HOMESTRETCH TILTED TOWARD THE WEST.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse Racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with INGLEWOOD - New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of had its chance to crown a thoroughbred hero and did its muddy best, putting on a good show even as Funny Cide came up short in the Belmont Stakes Belmont Stakes Oldest of the three U.S. horse races that constitute the Triple Crown. The Belmont originated in 1867 and is named after August Belmont (see Belmont family). The stakes is held in early June at Belmont Park, near Garden City, Long Island; the course is 1.5 mi (2,400 m). . Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. will get its day in the sun soon enough. Funny Cide's loss to Empire Maker on Saturday keeps the Horse of the Year race alive and means it will go through Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, as usual. The past eight Horses of the Year and 10 of the past 11 have competed here during their championship seasons. It's almost certain to happen again because the Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I thoroughbred horse races operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982 by a consortium of North American racing organizations, led by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. races will be held at Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
Rick Hammerle, racing secretary for Santa Anita and the Oak Tree association, attended the Belmont Stakes and was momentarily disappointed at Funny Cide's third-place finish Noun 1. third-place finish - a finish in third place (as in a race) finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the winner is the team with the , which kept the Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. and Preakness winner from the first Triple Crown sweep in a quarter-century. Then, Hammerle said, he realized that ``as it turned out, the results are going to be good for us.'' ``Instead of watching one horse (Funny Cide), we're watching two,'' Hammerle said Thursday from his Santa Anita office. ``They (Funny Cide and Empire Maker's handlers) each have a chance to say their horses are the best. In the public's eyes, they're even.'' Funny Cide beat Empire Maker by 1 3/4 lengths in the Derby. Empire Maker beat Funny Cide by five in the sloppy-track Belmont, where Ten Most Wanted finished second. Before much of the nation was paying attention to them, Empire Maker beat Funny Cide by one-half length in the Wood Memorial. The 3-year-old trail stays on the East Coast for the immediate future, Funny Cide expected to run next in Monmouth's Haskell Invitational on Aug. 3, Empire Maker to go the same day in Saratoga's Jim Dandy Stakes The Jim Dandy Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. The Grade II race has been held annually since 1964 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is open to horses age three, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. and the pair angling for their next showdown in Saratoga's Travers Stakes on Aug. 23. If they have met again before the climactic Breeders' Cup, Hammerle said, ``hopefully they'll split those decisions.'' Then they'd be expected to square off for the 3-year-old title and perhaps the Horse of the Year title in the Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1ΒΌ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. , the heavyweight bout for 3-year-olds and up that highlights the eight-race Breeders' Cup program. Hammerle expects Funny Cide to prep for the Classic in Belmont Park's Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers but hopes Empire Maker will come back to where his 2003 season began and prep in Santa Anita's Goodwood Handicap. ``When's the last time we had a real rivalry?'' said Hammerle, who thinks it's better for the sport that Funny Cide didn't win the Triple Crown and render the rest of the season meaningless. ``It just makes the rest of the season more exciting. Knock on wood that they're both healthy come October.'' It's too early, though, to boil the Horse of the Year campaign down to Funny Cide vs. Empire Maker. Azeri, the 2002 Horse of the Year, is unbeaten in two starts this season. The question is whether Azeri can win the championship again just by continuing to beat up on fellow fillies and mares. This isn't shaping up like last season, when she stood out only after the leading males fell apart. ``She's going to have to run against the boys to win it again this year,'' Hammerle said. ``There are going to be other legitimate contenders. Those horses (Funny Cide and Empire Maker) got a head start on her, just because of the publicity of the Triple Crown.'' Azeri is scheduled to race next in the June 21 Vanity Handicap against females. Then trainer Laura de Seroux could put her in the July 13 Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions. against males. Whichever way she goes, she's likely to remain in California on her way to the Breeders' Cup, where she'd most likely try to make it back-to-back Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. It is sponsored by the airline Emirates. triumphs. Triple Crown season is over, Breeders' Cup season has begun, and the focus has turned to the West. --Cradle of champions? More recent Horses of the Year have raced in Southern California than on any circuit, Holy Bull (1994) being the lone exception among the past 11. A.P. Indy (1992), Kotashaan (1993), Cigar (1995), Skip Away (1998), Tiznow (2000) , Point Given (2001) and Azeri (2002) won major races on the regular Southern California stakes schedule. Favorite Trick (1997) won a Breeders' Cup race at Hollywood Park. Cigar (1996) and Charismatic (1999) ran but didn't win here. New York showcased eight Horses of the Year in that span, Kentucky six, Florida five. --Bid, farewell: You'll get blank looks from people who don't follow racing but no violent argument from people who do if you say that, judged on the entirety of his career, Spectacular Bid was the greatest thoroughbred of the past half-century. He was beaten out of the Triple Crown in the 1979 Belmont Stakes, costing him an automatic mention in the same breath with Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. But Spectacular Bid, who died Monday at age 27, raced at 16 tracks in nine states and won 26 of 30 starts and $2.7 million, beating his fellow '70s luminaries on percentage and earnings. His Horse of the Year campaign at age 4, in which he went 9 for 9 and set track records at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park, ranks with Dr. Fager's 1968 performance as the best season of all time. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE - Kevin Modesti |
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