by Anne Doolin, Director of Publicity & Marketing/The Red Mile

Lexington, KY — There were three qualifiers Saturday morning at the Red Mile, which is still months away from its 130th season of racing (July 30 through October 9), but those three events were loaded with quality performers.

In the first, Breeders Crown runner-up Delmartha, with Dan Shetler in the bike, took on several pacers and finished second by a head in 1:59 to Life Sign sophomore Victory Dot Com. The four-year-old daughter of Conway Hall, owned and trained by Jack Gray, Jr. of Burgin, Kentucky, was making her second qualifying appearance of the year.

“We hope to take her to Hoosier to race next week, and her first stakes race is the Classic Series at Dover April 19,” said Gray. “We gave her a month off after the Breeders Crown, and then started back with her. She had a bad time with ulcers all last year, but she’s good now.”

Trainer Pete Foley, who has some 30 head in winter training at the Red Mile, qualified six horses including 2003 Adios winner Armbro Animate. The four-year-old Artsplace gelding, owned by Martin Scharf of Lawrence, New York, is one of several that trainer Mark Ford has sent to Foley from the east coast. Last week, Foley qualified Gallo Blue Chip at the Red Mile before sending him back for his Meadowlands engagements.

“Armbro Animate will probably race a couple of times at Hoosier Park before he goes back east, and Mark is sending me Will Sikes to replace him. He’s a nice horse too, and he’s an Indiana-bred,” said Foley.

Foley was aboard Street Sign, a five-year-old Life Sign gelding, who won the second qualifier in a brisk 1:55³ by a neck over Armbro Animate, who was driven by Dan Shetler.

Art’s Chip, one of last year’s top sophomore pacers, made his first 2004 appearance on the track a winning one, taking the final qualifying race in 1:57 with trainer Mark Evers in the bike. He scored by a length over the five-year-old Abercrombie mare Stardate Hall, another Foley trainee.

“I’m hoping he gets an invitation to the Dan Patch at Hoosier, but I know it’s going to be close to get him ready,” said Evers. “We had a tough time keeping on schedule with weather. We took him into Hoosier to train the last two Saturdays.”

Evers said the Artsplace horse, who is out of Athena Blue Chip, has a number of stakes in New Jersey and Canada on his dance card.

“He’ll probably be up east for close to six weeks,” he said. “I haven’t decided whether I’ll leave him with someone there, or send someone with him and go back and forth myself.”

Art’s Chip banked $277,189 last season, and took a mark of 1:52² at Indianapolis.