September 2009 Archives

Trainer Bob Baffert, who considered using the Ancient Title Stakes on Oct. 11 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet as a final prep for his star sprinter Zensational heading into the Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 7, has called an audible and will now train the 3-year-old Unbridled's Song colt up to the Breeders' Cup without a final prep.

Zensational, coming off three consecutive Grade 1 victories in the Triple Bend at Hollywood Park and the Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien at Del Mar, worked four furlongs in a bullet 47 seconds flat Wednesday over Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface.

Victor Espinoza, who will ride Zensational in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint, is unbeaten on the colt in his past four starts. He's partly credited, along with Baffert, for getting the head-strong colt to relax.

"Since I've been riding him, he's never been rank at all," Espinoza said. "He might have been for other jockeys who have ridden him, but never for me. Maybe it's because he's more relaxed, or he's matured. He's a fast horse, but I can control him without fighting him."

Opening day at Oak Tree and I'm eager to jump back into action after only two days of betting the ponies at Fairplex Park.

Here's my straight plays today:
2nd -- Scat Thief
4th -- Indy Ride
5th -- Dixie Passion
9th -- De Brief Me

Early $1 pick four:
1 -- Craig's Storm, To the Penny, Acquire the Fire, Russian Liquor, Scottish Diamond
2 -- Scat Thief, Headache
3 -- Killer Bear, Cabo Chico, General Bee Lucky
4 -- Dynamic Range, Indy Ride
Cost: $60

Late $1 pick four:
6 -- Worth a Punt, Rapid Heat, Royal F J
7 -- Emmy Darling, North Rodeo, Petite Cherie, Andalacia
8 -- California Flag
9 -- De Brief Me, Boo Too
Cost: $24

$2 pick six:
4 -- Dynamic Range, Indy Ride
5 -- Charlie and Chris, Dixie Passion
6 -- Worth a Punt, Rapid Heat, Royal F J
7 -- Emmy Darling, North Rodeo, Petite Cherie, Andalacia
8 -- California Flag
9 -- De Brief Me
Cost: $96

Good luck today!

Track president Joe Harper has maintained for years now that Del Mar is a viable option as the host track for a future Breeders' Cup. Santa Anita will host the event for a record second consecutive year on Nov. 6-7 during its Oak Tree meet, Churchill Downs will host an overall record seventh Breeders' Cup in 2010 and, though it won't be officially announced until sometime next spring, Belmont Park would seem to be the leading contender for the 2011 event.

Del Mar in 2012? By that time track management will have had plenty of time to expand its turf course to Breeders' Cup specifications and any leasing issues will have been solved. It seems like the perfect year for Del Mar to host its first Breeders' Cup. San Diego has hosted a World Series and Super Bowl. Why not the World Series or Super Bowl of horse racing?

In an exclusive interview recently, Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli said event officials love the idea of the World Championships being held by the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

"We have a very close relationship here at the Breeders' Cup with Joe Harper, (executive vice president) Craig Fravel and the entire Del Mar management team, and in our opinion they're one of the top management teams in all of racing and probably all sports," Avioli said. "They have a tremendous facility, one of my personal favorites, and I believe that the city of San Diego would really embrace a Breeders' Cup in the same way that we felt the Dallas and Fort Worth area would when we went to Lone Star (Park).

"We would love to have a Breeders' Cup at Del Mar, and we have been in semi-active discussions with Del Mar over the last decade to explore what it would take for us to come there. Right now the two biggest challenges, and I don't think they are big challenges, are their license renewal and that they would need to make some modifications to their turf course. Once those are accomplished, I would be the strongest advocate there is for holding a Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. I just think it would be a perfect venue for it."

It's going to happen. It's only a matter of when, and the only question is whether Del Mar will still have its synthetic Polytrack surface when the Breeders' Cup comes to town. In my opinion, it's less than even-money that synthetics will still be around when the Breeders' Cup comes to San Diego.

Many thanks to Nick King, who pointed out that Europeans won 2 of the 8 Breeders' Cup races that were on Pro-Ride last year and 5 of the 14 overall.

There are trainers, most notably men like D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito, who have never liked synthetic race tracks. Zito has never run a horse in California -- over dirt or synthetic track. He chose to skip last year's Breeders' Cup that was run over Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface, and despite the fact he told us last October he'd most likely come out this year, it would still be a surprise if he showed up in November for Breeders' Cup XXVI at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet on Nov. 6-7.

It's a new concern for Breeders' Cup officials, having to deal with people staying away from their event because of artificial tracks. Jess Jackson, co-owner of the most popular horse in training, Rachel Alexandra, is not coming this year because he says he doesn't like "plastic tracks." We all know the real reason is because Curlin, whom Jackson also owned, got beat at Santa Anita last year in the Breeders' Cup Classic after taking the lead at the top of the stretch.

"It definitely concerns us whenever we're not able to include a top horse in the championship, but if you've been in this game long enough you know that people have lots of different reasons for why they choose to enter or not to enter a horse in a particular race," Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli told me last week in an exclusive interview. "But I can tell you that if we were not running on a synthetic surface this year, there would be a number of owners who would identify that we were running on dirt as the reason they did not want to come to the championships. So it's a very difficult business with literally thousands of owners and hundreds of trainers.

"Can you please everyone? Ultimately, the event is judged by the horses that participate in the event, and I think we are going to have an exceptional group of horses, maybe the most and the best we've ever had."

The biggest group of horses that would stay home if this year's event were run over the dirt at Churchill Downs or Belmont Park is the Europeans, who won five of the 14 Breeders' Cup races last year, including Raven's Pass in the $5 million Classic. There were 31 Europeans who started last year, a figure that could easily be surpassed if the world's economy doesn't keep some of the overseas horsemen home. In a normal economy, you might see upwards of 50 Europeans this year. As it is, 35 to 40 could show up.

"I get calls. I get e-mails (from disgruntled horsemen)," Avioli said. "There are lots of differing opinions out there, and we do our best to satisfy as many of our top owners, breeders and trainers as we can, and we're going to keep working every day to try to get the event to the right track to satisfy the most people."

I don't agree with Jeremy's position here, but here's a Web address for a commentary he did on the Lava Man saga for ESPN.com. Just cut and paste the following address in your Web browser:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/columns/story?columnist=plonk_jeremy&id=4499660

Steve Kenly, one of the three gentlemen who claimed Lava Man for $50,000 at Del Mar in August 2004 and saw him evolve into a seven-time Grade 1 winner, the only horse to win Grade 1 races on turf, dirt and synthetics and one of the most popular horses in California racing history, has no second thoughts about putting the 8-year-old gelding back into training for a possible comeback.

Lava Man drilled three furlongs in 36 seconds over Hollywood Park's Cushion Track on Wednesday morning and is said to be a different horse since undergoing months of stem-cell therapy on bad ankles at Dr. Doug Herthel's Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Hospital in Los Olivos, Calif.

"It got to the point where it's like, he's doing so darn well, how can you not think about bringing him back?" Kenly said from his Arizona home on Thursday afternoon. "This is a horse who when he trains, you don't have to lead him to the race track, he wants to take you there. He wants to be on that race track and you can't even pull the horse up.

"He may not get (back to the races), but right now it's looking pretty good. I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves or get too excited in case he doesn't make it back, but right now he's telling you everything you want to see from a horse. Forget the number (age) in front of his name, he's going really strong. But this game is tough, and any day anything can happen to any horse."

If Lava Man is a far happier animal by running and a veterinarian who knows far more about this stuff than I do says it's the right thing, I don't see any problem with trying to determine if he wants to race again.

Kenly compares the possible comeback to the ones made by NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who has frustrated some with his on-again, off-again retirements.

"The funny part about this is that people also rip on (Favre)," he said. "But I'll tell you one thing, in my opinion, whether you like Brett Favre or don't like him, it's sure a heck of a lot more exciting to read the paper or watch SportsCenter when he's playing than when he's not.

"And I'd say the same thing about Lava Man -- it's better to have him participating in the game than sitting retired on the farm if he can do it. You don't want to get ahead of yourself because, well, he's 8 years old, right? We're a long ways off. He passed a pretty good test (Wednesday), but he's still got a lot more tests to go."

It would be one thing if they were thinking of bringing Lava Man back as a high-stakes claimer or high-level allowance horse, but both Kenly and trainer Doug O'Neill say that if he comes back, it will be to race in stakes races and nothing more.

Horse racing needs its equine heroes, and Lava Man was certainly that while winning a record-tying three consecutive Hollywood Park Gold Cups and back-to-back Santa Anita Handicaps.

What do you think? Vote in our poll and then leave a comment telling us why you agree or disagree with the decision to put Lava Man back into training.

Daily Racing Form writer Steve Andersen talked with John Shirreffs on Thursday, and Zenyatta's trainer said it's entirely possible the unbeaten 5-year-old mare could run a few times next year before heading off to the breeding shed in Kentucky.

So if you're one of the many fans still clamoring for a Rachel Alexandra-Zenyatta matchup somewhere down the road, don't lose all hope. It now appears to be a possibility once again.

Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to read Andersen's story:
http://www.drf.com/news/article/107510.html

Kim Lloyd, equine manager of Fairplex Park, was a trainer for more than 25 years before giving it up in August 2002 because of rising workman comp payments. He says he doesn't think he'd like to go back into the profession.

"The only time I don't sleep well at nights is when I dream about training horses," he said. "I say that laughingly, but it's the truth. It's a difficult business to survive in. It used to be where you had one guy own 20 horses, and now you have 20 guys owning one. It's hard to keep everybody satisfied and it's just a tough business. The training part is not the hard part of that deal."

Lloyd had about 22 horses during his peak years and was down to four when he gave up the profession.

"Workman's comp got real high, my stable had shrunk down and I just couldn't afford to keep making those payments on that workman's comp," he said. "I got into the car business. I had a family to raise. It just wasn't financially feasible for me to keep doing it.

"It killed me too. I'll tell you, it was brutal. I didn't think I could do anything else, truthfully. Then I got into the car business just to make a living. I kind of went into depression almost, and I never could afford to be depressed. It was rough."

Now he's back as top dog of Fairplex racing and loving it. He also still has a hand in the Barretts sales.

* How is Fabulous Strike, a 6-year-old gelding who has won two Grade 2 races this year, ranked three spots higher in the latest NTRA Horse of the Year poll than Zensational, who's won three Grade 1 races as a 3-year-old against older horses? I mean, c'mon. Zensational this year became the first 3-year-old to sweep the Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien at Del Mar.

* Isn't it a bit hypocritical of Jess Jackson to skip the Breeders' Cup this year with Rachel Alexandra, citing Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface as the sole reason why the 3-year-old filly won't run, and in the same breath not completely rule out running the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro in next year's Dubai World Cup over a proposed new Tapeta artificial track?

Said Jackson on an NTRA teleconference recently: "That (Tapeta) would preclude the appearance of Rachel unless something changes my mind about the risk that false tracks have to the horse itself."

Would a World Cup purse of $10 million be enough to change his mind? Jess doesn't need to worry about where his next pay check is coming from, but he does have a fondness for the bigger purses.

* Maybe Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar need to take a page from Fairplex Park's book in regards to the latter's policy of free admission and parking for off-track wagering at the Barretts sales pavilion. When the Southland's big three are off-season, they need to take a hard look at their policy of charging fans to come in and bet. I can understand the tracks' argument for charging general admission for live racing, although I don't agree with it. But charging for off-track betting, in my opinion, is ridiculous, especially for a sport clamoring for new fans.

I can hear it now:
Wife: "But George, they don't charge us to go in and play the horses when we're in Vegas."
Husband: "I know Phyllis, but just think -- we can sit here and imagine the horses are in the paddock, and when we hear Jay Cohen play Call to the Post, well, it's almost like we're really there."

In a move that could protentially set up a massive pick six pool on the second day of Breeders' Cup weekend, the Breeders' Cup announced today that an all Breeders' Cup pick six will be offered on both days of this year's event Nov. 6-7 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

The Friday program will be made up of six Breeders' Cup races, including all five of the female races. The $500,000 Marathon will kick off the all-Breeders' Cup pick six. If no one hits all six, the pool will be carried over into Saturday's program, which will include the $5 million Classic.

OK, say the two camps got together and a special race, at 1 1/8 miles, was set up to include both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta in an eight-horse field at Churchill Downs.

Who do you think would win?

Would Rachel's superior early speed, which enables the Medaglia d'Oro filly to take her opponents gate to wire or lay just off the pace, be too much for Zenyatta to overcome?

Or, is Zenyatta just too good for her younger foe? Zenyatta has closed to win all 12 of her career races no matter how fast or slow the early pace. Would she add Rachel Alexandra to her list of conquests?

What do you think?

A former trainer who wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the subject told me recently that, while the proponents of synthetics had only good intentions, the artificial tracks have turned into a disaster.

"The synthetics are terrible," he said. "I can tell you, they suck, and if I was (still) training horses, I would not know my (butt) from first base."

Asked if he felt synthetics will still be a part of California racing in five years, he didn't hesitate.

"I don't see how," he said. "The only thing is the dollars that have gone into them, but maybe after going through this they'll figure out another way to keep improving them. I really think we were sold a bill of goods. All the stuff they were supposed to do, they didn't do any of that stuff. Will they still be here in five years? No, I don't think so."

Add this former trainer to a growing list of horsemen who maybe at the beginning of synthetics were pro-artificial tracks, but they've since adopted a new attitude after seeing how they perform.

"There have been more injuries that you can't bring horses back from than the regular dirt track," the ex-trainer said. "I think the overall horse population has suffered more with synthetics than dirt."

But he does feel the majority of officials responsible for synthetic tracks meant for them to be a positive.

"I feel terrible for all the people who tried to do the right thing," he said. "Santa Anita tried to do the right thing. You don't put $10 million up to try to screw up racing. They didn't spend their $10 million thinking what they were doing was going to be a bad thing. They thought they were really doing something special, and they intended to do something special.

"Hindsight being an easy deal, obviously it looks like it maybe would have been better to try it on maybe the training track at Santa Anita and saw how it handled the winter and the traffic and had a little better idea with it. It was a rush to action. I believe everybody believes that now. What do you do? You try to take action and do the right thing, and as it turns out it might not have been the right thing. But it wasn't because people didn't have great intentions."

I saw Doug O'Neill in the Top of the Park restaurant at Fairplex Park on Wednesday and asked him if what I had heard was true -- were trainers unhappy with the recent condition of Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface since it re-opened for training on Sept. 1?

O'Neill told me that while the track was a little uneven and had some inconsistencies in it for a few days, the problem has been corrected.

"The first five lanes are fine now, and that's all you really need during training hours," O'Neill said. "I think they did some work on it. It will be OK."

O'Neill sent 12 horses out over the surface last Monday morning, so that backs up what he's saying. He can't be too concerned about it.

Santa Anita closed its synthetic Pro-Ride surface for eight days in late August, restricting workouts to the infield dirt training track, so that polymer and binder could be added to the artificial track before the beginning of the Oak Tree meet on Sept. 30.

The Breeders' Cup will be held at Santa Anita on Nov. 6-7 for an unprecedented second consecutive year.

I'm heading out to Fairplex Park today for a little Fair fun and plan to strongly consider putting some money on these horses:

2nd -- Swiss Spirit has the speed to wire this field
4th -- Cee's Harmony also has dangerous Fairplex speed
6th -- Warren's Grandslam is as good as any in this field
7th -- Exacta box using Chiphouse George, Mr Inn Zone, Dinner at Jake's and Pointed Home
9th -- My best bet of the day is Pacific Halo, who has the tactical speed to stalk the leaders and then close well in the stretch. Factotum also has a shot in this spot, and I'll box the two.

Good luck!

The Breeders' Cup and ESPN have gotten together on a deal to help promote this year's Breeders' Cup, which will be held for a record second consecutive year at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

During a break on its college football doubleheader on Saturday, Oct. 10, ESPN will televise one of two races from Oak Tree -- the $350,000 Goodwood Stakes, expected to include Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, or the $300,000 Lady's Secret Stakes, scheduled to be the unbeaten Zenyatta's final prep for an expected start in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic on Nov. 6.

Mine That Bird is winless in three starts since his Derby win, but the gelding developed quite a following since finding the winner's circle at Churchill Downs on May 2. He skipped the Travers Stakes because of minor throat surgery.

Zenyatta could tie Personal Ensign's undefeated record of 13-0 with a victory in the Lady's Secret. She's 3-0 in 2009, including a victory in the Clement Hirsch at Del Mar on Aug. 9 when she had no pace to run at yet staged an amazing closing surge to remain unbeaten.

ESPN will also televise Breeders' Cup prep races from Keeneland on Oct. 11 and Toronto and Great Britain on Oct. 17. The Breeders' Cup will be held Nov. 6-7, with ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic televising the races.

Those who thought the broken pelvis that jockey Martin Pedroza suffered in January at Santa Anita, an injury that sidelined him for months, would somehow translate into a slowdown at Fairplex Park this season were badly mistaken.

Pedroza, as usual, is off and running at Fairplex, winning 12 races through the first four days of the 15-day meet to take a 12-5 lead over Alonso Quinonez and Christian Santiago Reyes in a bid to increase his record with an 11th consecutive riding title at the Fair.

Pedroza, who's also won a record 573 races at Fairplex and twice won a one-day record seven races last year, is taking aim at his single-meet record of 51 victories set in 2004.

Make no mistake, Pedoza is a very capable rider no matter where he's riding, but he's King of Fairplex and you leave him out of exotics, pick threes, pick fours and pick sixes at your own peril.

In the trainers' race, defending champion Mike Mitchell and Clifford Sise have both won with four of their first six starters to lead the charge. Sise won all four of his races in one day, prompting him to good-naturedly remind everyone that he's a dirt trainer and not an artificial track conditioner. Sise, who's had an abnormally slow year, is an opponent of the synthetics.

It didn't take Jess Jackson, Rachel Alexandra's co-owner, long to announce the inevitable -- his star filly will not be running in the Breeders' Cup, despite event officials trying to lure the princess of racing to the event by hiking the winner's share of the $5 million Classic from $2.7 million to $3.7 million earlier Friday.

"Rachel already has completed a brilliant long campaign," Jackson told The Associated Press. Jackson cites his strong distaste for synthetic surfaces as the reason he does not want the Medaglia d'Oro filly to run over Santa Anita's Pro-Ride track.

"These false tracks create potential for injury, a risk I am not willing to take with Rachel," he said. "As to the Breeders' Cup, my position has not changed. My concerns are well known about the tracks in California. ... Bottom line, despite an increase in the purse, she will not race at the Breeders' Cup this year."

Two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, also owned by Jackson, finished fourth during his first try on a synthetic in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita, prompting some to speculate that's the reason he doesn't want to send Rachel Alexandra to California for this year's event despite the fact she scored an easy victory over Keeneland's Polytrack surface as a 2-year-old.

Anyone who has read my columns and blogs knows I am not a fan of synthetics in the least, but I think Jackson is over-reacting in this instance. I can understand him not wanting Rachel Alexandra to be stabled at a track that has a synthetic and to run over the "false" track more than once, but the fact she already proved she can handle an artificial track and would be racing over it only once during Championship Weekend, well, I think his decision is wrong. I don't think there's that big risk he talks about in just one race. In fact, it might have been less safe for her to run on that sloppy track at Monmouth in the Haskell than over Santa Anita's Pro-Ride one time.

Bottom line: It's his horse and he can do with her what he wants. But the fact he talks about her 2009 campaign in the past tense makes it seem less likely that Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta will ever hook up, even after the Breeders' Cup at a neutral track like the Fair Grounds.

In an attempt to give racing fans around the country the matchup they covet, Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta, the Breeders' Cup Board today said the winner's share of the $5 million Classic will be increased from $2.7 million to $3.7 million if both distaffers start in the race on Nov. 7 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet -- making it the richest winner's share in the world this year.

Jess Jackson, Rachel Alexandra's co-owner, has already said he will not send his star 3-year-old filly to the Breeders' Cup because he does not like artificial tracks. Santa Anita has a synthetic Pro-Ride suface that was used last year when Curlin, also owned by Jackson, finished fourth in the Classic after taking the lead at the head of the stretch.

Earlier this week, Jackson said Rachel Alexandra, a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro who is 8 for 8 this year and has won five consecutive Grade 1 stakes, might be finished for the year after a hard-fought victory over older males in last Saturday's Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in which she was all out to hold off Macho Again after setting some swift fractions.

"Racing fans around the world have made it clear that they would like to see Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta face each other and the best horses from the U.S. and Europe in the Breeders' Cup Classic," Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli said in a statement. "While we respect that the race has not been under consideration by Rachel Alexandra's connections, we wanted to make sure that the Breeders' Cup did everything in its power to make the prospect of competing at Santa Anita in November as attractive as possible."

Zenyatta, unbeaten in three starts this year and 12-0 in her career, is currently being prepared to run in the Lady's Secret Stakes at Oak Tree on Oct. 10. She is then expected to try to defend her Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic title on Nov. 6, although the 5-year-old mare's connections have not ruled out a start in the Classic the following day instead.

An earlier offer by TVG and Betfair Ltd. to add $400,000 to the purse of the Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 3, raising it to $1 million if both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta start, was considered by the Zenyatta folks, who then decided they did not want to put their standout through the rigors of the NYRA's detention barn. Jackson has left open the option of running Rachel Alexandra in the Beldame if Zenyatta were to start in the Grade 1 race.

Bottom line: Rachel Alexandra will not be coming to Arcadia for the Breeders' Cup and is likely done for the year unless a race is set up for after the Breeders' Cup at a venue like the Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

Joe Harper, president of Del Mar, was asked by this reporter Wednesday during his annual state of the meet briefing with reporters in the press box how he rated Polytrack's performance in 2009:

"I personally think the Polytrack performed well," he said. "I think it was a little different than what we had experienced the first year, the second year and (now) the third year. I think we made some good adjustments with the new equipment and got a handle on it. Obviously, that first week was a tough one, but I think Steve (track superintendent Steve Wood) was doing the right things and I think next year what we've got to do is obviously see what we've got and what we're dealing with before we decide to change things or do something different."

There were 12 fatalities over the synthetic Polytrack surface this year -- 8 in the mornings and four during afternoon racing. There were eight fatalities during the first year of Polytrack and six last year. In 2006, the year before Polytrack was installed, 18 horses had to be euthanized after breaking down on Del Mar's dirt track, partly spawning the CHRB's mandate on synthetics.

Harper talked about the increase in breakdowns further.

"One of the things we're going to do is have a lot of meetings with the trainers to talk about it and to say what we've learned," he said. "The one thing like dirt this track seems to be is that it changes. All of our dirt tracks changed, all dirt tracks change. The sand dissipates, and they're just different. We want to make sure that what we've got out there has all the right percentages in it. Has the fiber lessened over the three years that we've had it? Has the wax content changed? Has the rubber gone where erasers go? Those little chunks of rubber, you got horses running on it, it seems natural to me that they'd be worn down. So all those things we have to do some testing with and see what we've got before we decide what exactly to do.

"The ultimate goal here is to make it as forgiving a race track as we can. We all know what we're dealing with in horses. Charlie Whittingham said they're like strawberries, and if we can make that track as forgiving as possible, then we'll be happier."

Harper said his confidence in the artificial tracks has not wavered.

"You talk to a lot of these horsemen, and those of us with long memories don't want to go back to dirt," he said. "That comment has come out from some very large trainers. I mean, trainers with a number of pretty good-sized stables back there. There's trainers who had no problem whatsoever with this track, there's trainers that hate it, and some hate it just because it's Polytrack, but they're doing well on it."

Interesting stuff. Now, I don't expect Harper to say he suddenly has major reservations about Polytrack, not after Del Mar's spent around $10 million on the track so far. But I find it difficult to believe that Del Mar management is as sold on the stuff as it was before the 2007 season began.

Zensational, the 3-year-old sprinter who became the first sophomore to win both the Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien Stakes, was named Del Mar's Horse of the Meet in the annual media poll.

Trained by Bob Baffert, who finished second in the trainer standings to John Sadler, Zensational was also named the meet's top sprinter and top 3-year-old.

Other winners included:

Top older horse: Richard's Kid
Top older filly or mare: Zenyatta
Top grass horse: Spring House
Top 3-year-old filly: Internallyflawless
Top 2-year-old filly: Mi Sueno
Top 2-year-old: Lookin At Lucky

I spoke with John Sadler in the Del Mar paddock before Wednesday's fifth race and he said that Dawn Before Dawn, who had to be pulled up down the backside of Monday's Adoration Stakes at Del Mar and was vanned off, will probably never race again but will be fine for a broodmare.

Sadler said the 4-year-old daughter of High Yield suffered a "little bit of a pelvis fracture" in her right hind but she is weight bearing and in no danger of not being saved.

Immediately after the race, track stewards reported it appeared she had suffered an injury to her right hind pelvis or stifle and was being brought back to her barn. She appeared to break a bit akwardly and might have suffered the injury out of the gate

Joel Rosario rode Dawn Before Dawn, who went into the race having won 4 of 12 starts for earnings of $164,605. She was making only her second start of 2009.

Going into the ninth race on closing day of the Del Mar meet, there had been 13 fatalities -- 12 on the Polytrack and one on turf. Of the 12 on the main track, eight occurred during the mornings and four in afternoon racing.

Sunday was a big day for Arnold Zetcher, whose recent private purchase, Richard's Kid, won the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

Now he's hoping to celebrate another big day if a group he's aligned with is successful in buying Santa Anita in bankruptcy court. The group is attempting to purchase the track on behalf of the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

The sale, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed to perhaps as late as after the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup because no acceptable bids were received by the July 31 deadline.

"Santa Anita is still for sale, but since they didn't have all the bids in that they wanted they really couldn't have an auction so they took it off the auction block," Zetcher said. "But it's still out there, and I think as soon as they do get a bid or two in, it becomes a stalking horse and then 30 days after that will be the auction.

"We are very vigorous in our efforts to buy this on a not-for-profit basis for all the horsemen. That's what this is all about. Any profits that we would get we would try to throw back into either the purse structure or the operations of Santa Anita. We're very enthusiastic about it and we're very hopeful that we can succeed."

Frank Stronach, chairman of Santa Anita parent company Magna Entertainment Corp., reportedly would like to retain control of the track.

D. Wayne Lukas, still the all-time leading Breeders' Cup trainer but a horseman who had fallen on hard times of late, scored his first Grade 1 victory in nearly four years Monday when a 2-year-old colt he talked the owners into buying for $525,000 at the 2008 Keeneland September Yearling Sale won the $300,000 Hopeful Stakes on closing day at Saratoga.

Dublin, by Afleet Alex out of Classy Mirage who was jumping up from the maiden ranks, beat Aspire by two lengths. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to Aikenite, and the undefeated Backtalk, who'd won the Grade 2 Sanford, finished fourth.

The winner, the 3-1 favorite, covered the seven furlongs in 1:23.52 while giving Lukas his sixth Hopeful victory but first since 2000. Lukas' last Grade 1 victory before Monday came when he saddled Folklore for a win in the 2005 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Belmont Park.

Lukas, never shy with an opinion, is not happy that the Breeders' Cup will be run over Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface on Nov. 6-7.

"They've screwed up the Breeders' Cup so they're going to force us to do things I don't want to do," Lukas told the Daily Racing Form. "I don't know just where we'll look right now. You got the Champagne (Oct. 10) right in front of us, the Breeders' Futurity (at Keeneland) is an option. I would really prefer that we move the Breeders' Cup to Churchill or Belmont and keep him on the dirt."

Interestingly, Lukas' old rival when the two both trained horses for the late Bob Lewis, Bob Baffert, also won a pair of 2-year-old races at Del Mar on Monday and it's beginning to look like their paths could cross again during the 3-year-old classics in the spring.

Lukas and Baffert have patched up any differences they might have had, and Lukas gave the introductory speech when Baffert was inducted into the Hall of Fame last month in Saratoga Springs.

"You always root for Wayne, you know what Wayne's done for this sport," said Mike Pegram, whose Real Quiet won the 1998 Kentucky Derby for Baffert and who owns part of Lookin At Lucky, who won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on Monday. "And you know what Bobby's done for this sport. And they both cut their teeth here at Del Mar.

"I rooted for (Lukas) today, but now he's got to beat two of 'em."

Along with Lookin At Lucky, Pegram also owns a piece of the Baffert-trained Indian Firewater, who broke his maiden in Monday's seventh race at Del Mar and also looks like a talented colt.

Dawn Before Dawn, who had to be pulled up down the backside of Monday's Adoration Stakes at Del Mar and was vanned off, reportedly fractured her right hind pelvis.

According to an unconfirmed report, Dawn Before Dawn was back in John Sadler's barn and efforts were being made to save the 4-year-old filly.

Immediately after the race, track stewards reported it appeared she had suffered an injury to her right hind pelvis or stifle and was being brought back to her barn.

Joel Rosario rode the daughter of High Yield, who went into the race having won 4 of 12 starts for earnings of $164,605. She was making only her second start of 2009.

Trainer Ron Ellis, whose Rail Trip was sent postward as the 5-2 favorite in Sunday's $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar and finished third, offered no excuses Sunday morning.

"It was the first time he'd been behind horses and caught 'dirt' in his face, and he handled it well," Ellis said. "He came out of the race in good shape and we'll look forward to the Breeders' Cup Classic."

Ellis said he'll likely train Rail Trip, who won the Hollywood Gold Cup in July and has won six of nine lifetime, up to the Classic on works.

"He ran very well off a seven-week break, so we'll keep him fresh that way," he said.

The connections for fourth-place finisher Parading are undecided about the Breeders' Cup. He could be shipped to Santa Anita to prepare for the Classic, according to Jorge Molina, the horse's groom.

Molina said Shug McGaughey assistant Robbie Medina returned to New York on Sunday night and will let Molina know where Parading will go next.

Fifth-place finisher Colonel John, who had a troubled trip according to jockey Garrett Gomez, could resurface in the Goodwood Stakes on Oct. 10 in advance of the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7.

The Pacific Classic's runner-up, Einstein, is not Breeders' Cup eligible and would have to be supplemented at a large fee. The 7-year-old was reported in good shape Sunday morning. Trainer Helen Pitts flew back to her Churchill Downs base Sunday night, and Einstein is scheduled to ship back to Kentucky on Wednesday.

The 24-1 surprise winner, Richard's Kid, might go next in the Goodwood, or trainer Bob Baffert might elect to bring him into the Breeders' Cup Classic on workouts. He's undecided.

Carla Gaines, who trains I'm Smokin Stakes winner John Scott, who rallied wide again and got up to win for the second time in two starts at Del Mar, was worried early in the race when the Bertrando colt fell so far back again.

"He was that way in his maiden race, but it's easier to make up ground in a maiden race," she said. "It's a lot harder if you're running against winners like today. I can hardly wait to stretch him out. We think he'll be a really good two-turn horse."

Said winning jockey Victor Espinoza: "The farther the better."

The Carla Gaines-trained John Scott made it two for two in his career Monday at Del Mar, rallying from far back again to win the $100,000 I'm Smokin Stakes for 2-year-olds bred in California.

The son of Bertrando broke his maiden here on Aug. 2, breaking slowly and racing wide before getting up by a half-length in his debut at 7-2 under Victor Espinoza.

Espinoza was back aboard Monday, and John Scott broke a tad slow again in the 10-horse field before beginnng a huge run around the turn and passing Daylight Storm and Tribal Face in the final strides. He beat Daylight Storm by three-quarters of a length, running the six furlongs in 1:10.26.

This guy figures to get only better as the distances increase and you might see him surface in the Norfolk Stakes during the Oak Tree meet on Oct. 4 as a prep for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 7.

He's a colt of much promise.

The John Sadler-trained filly Dawn Before Dawn had to be pulled up down the backside by jockey Joel Rosario in today's third race at Del Mar -- the $85,000 Adoration Stakes -- and was vanned off.

The stewards reported it appeared she suffered an injury to her right hind pelvis or stifle. She was being brought back to her barn.

We'll update when more information is available.

There's a $427,333 pick-six carryover at Del Mar today and I need some money. Translation: I'm going to take a stab at the pot and see what happens.

FIFTH
Exile -- Second-timer for Richard Mandella, he ran well in his debut and has every right to improve.
Payment Approved -- has the speed to wire this field, depending on how the inconsistent Polytrack surface is playing at the time.

SIXTH
John Scott -- Broke poorly, had a wide trip and still won like a good colt in his debut.

SEVENTH
Indian Firewater -- The Indian Charlie colt, a $400,000 purchase, figures to improve off a fourth-place effort in his debut.
Via Verde -- First-timer for leading trainer John Sadler has some good works.

EIGHTH
Lookin At Lucky -- The Smart Strike colt is 2 for 2, and why bet against Bob Baffert now after he's already won two Grade 1 stakes this weekend?

NINTH
Draft Choice -- Won for $10,000, finished fourth for $16,000 and now drops one peg higher than level he won at. Carava-Pedroza team is tough.

TENTH
Kalookan Commando -- Leonard Powell-trained gelding had a brutal trip in his debut here on Aug. 14, did some running and deserves another shot.
Zees Echo -- Swiss Yodeler colt finished third, beaten only two lengths, after a wide trip. Joe Talamo stays aboard, and trainer Mike Harrington is good with 2-year-olds.

That's a $16 ticket, and I think I'm live in all six races. Of course, you need luck too.

Good luck!

How impressive was Zensational's summer campaign at Del Mar? Well, consider this: He swept both Grade 1 sprint stakes -- the Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien -- without hardly breaking a sweat. He became only the fifth 3-year-old to win the Bing Crosby in its 64 runnings and then, for good measure, became the first sophomore to win both races when he swept to victory in Sunday's Pat O'Brien. He's only the third 3-year-old to win that stake since its inception in 1986.

He's fast ... very, very, very fast. Trainer Bob Baffert, who's won the past two Breeders' Cup Sprints with Midnight Lute, says he's the fastest horse he's ever trained. Jockey Victor Espinoza knows just how quick the Unbridled's Song colt is first-hand.

"He's fast. He's REALLY fast," Espinoza said after the Pat O'Brien. "I've ridden some very good, very fast horses. But I've never ridden one like him. If you're talking sprinters, he's the fastest horse I've ever ridden. I wanted him to break quiet today. I didn't want him to come busting out of there. He came away easy and I had a hold in the first part. He ran :23 and something (:23.10) and I knew I was getting away with it right there. I thought we'd be going at least :22 and change. Twenty-three for this horse is just for fun. From there I just eased him on out. I let him run a little bit down the lane, but that was it. Never drew my whip. No reason to. Like I said, he's fast. And when we pulled up, he wasn't breathing hard at all. Not at all."

Baffert says he'll skip the Ancient Title Stakes at Oak Tree and head right into the Breeders' Cup Sprint on works alone. To be fair, he hasn't faced much in his career. No horse has been talented or fast enough to hook him so we could see what he's made of, how he reacts if a horse looks him right in the eye and says, "Let's see what ya got."

We'll know just how good Zensational is after the Breeders' Cup, but for now, we can just go by what we see as he beats overmatched opponent after overmatched opponent. What I see is a colt who's going to be mighty tough to beat in his own backyard on Nov. 7.

Mi Sueno, who won Saturday's $300,000 Grade 1 Darley Debutante under Michael Baze, has a grand recent tradition to live up to this fall.

Three of the past six Debutante winners have gone on to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, including Stardom Bound last fall, Sweet Catomine (2004) and Halfbridled (2003), and the connections for Mi Sueno definitely have Breeders' Cup aspirations.

Is she good enough?

Well, her final time of 1:23.78 for the seven furlongs was not earth-shattering. Last year, Stardom Bound covered the distance in 1:22.50. The other two Juvenile Fillies winners won the Debutante when it was run on dirt, so it's difficult to compare the times.

Mi Sueno's connections believe she'll get better with distance, and being by Pulpit out of Madcap Escapade, she does have every right to get better around two turns. The track was not exceedingly fast Saturday, so that might have had something to do with the mediocre time.

And consider this -- when Sweet Catomine won the Debutante on dirt, her time was 1:24.18, which is very ordinary on any type of surface.

Don't judge Mi Sueno on her final time in the Debutante. Judge her by how she runs in the Oak Leaf Stakes on Oct. 4 during the Oak Tree meet. She'll be running two turns for the first time and we'll get a better feel for how talented she really is.

If the unbeaten Zenyatta is the queen of thoroughbred racing, then Rachel Alexandra, 8 for 8 in 2009, is certainly its princess. She continues to conquer new hurdles, the most recent being Saturday's Woodward Stakes at Saratoga when she overcame seven older males while setting some very fast fractions to become the first female ever to win one of the most prestigious stakes races in America.

She'd already beaten the boys in the Preakness and the Haskell Invitational. She'd already routed other 3-year-old fillies in the Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose. She'd won over fast tracks and sloppy ones. She'd won on the lead, or from just off the pace. She'd done everything asked of her, so why doubt for a second that she would do what she did Saturday in the Woodward?

She went 22.83, 46.41 and 1:10.54 and still had enough left to beat Macho Again, the winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap in June at Churchill Downs, by a head in a final clocking of 1:48.29 for the 1 1/8 miles.

Jockey Calvin Borel, who fits the filly like a glove, perhaps said it best after the race.

"She would never let (Macho Again) go by her," he said. "Every time he went up to her, she would dig in again. Even galloping out, I said to Robby (Albarado), 'You ain't going by us.' She is such a tremendous filly. He ran up to her three times and she kept giving me a little bit more."

Albarado knew he'd just been beaten by one of the all-time greatest fillies.

"She's a champion," he said. "Champions do that. Champions find ways to win. I never thought I had her. You never think you have champions. She's a great filly. The only thing I was hoping was that at some point she would tire or do something. She's great. What can I say? Nothing much I can say. She's great."

Said jockey Jeremy Rose, who finished third aboard Whitney Stakes winner Bullsbay: "My horse left everything on the track. He did everything he could to get by that (filly). She just isn't giving up. She's awesome; there's no two ways about it.

"The fractions were fast and I thought I was in a perfect spot to catch her. At the quarter pole, I split Edgar Prado (on Past the Point) and her and I got within a neck of her and she just rebroke. She's just too good of a horse."

Before Saturday, Twilight Tear was the last 3-year-old filly to beat older males in a major American stakes race, accomplishing the feat in the 1944 Pimlico Special.

Rachel Alexandra just keeps clearing these hurdles that co-owner Jess Jackson puts in front of her, and it's gotten to the point where she might now need a rest. She might have run her final race of 2009, and who could blame Jackson if that's the decision he makes? He wants to run her as a 4-year-old, and she's 11 of 14 now in her career.

Will she race again this year?

"I can't honestly say," Jackson said. "She's run more races than Zenyatta's run, and Zenyatta's 5 years old. You can't expect a young youngster -- she's only 3 -- running against older horses, you can't expect them to keep going all the time. You have to give them a break, and we'll talk that over very seriously."

And what about that showdown against Zenyatta, perhaps after the Breeders' Cup at a neutral site like the Fair Grounds?

"I can't predict," Jackson said. "It depends on both horses coming out and what both camps would be willing to do. I've indicated Rachel's had a full race year already. It might be that they get together, but I can't predict that. It takes two to (tango), but it better be a good venue or neither one will come."

I'm sitting here in the Del Mar press box, there are about 15 minutes before the $750,000 Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga and a 3-year-old filly, Rachel Alexandra, is 1-9 to beat older males in the 1 1/8-mile race.

Unbelievable.

Now, I'm as big a fan of Rachel as the next person, and I realize some of that money is from fans who just want to bet two bucks on the filly for a souvenir ticket, but 1-9? I mean, she's trying to do something that hasn't been done since 1944 -- beat older males on the dirt in a Grade 1 race.

Earlier this week, Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, which is running Macho Again in the race, talked about Rachel and the challenge she faces today.

"We know we're going to have to show up with our 'A' game if we want to beat her, but it's a different pool, running against older horses and the boys," he said. "I'm not saying she can't win in the deeper waters, but it is a different pool than against straight 3-year-old colts.

"So we'll see what happens, and we know that Saratoga is known as the graveyard of favorites. We hope we're in a spot where in 20 or 30 years they're talking about this race in 2009."

For racing, I hope she does it. I hope she wins. But she's by no means a 1-9 shot. If she wins today, it will be her greatest accomplishment. They're going to all be gunning for her and she's going to have to earn it. Everyone now wants to ride, train or own the horse that beats Rachel Alexandra. She's got a huge target on her back.

Rafael Bejarano, scheduled to ride Blind Luck in Saturday's $300,000 Grade 1 Darley Dubutante for 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar, took off all seven of his mouts because of a sore right thumb.

Bejarano, sidelined 27 days earlier this 37-day meet after suffering multiple facial fractures in an opening-day spill, had been back only six days when he complained of the injury during Friday's card. He went to the first-aid station, where doctors recommended he undergo X-rays.

The X-rays showed no fracture, but he's been diagnosed with a sprain. There's a chance he could be cleared by doctors to ride in Sunday's two graded stakes -- the $1 million Grade 1 Pacific Classic aboard Parading and the $350,000 Grade 2 Del Mar Derby aboard Meteore.

Mike Smith picked up two of Bejarano's seven mounts Saturday. He'll ride Charlie and Chris for trainer John Sadler in the fifth race and the Kathy Walsh-trained Good Time Sally in the seventh.

In the Darley Debutante, Tyler Baze, who returned to the races Friday after missing eight days because of a broken finger on his left hand and won aboard Carlsbad in the Rancho Bernardo Handicap, will replace Bejarano aboard Blind Luck for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

Jockey Rafael Bejarano, who has missed most of the Del Mar meeting after suffering multiple facial fractures in a spill on opening day, took off his final four mounts today after complaining of a sore right thumb.

Bejarano, who won the riding title at his first six Southland meets before being dethroned at the Hollywood Park summer meet by Joel Rosario, went to the first-aid station, where doctors advised him to have X-rays of the thumb.

The 27-year-old Peruvian has been named to ride horses in all five graded stakes races during this holiday weekend's Del Mar's Pacific Classic Racing Festival -- Blind Luck in Saturday's Grade 1 Darley Dubutante; Screen to Screen in the Grade 1 Pat O'Brien, Meteore in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby and Parading in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Sunday; and Sterling Outlook in Monday's Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity.

Del Mar suffered its second casualty of the week when it was revealed today that Madame Kiawah, a 4-year-old Malibu Moon filly trained by Sergio Fiscal, had to be euthanized after breaking down in Wednesday's fifth race.

Madame Kiawah, running in a $12,500 claiming event, broke her right front leg around the far turn, making it 13 fatalities at Del Mar this summer, including 12 over its synthetic Polytrack surface. Eight of the breakdowns have occurred in the mornings and four during afternoon racing.

On Tuesday morning, a maiden filly named Bell Canyon Road, trained by Barry Abrams, broke down near the finish line and had to be euthanized because of a broken right front leg.

Jess Jackson, co-owner of the fabulous filly Rachel Alexandra, was asked on a conference call this week if he takes into account the potential impact on history when he decides where she is going to run next. Predictably, when you have a horse like her, it's not your typical routine of trainer and owner sitting down and deciding where and when to race next.

"As we did with Curlin, it's always in my mind, but it's only one factor in a matrix of factors," Jackson said. "But certainly it could be a counter weight against just running safe races and not taking on new challenges. We try to give her hurdles, and each time she passes one we're delighted and we take her to the next. It's a process of defining her greatness."

If there's one knock against Zenyatta's connections, it's that they haven't traveled outside the box, haven't taken any chances this year like Rachel Alexandra's camp. It's looking more like they'd rather protect Zenyatta's unbeaten record than win Horse of the Year.

"Both camps have to do the best thing for their horse," Jackson said when asked if a potential matchup between the two superstars was a possibility after the Breeders' Cup. "I don't know what Zenyatta's long-term objectives are, but she's undefeated and that's a very rare occurrence in horse racing. She's a champion, she is a great horse. So is Rachel. I know there is a lot of glamour in the media and among the fans (for a matchup), but each camp has to take care of their horse and do the best thing for their own purposes."

Of Zenyatta, Jackson said: "The Breeders' Cup is coming up, I think that's their culmination, their target, and I wish her well in that. Rachel won't be going there. We have the Breeders' Cup to look forward to in 2010 (at Churchill Downs). So if Zenyatta were to win the Breeders' Cup, I would applaud her campaign enthusiastically as all the fans probably will."

As for Rachel's future after Saturday's Woodward, when she can become the first female to win the stake since its inception in 1954, Jackson left it pretty much up in the air.

"If Zenyatta were to come to the Beldame, that would certainly direct us toward that," he said. "If the (Jockey Club) Gold Cup is open and she's fit to compete there and the Beldame isn't as attractive, I would certainly consider that. I think the Clark (Handicap) is a little too late. I want to give her four or five months rest. She's certainly entitled to it. I want her healthy and well for the 2010 campaign."

Say what you want about Jackson, he knows the sport needs more stars and less great horses retiring early.

"The fans need stars. Our industry needs stars. We need to race horses a longer period of time," he said.

And he doesn't care that already some skeptics are discounting Rachel's challenge of trying to beat older males by saying the Woodward has come up soft.

"I'm not discounting in any way Macho Again, or any of the horses in this race," Jackson said. "They are the best of what's in that age group and we felt that it would help define Rachel if she could take on older horses."

Well, actually the best of the age group will be at Del Mar on Sunday running in the $1 million Pacific Classic, horses the likes of Rail Trip, Einstein, Colonel John and Parading. But that race is being run over Del Mar's Polytrack surface, and we all know how Jackson feels about "plastic" tracks.

Say this about Alex Solis -- the 45-year-old jockey knows how to pick role models.

Solis, tied for sixth in the Del Mar rider standings with 21 victories, climbed even with lifelong idol Laffit Pincay Jr. on the list of Del Mar stakes victories when he won last Sunday's Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap aboard Spring House for trainer Julio Canani.

The victory tied Solis with Pincay for third on the all-time list with 95 victories.

"I'm just so proud," Solis said. "He's somebody I've admired my whole life, and to think that 27 years later I would be tied with him in stakes victories at Del Mar is quite an accomplishment. It makes me feel good."

Solis said he and Pincay, who both hail from Panama, have gotten together often since the latter's retirement in April 2003.

"I talk to him all the time," Solis said. "We stay in touch and we go to dinner sometimes. He's a wonderful man and a wonderful role model."

When Solis finally gets his own long overdue call to the Hall of Fame, maybe it will be Pincay who presents him at the induction ceremony in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

A large field of a dozen was entered Wednesday night for Sunday's $1 million Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar, including three of the top older horses in training -- Rail Trip, Colonel John and Einstein.

Colonel John, who won the Wickerr Stakes by two lengths in his turf debut on July 31 at Del Mar while making his first start in seven months, was installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite by track oddsmaker Russ Hudak. He'll be ridden by Garrett Gomez, who's won a record four Pacific Classics.

Einstein, who won the $1 million Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in March and has won graded stakes on turf, dirt and synthetics during his career, is the 7-2 second choice and will be ridden by Julien Leparoux.

Rail Trip, a lightly-raced gelding trained by Ron Ellis who has won six of eight lifetime starts, comes in off a victory in the $700,000 Hollywood Gold Cup in July. Jose Valdivia Jr., who's been aboard the 4-year-old son of Jump Start in all his races, has the call again on the 4-1 third choice.

The entire field, including post positions, jockeys, odds and comments:

1. Informed, Tyler Baze, 10-1 -- Healthy price for horse that could be a major player
2. Song of Navarone, Joel Rosario, 20-1 -- Long shot gets services of leading jock
3. Rail Trip, Valdivia Jr., 4-1 -- How did this guy go postward at 9-1 in Hollywood Gold Cup?
4. Richard's Kid, Mike Smith, 15-1 -- Baffert's second-best shot?
5. Mast Track, David Flores, 15-1 -- Rounding back into 2008 Hollywood Gold Cup form?
6. Colonel John, Gomez, 5-2 -- The one to beat with King of the Pacific Classic aboard
7. Misremembered, Victor Espinoza, 12-1 -- Might be asking a little too much of him
8. Global Hunter, Corey Nakatani, 20-1 -- Eddie Read winner may prefer the turf
9. Tres Borrachos, Joe Talamo, 20-1 -- Bang-up second in Hollywood Gold Cup
10. Einstein, Leparoux, 7-2 -- Throw out fifth-place finish in Arlington Million
11. Parading, Rafael Bejarano, 10-1 -- Loved Keeneland's Polytrack surface
12. Awesome Gem, Solis, 12-1 -- Always tries, very seldom wins

Another casualty at Del Mar on Tuesday morning, as the Barry Abrams-trained maiden filly Bell Canyon Road broke down and had to be euthanized.

That brings the total mumber of casualties this meeting, with seven days of racing left, to 12 -- 11 on the synthetic Polytrack surface and one on turf.

It's the worst meeting for deaths since the 2006 meet, which helped spur the CHRB's synthetic track mandate.

I'm not blaming the track because I don't think any of us know the reason why all these horses are breaking down, but I am still going on record as saying synthetics have not proven to be any safer than a good, quality dirt track. And tracks like Saratoga, Belmont and Churchill Downs didn't have to ante up more than $40 million to improve their surfaces.

Jess Jackson, co-owner of the fabulous filly Rachel Alexandra, was on today's NTRA conference call with reporters and covered a wide range of topics concerning Rachel, including:

-- Her schedule for the rest of 2009 is up in the air after Saturday's Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, a race in which she'll try to become the first female to win the prestigious race. Jackson said there's a possibility she could run in the Beldame Stakes at Belmont on Oct. 3 if Zenyatta's camp commits to the race, an event that will be worth $1 million if both Zenyatta and Rachel enter the starting gate. He also left open the possibility of her meeting Zenyatta after the Breeders' Cup. He said she also could be finished for 2009 after the Woodward. In other words, nothing is for certain and, as always, the filly's health and well being are the No. 1 concern.

-- Jackson doesn't want to discuss yet where Rachel fits in as far as the all-time top distaffers, preferring to wait until her career is over. But he did say he believes she's proven to be Ruffian's equal. Of course, if she continues to perform like she has, fillies and mares will be compared to her 30 years down the road.

-- There's a good chance that, if she stays healthy, Rachel Alexandra will race on the grass sometime during her 4-year-old campaign. Interestingly, Jackson did not rule out the Dubai World Cup next year, even though the track is changing to a Tapeta artificial surface and he's voiced his displeasure with synthetics many times, calling them "plastic tracks." He said it could be a possibility if he's convinced the tracks are not as harrmful as he perceives them to be.