Thursday, June 02, 2011
NTRA Thoroughbred Notebook for Thursday, June 2, 2011
HILDA'S PASSION HEADLINES VAGRANCY HANDICAP
Hilda's Passion goes for her fifth stakes win Saturday as she heads a field of seven fillies and mares in the Grade II, $150,000 Vagrancy Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
The 4-year-old Canadian Frontier filly, who will be making her first Belmont appearance in the 6 1/2-furlong Vagrancy, is 4-2-0 in seven starts since being moved to trainer Todd Pletcher's barn last summer, including front-running victories in the Inside Information and the Hurricane Bertie at Gulfstream Park this year.
Javier Castellano will ride the 3-5 morning-line favorite from post position 2.
"I am concerned about the [inside] post but I am hopeful she will overcome it," said Pletcher of Hilda's Passion, who carries high weight of 123 pounds. "She seems to be the main speed in the race, although Tidal Pool may have something to say."
Trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Tidal Pool finished fourth after prompting the pace in the Humana Distaff and is still seeking her first graded stakes win. John Velazquez rides Tidal Pool, 6-1 on the morning line, from post 5.
Making her second start is 2011 is Streaker, who came off an 11-month layoff to score by 1 1/2 lengths in an optional claimer at Belmont on May 13. Last year, the Forest Wildcat filly won her first three starts but then finished last in the Acorn behind Champagne d'Oro after encountering traffic.
"She had some bumps and bruises, nothing major," said Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, who trains Streaker for the Phipps Stable. "We just gave her plenty of time. This is a big step for her, but she's doing well enough to warrant it.
Jose Lezcano rides the 4-1 second choice on the morning line from the outside.
The complete field for the Vagrancy Handicap, from the rail out, is: Kissa Melissa (jockey: David Cohen, morning line odds: 20-1); Hilda's Passion (Javier Castellano, 3-5); Curlina (Jorge Chavez, 30-1); Erin Rose (Alex Solis, 8-1); Tidal Pool (John Velazquez, 6-1); Kid Kate (Ramon Dominguez, 12-1); and Streaker (Jose Lezcano, 4-1).
TWIRLING CANDY, SETSUKO IN CALIFORNIAN top
Defeated as the odds-on choice in the Santa Anita Handicap in his last start March 5, Twirling Candy will seek his third win over Cushion Track in what is considered the final prep race for the Hollywood Gold Cup on July 9 in the Grade II $150,000 Californian at 1 1/8 miles this Saturday at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.
Owned by breeder Jenny Craig and William Farish and trained by John Sadler, Twirling Candy finished fifth at 1-2 in the "Big `Cap", weakening after being involved in a bumper-car like incident early in the stretch with eventual winner Game On Dude and runner-up Setsuko, who is also in the Californian lineup.
A 4-year-old Candy Ride colt out of the Chester House mare House of Danzing, Twirling Candy has won six of eight and earned $594,900. He won the Strub Feb. 5 at Santa Anita by 4 1/2 lengths in his last try at nine furlongs.
The dark bay has yet to win around two turns at Hollywood Park. His victories came at seven and 6 1/2 furlongs in the first two races of his career. Twirling Candy finished fourth as the 7-10 choice in the Goodwood Handicap at the Californian distance during the Oak Tree meet last Oct. 2.
Since the Santa Anita Handicap, Twirling Candy has worked well, including a mile in 1:38 Sunday over Cushion Track.
"Nice and smooth," said Sadler in describing the drill. "Twirling Candy actually came out of the Big `Cap in good shape physically. He had an abscess on his foot when he came to Hollywood Park but that was taken care of."
Sadler will also be represented by Gladding. Owned by Lee and Susan Searing's C R K Stable, the 4-year-old Sarava gelding out of the Island Whirl mare Carson Whirl has won three of 12 and earned $199,825. He has won two of four since being privately purchased by Sadler for the Searings, including a one-length victory in the San Antonio, Feb. 6 at Santa Anita.
Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella will try for his third Californian win - previous wins came with Big Ten (2000) and Kudos (2003) - when he sends out Setsuko.
Beaten by a nose at nearly 26-1 in the Santa Anita Handicap, the 4-year-old son of Pleasantly Perfect and the Mr. Prospector mare Dance With Grace has one win in 12 attempts for breeders Wertheimer and Frere and earnings of $396,686.
The lone victory for the Kentucky bred was against maidens over Cushion Track Dec. 17, 2009. He has been second in four of seven subsequent races.
From the inside out, the complete Californian field is: Twirling Candy (jockey: Joel Rosario rides, weight: 118 pounds); Gladding (Rafael Bejarano, 118); Victory Pete (Tyler Baze, 118); Aggie Engineer (Joe Talamo, 118); Spurrier (Chantal Sutherland, 116); Soul Candy (Garrett Gomez, 116); Setsuko (Victor Espinoza, 116);and Honour the Deputy (Mike Smith, 116).
TRAINER, CO-OWNER AND JOCK REUNITED WITH EMOTIONAL UPSET top
Trainer and co-owner Bob Leonard lifted jockey Joe Steiner off the ground with an emotional hug after a shocking upset by Slane Castle, who was nearly 71-1, in last Saturday's fifth race at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.
Steiner, 46, had not won a race in more than six years. Leonard, who has trained throughout the country, last won a race in California in 1987.
Steiner was busy accepting congratulations throughout the stable area Sunday morning after winning with his 12th mount following a comeback this year.
"I've been doing a little bit of everything since I hurt my neck and shoulder in a spill at Santa Anita six years ago," said Steiner. "After the injuries healed, I worked for the Jockeys Guild, then in real estate.
"The last two years I've worked horses for Bob Baffert," continued Steiner. "That got the fires burning to come back and ride. This is a huge passion of mine. Working horses in the morning, putting it all together and winning in the afternoon is the ultimate."
Steiner has been friends with Leonard since his youth in Washington state and rode Leonard's previous California winner, Saratoga Passage, in the 1987 Norfolk Stakes during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita.
"We're from Seattle," explained Leonard, with his wife Penley, after sending out his first winner at Hollywood Park. "We were at Longacres until it closed down. Joe won a lot of races for us there. His mom and dad, who run the kitchen at Emerald Downs, are dear friends. Joe's won races for us in Illinois and Indiana as well as Washington and California."
Leonard managed to juggle a career as an airline pilot with raising a family and traveling the country as a trainer. "I got started in racing in college in 1964 when five fraternity brothers including myself each put up $300 to buy two horses," said Leonard. "We raced under the stable name Penta Bros."
Leonard flew for Northwest Airlines for 30 years from 1966-1996 and has raced at more than 40 tracks in 20 states during his career. Leonard campaigned Phi Beta Doc, a multiple stakes winner who captured the Virginia Derby, set a course record for 1 3/16 miles winning the Saranac Stakes on the Saratoga turf and paid $89 after winning a stakes at Delaware Park.
"Nobody knew us there just like nobody knows us here," explained Leonard of the lofty prices his winners returned. "Slane Castle probably should have been 10-1. She only finished 1 1/2 lengths behind [Saturday race favorite] Izshelegal in her last race."
Leonard has three horses stabled in Hollywood Park's Barn 53. Slane Castle, a 3-year-old Castledale filly, was making her sixth start.
"That was a rider's race yesterday, and Joey timed it perfectly," said Leonard of the photo-finish victory.
"What's special to us," added Penley Leonard, "is that Joey is back riding."
RETIRED VET SAVORS FIRST WIN AT 78 AS TRAINER AND OWNER top
Owner-trainer-breeder Bill Gregory stood next to the stall of Charlie'sboywins this week, still tingling with excitement after the 78-year-old recorded his first-ever training victory last Thursday at Hollywood Park.
Gregory, the co-owner and co-breeder of the horse, retired after spending 40 years as a veterinarian in California.
"I was born and raised in Kentucky and always wanted to be a horse trainer since I was knee-high to a duck," said Gregory. "We always had show horses but my father said, ‘No, you're not going to be a horse trainer. We want you to be a vet.'"
The dutiful son spent four years in college at Kentucky and four more at Auburn before earning his degree in veterinary medicine. "On graduation day, I asked my father why I couldn't be a track veterinarian, and he said, ‘There's a bad element on the racetrack,'" recalled Gregory. "I said, ‘Dad, there's a bad element everywhere.'"
After retirement, Gregory finally got his wish. Eight years ago, he learned the basics from trainer Gary Lewis and took out his trainer's license. When a mare Lewis trained named Spanish Gypsy was injured, she was given to the Gregory, who bred her to Fruition.
The resulting foal was named Charlie'sboywins for Bill's father. Making his seventh start, he won a seven-furlong race Thursday under Kerwin John to make Charlie's boy Bill mighty happy.
Gregory also trains Philly Slew, a 5-year-old.
"I had a stroke last August," said Gregory. "Getting up each morning to see my horses keeps me going."
TVG LIVE COVERAGE WOODBINE OAKS AND PLATE TRIAL THIS SUNDAY top
TVG will present exclusive, live, on-site coverage of the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, and the $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes, Sunday, from Toronto's Woodbine Racecourse in Rexdale, Ontario, Canada. On hand to offer their commentary and analysis will be Simon Bray and Paul LoDuca.
The Woodbine Oaks, contested at 1 1/8-miles, is Canada's premier race for Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies and the first leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara. A field of eight is expected for the Woodbine Oaks.
The Plate Trial Stakes, also at 1 1/8-miles, is a major prep for the Queen's Plate, the opening leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, which will be held on June 26.
"We are excited to be on the scene to offer our viewers and account holders coverage of these important Canadian races," said Tony Allevato, TVG senior vice president and executive producer. "Woodbine is one of North America's leading racing venues and continues to deliver great racing events."
RACING ON THE AIR (all times Eastern) top
June 10, Brooklyn Handicap (Belmont Park); 5:00-6:00 p.m., Versus
June 11, Belmont Stakes undercard (Belmont Park); 3:00-5:00 p.m., Versus
June 11, Belmont Stakes (Belmont Park); 5:00-7:00 p.m., NBC
June 11, Belmont Stakes Wrapup; 7:00-7:30 p.m., Versus
RACING TO HISTORY top
June 2, 1943: Trainer Hirsch Jacobs claimed two-year-old Stymie for $1,500. By the end of 1947, Stymie had become the world's leading money-winning Thoroughbred, with earnings of $816,060 and 22 stakes victories.
June 2, 1947: After a six-year layoff, 13-year-old Honey Cloud won the second race at Aqueduct. His jockey, Clarence Minner, had not ridden in 10 years.
June 2, 2005: Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze recorded his 9,000th career victory aboard Queen of the Hunt in the eighth race at Golden Gate Fields.
June 3, 1943: To further the war effort, the Navy took over Tanforan racetrack and used it as a training base.
June 3, 2004: Smarty Jones became the first horseracing figure to make the cover of ESPN The Magazine.
June 4, 1870: Ed Brown became the first African-American jockey to win the Belmont Stakes, with Kingfisher.
June 4, 1913: At odds of 100-1, Aboyeur became the first horse to win the Epsom Derby by an on-course disqualification after Craganour, who won by a head, was disqualified for bumping. During the race, a suffragette had rushed onto the track and pulled down the King's horse, Anmer. The suffragette, Emily Davison, died of a fractured skull.
June 4, 1941: Three days before his race in the Belmont Stakes, which would complete his Triple Crown, Whirlaway worked 1 1/4 miles in 2:02 2/5.
June 4, 2005: Jockey Eddie Castro set a North American record for most wins by a jockey in a single day at one racetrack by winning nine races on the 13-race card at Miami's Calder Race Course.
June 5, 1884: James McLaughlin became the first jockey to ride three consecutive Belmont Stakes winners, when he rode Panique to victory. He previously won with George Kinney (1883) and Forester (1882). McLaughlin repeated his feat in 1886-88, with each of his wins aboard horses owned by the Dwyer brothers. McLaughlin's triple was matched by jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. in 1984.
June 5, 1901: William C. Whitney's Volodyovski won the Epsom Derby, making him the second American owner (after Pierre Lorillard in 1881) to have won the race. Whitney leased the English-bred horse for the express purpose of winning at Epsom. Whitney's trainer, John Huggins, was the first American to train an Epsom Derby winner.
June 5, 1937: War Admiral became the fourth winner of the Triple Crown, with a win in the Belmont Stakes.
June 5, 1943: Count Fleet ended his racing career by winning the Belmont Stakes by 25 lengths. He was the sixth American Triple Crown winner. Count Fleet was such a heavy favorite for the race, going off at odds of 1-20, that no place or show wagering was allowed.
June 5, 1969: Jockey Mary Bacon won her first race, at Finger Lakes. Among apprentices, she finished 23rd in the races-won category that year, with 55 victories in 396 starts and purses of $91,642. Bacon was the first female to join the list of leading apprentices.
June 5, 1985: Steve Cauthen won the Epsom Derby aboard Slip Anchor and became the only American jockey to win both the English and Kentucky Derbies. Cauthen had previously ridden Affirmed to victory in the 1978 Kentucky Derby.
June 5, 1993: Julie Krone became the first female rider to win a Triple Crown race when she won the Belmont Stakes with Colonial Affair.
June 5, 1999: Charismatic lost his bid to become the 12th Triple Crown winner when he fractured his left front cannon bone and sesamoid while finishing third to Lemon Drop Kid in the Belmont Stakes.
June 5, 2004: Smarty Jones's quest to become horseracing's 12th Triple Crown winner ended when he was upset by 36-1 longshot Birdstone by one length before a record crowd of 120,139. NBC Sports' telecast of the Belmont was the highest rated program of any kind for the week.
June 5, 2010: Mandurah, a 6-year-old gelding, set a new world record for a mile on the turf at Monmouth Park. Mandurah completed the distance in 1:31.23, beating the 1:31.41 mark set by Mister Light on January 3, 2005, at Gulfstream Park. Trained by Grant Forster and ridden by Alex Solis, Mandurah set the record while winning a $50,000 starter allowance race.
June 6, 1919: Man o' War won his first race ever, a five-furlong contest over a straightaway at Belmont Park. He won by six lengths, running the distance in 59 seconds, and went off at odds of 3-5. In each of his 20 subsequent races, Man o' War was the odds-on favorite.
June 6, 1972: In preparation for his colt's July 4 racing debut, trainer Lucien Laurin put blinkers on two-year-old Secretariat for the first time. Secretariat responded by working a half-mile at Belmont Park in :47 3/5, the fastest time he had ever worked up to that date.
June 6, 1987: Bet Twice became the first horse to receive a Triple Crown bonus after winning the Belmont Stakes over rival Alysheba. He earned $1 million in addition to the first-place money.
June 6, 1992: Jockey Carl Gambardella won his 6,000th career victory, aboard Nip of Gin, at Rockingham Park.
June 6, 1998: Real Quiet was denied the Triple Crown when Victory Gallop edged him at the wire in the Belmont Stakes before an audience of 80,162. The crowd was the second-largest in the track's history and just shy of the mark set in 1971 when Canonero II failed in his Triple Crown bid before 82,694 spectators. Total handle on the Belmont Day card was a record of $55,613,482.
June 7, 1930: Gallant Fox became the second winner of the Triple Crown after he won the Belmont Stakes under Earl Sande. Gallant Fox subsequently sired another Triple Crown winner, Omaha.
June 7, 1941: Whirlaway won the 73rd running of the Belmont Stakes and became the fifth horse to win the Triple Crown.
June 7, 1947: Owner William Helis had three stakes wins in three different states. Rippey won the Carter Handicap at New York's Aqueduct; Jobstown won the Absecon Handicap at New Jersey's Atlantic City and Elpis won the New Castle Handicap at Delaware Park.
June 7, 1980: Genuine Risk became the first filly to compete in all three Triple Crown races. She won the Kentucky Derby and finished second in both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
June 7, 1986: Trainer Woody Stephens saddled Danzig Connection to win his fifth consecutive Belmont Stakes. Stephens won the previous races with Conquistador Cielo (1982), Caveat (1983), Swale (1984) and Creme Fraiche (1985).
June 7, 1997: In his bid to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown, Silver Charm was outdueled during the stretch run of the Belmont Stakes by Touch Gold. Silver Charm held on for second and became the 13th horse to have lost the Triple Crown after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
June 7, 2003: Triple Crown hopeful Funny Cide lost his bid to become the twelfth Triple Crown winner finishing third to Empire Maker and Ten Most Wanted before 101,864 in the 135th Belmont Stakes. The NBC telecast of the Belmont generated the highest rating for any horse race since the 1990 Kentucky Derby. The final hour of the telecast earned the highest rating (10.7) of any prime-time program on television that week.
June 7, 2008: Big Brown is eased in the stretch of the 140th Belmont Stakes, ending his attempt to capture the Triple Crown. Longshot Da' Tara won the race wire-to-wire before 94,476 spectators.
June 7, 2008: Legendary sportscaster Jim McKay, the creator of the Maryland Million, died at age 86.
June 8, 1935: Omaha, son of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, became the third winner of the Triple Crown with a win in the Belmont Stakes.
June 8, 1985: Brushwood Stable's Creme Fraiche became the first gelding to win the Belmont Stakes.
June 8, 1991: Julie Krone became the first female rider to compete in the Belmont Stakes. Her mount, Subordinated Debt, finished ninth as the third-longest shot in the field. Also on that date, Mane Minister became the only horse to finish third in all three Triple Crown events.
June 8, 2002: A record Belmont Park crowd of 103,222 witnessed War Emblem fail in his bid to become Thoroughbred racing's 12th Triple Crown winner at the 134th Belmont Stakes. War Emblem finished eighth behind longshot Sarava, who paid $142.50 to win as the highest priced winner in Belmont Stakes history. Belmont Park's previous attendance record was 85,818, set in 1999 when Charismatic finished third in attempting a Triple Crown sweep.
June 9, 1888: James McLaughlin set the record for most number of wins by a jockey in the Belmont Stakes, six, when he rode Sir Dixon to a 12-length victory. McLaughlin's record was matched by Eddie Arcaro in 1955.
June 9, 1887: Only two horses competed in the Belmont Stakes. It was the smallest field in the race's history, which again had only two starters in 1888, 1892, 1910, and 1920, the year Man o' War won the Belmont by 20 lengths.
June 9, 1945: Hoop Jr. won the Kentucky Derby, which was run one month after a national wartime government ban on racing was lifted.
June 9, 1973: Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths-the longest winning margin in the race's history-while setting a track record of 2:24, which has not been surpassed. The time was 2 3/5 seconds faster than the mark set by Gallant Man in 1957. Secretariat's victory made him the ninth Triple Crown winner and first since Citation had swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1948.
June 9, 1979: Spectacular Bid lost his chance for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, finishing third to winner Coastal. Trainer Bud Delp alleged that the colt had sustained a foot injury after stepping on a safety pin the morning of the race.
June 9, 1984: Riding Swale in a wire-to-wire victory, Laffit Pincay Jr. won his third consecutive Belmont Stakes, becoming the only rider in this century to accomplish that feat. Pincay rode Caveat to victory in 1983 and Conquistador Cielo in 1982; all three of his mounts were trained by Woody Stephens. Jockey James McLaughlin also rode three consecutive Belmont winners, once from 1882-84, and again from 1886-88. Swale's Belmont was also the first in which a female trainer saddled a horse for the race. Sarah Lundy sent Minstrel Star to a last-place finish.
June 9, 2003: Spectacular Bid, a Champion at ages 2, 3 and 4, died at the age of 27.
June 9, 2007: Rags to Riches wore down Preakness winner and eventual Horse of the Year Curlin in the stretch to become the first filly in 102 years to capture the Belmont Stakes. It was the first Triple Crown race won by trainer Todd Pletcher.
June 10, 1890: The Preakness Stakes was run outside Baltimore, at Morris Park in New York, under the auspices of the New York Jockey Club. Suspended for three years, the race was next run at the Brooklyn Jockey Club's Gravesend Course, 1894-1908.
June 10, 1938: Hollywood Park opened in Inglewood, Calif. In its inaugural year, Hollywood Park attracted such racing stars as Lawrin, who had given jockey Eddie Arcaro his first Kentucky Derby victory, as well as Ligaroti and Seabiscuit, whose rivalry later reached its pitch in a match race contested at Del Mar on Aug. 12, 1938.
June 10, 1944: The only triple dead heat for first in a stakes race occurred at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Carter Handicap. The three winners were Brownie, Bossuet and Wait a Bit.
June 10, 1953: Trainer Charlie Whittingham, at age 40, saddled his first stakes winner when Porterhouse, ridden by Bill Boland, won the National Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park. Porterhouse was later named champion two-year-old of 1953.
June 10, 1972: Laffit Pincay Jr. won his 2,000th victory while riding at Hollywood Park.
June 10, 1978: Steve Cauthen, at age 18, became the youngest jockey ever to win the Triple Crown when his mount, Affirmed, won the Belmont Stakes. Also on that day, Alydar became the only horse to finish second in all three Triple Crown races. Affirmed was the 11th winner of the Triple Crown.
June 11, 1898: Willie Simms became the only African American jockey to win the Preakness Stakes when he rode Sly Fox to victory. With this win, Simms became the only African American jockey to have won all three Triple Crown races. His other Triple Crown wins took place in the Kentucky Derby (1896, 1898) and Belmont Stakes (1893, 1894).
June 11, 1919: The first Triple Crown was won by Sir Barton after he completed the Belmont Stakes, then run at 1 3/8 miles rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles. Prior to his Triple Crown sweep, Sir Barton had been winless in six tries at racing.
June 11, 1921: Grey Lag, under Earl Sande, won the first Belmont Stakes ever to be run counter-clockwise. Previous Belmonts had been run clockwise over a fish-hook course that included part of the training track and the main dirt oval.
June 11, 1955: Jockey Eddie Arcaro tied James McLaughlin's record of six Belmont Stakes wins when he rode Nashua to victory.
June 11, 1966: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. recorded his first American stakes victory, taking the Christiana Stakes aboard two-year-old Hermogenes at Delaware Park.
June 11, 1973: Triple Crown winner Secretariat simultaneously made the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.
June 11, 1977: Upon winning the Belmont Stakes, Seattle Slew became the tenth Triple Crown winner and the first Triple Crown winner to remain undefeated, with a career record of nine-for-nine.
June 12, 1920: Man o' War won the Belmont Stakes, which was then run at a distance of 1 3/8-miles, in 2:14 1/5. He shattered the existing world record by 3 1/5 seconds and also set the American dirt-course record for that distance.
June 12, 1926: The August Belmont family first presented their permanent commemorative Tiffany trophy to the winner of the Belmont Stakes. The silver trophy was created in 1869 in recognition of Fenian's win in the Belmont.
June 12, 1948: After riding Citation to victory in the Belmont, jockey Eddie Arcaro became the only rider in history to have won two Triple Crowns. His previous Triple Crown was with Whirlaway, in 1941. In wining the Belmont, Citation became the eighth Triple Crown winner.
June 12, 1960: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. rode his first race at El Comandante in Puerto Rico.
June 12, 1982: Jockey Mike Smith rode his first winner, Future Man, in a $2,000 claiming race at Santa Fe.
June 13, 1874: English-bred Saxon became the first foreign bred horse to win the Belmont Stakes.
June 13, 1913: James Rowe, who had won back-to-back Belmonts in 1872-3 as a jockey, set the record for most number of Belmont Stakes wins by a trainer, eight, when he sent Prince Eugene to victory.
June 13, 1961: Ben A. Jones, who trained a record six Kentucky Derby winners, died.
June 13, 1992: Angel Cordero Jr. won his first race in two tries as a trainer, with Puchinito, in the fourth race at Belmont Park.
June 13, 1999: Silver Charm, winner of the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and the 1998 Dubai World Cup, retired after finishing fourth in the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. Silver Charm retired with earnings of $6,944,369 (third-highest of all time) and won 12 of 24 starts.
June 13, 2010: Zenyatta scored her 17th win without a loss in the Grade I Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. The victory moved Zenyatta past Citation, Cigar and Mister Frisky among horses with win streaks in open company races.
June 14, 1880: The first post parade of horses in any American race took place prior to the running of the Belmont Stakes. Horses had previously gone directly from paddock to post.
June 14, 1967: Jockey Craig Perret, age 16, won his first career race at Arlington Park. Despite starting well into the season, Perret finished the year third among the nation's apprentice riders in races won (with 114) and led all apprentices in the earnings category, with $610,003.
June 15, 1963: Five weeks prior to his 90th birthday, Hall of Fame trainer ‘Sunny Jim' Fitzsimmons retired. "Mr. Fitz," as he was also known, trained such outstanding runners as Nashua, Bold Ruler, Johnstown and Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox and his son Omaha.
June 15, 1972: In preparation for his July 4 debut, Secretariat worked five furlongs from the starting gate in 1:00 1/5.
June 15, 1977: Future rivals Affirmed and Alydar met for the first time, in the Youthful Stakes at Belmont Park. Affirmed triumphed over Alydar, who finished fifth, and went on to win four of their six races together in 1977.
WEEKEND STAKES RACES top
Nassau Stakes, 3&up (f&m), $300,000, Grade II, 1M (T), Woodbine
The Californian Stakes, 3&up, $150,000, Grade II, 1 1-8M, Hollywood Park
Vagrancy Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $150,000, Grade II, 6 1-2F, Belmont Park
Aristides Stakes, 3&up, $100,000, Grade III, 6F, Churchill Downs
Dogwood Stakes, 3yo fillies, $100,000, Grade III, 1M, Churchill Downs
Ohio Derby, 3yo, $100,000, Grade III, 1 1-16M, Thistledown
Go for Wand Stakes, 3yo fillies, $75,000, 1M 70 yds., Delaware Park
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