With all of the delays and closings of tracks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there are few places to turn to for horse racing. However, some tracks are still operating with spectorless racing, including Fonner Park and Will Rogers Downs.
Here are some of the upcoming races at each track.
Al Swihart Memorial Stakes – Fonner Park
On April 29, 2020, one of the big stakes races set to run at Fonner Park is the Al Swihart Memorial Stakes. It will be race 4 on the 9-race card.
The horse receiving the most attention for the Al Swihart is the 3-1 Eaton’s Memory, trained by Mark Hibdon. Two weeks back, she went wire to wire and scored the Runza Stakes. The 4-year-old Texas-bred mare has won five out of nine career races, including her last three outings.
Eaton’s Money will face tough competition from the slight morning-line favorite Our Musical Moment, who sits at 5-2. Shipped in from Oklahoma, the 4-year-old hasn’t won a race since an allowance a year ago at Fonner Park.
Our Musical Moment has finished in second-place in her last four races.
The rest of the field for the Al Swihart includes Chub’s Charmer (7-2), Stella Marie (8-1), Little Love Shack (10-1), Dixie Flyer (6-1), and Matapan (6-1).
Gus Fonner Stakes – Fonner Park
Race 8 on the same card is set to be the $50,000 Gus Fonner Stakes at 1 1/6 miles. The race is for three-year-olds and upward.
The favorite in the field of ten is the 3-1 Pendleton, followed by the 4-1 Fight On.
Pendelton is a speedy front-runner who is trained by Justin Evans. The son of multiple-stakes winner Giant’s Causeway is a 6-year-old Kentucky bred horse, with earnings sitting at $243,000.
Fight On is trained by California-based Doug O’Neill. The 5-year-old son of Into Mischief has finished third in two stakes races this year.
The rest of the field includes top local horse Blue Harbor (6-1), last year’s Gus Fonner Stakes winner Rock City (15-1), Taruca (8-1), Mr. Tickle (8-1), Sleepy Eyes Todd (5-1), Yo Y Me (10-1), Cabin John (10-1), and Thetrashmanscoming (15-1).
Race 5 and 7 – Will Rogers Downs
There are a few races with impressive horses running on the April 29 card at Will Rogers Downs.
Race 5 on the card will be a $15,000 Claiming, running 1 mile on dirt. One of the runners to look out for is the 7-2 Mr. Misleading. Trained by Jose Ibarra, the speedy runner is looking to make up for his failure to reach first against winners.
Others to pay attention to in that race are Don’t Tell Nobody at 3-1, who can really close fast, and Victory Stripe at 4-1, who is coming off a maiden score.
Race 7 on the card will feature a $19,800 Maiden Special Weight over 1 mile on dirt.
Look for Quiet Dawn, who is sitting at 7-2, to track the likely front runners Magically Honored and Sheza Rockstar, at 3-1 and 2-1, respectively.
