Horse Racing Capsules: Bittel Road wins Big A's Monarch's Maze Stakes

NEW YORK — Bittel Road beat Pitched Perfectly by one length Friday in the $70,700 Monarch’s Maze Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.

The race, originally scheduled for the turf, was shifted to the main track following heavy overnight rain. Bittel Road, running for the first time on dirt after nine races on either grass or synthetic tracks, made a smooth transition to the new surface for his fourth win in 10 starts.

In his first race since May 1, Bittel Road ran the one mile on the fast track in 1:36.80 with John Velazquez aboard. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Bittel Road paid $7.10, $4.60 and $2.70. Pitched Perfectly returned $9.80 and $4.30. Retriever paid $2.50 to show.

Haven’s Honey wins Churchill Downs feature

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Haven’s Honey pulled past three leaders at the eighth pole to win the $44,098 Klein Family Learning Center Purse for fillies and mares Friday at Churchill Downs.

The 4-year-old daughter of E Dubai, ridden by Calvin Borel, finished a length in front of Perfect for You after racing 1 1/6 miles in 1:45.88.

She paid $15, $6.60 and $4, while Perfect for You returned $3.60 and $2.60. Susies Gal was 4¾ lengths back and paid $2.80 to show.

Haven’s Honey, owned by Cindy Jones, earned $24,780 to increase her career total to $166,134 for her fifth win in 15 starts.