SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

KICKING A.....

(and CANADIAN WRAP)

Canadians chased Steve Asmussen trainees all day around the Fair Grounds track.

PALMERSTOWN (Awesome Again) was a well beaten 6th in the Sugar Bowl Stakes at Fair Grounds. SOK SOK was an impressive winner and he’s by Trippi. Trained by Steve Asmussen.

LA WILDCAT was a distant third in the Letellier Memorial Stakes. She’s a Manitoba-bred by D’Wildcat and was a stakes winner at Hawthorne last time out.

CALL THE POSSE (Posse) was not so good for Vinery as she finished 10th of 11.

The winner was Blitzing, by Montbrook, trained by Steve Asmussen.

The 3rd stakes race on the card came off the grass (Esplanade Stakes) and was won by the Steve Asmussen trained Tres Dream, by Chester House. The Malcolm Pierce trained Saorise Cat was unplaced.

Oh yes, the 4th stake of the day, the BONAPAW (named for that cook sprinting dude) was won by a horse trained by….STEVE ASMUSSEN. STORMIN BAGHDAD won his 3rd race in succession and 6th in his 13 starts in the 5 ½ furlong dirt race.

AT CALDER, trainer BRIAN LYNCH won the 6th race for maiden fillies and mares on turf with the Florida-bred CHERRY RED (Running Stage) who shipped in from Laurel.

Lynch trains for Stronach Stables.

AT HOLLYWOOD, WITNESS THIS, bred by Gail Wood, won a $32,000 claiming event, a turf sprint, for his 6th win in 34 starts. He is by Gold Fever out of Swing, by Sky Classic and was bred in Ontario.

AT TAMPA BAY, Canadian bred AWESOME ATTITUDE, taking a huge class drop to $10,000 off the layoff, won by more than 7 lengths in the finale. Canadian-bred FOREST LIGHT was third.

Here’s the Asmussen wrap from nola.com..

Day at the races turns into laugher

Bridgmohan rides six winners at FG

Sunday, December 23, 2007

By Bob Fortus

It was horse racing made easy Saturday at the Fair Grounds.

Steve Asmussen saddled the horses. Shaun Bridgmohan rode them. Six won.

On a day billed as Santa Sprint Saturday, Asmussen and Bridgmohan held a Christmas party, combining for six victories and sweeping the four $100,000 sprint stakes races.

The stakes winners were Sok Sok in the Sugar Bowl, Blitzing in the Letellier Memorial, Tres Dream in the Esplanade and Stormin Baghdad in the Bonapaw.

"Awesome day," Asmussen said. "It's been nothing but fun."

Bridgmohan said: "Thanks to Mr. Asmussen and his crew, it's been a phenomenal day for me."

According to Fair Grounds records, some of which were lost in the 1993 fire, Asmussen set a record for most victories by a trainer on a Fair Grounds card. Joe Alleman won five races on one day in 1982. The Fair Grounds has no record of anyone bettering that mark.

Bridgmohan became the eighth jockey to ride six winners on one day at the Fair Grounds. The feat, which has been accomplished nine times, hadn't been done since Robby Albarado won six races on a card in March 2004.

Asmussen and Bridgmohan missed another victory by a nose. That's the margin by which Stonestreet Song finished second to Cadet Gold in the last race.

Asmussen saddled one other horse Saturday, Natural Speed in the Bonapaw, and he finished second to stablemate Stormin Baghdad by a half-length.

GOING TO GULFSTREAM THIS WINTER?

Here’s the scoop from the Sun-Sentinel..

Gulfstream casino in Hallandale Beach prepares for live racing season

Track installs seats as it preps for live racing

By Thomas Monnay | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

December 22, 2007

HALLANDALE BEACH - With the live horse-racing season kicking off Jan. 3, officials at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino are working hard to turn the facility into a family destination.

Plans call for first-class trainers, experienced jockeys and thoroughbred horses, concerts and family-oriented acts such as Dora The Explorer, who will perform Jan. 13.

"There's so much going on here," Aaron Perry, Gulfstream's vice president for strategic development and marketing, said this week.

As part of a three-year, $220 million face-lift, workers were busy installing box seats in the grandstand facing the racetrack, where gamblers will have access to telephone, Internet and betting machines. The building's north side will have a tropical beach setting with a tiki hut and a sandy area landscaped with palm and coconut trees.

Mike Mullaney, a company spokesman, said Gulfstream is striving to also attract younger people who will bring lawn chairs to watch races and enjoy outdoor parties.

In the long run, they hope, residents, shoppers and employees at the $1 billion mixed-used Village at Gulfstream Park development will add to the facility's success.

Completion of the project's first phase, which started in June, is projected for fall 2008. The Forest City Enterprises project calls for 70 shops and office, condominium and hotel space at 901 S. Federal Highway, across from the Hallandale Beach municipal complex.

Perry said plans also include a nightclub, but he wouldn't disclose the name.

After a lackluster performance at its casino, which opened a year ago, Magna Entertainment, Gulfstream's owner, has reduced the number of slot machines from 1,200 to 516.

The remaining machines feature mainly penny games offering gamblers more bonus points, playing options and time, said Steve Calabro, Magna's vice president for gaming. A small portion of the second-floor room is reserved for higher-stake play with $1-to-$100 slot machines.

Hallandale Beach commissioners on Wednesday granted Gulfstream a nightclub license so it can serve liquor until 6 a.m. on all three floors, including two restaurants and an outdoor bar.

Thomas Monnay can be reached at tmonnay@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7924.

Media Advisory - CAW Reaches Tentative Settlement with Woodbine Entertainment Group

TORONTO, Dec. 22 /CNW/ - Picket lines have come down at Woodbine and Mohawk racetracks following a tentative settlement that was reached between the Canadian Auto Workers union and Woodbine Entertainment Group early Saturday morning.

The tentative settlement ends a 17-day strike for the 185 bartenders and servers at the Greenwood Teletheatre in Toronto as well as Woodbine and Mohawk racetracks and slots.

The ratification meeting is scheduled to take place on Sunday,

December 23. If the agreement is ratified by the membership full service will resume at the racetracks on Thursday. No details of the agreement will be released until after workers vote on the contract.

This is the workers' first contract negotiation since joining the CAW in August of 2007.

FROM THE TIMES-PICAYUNE PAPER (www.nola.com)

JIMMY BUFFETT, DREW BREES OWN HORSE!

Brees impressed with Pulaski County

Mena off to good start in first season at the Fair Grounds

Sunday, December 23, 2007

By Bob Fortus

Saints quarterback Drew Brees, tight end Billy Miller and General Manager Mickey Loomis were among a throng of fans rooting Saturday for Pulaski County, who finished third in the final race.

The colt, a 2-year-old maiden owned by the Last Mango Racing Stable, a group including Brees, Loomis, Coach Sean Payton, singer Jimmy Buffett, former NFL player Ron Jaworski and other Saints officials and friends, had finished third on opening day in his first start since being claimed for the stable by trainer Tom Amoss.

"This was tougher competition," Brees said. "I was impressed. He made a late run."

Brees said he's enjoying being a horse owner. "It's competition and beautiful animals running," he said. "It's fun to watch."

MENA CONTENT: Jockey Miguel Mena, a 21-year-old native of Peru, started quickly in his first season at the Fair Grounds. He rode seven winners in the first four days this meet.

Mena's pace had to slow down. Four of his winners during the first week were for trainer Steve Asmussen, whose first-call rider, Shaun Bridgmohan, had yet to arrive from Kentucky. But Mena has continued to make an impact, ranking third in the riders' standings with 16 victories.

"The Asmussen deal, I knew that was going to happen," Mena said. "You just have to be happy and appreciate it. I'm riding for everybody -- Amoss, Al Stall, (Mike) Stidham."

Mena, who gained his second stakes victory of the meet when he won the Buddy Diliberto on Sterwins on the turf last weekend, displays unusual patience for a young jockey. He said the Fair Grounds suits his style.

"I love it, (the) long stretch," he said. "I love it on the turf. I'm not a speed rider. I don't like to send (push a horse for the early lead) unless a trainer tells me to."

Another Mena is on the way. Mena said his brother Aderly, a 17-year-old apprentice, will be coming to the Fair Grounds soon.