Albuquerque Meet Opens Saturday

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Monday, August 09, 2010

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The Downs at Albuquerque opens its 59-day meet with a nine-race program on Saturday. Post time for the first race is 1:30 p.m. (MDT).

The track will run primarily on a Friday-Monday schedule through closing day, November 14, with first post scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Fridays and Mondays and 1:30 on Saturdays and Sundays. The only exception to this schedule is during the 17-day New Mexico State Fair meet, which will run every day from September 10-26.

According to racing secretary Jim Collins, interest in the Albuquerque meet is high.

“We had over 3,000 requests for stall space this year, and a total of 1,370 horses have been granted stalls,” he said. “We have a nice variety of top-notch New Mexico-breds and horses from Arizona and Colorado. It should be a very good balance.”

The local horsemen certainly responded favorably for the opening-day card, as a total of 86 horses were entered in the nine races, an average of more than 9.5 per race. The feature race, the 6 ½-furlong, $30,000 Chamisa Handicap, attracted a full field of 12 older fillies and mares.

Collins has assigned A.P. Flatter the top weight of 122 pounds for the Chamisa. A 5-year-old daughter of Flatter racing for Patricia Grunwald and trained by Bart Hone, A.P. Flatter will be making her first-ever start at the Albuquerque track. The mare is coming off of a 1 ¾-length victory in the 7 ½-furlong Fern Sawyer Handicap at Ruidoso Downs on July 10.

A.P. Flatter’s 11 opponents include Cleber J. Massey’s Cherry One, a 4-year-old daughter of Sir Cherokee whose four wins in seven outs include the $50,000 El Paso Times Handicap at Sunland Park on January 25, and Linda Hutchison’s Island Hopping, a 6-year-old mare by River Flyer coming off of consecutive victories against non-blacktype stakes company at Yavapai Downs near Prescott, Arizona.

The complete lineup for the Chamisa, in post position order including jockey and weight assignments – Orabell (J. Martin Bourdieu, 117), Kings Money Honey (V. Grajeda, 117), Indiabonita (Chris Zamora, 116); It’s A Promise (J.L. Gonzalez, 116), Scherzi (Brian Theriot, 119), More To The Story (Vernon Scantling, 117), Cherry One (Ken Tohill, 121), A.P. Flatter (Mark Villa, 122), Value System (Alfredo Juarez Jr., 117), Blue Haze Day (Kelsi Purcell, 117), Snowdrop (Isaias Enriquez, 118), and Island Hopping (Carl Williams, 120).

Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr., the trainer of 2009 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mine That Bird, has been granted 25 stalls for the Albuquerque meet. Woolley, Fred Danley, Jon Arnett, Ramon Gonzalez, Dennis Ward, and Tony Klenakis are expected to compete for the title of leading trainer.

Sunday’s program will be headlined by the one-mile, $30,000 Charles Taylor Derby for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds. Entries for Sunday will be taken on Thursday.

The Downs at Albuquerque is located in central Albuquerque at the Expo New Mexico fairgrounds. For more information on the meet, visit the track’s website at www.abqdowns.com, or call (505) 266-5555.

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