Things to know today
| 1 |
Riders at Presque Isle Downs stood down on Tuesday and the last five races of an eight race card were cancelled. Huber Villa-Gomez came down when the five-year-old mare Laughing Fit fell at the back of the field in the third race, a 5,000 dollar claimer, and the mare was euthanised on the track. The incident happened at about 4.26pm and the transfer ambulance did not reach it until 5.05pm. Herbie Rivera Jr. of the Jockeys’ Guild said the riders were upset with the time it took, and that they were also unhappy the rider had been moved without a neck brace. Villa-Gomez was conscious afterwards (Paulick Report) |
| 2 |
Del Mar reported wagering of 366.8 million dollars on its own races across the 32 day summer meeting, up 3.1 per cent on 2025, and total all sources wagering of 546.8 million dollars, up 2.3 per cent. Pacific Classic day took more than 29 million dollars, the second highest day in the track’s history. The meet averaged 8.6 starters a race and drew 279,120 people, against 282,104 last year. Josh Rubinstein, the track’s president, called it a tremendous summer of racing (Paulick Report) |
| 3 |
Junior Alvarado has appealed a four day suspension and a 3,000 dollar fine imposed by HISA over his use of the crop on Tiger Twenty Four, seven strikes against a limit of six, when the horse was second in a 55,000 dollar claiming race at Saratoga on 30 August. It was his fourth crop finding inside 180 days, which carries an escalated penalty. He has been granted a stay, so neither the suspension nor the fine takes effect while the appeal runs. No hearing has concluded and nothing is settled (Paulick Report) |
| 4 |
Sovereignty is no better than a 50-50 chance of making the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on Belmont Park’s opening day, 18 September. The reigning Horse of the Year, a Godolphin homebred who won the Grade 1 Whitney on 8 August, developed an abscess in his left hind foot and missed a weekend work. Bill Mott said the abscess had broken out and that they now had to wait for everything to dry up, and gave himself two or three days to decide. Entries are drawn on Saturday, and Baeza would be considered for the race in his place (Horse Racing Nation, Paulick Report) |
| 5 |
Puerto Rico’s largest thoroughbred breeding operation has changed hands. Potrero Los Llanos, founded in 1971 by Dr Eduardo Maldonado Sierra and run by three generations of the same family for 55 years, has been bought by the American businessman Gregory John Mislow III, with Eduardo Maldonado Ruiz staying on as general manager through a transition of up to 24 months that will move the operation to the former Haras Santa Isabel. Console, Maraud and Tenfold continue to stand there. No price was given (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
| 6 |
Harry Hernandez took his first riding title at Evangeline Downs with 66 winners from 364 mounts and led the colony on purse earnings with 1,569,105 dollars. Allen Landry repeated as leading trainer with 55 wins from 214 starters and was the only stable to pass a million dollars in earnings, on 1,341,195. Juan Cano led the owners with 31 wins from 115 starters, while Elite Thoroughbred Racing topped the owners’ earnings on 520,880 dollars (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
| 7 |
Kentucky Belle took the Grade 3 Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational at Kentucky Downs on Wednesday. The Justify filly, a WinStar Farm homebred out of the Tiznow mare Dancing Fancy, was ridden by Flavien Prat for Brad Cox and beat Bless Her, whose rider John Velazquez claimed a foul that was disallowed. It was her fourth win from seven starts. Elliott Walden of WinStar said she just keeps getting better, that the distance was going to be her friend and that Brad Cox had identified that last year, and named the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland as a possible next race (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
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