Playfair To Finish

Although the horse population is down to 561, and some of the 561 are sore, Playfair Race Course has enough stock to complete its scheduled 50-day season, director of racing Ted Martin said Monday.

Reacting to rumors that a lack of competitive horses could force the Spokane track to close prior to its scheduled Nov. 27 getaway day, Martin said plans are to remain open for the assigned 50 days.

That’s assuming track and weather conditions remain acceptable, Martin added.

“We dropped down to some short fields (Monday), but I feel pretty good about the rest of the meet,” he said. “Negativism is killing this industry. We’re here. We’ll be here next year. I’m not concerned about that.”

Leaders dominate

With eight days left on the racing calendar, the top two contenders in the jockey and trainer standings are dominating their competition.

Jason Eads and Darrell Brinkerhoff are far in front of the jockey standings. Eads has been aboard 74 winners. Brinkerhoff, enjoying the best of his four Spokane campaigns, is easily second with 58.

Bruce Wagar and Ray Tracy Jr. are dominating the trainer standings. Wagar, whose daughter Annette is listed as assistant, has 27 wins. Tracy, who won last week’s Spokane Futurity, has won 20 races.

, DataTimes