NEWS - Monday, July 31, 2006

[PaceAdvantage]

Reading Room Update - Joe Takach: SUCKER BETS (Part 20)

Pure as Gold Dazes Bordonaro in Crosby

Pure as Gold, claimed for $100,000 in his last start, paid an immediate dividend for owner La Canada Stables and trainer Jack Carava when he upset the field in Sunday's $300,000 Bing Crosby Handicap (gr. I) at Del Mar. Blood-Horse

Pletcher's 'Sugar' Gets Win in Spa Cliffhanger
Stronach Stables' Spun Sugar notched her second grade I victory of the year with a gut-wrenching effort to defeat the outsider Balletto by a whisker in the $250,000 Go for Wand Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course Sunday. Blood-Horse

Saratoga Diary: Hats Off to the Spa
In any regard, despite a mid-afternoon downpour that disrupted the turf action on some of the scheduled events and made the main track sloppy, racing returned to the Spa at the level we've all come to expect. Blood-Horse

More Raves for Bernardini After Jim Dandy Romp
The plan was for Bernardini to win the Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) without too much trouble, then gear up for the biggest race of the summer, the Travers Stakes (gr. I) on Aug. 26. So far, so good. Blood-Horse

Indicted Baeza Gets Help From Race Industry
Industry leaders continue to support former jockey Braulio Baeza, who was terminated from his position as the New York Racing Association's assistant clerk of scales in September of 2005 following a NYRA-initiated probe of the weigh-in process. Blood-Horse

Owner Levels Conflict Charge at Calif. Steward
Disgruntled horse owner Jerry Jamgotchian, whose colt Past Tender was disqualified from victory in a July 28 race at Del Mar, has filed a conflict of interest complaint against one of the stewards involved and also protested the decision to the California Horse Racing Board. Blood-Horse