DAY 23
FRIDAY’S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 4,250
FRIDAY’S ON-TRACK WAGERING $324,339
FRIDAY’S OFF-TRACK WAGERING $2,281,147
FRIDAY’S TOTAL WAGERING $2,605,486 TODAY’S POST TIME 1:05 p.m.
CLASSIX CARRYOVER None
TODAY’S WEATHER The Weather Channel is calling for a high temperature of around 50 and a 50-percent chance of rain during today’s card.
TODAY’S TELEVISION TVG (full card) TODAY’S WAGERING MENU Win-placeshow, exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagering offered on all races. Daily double (races 1-2, 8-9). CLASSIX (races 3-8). Pick-3 (rolling begins with race 2). Pick-4 (races 2-5 races 6-9).
TODAY’S SIMULCASTING SCHEDULE 11:25 a.m. Tampa Bay, 11:40 a.m. Gulfstream Park, 12:20 p.m. Aqueduct, 12:30 p.m. Fair Grounds, 1:45 p.m. Hawthorne, 2:30 p..m. Santa Anita, 2:45 p.m. Golden Gate, 5 p.m. Penn National, 5:15 p.m. Turfway Park, 5:30 p.m. Delta Downs, 5:45 p.m. Wheeling (greyhounds), 6 p.m. Charles Town, 6:10 p.m. Sam Houston, 7:30 p.m. Southland (greyhounds), 8 p.m. Los Alamitos
FRIDAY’S STARS
Pangburn, a 3-year-old filly trained by Ken McPeek and ridden by Jesus Castanon, made her first start after more than five months on the sidelines and won the $63,500 ninth-race allowance for 3-yearold fillies at 1 1/16 miles. Pangburn, who broke her maiden going 1 mile on the turf in her July 12 debut at Ellis Park in Kentucky, finished second in the Grade II Pocahontas at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. on Sept. 6. Pangburn had two workouts after the Pocahontas but McPeek gave her nearly four months off from training before starting back up with a series of 5-furlong works at Oaklawn beginning on Jan. 17. Pangburn ($5.80) trailed early after hesitating, or dwelting, at the start and was last of 11 at the 4-furlong mark, 7½ lengths back. Castanon started picking up the field on the far turn, weaving through traffic before angling 6 wide into the stretch. Pangburn ran down Sweep Opportunity inside the 16th pole to win by 1¼ lengths. The victory could send Pangburn into the March 7 Grade III Honeybee, the second race in Oaklawn’s 3-year-old fillies series. … Castanon was the only jockey to win more than one race Friday night, book ending the card with Hope On the Rocks ($6) in the first and Pangburn in the finale. … The owner of one winning $1 Classix ticket collected $55,862.60. One long shot, Jagger M in the sixth, created the big payout on an otherwise formful day. Jagger M ($32.60) was the longest shot of seven in the 6-furlong race for $35,000 claimers. The rest of the races in the Classix sequence were either won by favorites or second betting choices.
SPRING FEVER STAKES
Spring Included is the 7-2 morning-line favorite for today’s $100,000 Spring Fever Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs. Spring Included, trained by Steve Hobby, is coming off a second-place finish in the Jan. 24 American Beauty Stakes at 23-1 odds. Three horses are listed as 4-1 in the morning line, including Boss Barney’s Babe, who has not run since a third-place finish in last season’s American Beauty. Trainer Bret Calhoun told the Oaklawn media department that the 5-year-old mare by Street Boss was injured in her stall following the race when became excited, flipped and fractured her withers. The injury wasn’t career-threatening, Calhoun said, but required a lengthy break from racing. Boss Barney’s Babe is one of two mares who raced in last season’s Spring Fever, the other being Chortle, who as beaten a nose at 18-1 odds. Chortle, trained by Brian Williamson, is 12-1 in the morning line.
FINAL FURLONG
Far Right has been made the 5-2 program favorite for Sunday’s rescheduled $300,000 Southwest Stakes. Mr. Z and unbeaten Hillbilly Royalty are 3-1 and 7-2, respectively. … There was no training Friday morning because of freezing temperatures but horses were allowed on the track for about 20 minutes before the fifth race, creating a 45-minute spread between the fourth and fifth races. Two Southwest Stakes entrants worked for trainer Steve Asmussen during that period. Bayerd worked 3 furlongs in 37.20 and stablemate Bold Conquest worked 3 furlongs in 38.20. … Two of the horses originally entered to run in the Southwest Stakes — J S Bach and War Story — are 5-1 on the morning line for today’s Grade II $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. War Story is trained by Fair Grounds mainstay Tom Amoss and J S Bach is under the direction of Todd Pletcher, the nation’s leading trainer. The Risen Star is one of two races in the Road to the Derby Championship Series scheduled to be run Saturday, the other being the Grade II Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla. The Risen Star and the Fountain of Youth are both worth 50-20-10-5 points in the Road to the Derby standings. Six other races, including the March 14 Rebel at Oaklawn, make up the 85-point races in the Championship Series. Sunday’s Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn is part of the 10-4-2-1 Prep Series after being rescheduled from last Monday. … Only two winners paid more than $9 Friday, but they were big ones: Jagger M ($32.60) in the sixth and Saint Floyd ($76.80) in the second. … The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association will hold an educational thoroughbred ownership seminar Saturday at Oaklawn. The seminar, which is sponsored by Blood-Horse Publications, is 8 a.m.-12:45 p.m. in Oaklawn’s Arkansas Derby Room. Lewis Mathews of the Arkansas Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Horsemen’s Association will moderate the seminar. Mathews is the owner Ivan Fallunovalot, a two-time winner at the meet who is coming off a victory in the Feb. 7 Hot Springs Stakes.
Friday’s track profile
Early speed won 4 of 6 sprint races Friday, but late runners won the other 2 sprints. Plus, 3 runner-up finishers were sixth or farther back at the first call meaning the track was pretty fair. Horses with early speed won 2 of 3 route races, but the third race runner-up rallied from 10th-place at the first call and the ninth race winner also rallied from far back.