BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI GRAND PRAIRIE, TX—SEPTEMBER 21, 2018—Rappid, a graded stakes winning gelded son of Ivory James owned and trained by Matthew Eck, is one of 119 2-year-olds entered in Saturday’s 400-yard Dash For Cash Futurity (G2) trials at Lone Star Park. Rappid will be making his first start since July 28, when he scored a half-length victory in the 350-yard, $222,000 Speedhorse Futurity (G3) at Fair Meadows at Tulsa. The gelding drew post 9 and will be ridden by Alfredo Triana Jr. in ...

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—SEPTEMBER 21, 2018—Parsons Family Limited Partnership’s Thermonuclear Energy has been assigned the high weight of 127 pounds when a strong field of distaffers meet in the Grade 1, $125,000 Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap on Sunday at Los Alamitos. The winner of the Mildred Vessels will earn a berth to the Grade 1, ...

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—SEPTEMBER 20, 2018—Albuquerque Downs will close its 2018 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing season this weekend with a track-record purse distribution of $1,595,597 on Saturday and Sunday. The Downs’ closing weekend action consists of 20 races, 10 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. There will be six stakes races, one on Saturday (first post time, 6:05 MDT) and five on Sunday (first post 1:30). Five of this weekend’s stakes will be for Quarter Horses, topped by Sunday’s 440-yard, $300,000 Albuquerque Fall Quarter Horse Championship (G1), which achieved Grade 1 status ...

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI CLAREMORE, OK—SEPTEMBER 20, 2018—Jermaine Jackson’s Mary Janes Hero, a stakes winner during the Remington Park spring meet, is one of 10 2-year-olds entered back in Sunday’s 350-yard, $266,765 Black Gold 350 Futurity (R) at Will Rogers Downs. A sorrel daughter of Valiant ...

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI GRAND PRAIRIE, TX—SEPTEMBER 19, 2018—Fifty sophomores, headed by the Grade 1-placed Cartel Cupid, have been entered in Friday’s 440-yard Dash For Cash Derby (G3) trials at Lone Star Park. Cartel Cupid is a homebred son of Corona Cartel trained by Blane Wood for owners Randy and Sandy Coleman. The bay gelding ships in from Ruidoso Downs, where he ran second, three-quarters of a length behind winner Jess Move You, in the 400-yard, $759,000 Ruidoso Derby (G1) on June 9. A ...

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI HOBBS, NM—SEPTEMBER 18, 2018—Jess Move You and Papaws Paint are among the 47 3-year-olds entered in Sunday’s 440-yard Hobbs America Derby (G3) trials at Zia Park. A sorrel son of world champion Apollitical Jess owned by Ricardo A. Bernal and Reymundo F. Resendez, Jess Move You is coming off of a Ruidoso Downs summer campaign during which the gelding won the June 9, $759,000 Ruidoso Derby (G1) and qualified to the $802,000 Rainbow Derby (G1) and $1.239-million All ...

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI HOBBS, NM—SEPTEMBER 17, 2018—Eighty-five 2-year-olds have been entered in Saturday’s 400-yard Hobbs America Futurity (G2) trials, as Zia Park opens its 2018 racing season with a nine-race program, starting at 12 p.m. (MDT). Trainer Blane Wood, fresh off of his All American Futurity (G1) win at Ruidoso Downs earlier this month, will send out one hopeful, La Feliz Montana Ranch’s Badhabit Jess. A sorrel son of champion Mr Jess Perry, Badhabit Jess is coming off of a ...

AJAX, ONT—SEPTEMBER 16, 2018—The fall championship races for Quarter Horse racing at Ajax Downs are nearing and the Monday, September 17 day of racing begins the journey for the top 2-year-olds in Ontario. Two trials for the $75,000 Alex Picov Futurity, one of the most prestigious races for juveniles in Canada, have attracted fields of nine and 10 tackling 400 yards. Mildred Didrickson, a filly named for the remarkable track and field Olympian and champion golfer, is one of the major players in the first trial which is race 2. ...

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—SEPTEMBER 14, 2018—Owned by Jeff and Kim Pitcher, the Grade 1 futurity winning filly Wave Her Down has been special from the first moment that she stepped on the track. "From day one of training, everything has always been all business with her," said Jeff Pitcher. "She wasn't one to mess around. She was all business all the time. I felt pretty good about her from the ...

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI CINCINNATI, OH—SEPTEMBER 14, 2018—A field of seven 2-year-olds, topped by recent maiden winner Fast Layne, has been entered in Sunday’s 350-yard, $15,000 All American Congress Futurity at Belterra Park. A brown son of Ivory James owned by Campos Family Ventures LLC, Fast ...

SHELBYVILLE, IN—SEPTEMBER 13, 2018—Stoneburner, the talented two-year-old from the Randy Smith Stable, has been tagged as the favorite in the sixth running of the $44.800 2018 Speed Sale Futurity Saturday. The race is slated as the seventh on the eight-race all-Quarter Horse racing program at Indiana Grand, marking the fourth night dedicated to sprinters during the 2018 racing season. Stoneburner and Jose Beltran will start from post six at odds of 2-5. The Brimmstone gelding has three wins in four starts this season for owner ...

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—SEPTEMBER 13, 2018— Champion J Fire Up will look to avenge her fourth place finish in the Governor's Cup Derby final when she takes on Black Fryday and Chance To Fire, the top two finishers in that race, in the second of three trials to the $152,000 PCQHRA Breeders Derby on Saturday night at Los Alamitos. Nine races are on tap with the derby trials slated as races seven, eight and nine. First post time is 6:55 p.m. It was a rare loss for J Fire, who entered the derby final having won eight of her first 10 ...