Peppers Pride runs for record

With the focus of horse racing on the lead-up to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita on Oct. 24 and 25, it’s easy to overlook the exploits of Peppers Pride.

The 5-year-old mare is undefeated in 16 career starts. On Saturday at Zia Park in Hobbs, New Mexico, she’ll try to break the record of 16 straight wins that she shares with Cigar, Hallowed Dreams and Mister Frisky. TVG will show the historic race live.

On paper, Peppers Pride looks like a cinch. But so did the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl as big favorites over the New York Giants. There are no sure things in sports.

The main concern I see is Peppers Pride has not raced since April 26. She has won off a layoff before, but it creates gray area in her preparation.

Peppers Pride has won all of her races in New Mexico, which offers rich slot-enhanced purses. How else do you explain her purse earnings of $861,665 while running at such smaller tracks as Sunland Park and Ruidoso Downs?

Some experts are downplaying Peppers Pride the way Hallowed Dreams was treated a few years ago. What does it matter who you beat? The ultimate goal of a trainer is to win money and races for the owner. I’d say trainer Joel Marr has done a perfect job of that.

If Peppers Pride couldn’t warm up Zenyatta on the racetrack, so what. It only matters if Peppers Pride can beat five overmatched foes Saturday for record-breaking win No. 17.

• FALL CLASSIC — One of the best handicapping tournaments of the year, the Fall Classic at The Orleans, began Thursday and runs through Oct. 11.

The entry fee is $500, and the top 80 finishers will cash. Another $30,000 will be paid to the top 10 daily finishers. And the kicker is, the top 50 contestants will qualify to the Horseplayer World Series in February at The Orleans.

• CARRYOVER — A $540,334 carryover in the Belmont Park Pick 6 is up for grabs today.

The Pick 6 begins in race 4, scheduled for 11:36 a.m.

• VALENZUELA — The California Horse Racing Board revoked jockey Pat Valenzuela’s conditional California license. It also was proposed that he be “permanently ineligible to reapply” for one.

Valenzuela had his conditional license revoked in December after an arrest for drunken driving.

• CHURCHILL DOWNS — Churchill Downs will use five announcers during its five-week fall meet. This is an audition to pick a replacement for the late Luke Kruytbosch.

Five race callers will work one week apiece: Larry Collmus, Mark Johnson, Bobby Neuman, Travis Stone and Michael Wrona. Conspicuous by his absence is John Dooley, who calls the races at Arlington Park and the Fair Grounds.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.