AT THE POST

DAY 17 of 57

FRIDAY'S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 5,000

FRIDAY'S TOTAL HANDLE $3,316,877

FRIDAY'S ON-TRACK HANDLE $363,092

FRIDAY'S OFF-TRACK HANDLE $2,953,785

TODAY'S POST TIME 1:05 p.m. (Gates open 11 a.m.)

TODAY'S SIMULCAST SCHEDULE Gulfstream Park, 11 a.m.; Aqueduct, 11:20 a.m.; Laurel Park, 11:25 a.m.; Tampa Bay, 11:35 a.m.; Fair Grounds, 12:30 p.m.; Santa Anita, 2:30 p.m.; Golden Gate, 2:45 p.m.; Penn National, 5 p.m.; Turfway Park, 5:15 p.m.; Charles Town, 6 p.m.; Delta Downs, 6:15 p.m.; Daytona Beach (greyhounds), 6:25 p.m.; Derby Lane (greyhounds), 6:30 p.m.; Sam Houston, 6:45 p.m.; Southland (greyhounds), 7:15 p.m.; Los Alamitos, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY'S STARS

Fernando De La Cruz and Joseph Talamo won two races. Talamo, who is third in the jockey standings with 12 victories in 83 starts, won the second race with Kurilov ($5.20, $3.60, $2.60), covering 1 and 1/16 miles in 1:44.24. He won the eighth race with Remembering Rita ($3.80, $2.40, $2.10), covering 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.42.

De La Cruz, who has won 11 races in 68 starts, won the fourth race with Seek N Justice ($17.80, $7.20 and $4.40), covering 6 furlongs in 1:11.82. He won the fifth race with Rocko's Wheel ($11.40, $5.80, $4.40), covering 1 mile in 1:38.69.

BACK TO WORK

Warrior's Charge returned to the track on a frosty Friday morning at Oaklawn to begin preparations for his next major local target, the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap for older horses at 1 1/8 miles on April 18.

Whether the bulk of the preparation is at Oaklawn or Fair Grounds remains to be seen.

"Don't know," trainer Brad Cox said just as the track opened for training. "Honestly, I don't."

In his 4-year-old debut, Warrior's Charge recorded his biggest career victory to date in Monday's $500,000 Razorback Handicap -- a major steppingstone to the Oaklawn Handicap -- in wire-to-wire fashion under Florent Geroux. Warrior's Charge, who edged Bankit by a head, had previously been based at Fair Grounds, where he was a Dec. 18 allowance winner.

Oaklawn's next major two-turn race for older horses is the $350,000 Essex Handicap March 14. Cox said he plans to be represented in that 1 1/16-mile race by Night Ops, a Feb. 9 allowance winner for Steve Landers. Night Ops finished second in last year's $300,000 Oaklawn Invitational and third in the first division of the $100,000 Fifth Season Stakes Jan. 25.

Also returning to the track Friday morning were Wells Bayou and Answer In, second and third, respectively, in Monday's $750,000 Southwest Stakes for 3-year-olds. Cox said both horses are candidates for the $1 million Rebel Stakes March 14, Oaklawn's third of four Kentucky Derby points races.

Cox said Warrior's Charge, Wells Bayou and Answer In all came out of Monday's races in good order physically.

Baltas in the House

Trainer Richard Baltas was represented by his first career Oaklawn starters Monday with Motion Emotion finishing fourth in the $200,000 Bayakoa Stakes for older fillies and mares and Taishan running fifth in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes for 3-year-olds.

Baltas is the latest Southern California-based trainer to send a string of horses to Oaklawn for the 2020 meet, following Jerry Hollendorfer, Peter Miller, Phil D'Amato, John Sadler, Doug O'Neill and Peter Eurton.

Baltas cited several factors Monday morning for sending horses to Oaklawn, including a purse structure that is the country's highest this winter and shrinking field sizes in Southern California.

"First condition allowance races for 3-year-olds, they don't go," said Baltas, who was in Hot Springs for the stakes races. "This horse [Taishan, we're taking a shot and if he doesn't run good, we'll run him back in an allowance race."

Motion Emotion, Taishan and Proverb arrived earlier this month, and Baltas said he could have a half-dozen horses on the grounds before the meet ends May 2.

Information for this report was contributed by Oaklawn media department

Sports on 02/22/2020

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