Horse Racing News on February 19, 2010

Zenyatta breezed six furlongs in 1:14 at Hollywood Park on Thursday, leaving trainer John Shirreffs with glowing compliments about the condition of his unbeaten champion.

The Louisiana Handicap on Jan. 23 essentially ended about 24.60 seconds after it began. That was the posted first quarter-mile split in the 1 1/16-mile dirt race, and out on the track, Friesan Fire was loping along by his lonesome.

There was a spring in the step of trainer Jonathan Sheppard in the Gulfstream Park stable area on Friday morning.

The Safety and Integrity Alliance of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association has accredited Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, the organization announced on Thursday.

Magna Entertainment, the bankrupt racing company, filed a reorganization plan on Thursday in a Delaware bankruptcy court that envisions the company transferring many of its most valuable assets to its parent company.

Trainer Phil Gleaves has an unenviable decision to make on Saturday.

Tampa Bay Downs will roll out the red carpet for a champion on Saturday when dual Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti comes to town to kick off his 2010 campaign in the $150,000 Tampa Bay Breeders Cup.

There are no stars, or even familiar names, among the nine probable starters for the $150,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita next Saturday. That could change as the Triple Crown trail progresses over the next 60 days.

Retired jockey Flavio Martinez III died in an Albuquerque, N.M., hospital on Feb. 17 after suffering a heart attack, according to his wife, Roberta. He was 51.

Trainer Todd Pletcher has decided not to appeal the 10-day suspension and $25,000 fine handed down last month by the California Horse Racing Board for a positive test for the anesthetic procaine in 2008.