Parx

The afternoon's graded stakes action at Parx kicked off most appropriately with the flashy grey Next (Not This Time) annexing the GIII Greenwood Cup S. and it didn't take long for the grey train to continue with Nobody Listen (Conveyance) taking the GIII Turf Monster S. With the remnants of Tropical storm Ophelia cranking, keeping the sky dark and the track murky, Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) completed the grey graded trifecta in the day's feature, the GI Pennsylvania Derby. Employing the same tactics used successfully earlier in the program over...

On paper, it appeared that Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), coming into Parx's GI Cotillion S. off three consecutive Grade I victories for Godolphin and Brendan Walsh, held her rivals over a barrel. Despite that fact, Ceiling Crusher (Mr. Big) took full advantage of the soggy, sealed track by going to the front and never looking back enroute to a narrow victory over the 2-1 Classic winner. Breaking to the immediate inside of Pretty Mischievous, the 3-1 co-second choice flashed her usual early speed, leading Majestic Creed (Jimmy Creed) and Hoosier...

For the connections of 11 3-year-olds, the GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Saturday represents a last-ditch effort to pick up an elusive Derby win and while it's not the Derby win most started out the year in search of, the $1 million purse, Grade I status and strong history of past winners makes it a coveted race to win nonetheless. Since Hall of Famer Woody Stephens trained Smarten (Cyane) to earn the inaugural Pennsylvania Derby trophy in 1979, a number of good 3-year-olds have also emerged from the nine-furlong...

The promising 2-eary-old filly Kenwick (Bernardini) may have won in Pennsylvania, but her pedigree shouts Lexington KY from the very rooftops of two local neighborhoods. Kenwick is a central residential area of the city, while Bell Court, as in the dam's name, is an almost adjacent zone, closer to downtown. Both areas have an Old America feel to them: nothing fake, nothing too gentrified, just authentic, with a touch of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" ambiance. There is in fact a small theatre in the Bell House in Bell Court: the...

Il Miracolo (c, 3, Gun Runner--Tapit's World, by Tapit), a longshot second in Saratoga's Curlin S. July 21, broke through with a career high in Tuesday's GIII Smarty Jones S. at Parx. Drawn widest of all in post eight, the 7-2 chance was hustled from his outside draw and raced three wide around the clubhouse turn. He sat a perfect, stalking trip from an outside third, made his move on the far turn, kicked for home as the one to catch, and, despite drifting out badly down the lane,  was...

Racing was called off after five races at Parx Tuesday after heavy rains swamped the racecourse. Bensalem, Pennsylvania, where Parx is located was under a severe thunderstorm watch Monday along with most of the I-95 corridor and a funnel cloud was observed near Washington, D.C. The storms came with winds of up to 60 miles per hours, and delayed flights at major airports from Philadelphia to New York City. The National Weather Service issued reports of flooded highways with people stuck in cars in Pennsylvania, along with downed trees in...

According to a posting on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) website, Parx-based trainer Joe Taylor has been provisionally suspended after two horses he trained allegedly tested positive for banned substances. On June 18, the Taylor-trained Cajun Cousin (Cajun Breeze) allegedly tested positive for Methylphenidate and Clenbuterol, both of which are banned substances. Two days later, Taylor sent out Classy American (Uncle Lino), who tested positive for the same two substances. Classy American finished second in a starter allowance while Cajun Cousin finished second in a $10,000 claimer. Cajun...

Trainer Jamie Ness earned the 4,000th win of his career when Sing Scat (Irish War Cry), a 3-year-old filly he co-owns, captured the first race at Laurel Park Sunday. The victory was the 27th in the month of July for Ness and extended his win streak to 17 calendar days between Laurel, Delaware Park and Parx that dates back to June 30. It was also the second career milestone Ness has reached at Laurel where he earned his 2,000th win with Caylee's Song on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2013. "Luckily,...

After heavy rains forced Parx to abandon the last race on Tuesday, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) said it was "in communication" with the racetrack after race replays showed that Wednesday's races were conducted with a large pool of standing water on the inside rail in the stretch. "HISA has been made aware of the concerning video of the standing water on the track surface at PARX and is gathering more information about the current surface testing metrics at the track," a HISA spokesman said. "We are in...

The stewards at Delaware Park have fined trainer Don Bryant, Jr. $2,000 for a series of "not conducting business in a proper manner" infractions that started with the falsification of a workout for an 0-for-12 maiden-claiming gelding he reportedly owns that hadn't raced in nearly a year. According to the June 15 ruling, the stewards "received evidence that Trainer Bryant falsified a workout" for the 4-year-old gelding Dondada (Klimt) on May 10, 2023, at Delaware Park. Dondada had not started since running second at Delaware on June 30, 2022. The...

LC Racing's Ninetyprcentmaddie (Weigelia), who romped home by 9 3/4 lengths in last Monday's City of Brotherly Love S. at Parx, could make a return trip to New York for the Apr. 8 GII Wood Memorial. The bay colt was eased when making his graded stakes debut--and first start away from Parx--in the Feb. 11 GIII Withers S. "He came out of [the City of Brotherly Love S.] really well and happy," trainer Butch Reid, Jr. said. "I was happy to see him come back after that effort in the...

The Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission (PSHRC) has rescinded an Aug. 18, 2022, ruling against trainer Jamie Ness that suspended him six months and fined him $5,000 for a positive drug test for bufotenine in a winning horse at Parx. Bufotenine is a psychoactive substance often referred to as "toad venom" because one of its sources is the skin of toads from the genus Bufo. In humans, it has been used for centuries in traditional forms of medicine as both a hallucinogen and a purported aphrodisiac. Starting in the 1990s,...