Horseplayers have lots of high-class action to choose from this Labor Day weekend, with Del Mar, Saratoga and relative newcomer Kentucky Downs all in the mix.
Mike Brunker
Columnist: Horse racing
Email: mbrunker@reviewjournal.com
Phone: (702) 383-4656
Mike Brunker is an assistant city editor working with reporters covering land use and environment, health care and immigration. He also writes a weekly horse racing column. Before joining the Review-Journal in August 2016, Brunker worked in various reporting and editing capacities for NBCNews.com, msnbc.com and the San Francisco Examiner.
The state recorded 2,799 new COVID-19 cases and 46 deaths over the preceding three days as Clark County’s test positivity rate declined more than a full percentage point.
Justin Mustari, 26, of Des Plaines, Illinois, said he plans to buy a house with the $725,000 he won in the National Handicapping Championship that ended Sunday at Bally’s in Las Vegas.
Nevada on Friday added 1,287 new COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths, as the state’s test positivity rate and hospitalizations both showed declines.
Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Handicapping Championship makes its first appearance in August, adding to the excitement of the Midsummer Derby at Saratoga.
Nevada passed a major milestone in its battle against the coronavirus on Friday as it passed the 50 percent mark for vaccination of eligible residents.
Arlington Park Track President Tony Petrillo orders all journalists out of press box as they are on deadline for likely final running of the Arlington Million — the world’s first $1 million race.
Steve Asmussen snaps all-time North American training record as Jorge Navarro enters guilty plea in federal horse doping case. All that and a Bob Baffert update.
New data from the state Department of Health and Human Services shows second-straight decrease in new cases average, as hospital group sees signs the surge is slowing.
The new order, which will apply in indoor public spaces in counties with substantial or high rates of transmission of COVID-19, including Clark County, takes effect Friday.
The White Pine and Elko county fairs are returning, with the former running from Aug. 20 to 22 in Ely and the latter racing Aug. 27 and 28 and Sept. 3 to 6 in Elko.
Both tracks smashed handle records for opening day thanks to full, competitive fields, packed stands (to the degree allowed) and joyful atmospherics.
The Haskell Invitational drew a field of seven that includes the runners-up from all three Triple Crown races — Hot Rod Charlie, Mandaloun and Midnight Bourbon.
There’s been a lot of turmoil in the Sport of Kings of late, but everything will be right with the racing world again next week when both Del Mar and Saratoga open their gates.
Fixed-odds wagering on horse racing is on the verge of becoming a reality in New Jersey, a game-changing experiment that might have implications outside the Garden State.