Thursday, July 24 2008

SARATOGA NOTES, July 23, 2008

Trainer Neil Howard sent William S. Farish’s Grasshopper out this morning on the wet-fast main track for a half-mile work of 50.17, breezing, but is still undecided if he will run the 4-year-old Dixie Union colt in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Handicap.

“The weather has nothing to do with whether we run in the Whitney or not,” Howard said. “I want to talk to Mr. Farish and look over our options. We might go in the Whitney, but we may decide on an overnight race instead. We’ll just wait and see.”

Wednesday, July 23 2008

FUTURE STARS LOOK TO STEP UP IN SANFORD STAKES

When Todd Pletcher saddled Ready’s Image to victory in last year’s Sanford Stakes, it seemed to be a harbinger of yet another spectacular Saratoga meet for the trainer. But, as it turned out, Ready’s Image was the lone juvenile stakes winner at the Spa for Pletcher, who would send out only two more two-year-old winners from 47 starters and who, not uncoincidentally, saw his string of five consecutive training titles snapped.

“At Saratoga, a lot of our success depends on our two-year-olds,” said Pletcher, who was 1-for-23 with first-time two-year-old starters last year. “And this year, we’re kind of in the same position we were last year. We’ve got 30 or so just getting close to ready to run.”

“SARATOGA AT BELMONT” TO OPEN ON SCHEDULE

“Saratoga at Belmont” will be up and running on Wednesday, July 23, despite last weekend’s transformer fire that short-circuited the final day of the Belmont Park Spring/Summer season on Sunday.

As the faulty transformer is being replaced, generators have been installed to provide more than enough electricity to power Belmont Park’s simulcasting of the prestigious Saratoga meet and action from other top tracks. Air-conditioning has already been restored to the Belmont Café (first floor clubhouse), and could be restored to the Paddock Dining Room, along with the adjacent Players Club and Paddock Bar, as early as Friday.

Wednesday, July 16 2008

SARATOGA SEASON PASSES NOW ON SALE

Saratoga Race Course opens its 140th season one week from today on Wednesday, July 23, and regular race-goers know that the Saratoga Season Pass is the most convenient and economical way to take in all the action of the 36-day Spa racing season. Season passes are on sale now at the Saratoga Race Course Customer Service Office, located in the track’s Administration Building (entrance by ATMs), through Saturday, July 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, June 28 2008

BIG BROWN TO RESUME GALLOPING: TRAVERS COMING UP?

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, whose Triple Crown bid was thwarted in the June 7 Belmont Stakes bu Da’Tara, is scheduled to resume galloping Saturday morning and trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said he would like to see the horse run in the $1 million Travers presented by Shadwell Farm at Saratoga Race Course.

“I hope that Big Brown runs there,” said Dutrow of the mile and a quarter “Midsummer Derby,” which will be run for the 139th time on Saturday, August 23.

“In a perfect world I would want to see him win the Haskell (Monmouth Park, August 3), and win the Travers – in a perfect world,” said Dutrow Friday morning outside barn 10 at Aqueduct, where Big Brown is stabled. “Especially my world, it’s not perfect.”

Thursday, June 19 2008

JUMP START TO LAUNCH SARATOGA MEET

The newly created Saratoga Jump Start will help kick off the 2008 racing season at historic Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Jump Start program, which will augment the traditional Saratoga Open House, will benefit the National Steeplechase Foundation and the Wesley Foundation. Put on by the beneficiaries in conjunction with the National Steeplechase Association and the New York Racing Association, the expanded slate offers a chance to ease into the Saratoga scene, enjoy a day at the races and experience the thrill of steeplechasing all while helping a pair of worthy causes.