Friday, May 28 2010

NYRA TO OFFER $1 MIL GUARANTEED P4 AND P6 ON BELMONT STAKES DAY

ELMONT, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is offering a $1 Million Guaranteed All Graded Stakes Pick 4 and a $1 Million Guaranteed All Graded Stakes Pick 6 on Belmont Stakes Day, Saturday, June 5, along with a two-day Daily Double on Friday, June 4, linking the Brooklyn Handicap with the Belmont Stakes.

The $1 Million Guaranteed Pick 6 will begin with race 6 at 2:34 p.m. EDT, comprising the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap, the Grade 1 Betfair TVG Acorn, the Grade 1 Just a Game, the Grade 2 Woody Stephens, presented by Emirates Airline, and the Grade 2 True North Handicap.

BANROCK TRIES FOR THIRD KINGSTON VICTORY; YOU GO WEST GIRL FAVORED IN MOUNT VERNON

ELMONT, N.Y. – New York-bred turf star Banrock will try for a three-peat in the $100,000 Kingston Stakes this weekend, one of two featured statebred 1 1/16-mile turf stakes on Sunday’s card at Belmont Park along with the $100,000 Mount Vernon for fillies and mares.

In both 2008 and 2009, Banrock won his seasonal debut in the Kingston, before going on to dominate in the statebred turf division. Last year, he successfully completed a sweep of the four major turf route races for New York-breds (the Kingston, West Point, Ashley T. Cole and Mohawk) and the year before won three, missing only in the Mohawk.

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Thursday, May 27, 2010

ELMONT, N.Y. – The likely field for the 142nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes swelled to 11 Thursday with the announcement that Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Dave in Dixie is targeting the June 5 race.

Trained by John Sadler, the son of Dixie Union broke his maiden at first asking last summer at Del Mar and was sixth behind eventual Preakness winner Lookin at Lucky in the Grade 1 Norfolk in his only other start as a juvenile. Dave in Dixie began his 3-year-old campaign with a second-place effort in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita, and followed that by finishing sixth in the Grade 2 San Felipe and fifth in the Grace 3 Illinois Derby, his first start on dirt, on April 3.

GRENING, FORTUS WIN INAUGURAL JOE HIRSCH WRITING AWARDS

ELMONT, N.Y. – David Grening of the Daily Racing Form and Bob Fortus of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans earned top honors as The New York Racing Association, Inc., (NYRA) announced the winners of the inaugural Joe Hirsch Memorial Writing Contest, recognizing the best in print and internet coverage of the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes in 2009.

Grening won in the feature/advance category for a story on trainer Tim Ice that appeared in DRF’s Saturday, June 6 edition and ran under the headline: “Ice’s small stable has a big future.” The article chronicled the emergence of the 35-year-old Ice, which in many ways mirrored the rise of Summer Bird, who went on to win the Eclipse Award as the nation’s top 3-year-old colt.

Thursday, May 27 2010

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Wednesday, May 26, 2010

ELMONT, N.Y. – Make Music for Me, one of 10 hopefuls for the 142nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5, jogged for a second day around the Belmont Park oval right after the renovation break, said exercise rider Andy Durnin.

The Bernstein colt – who had a rigorous one-mile workout Sunday morning, walked Monday and jogged Tuesday – will return to galloping tomorrow, said Durnin.

Monday, May 24 2010

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Sunday, May 23, 2010

ELMONT, N.Y. – With trainer Alexis Barba looking on, Make Music for Me had his first breeze at Belmont Park Sunday morning, covering a mile in 1:43.65 in preparation for the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 5.

The other Belmont hopeful on the work tab was Grade 2 Dwyer runner-up Drosselmeyer, who went six furlongs in 1:14.10 for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

Sunday, May 23 2010

TREAT GENTLY OVERPOWERS FIELD IN SHEEPSHEAD BAY

ELMONT, N.Y. – With a perfect stalking trip all the way around in Saturday’s 52nd running of the Grade 2, $150,000 Sheepshead Bay at Belmont Park, Treat Gently (GB) drew away in the stretch to pick up her first graded stakes win in America.

Settled comfortably behind early pacesetter Pari through early fractions of 24.52 and 49.45, Treat Gently took the lead at the head of the stretch and opened up to hit the wire 4 ½ lengths in front of late-running Nehantic Kat.

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Saturday, May 22, 2010

ELMONT, N.Y. – Preakness runner-up First Dude arrived at Belmont Park early Saturday morning and at 8:30 a.m. was munching away on hay in his stall in Mike Maker’s barn. Plans call for the Stephen Got Even colt to jog Sunday, and then gallop up to next Saturday’s final tuneup for the 142nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 5.

“He shipped in well,” said Tammy Fox, exercise rider and assistant to trainer Dale Romans. “Dale will come in Friday and watch him work on Saturday. He’ll go out sometime after the renovation break [8:45 a.m.].”

Friday, May 21 2010

“THEY’RE OFF!” IN THE 2010 BELMONT STAKES FESTIVAL

ELMONT, N.Y. – A week-long festival of events to celebrate the 142nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes kicks off on Saturday, May 29 with a parade along Hempstead Turnpike, a family fun day and two-day equine exposition at Belmont Park.

The Elmont 2010 Belmont Stakes Festival Parade, beginning at 10 a.m., is the first of many community events that are part of the 2010 Belmont Stakes Festival, among them the Northeast Equine Exposition on May 29-30, the Queens Go Red for Women Luncheon at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach on Thursday, June 3 to benefit the American Heart Association, and street fairs in Belmont Park’s neighboring communities of Floral Park and Garden City on the eve of the race.