Parx

Winter weather conditions on the East Coast and the Midwest continue to impact racing operations at a variety of racetracks. Parx Racing in suburban Philadelphia cancelled Monday's scheduled live program in the morning hours and by mid-afternoon, word was circulating that the live card for Tuesday was also called off. Temperatures well-below freezing prompted weekend cancellations at Aqueduct and Laurel and although temperatures in the region flirted with the 40-degree mark on Monday, the thawing and re-freezing of racing surfaces is surely causing nightmares for track superintendents. Temperatures had once...

Live racing at Parx was cancelled Monday. Temperatures in the Philadelphia area hovered in the upper 20's during the day with forecasted snow expected by the afternoon. Sam Houston Race Park also cancelled its Monday card due to inclement weather conditions. Live racing is expected to return at Parx Tuesday and at Sam Houston on Friday.

Jockey Paco Lopez, who pulled up his mount Ridin With Biden (Constitution) a few steps before the finish of last Saturday's GIII Greenwood Cup S. at Parx, likely costing the horse a second-place finish, was handed a 30-day suspension Thursday by the stewards at Parx. In ruling, the stewards wrote that the suspension was "for failure to give his best effort and failure to use the proper diligence in Race 7 on September 23, 2023 while astride the horse Ridin With Biden..." The suspension began Thursday and will conclude on...

Nobody Listens (Conveyance), the 5-year-old gelding who earned his first graded stakes victory in the GIII Turf Monster S. at Parx Saturday, died in a trailer accident Sunday, according to a Facebook post from co-owner Mike Kwiatowski. "Yesterday was one of the greatest days when Nobody Listens won the GIII Turf Monster at Parx," Kwiatowski wrote. "Today was one of the worst. Nobody Listens had an unforeseen and unpreventable trailer incident resulting in us losing him. We love and cherish every moment that we shared with him. "The ride Nobody...

There will no doubt be a tendency to dismiss Next (Not This Time) as a novelty act, even after his 25-length romp in Saturday's GIII Greenwood Cup on a sloppy, dreary day at Parx. That comes with the territory when your speciality is marathon-distance races of 12 furlongs or more. But to do so would be a mistake. While it's true that he does not face the best of competition in these races, Next is obviously a seriously talented race horse. You have to be to win a graded stakes...

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...