SPORTS THURSDAY -- GOLDEN GATE FIELDS
BAZE, GARCIA INVOLVED IN DEAD-HEAT
FOR WIN IN OPENING-DAY FEATURE AT GGF
ALBANY -- The rivalry between Hall of Famer Russell Baze and apprentice Martin Garcia picked up at Golden Gate Fields where it left off at Bay Meadows as the two riders saw their mounts dead-heat for the win in the opening-day feature of the 2006 GGF spring meeting.
Baze and Garcia both won 47 races at Bay Meadows to share the riding crown at the Holiday Meet. Wednesday, the duo shared the purse in the $29,000 main event when their mounts hit the wire simultaneously in a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares.
Charlenesuperblend, ridden by Baze, and Princess Lianna, ridden by Garcia, were timed in 1:10.22. Charlenesuperblend paid $3.20 to win while Princess Lianna returned $4.20.
Charlenesuperblend and Princess Lianna – both 5-year-old mares – hail from the top barns of Jerry Hollendorfer and Art Sherman, respectively. Charlenesuperblend earned her eighth win in 15 starts. Princess Lianna notched her fifth victory in 16 races.
Baze jumped to an early 3-1 lead over Garcia and the rest of the jockey colony on
Day 1 of the 65-day spring session. The only rider to win more than one race on opening day, Baze also took the second race with Go On Orange ($5.60) and the fifth with Pragmatico (9.60).
PICK SIX HIT FOR $1.2 MILLION AT SANTA ANITA -- There were two perfect tickets in the Pick Six at Santa Anita Wednesday and each was worth $1,258,755.
Five of six was good for $2,742. Spurred by a carryover of $751,394, fans across the nation bet more than $3 million into the Pick Six Wednesday.