Hollywood Parks autumn meeting will be 13 days shorter than in 2008 and as a result, the track will drop four stakes races, including the Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup.

The track announced Friday that 14 stakes worth $2.85 million in purses have been scheduled for the 27-day meeting that begins Nov. 14 and ends Dec. 20.

In an effort to maintain its overnight purse schedule, the track has suspended the Hollywood Turf Cup, Grade 3 Dahlia Handicap, Real Quiet Stakes and Sharp Cat Stakes.

This is a one-year suspension. Hopefully, with more days at future meets, we will bring some of these races back, said Martin Panza, vice president of racing. Our goal was to protect the overnight schedule as everyone is feeling the pressure in the difficult times the country is experiencing.

The $750,000 CashCall Futurity will be the richest race on the schedule and will be run Dec. 19.

The Turf Festival, staged over Thanksgiving weekend, will be reduced to five races with the loss of the Grade 3 Hollywood Turf Express. It will still feature three Grade 1 races, although the purse for each has been reduced to $300,000.

The Hollywood Derby and The Matriarch each had their purses reduced by $200,000, while the Citation Handicap was lowered by $100,000.

Two online wagering businesses are offering to add $400,000 to the purse of the Beldame Stakes, hoping to entice Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta into running against each other at Belmont Park.

The pledge announced Friday by TVG and Betfair Ltd. would create a $1 million purse for the Oct. 3 race if the two female stars are in the starting gate.

Rachel Alexandras principal owner, Jess Jackson, has ruled out running in the Breeders Cup because he isnt fond of the synthetic surface at Santa Anita. The connections of defending Ladies Classic winner Zenyatta have said the Breeders Cup is where a matchup of racings current glamor girls should be decided.

I understand the growing excitement around a race that involves these two magnificent athletes competing, but both camps need to do what is in the best interest of the horse, Jackson said Friday. And for us, that means waiting until she competes and soundly recovers from her next race before any decisions are made about the Beldame Stakes or any other venue.

Rachel Alexandra is coming off another rousing victory against the boys in the Haskell Invitational on Aug. 2, her eighth straight win overall.

Jackson has not said where the superstar 3-year-old will run next, but hes expected to decide next week among the Travers on Aug. 29, the Personal Ensign against older fillies on Aug. 30, the Woodward against boys on Sept. 5, and the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 7.

Right now, we are focused on her next start, Jackson said. I hope to have a decision on that early next week. After that race, we will need to see how she recovers and then determine her next start.

Zenyatta improved to 12-0 with a narrow victory in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 9, rallying down the stretch under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.

The 5-year-old mare is one win shy of matching Personal Ensigns perfect 13-race career. Shes already won the Vanity and Milady handicaps at Hollywood Park this year, and is expected to defend her Breeders Cup title in November.

Personal Ensign won the Beldame in 1987 and 88. Ladys Secret won it the two years before that, helping her become one of only three fillies or mares to capture the Eclipse Award as horse of the yearsomething that Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are trying to win.
Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta are two of the most talented females that thoroughbred racing has ever witnessed, and Belmont Park would be the perfect setting for this dream matchup.

Excessive Blend surged to the front entering the stretch and went on to a 1 1/2 -length victory in Fridays $112,525 Sandy Blue Handicap for 3-year-old fillies at Del Mar.

Ridden by Joe Talamo, Excessive Blend covered a mile on the turf in 1:34.52 and paid $10.40, $5.80 and $3.80. Ultra Blend returned $13.60 and $7.40, while Burg Berg paid $8 to show.

The victory, worth $70,575, increased Excessive Blends career earnings to $183,175, with three wins in five starts.

Joel Rosario rode three winners on the nine-race card and leads the jockeys standings.

DFunnybone wore down front-running Tiny Wood with more than a quarter-mile to run and drew away to a 10 1/2 -length victory in the $150,000 Saratoga Special for 2-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course.

Edgar Prado rode DFunnybone, who made his first start for owner Paul Pompa Jr. and trainer Rick Dutrow after having been acquired privately in Florida last month following his second career start. He earned $90,000 with Thursdays win.

DFunnybone ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:17.58 and paid $10.20, $5.10 and $3.30. Runner-up Zip Quick paid $4 and $3.30 and Fearless Cowboy paid $3.90 to show.

Get You and Green Secret loom the horses to beat Saturday in the feature race at Emerald Downs. A $17,500 claimer for older horses at six furlongs, the race attracted nine entries. It will go as the eighth race on a nine-race card that begins at 2 p.m.

Get You, a lightly raced 5-year-old trained by Jim Penney, is the likely pacesetter. Hes had the lead after a half-mile in eight of his nine starts, and while he has only three victories, two have come at the current meeting. He won a conditioned $17,500 claimer by 9 1/4 lengths June 5, running six furlongs in 1:09, and then won an open $25,000 claimer by a length in 1:09.40 on June 26. Third behind next-out winner Chickasaw Park in his most recent start, Get You tuned up for Saturdays race with a 46.80 four-furlong workout last Monday. Hell be ridden by Gallyn Mitchell.

Green Secret has won 5 of 14 starts during a career that began at Keeneland last May. He won his maiden at Turf Paradise in October, and finished a close seventh in a $40,000 claimer at Santa Anita in February before embarking upon an Emerald campaign in May. Favored in each of his four starts at the meeting, he won an open $25,000 claimer in front-running fashion May 17, running six furlongs in 1:08.60, and prevailed in a $25,000 optional claimer June 28, running 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.

Green Secret faltered in his most recent start, however, finishing sixth of seven in a $20,000 claimer as the even-money favorite. Dropping another class rung Saturday, he figures to be heavily bet yet again. Hell be ridden by Seth Martinez for trainer Mike Chambers.

Emancipated should attract considerable support in the mutuels. Victorious in the restricted Trooper Seven Stakes last September, he has yet to win in eight starts in 2009, though he finished a close third behind Green Secret on June 28, and most recently finished fifth in the restricted British Columbia Cup Classic at nine furlongs at Hastings on Aug. 3. Trained by Robbie Baze, Emancipated will be ridden by Ricky Frazier.

Other top contenders include Media City, who has won three of his four starts at the meeting; Follows None, a close third behind Media City in his last start; and Honour the West, who has 1 first, 3 seconds, and 6 thirds in his past 14 starts.

The California Horse Racing Board has reduced the minimum number of wagering interests required for superfectas and trifectas.

Effective Thursday, fields must have six betting interests for superfectas, down from eight, while fields must have four betting interests for trifecta betting, down from six.

The rule change was initiated through a directive from the racing board, following the adoption of rule changes at the racing boards monthly meeting in June.

In a state plagued by short fields at times, the rule changes will allow tracks to offer a wider variety of bets on more races.

Run Royal Reign and Edgerin J top a field of seven entered in the feature race Friday at Emerald Downs. A $12,500 claimer for horses that have never won three times, the 6 1/2-furlong feature is the seventh event on an eight-race program that begins at 6 p.m.
Run Royal Reign, a 4-year-old bred in California, has had an up-and-down seven-race career. A romping winner in his racing debut at Emerald last September and an easy winner for $12,500 at Golden Gate in December, he failed to finish his first 2009 start after bleeding during the race, and then finished last on July 25, beaten by more than 20 lengths, in his first start following a six-month layoff.

But Run Royal Reign was a sharp second behind Jake La Gold in his most recent outing and could move forward Friday in his third start following the layoff. Troy Stillwell has the riding assignment for trainer Petra Lewin, who has hit the board with three of her four starters at the meeting.

Edgerin J appeared to have a promising future after his career debut May 10, when he held on gamely after dueling for the lead from the outset. But the 3-year-old Edgerin J, trained by Jim Penney, hasnt finished within 10 lengths of the winner in four subsequent starts. He drops into the claiming ranks for the first time Friday, a move that could yield a quick turnaround. Juan Gutierrez is scheduled to ride.

Bobby Rar Rar figures to set a rapid pace. Impressive as a 2-year-old in 2007, when he won a six-furlong maiden race by 8 1/2 lengths in 1:09.80, Bobby Rar Rar was limited to one start in 2008 because of injuries and is winless in three outings this year. He finished second for $7,500 after setting the pace in his last start, setting him up for a peak effort Friday. Trained by Marshall Allen, hell be ridden by Gallyn Mitchell.

Hickory Road also will attract wagering support. An easy winner over $7,500 foes at a mile in his last start, hell be ridden for the first time by Emerald Downss leading rider Ricky Frazier. Hickory Road tuned up with a 47-second four-furlong workout Sunday, the fastest of 63 moves at the distance.

The rest of the field includes recent maiden winner Long Trip Alone; Last Time Around, who is turning back in distance after four route efforts; and Deputys Pride, who has been sidelined since a second-place finish at Fridays level in early May.

About 80 valuable trophies, including several Kentucky Derby Gold Cups, were in the process of being moved Wednesday to a Churchill Downs vault to avert possible damage during the massive cleanup that has been undertaken at the Kentucky Derby Museum in the wake of the Aug 4 flash flood in Louisville, Ky.

Museum officials said the trophy collection includes Derby gold cups won by Flying Ebony (1925), Determine (1954), and Carry Back (1960), along with numerous other gold and silver pieces that are part of the museums extensive collection.

Some remaining trophies were unaffected by the flood and will remain in the museum, which incurred an estimated $4 million in damage and is closed indefinitely to the public.

Horse breeder Ernest Paragallo, who was banned from racing after 177 malnourished horses were seized in a raid of his upstate New York farm, has been arraigned on 35 counts of animal cruelty.

Paragallo appeared Tuesday before Judge George Pulver Jr. in Greene County Court but didnt enter a plea. The case was adjourned for 45 days. Paragallo remains free on $5,000 bail and has denied abusing the animals. If convicted of the misdemeanor counts, the Long Island resident could face up to two years in jail and $35,000 in fines.

State police raided Paragallos farm 20 miles south of Albany in April.

Paragallo, owner of 1996 Kentucky Derby favorite and fifth-place finisher Unbridleds Song, has started more than 4,500 horses and earned more than $20 million in purses.

Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird has returned to Saratoga Race Course to prepare for the $1 million Travers Stakes after having throat surgery to free an entrapped epiglottis.

Trainer Chip Woolley said the routine procedure, performed Tuesday morning by Dr. Patricia Hogan at the Ruffian Equine Medical Center across from Belmont Park, went perfectly. He said the 3-year-old gelding will resume training in a couple of days.

The condition, which can interfere with breathing, was discovered during a routine endoscopic examination following a workout Monday at Saratoga. The Travers is Aug. 29.