NEWS AND NOTES FOR AUGUST 9, 2013

NEWS AND NOTES FOR AUGUST 9, 2013

RACING THIS WEEKEND AT GILLESPIE COUNTY FAIR
Saturday’s card comprises 14 Quarter Horse Trials, with another 9 Quarter Horse races on Sunday.  There are 3 Thoroughbred races at 5 ½ furlongs carded for Sunday – a maiden claiming, a claiming and an allowance race.  Post time is 1:00 p.m.  Good luck to all!

FIFTYSHADESOFGOLD TAKES ON SIX IN THE ADIRONDACK
Clarence Scharbauer Jr.’s talented homebred Fiftyshadesofgold makes her graded stakes debut Aug. 11 at Saratoga, one of seven fillies entered for the $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (gr. II).

Along with stakes winners Thank You Marylou and Designer Legs, the 2-year-old Texas-bred daughter of My Golden Song will shoulder top weight of 122 pounds in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint.

A dominant winner of both a Lone Star Park maiden race May 24 and the June 22 Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs, Fiftyshadesofgold is the 7-5 favorite on the Adirondack morning line. Prepping for the grade II event, she impressed trainer Bret Calhoun with a :46.32 four-furlong breeze Aug. 4 at Saratoga, fastest of 69 moves at the distance on the day.

In the Adirondack, she’ll leave post 2 under jockey Corey Lanerie. Rounding out the field is Untapable, Who’s in Town, Charmed Hour and Hop the Six.  Carded as race 9, approximate post time is 5:12 p.m. EDT.

AUGUST 26 FT – TX YEARLING SALE
Be sure to check out the Fasig-Tipton Texas Yearling Sale catalog, which includes 58 Texas foals.  Most are already Accredited and others are eligible to be Accredited. Many (31) have already been nominated to the Texas Stallion Stakes Series (TSSS), another 10 are eligible to be nominated to the TSSS, and every horse that passes through the ring at this sale is eligible to be nominated to the TTA Sales Futurity.

The sale begins at 5:00 p.m. and will start with an auction of artwork to benefit the Texas Thoroughbred Educational Fund and The Paddock Foundation.

WAGERING ON US RACES FLAT IN JULY
Equibase reports that wagering on U.S. races in July was level with the same month last year despite a nearly 3 percent drop in race days.

Handle on U.S. races has been in a steady decline for nearly a decade, but the figures have leveled off somewhat over the past 18 months. At the same time, the number of race days has begun to dip as racetracks attempt to cope with significant declines in the foal crop over the past five years.

Total wagering was $926.9 million, up 0.2 percent from $925 million in July 2012, according to the figures. The number of race days declined 2.9 percent, from 557 last July to 541 this July.

Total purse distribution was $109.8 million, up 1.9 percent from $107.8 million in July 2012, with purses at U.S. racetracks heavily subsidized by casino revenue.

For the year, handle is off 0.7 percent, according to Equibase, at $6.54 billion, compared with $6.58 billion through July 2012. The number of race days has declined 3.4 percent, while purses have declined 1.1 percent.

NOTES: The Breeders’ Cup has announced that as a part of celebrations for this year’s 30th running of the World Championships, the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, for fillies and mares 3-years-old and older, will be returned to its original name, the Breeders’ Cup Distaff… Live streaming of the 61st annual 2013 Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing (August 11th, 10 – noon EDT) will be available at http://www.thejockeyclub.com/roundtable_2013_live.html… Stall applications for the upcoming Thoroughbred meet at Retama Park are available now at: http://www.retamapark.com/TB_Stall_app_Retama_2013.pdf… Live Thoroughbred racing returns to Retama on October 4th…The next meeting of the Texas Racing Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, August 13 in Austin… ATB awards checks for the Lone Star meet will be in the mail early next week.