News and Notes for April 6, 2018

ATB’S IN WEEKEND STAKES
Craig Upham’s homebred graded stakes winner Patrona Margarita (Special Rate – Margarita Mistress) will compete in a field of 7 in Saturday’s $500,000 (Gr.1) Ashland Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going a mile and a sixteenth at Keeneland.

She is coming off a fourth place finish in the $200,000 (Gr.2) Rachel Alexandra Stakes on February 17th, after banging into the starting gate as she broke.  Prior to that race, she won the $200,000 (Gr.2) Pocahontas Stakes last September by an impressive 3 ¾ lengths.

Trained by Bret Calhoun, she has odds of 15-1.

She’s Pretty Lucky (Lookin at Lucky – Pretty Amusing) is in a field of 11 for the $200,000 (gr. 2) Appalachian Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going a mile on the turf on Sunday at Keeneland. The stakes winning filly was bred and is owned by Will Kari, and trained by Eddie Kenneally.

She won the $50,000 Letellier Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds last December and finished third in the $50,000 Bara Lass Stakes at Houston in January.  In her last out on March 3 at Gulfstream, she finished 6th in the Gr. 3 Herecomesthebride Stakes. She has odds of 20-1.

TEXAS TWO-YEAR-OLDS IN TRAINING SALE
The under tack show for the 2018 Texas Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 8 at Lone Star Park.  Visit ttasales.com to download Buyer Applications and Agent Authorization Forms, view the on-line catalog and check out photos of sale horses.  Photos can also be viewed on the TTA Facebook page.  Videos of the under tack show should be available online by Sunday evening.

The sale will begin at noon on Tuesday, April 10 in the Texas Thoroughbred Sale Pavilion at Lone Star.

The Sale Office phone number is 972.237.4886 and fax is 972.237.5257.  TTA staff will be at the Sale Pavilion from Saturday afternoon through Wednesday morning, and will be checking email.

NBCSN TO TELEVISE WOOD MEMORIAL, BLUE GRASS, SANTA ANITA DERBY
With the “Run for the Roses” one month away, NBC Sports Group continues its coverage this weekend as horses aim to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. NBCSN presents live horse racing this Saturday, April 7, at 5:30 p.m. ET, with coverage of the Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby. The winner of each race receives 100 points, enough to guarantee a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, Saturday, May 5 on NBC.

NOTES: Congrats to Brad Grady, who with 12 wins tied with Maggie Moss for owner of the meet at Fair Grounds…The next meeting of the Texas Racing Commission is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 10 in Austin – the same day as the Texas 2-Year-Old Sale at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. The agenda is available at txrc.texas.gov …