Horse Racing: Senator Ken Maddy at Hollywood Race Track
Oak Tree annual meet is taking place at the Hollywood Park this year. The event is 42 years old and has always been taking place at Santa Anita race track. The race track at Santa Anita was declared unsafe by the trainers and owners and thus the venue of
the event was moved to the Hollywood Park.
The event starts from the 30th of September, the first race being the Senator Ken Maddy Handicap which is a Grade III race and will be run on turf. The race was run over a distance of 6 and a half furlongs at Santa Anita, but since the configuration
of the race track at Hollywood is different from that of Santa Anita, the total distance to be run is reduced to 6 furlongs. The race will have nine contenders, the most significant being Unzip Me, a racehorse bred in California and trained by Marty Jones.
The Oak Tree event will last for 22 days and 13 graded races will take place during this course of time. The first of these graded races is the Sen. Ken Maddy. Six of the seven grade I stakes will conclude on the first weekend of the meet that will continue
through the 31st of October. Sen. Ken Maddy Handicap carries a purse of $ 100,000. Its importance is over shadowed by the more significant race scheduled for this weekend, the Lady’s Secret Stakes which carries a purse of $ 250,000. The race will
run over a cushion track and is a much anticipated race for the undefeated Zenyatta. This race will be Zenyatta’s 19th undefeated career race.
The other Grade I races that are scheduled for this weekend also include the Norfolk Stakes, also to be run on a Cushion track and carrying purse money of $ 250,000. Goodwood Stakes is a race for older horses and will be run over a distance of 1 1/6 miles
on a cushion track. Goodwood and Yellow Ribbon Stakes are both open for older horses and carry a purse money of $ 250,000. The latter iss however run on a turf track of 1 ¼ miles.
The other two Grade I races that are scheduled to take place on the 3rd of October includes the Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship and the Oak Leaf Stakes. The former will be run over a turf track, while the latter will be run over a cushion
track.
The last Grade I race of the meet is scheduled to take place on the 9th of October. This race is the $ 250,000 Ancient Title Stakes, open for older race horses over a distance of six furlongs on a cushion track.
The event will be kicked off by a race that will take place in the dark. Other dates on which the races will take place in the dark are the October 8th, 21st, 22nd, 28th and the 29th.
The most significant race horses that will be contending the Sen. Ken Maddy are Unzip Me and Dosty Jean. The duo will be running together for the eighth time at Hollywood Park.
The horse named 'Unzip Me' is owned by Per Antonsen and has been bred by John Harris and Don Valpredo. It is the first race that the horse will be running after the Royal North Grade III race that took place on the 2nd of August at Woodbine. The
filly is a two time grass winner.
Dosty Jean, on the other hand is the daughter of Lit de Justice and is owned by AJM Racing and JBK Stable.
One of the other contenders of the Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes is Rafael Bejarano, carrying a weight of 124 pounds. Alpha Kitten will be running her first turf race. Bred by Jerry and Ann Moss and trained by John Sadler, Tale of the Cat is also a four year contender
of the race. The most significant victory that the filly made was in the Santa Ynez Grade II event which took place at Santa Anita last year. The trainer is looking forward to his third victory in the Maddy.
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