CHECK UP

LOOK OUT! Here's a filly from the first crop of Manitoba Derby winner WEATHER WARNING, born March 5 and from the mare Promise Ring by Broken Vow. Photo taken at 10 days. Weather Warning stands at Norse Ridge Farm near King Ontario. Thanks to Bernard McCormack for the photo.





OBS 2YO MARCH
Numbers down, few Canadians buy

Not a lot to report locally from the OBS sale yesterday - SID ATTARD and JOHN PASTOREK bought a chestnut filly Smart Strike out of stakes winner Adam's Time for $42,000 and Attard bought a State City colt for $30,000.

MIKE DOYLE bought an Ontario bred colt by Sky Mesa out of graded stakes winner Flashy N Smart, dam of stakes placed Flashy Thunder for $85,000.


CANADIAN WINNERS

At Tampa Bay Downs yesterday, ALABAMA GRACE won her maiden at age 4 in a 1/18 mil grass event (about distance). The daughter of Vindication--Indigene, by Deputy Minister had been fourth in consecutive starts while trying 8 1/2 panels over this course, the most recent of those Jan. 23, before coming home a narrowly beaten
second here Feb. 26.

She was a $245,000 KEENOV weanling and $400,000 FTSAUG yearling
purchase and was bred by Hill 'n' Dale Farm.



FOLLOW-UP
(from yesterday's post)


BEULAH RACE 8 MONDAY:

From Race Office at Beaulah Park:

The stewards fined jockey Louis Stokes $100 for misuse of the whip. It was a first offense but they gave him a stern reprimand and warning that any further offenses will result in heavier fines and possible suspension.




HORSE RACING COVERAGE SHRINKS
from Press Democrat.com

Contributed by Bill Nichols - Posted: March 18, 2009 12:00:00 AM

ESPN has dropped its coverage of the Kentucky Oaks card, the counterpart to the May 2 Kentucky Derby. The coverage will be shown on another network's weak-sister station, the NBC-owned cable network Bravo.

http://blogs.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=2350318


And The Blood-Horse's Dan Liebman blogs about ESPN's decision:

http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/wgoh/archive/2009/03/17/Bravo.aspx

And noted TBA Bogger HANDRIDE says this:

"... the perception of horse racing is what holds this sport back."

http://handride.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-kudos-for-bravo.html




TRINIDAD EXPRESS FEATURE STORY
"SIR LAURIE VISITS HIS HOME


Silvera's saga
From Brown Bomber to 'outrunning' Bolt...
Glen Mohammed

HIS mother's wish was for him to become a veterinary surgeon, but this walking lexicon on equine athletes instead became a champion racehorse trainer.

In 1959, at age 29, Laurie Silvera began training horses with his father Owen, trainer of the famous Brown Bomber who had many memorable encounters in Trinidad with Jetsam during the 1940s.

So it was fitting that Silvera was the guest speaker at the 26th edition of the Jetsam Awards ceremony, at the Century Ballroom, Queen's Park Oval on March 2.

Jamaica-born Silvera, who now resides and trains at Woodbine racecourse in Toronto, Canada, immediately captured the audience's attention when he started without mentioning the enormity of last year's speaker (Lord Michael Taylor) and at the same time warned that he would not be speaking for long (as Lord Taylor did last year).

"I wish to thank the Arima Race Club for a wonderful weekend. I am not that famous, but if you ask around for me at Woodbine, I am referred to as 'Sir Laurie'."

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_sports?id=161453245