He won the 6 ½-furlong sprint by 4½ lengths over stakes winner Aikenite. He then ran in the Carter Handicap (G1) at Aqueduct. In that seven furlong event he took the lead after running sixth but finished second by 1 ½ lengths to Morning Line. On Derby Day at Churchill Downs, the bay horse was second to Aikenite by a nose in the Churchill Downs Stakes (G2) at seven furlongs. Apriority was then off the board in his next three starts, which were all Grade I events run at seven furlongs – the Alfred G. Vanderbilt, the Vosburgh, and Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

“I just don’t think he was himself,” commented Fawkes. “He had a really bad abscess that we just couldn’t get right. So it didn’t work out. He’s coming into this race excellent.  He looks great, the foot looks great.”

Duke of Mischief, a 6-year-old by Graeme Hall, will be taking on Mucho Macho Man and five others in the Classic. After finishing second in last year’s Classic to the  multiple-stakes winner Tackleberry, he returned in March to finish fourth in the Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2), a game effort in which he was beat only three-quarters of a length. 

Duke of Mischief scored a huge prize April 16 when he captured the $1 million Charles Town Classic (G3), winning the 1 1/8th mile event on a sloppy track by 2¼ lengths over Game On Dude, who would later finish second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). After finishing a game fourth June 18 in the Stephen Foster (G1) at Churchill Downs, Duke of Mischief traveled north to Saratoga for the Whiney (G1).  Unfortunately, the trip wasn’t what Fawkes had in mind, ending with a 10th place finish.

Before the Saratoga race he tore a muscle in his back,” said Fawkes. “He did not run a jump. So, I’m throwing that race out.”

Fawkes said Duke of Mischief needed his last race, a fifth-place finish in the Dec. 17 Harlans Holiday that came off a four month layoff. “He is doing excellent,” added Fawkes. “He loves this racetrack and he’s been working really well.”

Coglianese Photos      
Apriority is on the outside.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Caracortado, who recently staged one of the most stunning stretch runs in track history, and swiftly developing Grade I winner Teddy’s Promise will be in action Saturday when Santa Anita presents its10-race Sunshine Millions Day that includes five stakes races and starts at 12 noon.

Teddy’s Promise will attempt to replicate her authoritative triumph in the Grade I La Brea Stakes for 3-year-olds on New Year’s Eve when returning at the same seven-furlong distance in Saturday’s Grade I, $300,000 Santa Monica Stakes for fillies and mares.

But the horse that had pulses stirring like none other so far this Santa Anita meet is 5-year-old California-bred Caracortado, whose torrid closing rush in the Grade III Daytona Stakes on Jan. 8 even confounded such a keen race observer as iconic track announcer Trevor Denman.

Racing for the first time over Santa Anita’s hillside turf course, Caracortado stormed home to a 1¼ length victory moments after Denman had remarked, “Caracortado did not fire today.”

The exciting chestnut gelding has been installed as the 4-5 favorite to gain his sixth stakes win among eight entrants in the $100,000 Sensational Star Stakes while making his second start at 6 ½ furlongs over the unique downhill turf layout.

The Sensational Star joins the $100,000 Crystal Water Stakes at 1 1/16 miles and the $100,000 Valentine Dancer Stakes for fillies and mares at one mile on turf as the races for California-bred or sired horses that comprise Santa Anita’s portion of the bicoastal Sunshine Millions event.

In conjunction with Sunshine Millions stakes races at Gulfstream Park, the two tracks will co-host the $250,000 guaranteed “Luck” Pick Six, a $1 wager with a mandatory payout that will encompass the three events for Cal-breds at Santa Anita along with three of Gulfstream’s six stakes for Florida breds.

In succession, the fast-paced “Luck” Pix Six is due to be concluded with 1 ½ hours while juxtaposing California-bred and Florida-bred stakes. It is due to begin with Gulfstream’s eighth race, the $150,000 Filly & Mare Turf at 1:10 p.m., Pacific Time. Caracortado and the Sensational Star will be up next as Santa Anita’s fourth race at 1:34 p.m. Following in order will be Gulfstream’s $150,000 Turf, 1:50 p.m.; Santa Anita’s Crystal Water, 2:05 p.m.; Gulfstream’s $400,000 Classic, 2:25 p.m., and Santa Anita’s Valentine Dancer at 2:37 p.m.

The ninth-race Santa Monica then becomes the centerpiece of Santa Anita’s card. Among six challengers to Teddy’s Promise will be Sugarinthemorning, second in the La Brea; Home Sweet Aspen, who finished fourth, and Rumor, dominant winner of the Kalookan Queen Handicap on Jan. 1.

The 45th running of the Grade III, $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles completes Santa Anita’s stakes presentations. Its lineup of seven includes Grade I Hollywood Starlet winner Killer Graces and runner-up Charm the Maker. They will face flashy Eden’s Moon, who broke her maiden by 11 ½ lengths for trainer Bob Baffert while going one mile on Jan. 8. The Santa Ysabel will be contested as the third race.

Santa Monica favorite Teddy’s Promise, trained by Ron Ellis for owner/breeders Ted and Judy Nichols, won her third straight in the La Brea. The extent of her class, however, did not become evident until her showing at odds of 16-1 in the prestigious Grade I. Among those she left in her wake was three-time Grade I winner Turbulent Descent. “I had so much horse today,” said winning jockey Victor Espinoza, “I wasn’t expecting anybody to come near me. She’s a runner.” Teddy’s Promise will take earnings of $350,808 from a 5-2-1 record in 13 starts into the Santa Monica.

“I think she’s still improving,” Espinoza said in anticipation of being reunited with Teddy’s Promise. “She’s getting better and better. In past races, she was on the lead, but I think Ron (Ellis) has figured out that she’s better coming from off the pace. He’s done an unbelievable job with her.”

Rumor, a 4-year-old daughter of Indian Charlie, will be seeking her first graded stakes victory. She has never been worse than second while winning 4 of 7 career starts for $201,718. Mike Smith will take over in the saddle for injured Garrett Gomez.

Richard Mandella trains Rumor for Ramona Bass, Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider. “Richard has taken his time with her and done a tremendous job,” Gomez said following the filly’s 2 ¼-length victory in the Kalookan Queen at 6 ½ furlongs.

The complete field for the Santa Monica Stakes, with jockeys and weights in post position order: Bella Diamante, David Flores, 118; Big Tiz, Corey Nakatani, 118; Teddy’s Promise, Victor Espinoza, 123; Home Sweet Aspen, Joel Rosario, 118; She’s Cheeky, Joseph Talamo, 118; Rumor, Mike Smith, 118; and Sugarinthemorning, Rafael Bejarano, 118. 

Benoit Photo
Teddy’s Promise

Killer Graces and Charm the Maker renew their rivalry in the Santa Ysabel. Charm the Maker came out 1¼ lengths ahead when winning Hollywood Park’s Sharp Cat Stakes on Nov. 13 before Killer Graces turned the tables by one-half length in the Grade I Starlet on Dec. 10. Both have been freshened since then.

Joe Talamo is the regular rider for Killer Graces, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer for a partnership. The Congaree offspring has earned $394,830 from a 3-3-0 mark in 8 starts. Rafael Bejarano replaces Gomez atop homebred Charm the Maker, who is trained by Ron McAnally and owned by his wife, Deborah. The Empire Maker filly has posted a 2-1-1 record in 4 starts for winnings of $208,200.

Kaleem Shah purchased Eden’s Moon at auction for $390,000 last May. The daughter of Malibu Moon was 2-5 when beaten by well-regarded Reneesgotzip in her six-furlong debut last December at Hollywood Park. When stretched out to one mile at Santa Anita on Jan. 8, she demolished her opposition. Martin Garcia has the return riding assignment as Eden’s Moon steps into graded stakes competition.

The complete field for the Santa Ysabel Stakes, with jockeys and weights in post position order: Coup de Coeur, Rosario, 118; Eden’s Moon, Martin Garcia, 118; Batalha, Chantal Sutherland, 118; Willa B Awesome, Martin Pedroza, 118; Lady of Shamrock, Smith, 118; Killer Graces, Talamo, 123; and Charm the Maker, Bejarano, 118.

The main danger to Caracortado in the Sensational Star appears to be 5-2 second choice Compari, a 6-year-old gelding who has won 5 of 6 over Santa Anita’s turf course including the 2010 Sensational Star. Owned and bred by Harris Farms, John Nicoletti and Donald Valpredo, the son of Redattore does his best running on the front end. Compari has banked $510,430 from a 7-1-1 record in 13 starts. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will attempt to pose an elusive target for Caracortado. 

Bejarano, who rode Compari in his last two starts, will be back aboard Caracortado, who trailed by 15 lengths midway through the Daytona. Denman wasn’t the only one who saw little hope for the son of Cat Dreams at that juncture. Trainer and co-owner Mike Machowsky was headed for a libation.

“When the horses hit the quarter pole, I started walking to the bar,” said Machowsky. “I knew he would fly home, but I couldn’t believe the way he was finishing. I couldn’t believe how fast he went the last quarter-of-a-mile. He’s just got that turn of foot that’s really unbelievable.”

Co-owned by Don Blahut and a winner of $864,105 from nine wins in 19 starts, Caracortado will break from post position No. 5, one outside of Compari, while carrying high weight of 123 pounds on Saturday.

The complete field for the Sensational Star, with jockeys, weights and morning line odds in post position order: Luckarack, Hector Berrios, 116, 15-1; Ain’t No Other, Garcia, 120, 6-1; Tamarack Smarty, Flores, 116, 20-1; Compari, Smith, 120, 5-2; Caracortado, Bejarano, 123, 4-5; My Summer Slew, Alonso Quinonez, 116, 20-1; Mega Heat, Talamo, 116, 12-1; and Red Defense, Rosario, 118, 8-1.

Thirtyfirststreet, a multiple stakes winner who captured an allowance event by 6½ lengths at 1 1/16 miles in his last start on Jan. 12, is the 2-1 morning line choice among six runners set for the Crystal Water. Rosario rides the 4-year-old Good Journey colt who was bred by his trainer, Doug O’Neill, and co-owner Mark Gorman. A winner of the California Breeders’ Championship at Santa Anita as a 2-year-old and the Lone Star Derby last year, Thirtyfirststreet shows a record of 4-2-2 in 13 races while earning $345,200.

Holladay Road, a $25,000 claim by trainer Julio Canani on behalf of Gary and Wendy Broad last July at Del Mar, is coming off an allowance win on grass at Hollywood Park in his last start in December. He previously missed by a neck behind victorious Norvsky when a hard-charging third in the California Cup Classic on turf. Before that, he won his only previous start on dirt while sprinting at Santa Anita. Bejarano takes over in the irons for Gomez. A lightly raced 7-year-old gelding, Holladay Road has won 5 of 12 races worth $171,820.

The complete field for the Crystal Water, with jockeys, weights and morning line odds in post position order: Legal Separation, Espinoza, 116, 6-1; Bluegrass Reward, Talamo, 118, 9-2; Spud Spivens, Smith, 118, 9-2; Thirtyfirststreet, Rosario, 120, 2-1; Holladay Road, Bejarano, 118, 5-2; and Macho Dorado, Nakatani, 116, 9-2.

Unzip Me, a downhill turf course specialist who has won 6 of 10 starts sprinting over the tricky Santa Anita strip, will stretch out to a mile for the first time in her 25th career start at the age of 6. She faces nine rivals in the Valentine Dancer. The homebred daughter of City Zip has been victorious in nine stakes ranging in distance from to five to 6 ½ furlongs, all on turf, for Harris Farms, Donald Valpredo, Per Antonsen and partners.

Despite her inexperience around two turns, Unzip Me has been established as the 5-2 favorite by Santa Anita morning line maker Jon White. Bejarano will be aboard for the 11th straight time as the chestnut mare attempts to expand her horizons for trainer Marty Jones. With earnings of $902,228 from a 13-4-4 log in her 24 starts, Unzip Me will be aiming for millionaire status by meet’s end. She has finished off the board but once in her last 18 races. Even then, she was only one length behind the winner when running fourth.

Halo Dolly, the 3-1 second choice, is unbeaten in two starts at one mile on turf. Included was Del Mar’s Solana Beach Handicap last August when extending a victory streak to five. The 4-year-old daughter of Popular, trained and co-owned by Jerry Hollendorfer, displays an 8-3-1 record in 14 races for winnings of $277,700. Talamo, whose only previous teaming with Halo Dolly was in the Solano Beach, will again handle the reins.

The complete field for the Valentine Dancer Stakes, with jockeys, weights and morning line odds in post position order: Secret Cove, Rosario, 118, 15-1; Warren’s Got Game, Christian Santiago Reyes, 116, 20-1; Antares World, Garcia, 120, 9-2; La Sombre, Quinonez, 116, 4-1; Chokecherymary, Nakatani, 116, 10-1; Cayanna, Espinoza, 116, 15-1; Unzip Me, Bejarano, 120, 5-1; California Nectar, Berrios, 116, 10-1; Halo Dolly, Talamo, 123, 3-1; and Bench Glory, Brice Blanc, 116, 20-1.

The festive Sunshine Millions Day program will include a California Food Truck Festival in the infield along with live entertainment. Gates open at 10 a.m., with a special early first post time at 12 noon.

ARCADIA, Calif. — Entries were taken Sunday at both Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita for Saturday’s $250,000 guaranteed (HBO) LUCK Pick Six, which will begin with Gulfstream’s eighth race and include three $100,000 California-bred stakes; the Sensational Star (4th race), the Crystal Water (5th race) and the Valentine Dancer (6th race).

he LUCK Pick Six will have a one dollar minimum wager and the entire pool carries a mandatory payout proviso.

Santa Anita will have a special early first post time on Sunshine Millions Day of 12 noon and the LUCK Pick Six will get underway from Gulfstream at approximately 1:10 p.m.

Past performances for all six races will be available throughout the week at www.dailyracingform.com.

Here is Jon White’s official morning line for all three “LUCK’ races to be run at Santa Anita:

THE SENSATIONAL STAR STAKES  – 4th Race
Approximate Post Time, 1:35 p.m.

    Horse               Jockey             Line

(1) Luckarack           Hector Berrios     15
(2) Ain’t No Other      Martin Garcia      6
(3) Tamarack Smarty     David Flores       20
(4) Compari             Mike Smith         5/2
(5) Caracortado         Rafael Bejarano    4/5
(6) My Summer Slew      Alonso Quinonez    20
(7) Mega Heat           Joe Talamo         12
(8) Red Defense         Joel Rosario       8

THE CRYSTAL WATER STAKES – 5TH Race
Approx. Post Time, 2:05 p.m.

            Horse         Jockey                 Line

(1) Legal Separation      Victor Espinoza        6
(2) Bluegrass Reward      Joe Talamo             9/2
(3) Spud Spivens          Mike Smith             9/2
(4) Thirtyfirststreet     Joel Rosario           2
(5) Holladay Road         Rafael Bejarano        5/2
(6) Macho Dorado          Corey Nakatani         9/2

THE VALENTINE DANCER STAKES – 6TH Race
Approx. Post Time, 2:37 p.m.

    Horse                Jockey               Line

(1) Secret Cove          Joel Rosario         15
(2) Warren’s Got Game    Santiago Reyes       20
(3) Antares World        Martin Garcia        9/2
(4) La Sombre            Alonso Quinonez      4
(5) Chokecherymary       Corey Nakatani       10
(6) Cayanna              Victor Espinoza      15
(7) Unzip Me             Rafael Bejarano      5/2
(8) California Nectar    Hector Berrios       10
(9) Halo Dolly           Joe Talamo           3
(10) Bench Glory         Brice Blanc          20

For more information on Sunshine Millions Day, Jan. 28, and the $250,000 guaranteed LUCK Pick Six, go to www.santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

ARCADIA, Calif. — Santa Anita Park and Gulfstream Park will celebrate the HBO series LUCK with a special Pick Six wager on Sunshine Millions Day, Saturday, Jan. 28.  The one dollar minimum wager will have a guaranteed pool of $250,000 and will feature three races from Santa Anita and three from GulfstreamPark.  HBO’s LUCK, the highly anticipated racetrack-themed series based at Santa Anita and starring Dustin Hoffman will premier the following night, Jan. 29.

First post time on Millions Day is 12 noon.  The LUCK Pick Six will begin at approximately 1:10 p.m. with Gulfstream’s eighth race.  It will conclude with Santa Anita’s eighth race, which will be run at approximately 2:37 p.m.  All six races will be stakes races.

“The Stronach Group is very proud of the fact the Sunshine Millions, which was initiated in 2003, has become one of our most popular signature events here at Santa Anita,” said George Haines, Santa Anita President.  “LUCK has the potential to expose thousands of new fans to our sport and to Santa Anita and we believe this wager is going to help draw attention throughout the country. 

“The LUCK Pick Six will start at Gulfstream with their eighth race and from there we’ll be alternating with Gulfstream every other race.  We’re looking forward to welcoming many of the actors associated with LUCK throughout the day in the winner’s circle and at other ancillary locations throughout the track.  The LUCK Pick Six is a great way to get people excited about Sunshine Millions Day and to introduce a new crowd to The Great Race Place,” Haines added.  

In addition to a one dollar minimum wager, the LUCK Pick Six will also offer a mandatory payout, with no carryover provision.  In the event of a Santa Anita Pick Six carryover on Friday, Jan. 27, all Pick Six monies would be carried over to Sunday, Jan. 29.

The LUCK Pick Six will be televised on HRTV and at www.facebook.com/LUCKHBO.

Entries for the LUCK Pick Six will be taken this Sunday at both Santa Anita and Gulfstream.  Past performances will be available throughout the week in Daily Racing Form and at www.dailyracingform.com.

For more information on Sunshine Millions Day and the LUCK Pick Six, visit www.santaanita.com, or call (626) 574-RACE.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs has set the dates for its trio of three-day betting pools for its 2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”) and a single pool for the historic track’s Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (“KOFW”). 

Dates for the pools for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which is now in its 14th year, are:
•Pool 1 – Feb. 10-12
•Pool 2 – March 2-4
•Pool 3 – March 30-April 1

Wagering on each of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools will open at noon (all times Eastern) on Friday and close on Sunday at 6 p.m.  The KDFW Pools will feature both win and exacta wagering.
   
The single three-day pool for the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, now in its ninth year, is scheduled for March 2-4 and will run concurrent to Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.  Betting on the KOFW pool will open at noon on Friday and is set to conclude on Sunday at 6:30 p.m., 30 minutes after the conclusion of betting on the accompanying Kentucky Derby Future pool.  The Kentucky Oaks Future Pool will also offer win and exacta wagering.

The wagers provide fans of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks opportunities to bet on potential competitors in those great American races at odds that could be considerably more attractive than those available on the days on which the respective races are run.  Winning mutuel payouts on both wagers are determined by the odds that are in place at the conclusion of each respective betting pool.

The 138th running of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), America’s greatest race and the 1 ¼-mile first jewel of the coveted Triple Crown for 3-year-olds, is scheduled to be run on Saturday, May 5 at Churchill Downs.  The $1 million-guaranteed Kentucky Oaks, the nation’s top prize for 3-year-old fillies, will be run on Friday, May 4, the eve of the Derby.  Like the Derby, the Kentucky Oaks has been contested annually since 1875 and its 2012 renewal will mark the 138th consecutive year that the 1 1/8-mile “Derby for Fillies” has been run beneath the track’s historic Twin Spires.

Both the KDFW and KOFW pools consist of 24 wagering interests that include 23 individual horses and a mutuel field, or “all others” interest.  In the Kentucky Derby wager, the mutuel field is made up of all other 3-year-olds – including fillies.  The mutuel field in the Kentucky Oaks bet consists of all other 3-year-old fillies. 

All bets in the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wagers are $2 minimum wagers.  No refund will be made on any wager placed during the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future pools.  If it is determined during an individual pool that any of the individual betting interests has suffered an illness, injury or other circumstance that would prevent that horse from competing in either race, wagering on that betting interest will be suspended immediately.

Wagering on the Derby and Oaks Future wagers is available through TwinSpires.com and other advance deposit wagering platforms and at racetracks and simulcast centers throughout North America.
    
Team Valor’s Animal Kingdom, who went off at odds of 20-1 and paid $43.80 for a $2 win wager in the 2011 Kentucky Derby, was listed as an individual betting interest only during Pool 3 of last year’s Derby Future Wager.  He closed at odds of 31-1 in that pool and a $2 future wager on trainer Graham Motion’s colt returned $64.40 on Derby Day.  As a member of the “all others” mutuel field in the first two pools of 2011, he returned $6.20 for a Pool 1 bet and $9.40 for a Pool 2 wager.  Both Animal Kingdom and Derby runner-up Nehro were part of the “all others” interest (#24), so the KDFW $2 exacta payouts for the three pools were:
•Pool 1 – 24-13 (mutuel field over third-place Mucho Macho Man) for $230;
•Pool 2 – 24-12 (mutuel field over third-place Mucho Macho Man) for $388.20;
•Pool 3 – 1-12 (Animal Kingdom over runner-up Nehro) for $3,074.60.

The Derby Day $2 exacta payout for Animal Kingdom over Nehro (16-19) was $329.80.

Eventual Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty was not an individual betting interest in the lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager pool, but returned $21.80 to win as member of the KOFW mutuel field.  The Peachtree Stable filly trained by Bob Baffert returned $14.60 for a $2 win wager on Oaks Day.  Both Plum Pretty and runner-up St. John’s River were members of the mutuel field, so the KOFW exacta paid to 24-23, with third-place Zazu under the top two “all others” finishers, and returned $142.20 for a $2 bet.  The Oaks Day exacta of Plum Pretty over St. John’s River (12-13) paid $163 for a $2 wager.

Wagering for the three 2011 Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pools totaled $1,362,101, the fifth highest total since the Derby bet was introduced in 1999 and its largest three-pool betting total since 2007.  Kentucky Oaks fans wagered $92,902 during the single KOFW pool of 2011, second only to the single-pool total of $117,368 recorded in the wager’s introductory year in 2003.

Wagering interests for the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks future pools will be announced on the Wednesday prior to the Friday start of each pool.  Real-time odds and other information on the KDFW will be available at the official event Web site at www.KentuckyDerby.com, and information on the KOFW will be available at www.KentuckyOaks.com.