Jockey Martin Bourdieu sustained multiple serious injuries in a spill Saturday at Turf Paradise.
 
Bourdieu, 44, was aboard Starz Decoy in a 300 yard Quarter Horse allowance race, when he was put in tight quarters by Matts Corona ridden by Luis Yescas, Jr. Bourdieu’s mount clipped the heels of Matts Corona, stumbled, throwing Bourdieu to the ground. Matts Corona would go on to finish third, but was disqualified and unplaced by the Stewards.
 
Bourdieu, originally for Cordoba, Argentina, was rushed to Honor Health Deer Valley Medical Center, located minutes from the race track, where he underwent surgery for a broken femur. Further surgery is being considered for two punctured lungs and several broken ribs.
 
No horses were injured in the race.

The red hot trainer Shawn Davis and winning-touch leading rider Francisco Arrieta won two of the three stakes over Thanksgiving weekend at Turf Paradise
 
$30,000 City of Phoenix
Kicking off the three-day, post-Thanksgiving holiday weekend was Friday’s City of Phoenix for fillies and mare at 6 furlongs.
 
From the get-go, it was a match race between leading trainer Robertino Diodoro’s duo entries of Time and Chance and last year’s winner and favorite Fight to Glory. The former, with leading rider Francisco Arrieta up, got the half-length victory over a game stablemate, who relinquished the lead inside the sixteenth pole. It was another three lengths back to Paddy’s Secret who finished third in the field of seven.
 
Time and Chance ($11.20) covered the 6-furlongs in 1:09.17 for her fifth win in 14 outings. Racing for Fitch Racing Stable, the 5-year-old Time and Chance earned $18,228 to bring her career earnings to $100,633.
 
$30,000 Queen of the Green
In a catch-me-if-you-can performance prohibitive 1-2 favorite Medaglia Gold and Scott Stevens kept daylight between themselves and six filly and mare rivals to win the one mile turf test by 2 ¾ lengths with I Came to Praise finishing second and Boomerang Miss third.
 
Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams and trained by 50% win percentage horsemen Shawn Davis, the 3-year-old Medaglia Gold ($3.00), who was winning her fourth consecutive start, raced the 8 furlongs over firm turf in 1:36.27 for her fifth win in 14 starts for earnings of $119,717.
 
$30,000 Walter Cluer Memorial
Trainer Davis came right back in the Walter Cluer with an explosive performance by Consumerconfidence ($13.60) and the second stakes win of the weekend by Arrieta.
The 5-year-old son of Quality Road shot putted from a congealed pack of horses as the field turned for home, and then romped to a 4 ¼ length victory over a troubled-trip Thetrailerguy with He’s Munnie in the field of ten 3-year-olds and up.
 
Owned by Davis and Frank Bemis, Consumerconfidence raced the one mile (turf) in 1:36.47 for his fifth win in 22 career outings for earnings of $127,435.

Three Stake races and sweatshirt give-a-way will be featured over the three-day Thanksgiving weekend at Turf Paradise.
 
The weekend kicks off Friday with special live racing and Two Dollar Day, featuring $2 Grandstand Admission, Hot Dogs, Ice Cream, Popcorn and Soda; plus $2 domestic draft beer.
 
Saturday, the first 4,000 patrons will receive a free horse racing designed sweatshirt. There will be free multiple bounce inflatables for the kids and live music by the popular Doc and Gal.
 
Sunday will be Fiesta Sunday with live Mexican music and plenty of tacos, burritos, carnitas, elotes and churros. Grandstand admission and general parking will be $5 each.
 
Friday’s stakes race will be the $30,000 City of Phoenix, which attracted a field of eight fillies and mares for the 6-furlong sprint, including last year’s winner Fight to Glory.
 
Saturday highlights two stakes race: the $30,000 Queen of the Green and $30,000 Walter Cluer.  Both races will be run at one mile over the turf course.
 
The Queen of the Green lured a field of seven fillies and mares, including two-time winner Hip Ninety Three.
 
Named after Turf Paradise founder, the Walter Cluer attracted a competitive full-field of 12 which sport 52 accumulative career wins for the eight furlong test.

Upset on his mind, Minister of Soul would not be denied, winning the $30,000 Luke Kruytbosch Stakes Saturday at Turf Paradise.
 
Deftly handle by Glenn Corbett, Minister of Soul ($23.00) tracked the pace-setting Kaabraaj and went on to post a diminishing neck victory over a fasty-closing Leadem in Ken with the favored Bourbon Cowboy third. Kaabraaj, who won this race the past two years, tired to finish fourth in the field of six sprinters. 
 
Owned and trained by Esteban Martinez, Minister of Soul coverd the 6-furlongs in a sprightly 1:09.3 for his fourth win in eights outings.

Bienvenidos winner Izzy the Warrior will face familiar faces when he seeks his second stakes win in a row in the $30,000 Luke Kruytbosch Stakes Saturday at Turf Paradise.
 
The 6-furlong Kruytbosch attracted a field of seven, four of which (Bourbon Cowboy, Creative Art, Freedom Hill and Kaabraaj) experienced defeat by Izzy the Warrior in Opening Day’s Bienvenidos Stakes. The two newcomers are Leadem in Ken and Minister of Soul, both of which deserve a look.
 
Racing for the current leaders of their respective divisions, trainer Roberto Diodoro and jockey Francisco Arrieta, Izzy the Warrior stalked the early pace, saving ground along the rail, and then pounced late to win by a game half-length. The 5-year-old has won six of 18 outings for a bankroll of $158,457.
 
Leadem in Ken, who has won 14 of 37 efforts, campaigned from June thru September at Albuquerque and Remington Park, winning a handicap stakes in New Mexico and finishing second in the $159 grand David Vance stakes in Oklahoma. The 8-year old has won three of five starts locally and finished third in this race last year, and leads all entrants with a bankroll of $403,763.
 
Minister of Soul won his allowance debut at Turf October 21. The lightly raced 4-year-old has won three of four outings.

$ 2 Dollar Day Friday. Free Sweatshirts On Saturday. Sunday Fiesta Day

You don’t have to spend Thanksgiving weekend fighting the crowds at the malls. That’s why we have Amazon, gift cards at supermarkets, and Turf Paradise. Because after eating half your body weight in turkey and trimmings it’s time to get out of the house and get to the track for a weekend of fun for you, your family, and those relatives who are staying with you longer than you expected.
 
Turf Paradise has three days of exciting and inexpensive family fun. And we’re giving away free sweatshirts.
 
$2 Day Friday November 23rd
It’s the day after Thanksgiving. There’s no law that says you have to spend it shopping for stuff you don’t want or need. What you need to do is spend the day at Turf Paradise for $2 Day. There’s a full card of live local horseracing where you can watch, wager and win.  Grandstand admission is $2 Friday.  So are hotdogs, popcorn, soda, and ice cream. Kids 16 and under get in free. General parking is free. There’s also $2 draft beer, $2 wine, $4 Vodka drinks and a live DJ.
 
Family Fun Day November 24th
There’s no need to spend the Saturday after Thanksgiving cooped up in your home arguing politics with your brother-in-law. Spread the warmth instead with a free sweatshirt. Grandstand admission is $3. Kids 16 and under get in free and the first 4,000 paid admissions get a free Turf Paradise sweatshirt. There’s a full card of live horse racing featuring The Queen of the Green Stakes and the Walter Cluer Memorial Stakes. There’s also live music and a kids fun park with bounce house inflatables. Plus $3 aluminum bottle beer.
 
 
 
Sunday Fiesta Day November 25th
It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving and your thanksgiving leftovers have been reduced to a turkey neck, half a wing, and a slab of green bean casserole that seems to have changed color. Why not celebrate the last day of the holiday at Turf Paradise for Fiesta Sunday where you can enjoy Mexican food and drink specials and live Mexican music. Grandstand admission is just $5 and kids 16 and under get in free. There will be a full card of live horse racing, including some of the best quarter horse racing in the southwest.

Turf Paradise General Manager Vince Francia said, “A cold beer, a warm breeze, and red hot horseracing. What better way to spend Thanksgiving weekend?”
 
Turf Paradise opened its doors in 1956 and has operated at the same location (19th Avenue and Bell) ever since making it Arizona’s first sports franchise.