LOS ALAMITOS : Track Will Ask for Six Sunday Afternoon Dates

The battle is on for Southland horse racing fans between Los Alamitos and Hollywood Park.

In response to Hollywood Park’s recent announcement of thoroughbred racing on six Friday nights in June and July, Los Alamitos is planning to add six Sunday afternoon racing programs to the current harness meeting, which runs through July 27.

Lloyd Arnold, track president and general manager, said that plans are to add the last six Sundays of the meeting--June 16, 23 and 30 and July 7, 14 and 21. That will leave the tracks in direct competition for fans on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.

“We have to go to the (California Horse Racing) Board and get the OK,” Arnold said. “They want to be notified of what days we want.”

Arnold said it is not clear if the track will stop racing on Tuesday nights, or simply add another day to the calendar. Currently, the track races Tuesday through Saturday nights.

“It will be decided when we make the application, and that depends on our horse population,” said Arnold, referring to a virus that has circulated through the backstretch and has put many horses on the sidelines the last few weeks. “We think (Sunday racing) will help our attendance.”

During the 1990 summer quarter horse meeting, the same scenario developed and another day was added to the racing week.

Arnold also said that the 1991 California harness racing season will end at Los Alamitos in July.

“I don’t see anywhere (else) for us to race,” he said.

This year, standardbreds and quarter horses each have 24 weeks of racing at Los Alamitos.

Arnold said 1992 has not been discussed because an inter-track wagering bill for Southern California is still in negotiations.

Lexie remained undefeated Friday night with an impressive victory in an invitational handicap for fillies and mares. The 3-year-old filly has won 11 races and beat older, more experienced, fillies and mares last weekend.

She is owned by Ernest Hartman of Seaford, Del., and paced the mile in 1:56 4/5 with Abe Stoltzfus in the sulky. It was her first race since the Molly Pitcher at Freehold Raceway in New Jersey Sept. 22.

“She’s still got a winning attitude,” said Stoltzfus. “This filly is a super-gaited filly. She can pace an eighth (of a mile) in 13 seconds.”

Lexie left well-accomplished horses in her wake Friday. Doodlin, who has earned more than $383,000 in her career, was second and Cool Charm Girl, the 1990 aged mare champion at the summer-fall Los Alamitos harness meeting, was third. Stoltzfus said Lexie will race once more at Los Alamitos before being shipped to the East Coast for several stakes events.

“She’s really grown and filled out over the last two to three months,” Stoltzfus said. “She probably weighs another 150-200 pounds and is more mature. She doesn’t have a stake until the first of June, so I’d like to start her another time or two.”

Stoltzfus didn’t have as much luck with his other horses stable starts over the weekend. Good Girls Done was fourth in a non-posted invitational on Friday and Till We Meet Again ran sixth and last in Saturday’s invitational.

The virus that has caused so many scratches over the last two weeks was the reason only 10 races were scheduled for last Saturday’s program.

Normally, 13 races are run on Friday and Saturday nights. Last weekend, however, only 12 and 10 were scheduled. Officials are hoping to run 12 races this weekend and return to 13-race programs May 10-11.

“(Saturday) it took a third of our card away,” Arnold said. “Hopefully, within a week to 10 days, we’ll be back to normal.”

Racing Secretary Ron Goldman said the virus does not discriminate.

“Sometimes it’s just the babies and sometimes it was the New Zealand horses and not the California-breds, but this hit all of them,” he said.

“The (sick horses) are starting to come back. The virus is not one that seems to linger. You just have to wait out the two weeks.”

“What could have been a disaster has been a slight inconvenience,” he said. “Saturday night’s been our worst and we had to go to 10 races.”

One notable mare currently on the sidelines is Jiffy’s Girl, who won two filly and mare invitational handicaps in early April.

“We trained her on Tuesday (April 16) and she got sick that night,” said trainer Bob Johnson. “She probably won’t be ready to race for three or four weeks. It could be the first of June or maybe the end of May if she clears up soon.”

Johnson hoped to take Jiffy’s Girl to Freehold in May for the Guys and Dolls Pace, but those plans have been canceled.

Stanford Court won Saturday’s second division of the New Beginnings series’ second leg to go with his first leg victory April 20. Driver Gene Vallandingham said after the race that the 4-year-old will return this Saturday in the third leg and May 11 in the $20,000 final.

Stanford Court lowered his lifetime best to 1:56 3/5 as he edged odds-on favorite El Camino Real in the stretch.

“He’s getting better and better,” said Vallandingham. “I thought he’d do this as a 2-year-old but he’d always have minor problems pop up. He’s impressing me each week and I hope he keeps going. A lot of time, a horse will throw a good race and never get there again in his life. But he’s had three in a row, so hopefully he’ll stay there.”

Supreme Fashion took Saturday’s other division of the New Beginnings series for his second victory in seven starts. The filly-mare counterpart of the New Beginnings, the Coming Out series, did not fill last week, partly because of the virus and partly because of the low number of nominations.

Los Alamitos Notes

Joe Anderson had five winning drives on April 24, the most of any driver at this meeting. It was the third occasion in Anderson’s career that he had won five in a single night at Los Alamitos. . . . Typhoon Griz’s victory in Friday’s 10th race set meet records for highest win ticket, $118.60, and highest $2 trifecta--10-1-9--a combination worth $5,551.00.

Arnold. A $25,000 California Sires stakes for 3-year-old trotting colts highlights tonight’s program. The nine-horse field features Mighty Trouble, Sacramento Jim and Mad Milton. Stakes eliminations are scheduled Thursday through Saturday.