$65,000 Bing Crosby Handicap at Del Mar : American Legion Wins as Lukas Has a Big Day

No matter where you looked Saturday, a horse trained by Wayne Lukas was in the winner’s circle.

Lukas, who has been the leading trainer in the country for the past three years, already had a toothy smile on his face before Del Mar ran the $65,000 Bing Crosby Handicap.

In the East, where Wayne’s son, Jeff, supervises the operation, the Lukas barn won the $313,800 Philip H. Iselin Handicap at Monmouth Park with Roo Art.

At Saratoga, the Lukases clicked with Gene’s Lady in the Revidere Handicap. If Gene’s Lady were a player in a team sport, she would ask management to renegotiate her contract. The Revidere was the 63rd career start for the 5-year-old mare.

Wayne Lukas figured that the wins at Monmouth and Saratoga, plus a third-place finish by Lady’s Secret in the Iselin and a second by Fuzzy in the Bold Reason Handicap at Saratoga, were worth about $362,000 to his owners.

He was able to add $38,000 to that total when American Legion scored a 2 3/4-length win in the Crosby before 23,955 fans.

The Lukas barn has won more than $7 million in purses this year and seems likely to break the record of $11.1 million that the far-flung operation set last year.

Favored Bold Brawley, the only 3-year-old in the Crosby and trying to become the first horse of that age to win the stake since Messenger of Song in 1975, couldn’t hold the lead in the stretch and finished second, a half-length ahead of Triple Sec.

But the stewards, who had already had a busy day with two inquiries and one disqualification, moved Triple Sec back to fourth place for bumping near the wire and gave third to Ondarty.

The Crosby was reduced to a seven-horse race with the scratches of Rosie’s K.T., American Standard and Santa Rosa Prince. Rosie’s K.T., the 5-2 favorite on the morning line, didn’t run because of a foot infection.

American Legion, timed in 1:08 1/5, the fastest time for six furlongs at Del Mar this season, paid $8, $3.60 and $3. Bold Brawley’s mutuels were $3.20 and $2.60, and Ondarty’s show price was $3.40.

American Legion, who had run for expensive claiming prices--between $80,000 and $100,000--earlier this year, won his 12th race in 41 lifetime starts and increased his career earnings to more than $300,000.

A 6-year-old son of Grey Legion and Fly the Green who is owned by Melvin Hatley, American Legion won five straight sprints at Hollywood Park this year before he finished seventh in an allowance race at Del Mar on July 27.

Lukas took the blame for the Del Mar race. “I made a mistake running him a mile on the turf,” he said. “That just isn’t his game. He’s a sprinter all the way. But he was going so good that I thought I’d try it. Now he’s back in gear again.”

Eddie Delahoussaye, who lost a win on a disqualification earlier in the day, rode American Legion.

“Wayne got a little nervous,” Delahoussaye said. “He thought I was a little too far out of it. I told him that they were really rolling up front. When I hit him midway through the turn, he really accelerated.”

The only starts Bold Brawley has lost in a five-race career have come at Del Mar. He made his debut as a 2-year-old here last summer, running third.

Bold Brawley didn’t run again until this May at Hollywood Park, where he won three straight by combined margins of 20 lengths.

“He had a minor problem, a bruised foot, which was one of the reasons he didn’t run all that time,” said Ron Ellis, who is the second leading trainer at Del Mar this year. “Also, he was as big as a 2-year-old as he is now and we didn’t want to rush him.”

Frank Olivares, riding Bold Brawley because Chris McCarron was at Monmouth for a second-place ride on Precisionist in the Iselin, didn’t have any excuses.

“He ducked in a little out of the gate, but it didn’t seem to make much difference,” Olivares said.

The disqualification of Triple Sec was the capper to a frustrating day for Pincay, who had five second-place finishes.

“My horse ducked out when I hit him,” Pincay said. “I grabbed him, but it was too late.”

Lukas won’t win a stake here today because he doesn’t have a horse entered in the $125,000 Del Mar Derby. But stand by for bulletins from Saratoga, where Jeff Lukas saddles Clever Allemont in the Forego Handicap.

Horse Racing Notes

Bill Shoemaker, who rode Roo Art to the win in the Iselin, will be back at Del Mar today, aboard Mazaad in the Del Mar Derby. Eddie Delahoussaye has a chance to sweep the weekend stakes, riding favored Vernon Castle in the race. . . . Two Del Mar jockeys are ailing--Alex Solis is out for about two weeks with a fractured rib, and Santiago Soto has missed three days with a sore ankle. . . . Trainer Ron McAnally, who is leading the Del Mar season with nine wins, said John Henry acts as though he knows he’s been retired again. “He’s had his head down in his stall, he knows something’s going on,” McAnally said of the 11-year-old gelding. . . . Leonard Lavin has been visiting Del Mar from Florida for a week and a half and he’s seen five of his starters win, including Sign Off in the third race Saturday. Earlier in the season, however, a car belonging to Lavin’s son was hit by a falling eucalyptus tree and caused $5,300 in damages.