“Walk” runs with a purpose, plus notes

No racing at Laurel today — snow day! — which gives us a chance to catch up on the recent news from Maryland racing…

Walkwithapurpose cruises in the Caesar’s Wish. Photo by Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club.

Sagamore Farms homebred Walkwithapurpose continued to run with one on Saturday, dusting an overmatched field in the Caesar’s Wish Stake at Laurel.  Bettors pounded her down to 2-5, with plenty of money in the oversized show pool on her.  They were rewarded, as she dueled early with Ek Haseena, disposed of that one at the 3/8 pole, and steadily widened to a nine-length victory.  Seemingly overmatched stable mate Listen Boy rallied for second at 45-1.  That makes five straight for the three year-old filly; next up, the April 6 Twixt for state-breds at Pimlico, followed — they hope — by the G2 Black Eyed Susan on May 17…

For those curious, Caesar’s Wish was a Maryland-bred filly born in 1975 and trained by Dickie Small.  She won 11 of 16 career starts, including the 1978 Black Eyed Susan and Mother Goose…

Coulda been a big weekend for locally connected runners, but mostly it wasn’t.  Local trainers Mike Trombetta and Tim Tullock sent horses to the Grade 3 Gotham — Aqueduct’s prep for the Grade 1 Wood Memorial, itself a key prep for the Kentucky Derby — and, well, it didn’t go very well.  Ore Pass had a dismal trip featuring bumps and clipped heels and ended up last, while Amerigo Vespucci, last early, rallied mildly into seventh.  Meanwhile, out on the West Coast, Maryland-bred Richard’s Kid made no real impact on the Big Cap at Santa Anita, finishing sixth, while Called to Serve — whose tenuous local connection is that he’d won the Broad Brush at Laurel in December — ended up third, beat a nose for the place.  Of course, both horses, and everyone else in the field, were merely props to Game On Dude’s tour de force, as he blitzed the field by nearly eight lengths to win his second Big Cap…

Local training stalwart Chris Grove was suspended for six months and assessed a $5,000 fine by stewards at Charles Town.  Bubba de France, a horse in his barn, tested postive for Coramine, a stimulant listed as a Class 1 drug, meaning a drug with no known therapeutic purpose in horses and a high potential to affect the outcome of a race.  The word is that he will appeal…

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania horsefolk have received a double-shot of bad news in recent weeks.  Slot machine wagering is down statewide, including more than 14 percent at racinos in February versus the same period a year ago.  That means less money for the state’s Race Horse Development Fund, which may come up nearly $30 million short of projections for the fiscal year, which ends June 30.  At the same time, Governor Tom Corbett has proposed to shift $31 million from the fund to other state purposes — not as much as he proposed a year ago but considerably more than he actually managed to move.  That, say racing advocates, would be a double-whammy at a time when racing can ill afford it…