HorseRacing Central June 5, 2009

BIG WEEKEND STARTS WITH FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE

For the next 16 consecutive Fridays the thoroughbreds will be competing in an atmosphere geared to be full of fun and excitement. Between races there will be a dj providing music live from the Granville Island Brewing Beer Garden. And, hey, if you’ve got the munchies, how about $1 for a hot dog, soft drink and popcorn? Start time for the races is 7:00 o’clock.

TWO MAJOR STAKES ON THE AGENDA

We’ve got the $50,000 John Longden 6000 on Saturday followed by Sunday’s $50,000 Senate Appointee and both races make an analyst’s job extremely difficult.

Krazy Koffee was a fast closing fourth in his start of the season and it’s interesting to note that trainer Cindy Krasner says she was pleased with the result. It was in the 6 ½-furlong George Royal Stakes on May 2. “He actually ran a lot better than I anticipated,” Krasner told Randy Goulding of the Daily Racing Form. “He only got beat a length and three-quarters and he had the widest trip of all. It was an encouraging way to start the year.”

Krazy Koffee, our 2008 BC Derby winner, will relish the extra distance (1 1/16-mile) in Saturday’s John Longden.

As for Sunday’s Senate Appointee it would appear Holy Nova will be a repeat winner. But the competition is tough with the likes of Wind Storm, Blue Sky Holiday and Heaven On Hold also entered.

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD

BELMONT STAKES

It’s the third jewel of the Triple Crown from Belmont Park Saturday (3:27 p.m.) with a total of 10 3-year-olds battling for a $1 million purse over the demanding distance of a mile and a half. It’s the feature of a 13-race card that has six stakes on the agenda and a $1 million guaranteed Pick 4 (races 8-11) to go along with a $1 million guaranteed all-stakes Pick 6 (races 6-11). The stakes action starts in race six (11:33 a.m.) with the $250,000 True North as former sprint champion Benny The Bull makes his return after nearly a one-year layoff. The rest of the stakes schedule: the $400,000 Just A Game for fillies and mares at a mile on the grass (12:15 p.m.) with Eclipse Award winning mare Forever Together the morning line favourite; the $250,000 Woody Stephens for 3-year-old sprinters (12:59 p.m.); the Acorn (1:44 p.m.) for 3-year-old fillies with Justwhistlindixie putting her five-race winning streak on the line; the $400,000 Manhattan Handicap (2:34 p.m.) and then the Belmont.

HOLLYWOOD

There are three stakes Saturday starting with the $70,000 Redondo Beach (2:34 p.m.), the $100,000 Ack Ack Handicap (3:44 p.m.) followed by the $300,000 Charlie Whittingham Stakes. Mike Smith, who rode Mine That Bird to a runner-up effort in the Preakness, was committed to ride Madeo in the Whittingham and that’s why Mine That Bird was offered back to Calvin Borel.

Sunday at Hollywood the feature is the $150,000 Hollywood Oaks (4:30 p.m.) for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and a sixteenth on the cushion track.

WOODBINE

The $150,000 Eclipse Stakes (1:24 p.m.) is the headline act Saturday with local owner Peter Redekop having entered Approval Rating, 8-1 on the morning line. Sunday at Woodbine the rich Woodbine Oaks (2:10 p.m.) is the feature with 14 Canadian-bred fillies traveling nine furlongs for a piece of the $500,000 purse. Earlier on the card is the $150,000 Victoria Park (11:08 a.m.) and of local interest is Redekop’s Star Prospector in a $50,000 claiming event at 1:07 p.m.

FROM THE ‘WIENER’S’ CIRCLE

It was inevitable. You knew it had to happen. On Saturday, July 18 at Hastings (drum roll, please) we will be staging … wait for it … WIENER DOG RACES!

Maple Leaf Foods are co-sponsors of the event that will involve five trial heats with the ‘wieners’ qualifying for the finals. Trial heat winners will each receive $100 and the eventual top dog wins $500. All competing dogs must be registered by July 10, 2009 in order to dispense credentials to participate. The entrants must be Dachshunds. No other breed will be allowed.

DAILY RACING FORM TO COST MORE

It’s true. The Daily Racing Form (DRF) is going up in price effective next week. The cover price will now be $5.00, an increase of 50 cents. Don’t say you weren’t forewarned.

FRASER DOWNS KEEPS ACTIVE

The feature event on Friday night’s 12-race card will be the $12,000 Open for fillies and mares. It will have a field of eight but only six wagering interests because there are two coupled entries. The Robert Murphy-owned duo of Lil Kim and Red Star Hottie go as an entry and are the lukewarm favourite at 9/5. The Keith Clark-trained twosome of Modern Legacy and Admired Beauty are the second choices at 2-1.

Make sure you arrive early for Saturday’s 10-race card that starts at 6:00 p.m. Fraser Downs is hosting the Rock ‘n Racing fund raiser in support of the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation. The live racing card will end around 8:50 p.m. and then he rockers take over with three live bands: All About Jack, Drink the Fat and Keith Diamond. Tickets are $25 and available at the Guest Services Desk at Fraser Downs.