Del Mar opens its 83rd season of racing Friday with boosted purses, the customary opening-day sellout crowd, and a sellout field of 14 for the meet’s first feature, the Oceanside Stakes. Lost to history and time is the Hollywood flavor the seaside track enjoyed from the moment Bing Crosby took […]
Tag: Peter Miller
Trainer Peter Miller Returns After Six Months On Hiatus
Peter Miller, who hasn’t raced a horse since Nov. 28, returns to the barn for the first time in six months when he sends out 3-year-old gelding Respect the Code for Sunday’s eighth race at Churchill Downs. The California-based trainer, who won nine training titles at Del Mar, took what […]
Standout Sprinter C Z Rocket Returns with New Trainer, Lasix
Between May 25, 2020, and May 31, 2021 — a nine-race stretch — C Z Rocket finished no worse than second. That included seven victories in those nine races. It also incuded two victories at Oaklawn Park, where the 7-year-old, multiple Grade 2 winner wraps up his 2021 campaign on […]
Asmussen, Ortiz, Prat Invade Tiny Zia Park for Land of Enchantment Card
When it comes to must-see tracks, Zia Park is far off the high-profile path. The New Mexico track isn’t even located in – or near — one of the state’s two high-profile cities, Albuquerque or Santa Fe. But for Tuesday’s Land of Enchantment Stakes card, Zia Park is big enough […]
Standout Miler Mo Forza Likely the Best Turf Horse Under Your Radar
Mo Forza built himself quite the career running under your radar. One of the best turf milers in the country – or the world, according to trainer Peter Miller – is also one of the best horses you’ve probably never bet. If you have, you’re undoubtedly relishing the windfall this […]
Del Mar Wrap: Nothing Average About Record Average Daily Handle
Del Mar closed its 82nd summer season with a track record for daily average handle, watching horseplayers wager an average of nearly $18.4 million each day of the 31-day meet. That surpassed last year’s daily average of $17.3 million, which came without fans in the stands thanks to the pandemic. […]
C Z Rocket Takes Off In Search of Elusive Grade 1 in Bing Crosby Stakes
Considering how many times he’s figured in various race mixes, it defies logic that C Z Rocket comes into Saturday’s Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes lacking a Grade 1 victory. And yet, here he is, one of the West Coast’s top sprinters and owner of 11 victories and nearly $1.4 […]
Derby Dominoes: King Fury, Keepmeinmind In, Three Others Out
Two weeks ago, King Fury needed a miracle of falling Kentucky Derby dominoes to get him into the 2021 Kentucky Derby field. On Friday, the Lexington Stakes champion got that miracle. After the defections of Dream Shake and Hozier Friday and Get Her Number’s Saturday defection, King Fury sits comfortably […]
The Pegasus Isn’t the Only Stakes Race This Weekend
Saturday brings us the first two Grade 1 stakes races of 2021: the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the Pegasus World Cup Turf, coming to you from Gulfstream Park. The Florida track captures this weekend’s stakes spotlight with those two high-profile races, along with five other graded stakes on its […]
Del Mar Defies the Odds with Increased Handle, Decreased Racing Days
Del Mar’s 2020 summer meet ran with 25% fewer racing days than there were in 2019, and without spectators. Even so, the seaside San Diego-area track increased its betting handle 8% from last year. Race-starved Californians combined with action-hungry bettors outside the state to boost the track’s handle to $466.68 […]