Photos Of The Day

Christophe Soumillon riding Cirrus Des Aigles (L) win the $415,000 Prix Ganay G1 from Treve and Frankie Dettori at Longchamp racecourse on April 27, 2014 in Paris, France.  (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Jockey Ioritz Mendizabal walks into the paddock at Longchamp racecourse on April 27, 2014 in Paris, France.  (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

A general view as runners make their way to the starting gate at Longchamp racecourse on April 27, 2014 in Paris, France.  ( Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

A general view as runners pass the winning post at Longchamp racecourse on April 27, 2014 in Paris, France. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Debut of Kentucky Derby Wagering At Virginia Gold Cup

For the first time in its long history, the first jewel of Horse Racing’s Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby will be available for wagers at the Virginia Gold Cup this Saturday.  The VGC will be offering pari-mutuel wagering on their six race card and the most exciting two minutes in sports which will be run after the final live race on the program.

Pari-mutuel wagering debuted at last year’s International Gold Cup, but  there were long lines and problems associated with the WiFi that was supposed to connect Gold Cup patrons to the wagering platform set up specifically for that day’s event.

This year, the Gold Cup will  have 15 betting stations around the course with a self-service machine and a teller machine.  Race officials have met with United Tote Company concerning the software glitch that plagued wagering last October. In addition, there will be QR codes on the race program and in various places that will take your phone to “Smart Bet Mobile”. 

   

Fingers crossed.

For more info, click here. 

So don’t forget your smart phone or your tablet or stop by the Gold Cup office in Warrenton to purchase a wagering card.  No worries if you can’t make in before the big day, the tellers and self-service machines take good old fashioned cash!

Guts For Garters Wins Maryland Hunt Cup By A Nose

In a thrilling battle to the finish line, Stewart Strawbridge’s Guts For Garters (left) bested Imperial Way by a nose in the 118th renewal of the historic Maryland Hunt Cup on Saturday, April 26.

Lightly regarded after an eighth-place finish in a Grand National amateur timber allowance race a week earlier, Guts For Garters conquered the tall fences on the Maryland Hunt Cup course in Glyndon, and jockey Jody Petty drove the 11-year-old Irish-bred through the stretch to the finish line.

Guts For Garters had just enough to win the head bob over Merriefield Farm’s Imperial Way, ridden by Bethany Baumgardner. Merriefield’s Bon Caddo, the 2011 timber champion, took the third spot, and two-time Hunt Cup winner Twill Do was fourth for the second straight year.

Trained by Sanna Neilson, Guts For Garters ran the Hunt Cup’s four miles in 9:20. The Hunt Cup win marked a milestone for Petty, a former champion jockey who began riding as an amateur last year. He had entered semi-retirement previously and decided to keep active in the sport by riding as an amateur.

Photos Of The Day

Kentucky Derby pre-face favorite California Chrome arrives at track in preparation for the 140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on April 28, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. Wagering will be available on the most exciting two minutes in sports to Virginia Gold Cup patrons. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)

Chitu is ridden by Dana Barnes during the morning exercise session in preparation for the 140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on April 25, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)

Danza is ridden by Ezekiel Perez during the morning exercise session in preparation for the 140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on April 25, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky.  (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)

Intense Holiday is ridden by Isabelle Bourez during the morning exercise session in preparation for the 140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on April 25, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky.  (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)

Uncle Sigh is riden by Benito Alvarado during the morning exercise session in preparation for the140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on April 28, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)

We Miss Artie is bathed along side other horses trained by Todd Pletcher after the morning exercise session in preparation for the140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on April 27, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)

Wildcat Red is ridden by Juan Belmonte during the morning exercise session in preparation for the 140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on April 25, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)

Champions, Two-Time Winner Twill Do Square Off In Maryland Hunt Cup Today

(NSA) Merriefield Farm’s two timber champions and two-time winner Twill Do will line up Saturday, April 26, for the 118th running of the $75,000 Maryland Hunt Cup in Glyndon. The historic race, the finale of Maryland’s timber triple crown, attracted a full field for its four miles over daunting fences. Post time for the afternoon’s only race is 4 p.m.

TILL DO (LEFT) (Douglas Lees Photo)

Trainer Bruce Fenwick will saddle Merriefield’s reigning timber champion, Foyle, and the 2011 champion, Bon Caddo. Foyle, who surged to the 2013 title with back-to-back victories in the International Gold Cup and Pennsylvania Hunt Cup, tuned for the Hunt Cup with a game second-place finish, beaten a nose, in the $30,000 Grand National at Butler on April 19. Fenwick imported British amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen to ride.

Bon Caddo would be making his first 2014 start after being scratched from the My Lady’s Manor, first contest of the timber triple, on April 12. He finished fifth in last year’s Hunt Cup after a third in the My Lady’s Manor. James Slater will ride.

Lucy Goelet’s Twill Do will be attempting to retire the Hunt Cup trophy with his third victory. He won in 2010 and 2012 before finishing fourth last year. James Stierhoff, who rode Twill Do to his previous Hunt Cup victories, will be in the saddle for trainer William Meister.

Jack Fisher, who shared last year’s timber trainer title with Meister, will send out Arcadia Stable’s Delta Park. A solid second to Foyle in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup, Delta Park opened the 2014 season with a third-place finish in the Grand National, the middle jewel of Maryland’s timber triple crown.

Mark Beecher, who rode Professor Maxwell to victory in last year’s Hunt Cup, assumes the mount on Delta Park.

Virginia-based trainer Neil Morris will saddle Kinross Farm’s Sand Box Rules, who ruled the John D. Schapiro Memorial amateur apprentice timber race at My Lady’s Manor. Diana Gillam again will ride.

Photo Of The Day

Two racegoers sit in the centre of the course to watch the racing at Epsom racecourse on April 23, 2014 in Epsom, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Spencer Road Edges Foyle in Grand National

(NSA)

Spencer Road, returning to the races after a year’s absence, prevailed in an extended battle with reigning timber champion Foyle to win the $30,000 Grand National, the middle jewel of Maryland’s timber triple crown on Saturday, April 19. Arcadia Stable’s Delta Park finished third.

 L to R Foyle and Spencer Road (Douglas Lees Photo)

Owned by Gerry Brewster, Eleanor T. Russell, and Joseph Tydings, Spencer Road entered the Grand National as a timber maiden longshot. He finished third in last year’s John Rush Streett Memorial, a timber maiden race, and then finished second in the Grand National’s Benjamin Murray Memorial. But he and the first finisher were disqualified for going off course, giving the victory to Foyle. Merriefield Farm’s Foyle secured his timber title with back-to-back victories in the International Gold Cup and Pennsylvania Hunt Cup.

Spencer Road, ridden by Eric Poretz, and Foyle, under James Slater, hooked up over the last fence and battled to the finish line, with Spencer Road getting the advantage of the head bob. Trained in Maryland by Blythe Miller Davies, Spencer Road ran the Grand National’s 3 1/4 miles in 6:13 on firm ground at the Butler course.

Decoy Daddy Repeats in Temple Gwathmey

(NSA)

Decoy Daddy, Irv Naylor’s ageless multiple stakes winner, bested three Grade 1 stakes winners to secure his second straight victory in the $50,000 Temple Gwathmey (Gr. 3), the featured race of the 93rd annual Middleburg Spring Races on Saturday, April 19.

(Douglas Lees Photo)

With regular rider Carol-Ann Sloan in the saddle for trainer Cyril Murphy, Decoy Daddy prevailed by 1 1/2 lengths over Magalen O. Bryant’s Gustavian, winner of last year’s $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) at Belmont Park. Pleasant Woodman, winner of Aiken Spring’s Budweiser Imperial Cup in his most recent start, finished third and was followed to the finish line by Inti and Molotof. Spy in the Sky and Italian Wedding, the respective New York Turf Writers Cup (Gr. 1) winners in 2009 and 2013, were pulled up.

Decoy Daddy, a 12-year-old Irish-bred, ran the Temple Gwathmey’s 2 1/2 miles in 5:35.40 on turf rated as good at Middleburg’s Glenwood Park Course.

2013 International Gold Cup Winner Foyle Heads Maryland Grand National Field

(NationalSteeplechase.com) 

Merriefield Farm’s Foyle, the reigning timber champion, will make his 2014 debut against a crowded field of competitors in Maryland’s historic Grand National, the second jewel of the Free State’s timber triple crown, on Saturday, April 19. The $30,000 Grand National kicks off a three-race program at 3:15 p.m. at the Butler course.

FOYLE (L) (Douglas Lees Photo)

Trained by Bruce Fenwick, Foyle took the 2013 timber title with a late-season surge that included victories in the International Gold Cup and Pennsylvania Hunt Cup. In the spring, he was placed first in the Grand National’s Benjamin H. Murray Memorial timber allowance after the first two finishers went off-course. James Slater again will ride the nine-year-old gelding.

The Grand National also attracted several of the timber competitors who finished behind Foyle in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup. Arcadia Stable’s Delta Park battled Foyle through the stretch and finished second by a half-length. Trainer Jack Fisher named Conner Hankin to ride.

Finishing third, another 1 1/4 length back, was Holston Hall’s Hot Rize, who will be ridden by trainer Russell Haynes in the 3 1/4-mile Grand National. Also in the Grand National field is Rosbrian Farm’s More Fascination, who finished a distant fourth in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup on Nov. 3. Mark Beecher has a return call on More Fascination for trainer Tara Elmore.

Lucy Goelet’s Twill Do, a two-time Maryland Hunt Cup winner, will be looking for his first success in the Grand National. He finished fourth in the 2012 Grand National before winning his second Hunt Cup. Last year, Twill Do finished seventh in the Grand National before a fourth in the Hunt Cup.

He is trained by Billy Meister, who also trains And the Eagle Flys, the 2012 Grand National winner who was entered for a shot at a second victory. And the Eagle Flys was pulled up in last year’s Grand National. Meister will ride And the Eagle Flys, and James Stierhoff will be aboard Twill Do. Meister also entered Irv Naylor’s Gorgeous Charger, who will be ridden by K. Fritz Boniface.

Three Grade 1 Winners Clash In Middleburg’s Temple Gwathmey

Three Grade 1 winners, 2013 winner Decoy Daddy, and a formidable front-runner will line up on Saturday, April 19, for the $50,000 Temple Gwathmey (Gr. 3), featured race of the 93rd annual Middleburg Spring Races. First post time will be 1 p.m. at Glenwood Park Course.

Two of the three Grade 1 winners–Magalen O. Bryant’s Gustavian  and owner-trainer Jonathan Sheppard’s Italian Wedding–collected their initial top-level victories last season.

Gustavian completed the 2013 season as the National Steeplechase Association’s second-leading earner and an Eclipse Award finalist. In his first starts after being purchased by Virginia resident Bryant, Gustavian won Belmont Park’s $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) and was second in the $250,000 Grand National (Gr. 1) at Far Hills, N.J. He stumbled and lost his rider at the last fence of the $100,000 Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup (Gr. 1) in November. Trainer Leslie Young named her husband, four-time champion jockey Paddy Young, to ride.

Italian Wedding returned from a long period on the sidelines to win the $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup (Gr. 1) at Saratoga Race Course after a good second in Saratoga’s $100,000 A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1). Unplaced in the Grand National, he finished third in the Colonial Cup. Willie McCarthy will ride for Racing Hall of Fame trainer Sheppard.

Randleston Farm's Spy In The Sky (left). (Douglas Less Photo)

The third Grade 1 winner is Randleston Farm’s Spy in the Sky, who upset the 2012 A. P. Smithwick. He also had upset the 2009 New York Turf Writers but was winless last year.

Irv Naylor’s Decoy Daddy kicked off a notable 2013 season with his Gwathmey victory. The veteran then won the Radnor Hunt Races’ $50,000 National Hunt Cup (Gr. 3) and in the fall was victorious in the Montpelier Hunt Races’ Noel Laing for a third time. Cyril Murphy, who took over training of Decoy Daddy before the Noel Laing, named Carol-Ann Sloan to ride.

Pleasant Woodman, owned by Virginia B. Lazenby and Farm d’Allie Racing Stables, used his front-end speed to win the $50,000 Budweiser Imperial Cup (Gr. 3) at 2014′s first race meet in Aiken, S.C. Trained in Middleburg by Doug Fout, Pleasant Woodman will be ridden by Gerard Galligan.

Champion Kisser N Run Heads $30,000 Georgia Cup

(National Steeplechase Association) 

Clarke Ohrstrom’s Kisser N Run, the reigning Life’s Illusion Filly and Mare champion, heads a strong field of female competitors for the $30,000 Georgia Cup, the featured stakes race of the 49th annual Atlanta Steeplechase on Saturday, April 19. First post time at Kingston Downs is 1:30 p.m.

Teddy Alexander's Kisser N Run (left - Paddy Young) holds off Mede Cahaba Stable LLC's Class Launch (Richard Boucher) (Susan M. Carter Photo) 

Kisser N Run won her two major starts in the fall, the Peapack Stakes at Far Hills, N.J., and the Crown Royal Stakes at the Steeplechase at Callaway in Pine Mountain, Ga., to secure her title.

Trainer Richard Valentine named Robbie Walsh to ride Kisser N Run.

Jack Fisher, currently sharing the champion trainer title with Racing Hall of Fame member Jonathan Sheppard, entered Arcadia Stable’s pairing of Take Her Tothe Top and Opera Heroine. Take Her Tothe Top won last summer’s Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes, a race that Opera Heroine had won in 2011.

Last fall, Opera Heroine finished second to Kisser N Run in the Peapack, and Take Her Tothe Top took the second spot in the Crown Royal. Jeff Murphy will ride Opera Heroine, and the mount on Take Her Tothe Top is open.

Sheppard will be represented by Sully’s Approach, owned by Bill Pape. A runaway maiden winner, she finished fourth in the Crown Royal. Bernie Dalton has the mount.

Racing Hall of Fame trainer Janet Elliot entered her Hiwasee Gem, who ran a gem of a race in winning a Carolina Cup maiden hurdle for fillies and mares by more than 20 lengths. Harry Haynes again will be in the saddle.

Irvin S. Naylor, a three-time champion owner, nominated Bittersweetheart and Cordillera. Trained by Leslie Young, Bittersweetheart was third in the 2013 Crown Royal. Cordillera, now trained by Cyril Murphy, is coming back after missing the 2013 season.

Photos Of The Day

Runners pull up after finishing The Montaz Restaurant EBF Stallions Maiden Fillies' Stakes at Newmarket racecourse on April 17, 2014 in Newmarket, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Mickael Barzalona riding Sudden Wonder (L) win the $355,000 Tattersalls Millions 3YO Trophy at Newmarket racecourse on April 17, 2014 in Newmarket, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Jamie Spencer riding Hamza (L) wins The Connaught Access Flooring Abernant Stakes from Es Que Love (R) at Newmarket racecourse on April 17, 2014 in Newmarket, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Photos Of The Day

Frankie Dettori riding Sandiva (L) win the $109,00 Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes G3 at Newmarket racecourse on April 16, 2014 in Newmarket, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Pat Dobbs riding Magnus Maximus win The $168,000 Tattersalls Millions 3YO Sprint Stakes at Newmarket racecourse on April 16, 2014 in Newmarket, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Pineau De Re wins $1.675 million English Grand National

Pineau de Re ridden by Leighton Aspell jumps the last fence before going on to win the $1.675 million English Grand National.  (Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)

Pineau De Re was the 25-1 winner of the Grand National, foiling the two most high-profile jockeys in the race, Richard Johnson and Tony McCoy, who finished second and third on Balthazar King and Double Seven. The winning jockey was Leighton Aspell, making two years in a row that the famous Aintree race has been won by a rider back from retirement, following Ryan Mania last year.

The 37-year-old Aspell, runner-up in the National 11 years ago on Supreme Glory, quit the saddle in the summer of 2007 and went to work in the Flat-racing yard of John Dunlop in Sussex. He returned to action in 2009 and has now been rewarded with what was already his best season by a long way. Even so, first prize of £561,000 doubles his money won since last May.

This was the second Grand National over the modified fences that have been criticised by some for being too soft. Last year, every runner cleared the first seven fences without incident but this race looked much more like older Nationals, with Twirling Magnet falling at the first and others tumbling at regular intervals, including Burton Port and Big Shu at the next two fences.

However, various media outlets reported that all horses returned without serious injury. A total of 18 completed the course.

The most notable departure in the early stages was the well-fancied Long Run, a past winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the King George VI Chase, who fell when leading at Valentine's Brook. Shortly after, as the field tackled The Chair in front of the stands, there were despairing cries from many a punter as Teaforthree unseated Nick Scholfield.

(Tom Jenkins for the Observer)

Nor was the drama confined to the fences. There was a false start, following which Battle Group refused to race when the tape went up for real.

"I was very conscious that I didn't want to be in front too soon over four and a half miles," Aspell said. "He's a small horse, so he has to try at his fences, which he kept doing.

"When I got a bit of daylight, I knew I'd be fine because that was my only worry. Once he was in daylight, from the Canal Turn, he really enjoyed that part of the race."

The winning trainer is the 50-year-old Dr Richard Newland, who took Pineau De Re into his Worcestershire stable last summer and sparked a revival in his form. The horse is Newland's first Grand National runner. 

Photos Of The Day - English Grand National

In cold drizzly weather some fans arrive in less than suitable clothes. (All photos by Tom Jenkins for the Observer)

  he horses break through the tape for a false start

The packed stands watch the third race, the Silver Cross Stayers Hurdle was won by Barry Geraghty on Whisper. 

  At The Chair, Nick Scholfield is unseated from the favorite Teaforthree.

Careful.

Checking out The Chair.

A bettor is rather “chuffed” that he backed 9/2 favourite Lac Fontana to win the Mersey Novices' hurdle race.

The 25-1 shot, Pineau De Re, passes the post to win the National by five lengths.

Photo Of The Day

A general view as runners clear the 'Chair' at Aintree racecourse on April 03, 2014 in Liverpool, England.  The world famous English Grand National steeplechase is tomorrow with 40 horses entered to go to the post. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe) 

Top Striker Wins $50,000 Carolina Cup

(NSA) It was a day of surprises at Springdale Race Course, starting with the weather. 

What was forecast to be a miserably stormy day, turned out to be just dandy. And the racing was just as good. Hometown favorite Top Striker, owned by locals Sue and George Sensor and trained by Camden's own Arch Kinglsley, put on a dazzling show to win the Carolina Cup novice stakes by 11.5 lengths. 

TOP STRIKER (Tod Marks/NSA Photo)

Top Striker marked himself as a rising star when he powered away to a dramatic victory in the 82nd edition of the historic $50,000 stakes race for novice steeplechase horses at the Carolina Cup Races in Camden, S.C., on Saturday, March 29.

Ridden confidently by leading jockey Willie McCarthy, the five-year-old Van Nistelrooy gelding shadowed Sheila J. Williams’ Easy Reach through the first 1 3/4 miles of the 2 1/8-mile Carolina Cup.

Approaching the second to last fence, McCarthy turned Top Striker loose, and he quickly opened a daylight lead. Cleanly over the last obstacle, Top Striker increased his advantage at will, and McCarthy booted him home with only modest encouragement.

A maiden winner last year, Top Striker completed the Carolina Cup distance in 4:01.40 on turf rated as good. He is trained in Camden by Arch Kingsley Jr., and the owner is a Camden resident.

Easy Reach held the second spot, two lengths clear of owner-trainer Kate Dalton’s Cat Feathers. Rock Ford Stables’ Sporty finished fourth in a field of six novices, or horses in their first seasons of racing over fences.

Photos Of The Day - The Carolina Cup

 Scenes from the 82nd Annual Carolina Cup at Springdale Race Course in Camden, SC. (Al Photos by Jeff Blake/TheState.com)