OLD McARDLE
HAS SOME FOALS

And so too does Red River Hanover. The anticipated first crops of contemporary racetrack rivals McArdle and Red River Hanover will be featured in the Perretti Farms yearling consignments to Harrisburg, The Lexington Select Sale and The New Jersey Classic.

McArdle headliners could be GENERAL McARDLE (Armbro Terrace), THE McDONALD (Born To Be Best) McGAIN N McGAIN (Ever And Again), EMPTY McPOCKETS (Insolvency), and McARDLE PARK (Sunset Palace). Red River Hanover’s of note will be OLE RED RIVER (Art Sale), DOCTOR HOLLOWAY (Doc’s Girl), CLUB RED (Steamy Place) REDUCATIONAL (Capericorn) and REDORIC (Second Term). More about them as we get closer to sale.

BREEDERS CUP RAISES ANTE
Noticed how The Breeders Cup will indeed be increasing purses in an effort to remain competitive with the World Cup program from Dubai. This year’s CLASSIC will be worth $5 million and pots for the other races have been upped accordingly.

Still feel we’re missing some boats here with the incumbent Breeders Crown concept and that perhaps a little fine tuning could make for a truly blockbuster presentation.

What if the CLASSIC SERIES was disbanded and those monies added to the Breeders Crown pots?

What if the aged Breeders Crown events were disbanded and those monies added to what could then be a climactic eight-race Crown bonanza-four for 2-year-olds and four for 3 and ups?

After all staging the aged Crowns in Mid-Summer really defeats the all comes down to the Breeders Crown premise as there’s nothing to separate the aged Crown trot from say The Nat Ray.

Or have we forgotten how the likes of Armbro Flight, Shadow Wave, True Duane, Oil Burner, Most Happy Fella, Bullet Hanover, and the other great sophomores so gloriously distinguished in the old American Classics at Hollywood Park?

Possible this scenario could have some broadcast appeal?

WHERE HAVE ALL THE HORSES GONE?
It would appear the New Jersey Classic and companion event Miss New Jersey are in dire need of rescheduling when only eight enter the Classic the Miss New Jersey lures but six!

Actually staging these lucrative events between NJSS legs is like sandwiching The Super Bowl between playoff weeks.

BOBCAT OR CHEETAH
Looks like PRIMETIME BOBCAT could be renamed Primetime CHEETAH if this speed explosion keeps up given the sensational 1:47.2 recorded at Woodbine last Saturday.

In the 10th race no less. Long past the twilight hours when some tracks are at their ultimate fastest.

Fascinating that Primetime Bobcat now 9 who began life as Armbro Topaz could have been foaled in the mid 80’s seeing as how his sire Abercrombie was foaled in 1975 and his dam Emerald Girl is a foal of 1980. Armbro Topaz was a $23,000 yearling from the 1998 Kentucky Standardbred sale.

The runner up timed in 1:48.1 was Buckeye One a son of a rather modest Artsplace horse named Park Place from the Niaracy mare Niabug. Buckeye One was a $9,000 yearling.

Finishing third also at 1:48.1 was the pacesetter Rair Earth a 9-year-old son of Keystone Raider foaled 1985, from the 1990 foal Save The Day she by Lon Todd Hanover who first saw the light of day in 1979. Rair Earth was a $7,500 yearling.

Rair Earth carved out fractions of :25.1, :53.2, and 1:20.4 before yielding to the pocket sitting Primetime Bobcat at about mid-stretch. The official last quarter was :26.3 though Bobcat individually was clocked in :26.1

Not bad for a horse that never saw a stakes event during his colt days, never earned more than $50,000 in any one year until this year and got claimed for $50,000 not too long ago. Guess life begins at age 9

HMMM
Interesting that the track in question will be refusing entries from the outfit in the EPO positive case. To have just allowed the horse to be suspended would be incarcerating the gun while the shooter walks free.

Commissioner Scotty Tickets mentioned that “main man” the Palone Ranger still has not received his driver of the year trophy for 04 or last year’s Little Brown Jug ring..

Great stuff from Dave Briggs in the latest Sportsman concerning the Frazer Downs and Flamboro Downs stories.

Tom LaMarra’s right. Derby Day is special! Not unlike Super Bowl day!

Stan Gutkowski mentioned how fans of yesteryear would almost adopt certain horses and try to be on hand whenever they raced. He’s right. Many of the Roosevelt-Yonkers mainstays enjoyed what could be called cult followings. This undoubtedly occurred at other tracks too.

Bob Marks