Brian Robin

Muck Rack profile
Factor This won the Muniz Memorial Classic at Fair Grounds in record time. He's looking for his fourth Grade 2 win in as many tracks at Saturday's Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale Stakes. (Image: Lou Hodges/Hodges Photography)

Fort Lauderdale Stakes Makes the Grade as Great Handicapper’s Race

Somehow, the Fort Lauderdale Stakes slipped through the grading cracks. How else to explain Saturday’s $200,000 turf battle at Gulfstream Park being “only” a Grade 2? With this field – eight of the 10 horses in Saturday’s Fort Lauderdale are stakes winners, six of those graded – the Fort Lauderdale […]

Gulfstream Park is pondering installing a synthetic track, like this Polytrack Del Mar used from 2007-14. The new surface would take stress off Gulfstream Park's turf course. (Image: San Diego Union-Tribune)

Gulfstream Park Considering Going the Synthetic Track Course

Gulfstream Park officials are considering adding a synthetic Tapeta track to its dirt and turf courses, a move that would make the Florida track the first racecourse in North America to offer three different surfaces: dirt, turf, and synthetic. Aidan Butler, The Stronach Group’s COO, told Thoroughbred Daily News they […]

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, you won't be able to walk to the Santa Anita Park window to bet and cash winning tickets. But the Southern California track has you covered with a smorgasbord of wagers on its upcoming Winter/Spring Meet. (Image: Mario Tama/Getty)

No Spectators? No Problem as Santa Anita Offers Myriad of Wagers

Santa Anita Park unveiled a betting menu for its upcoming Winter/Spring Meet that includes North America’s lowest takeout on win-place-show bets, and its popular 20 cent Rainbow Pick Six Jackpot wager. The iconic Southern California track announced a 15.43% takeout on all $2 win, place, and show wagers. That’s the […]

Mutamakina (4) edged Traipsing to win the Long Island Stakes. Both horses are trained by Christophe Clement, who won the Aqueduct training title. (Image: Chelsea Durand/Coglianese Photo)

Aqueduct Records Daily Handle Increase During Shortened Fall Meet

Aqueduct continued the trend of spectator-free racetracks racking up handle increases, reporting a 12.8% increase in average daily, all-sources handle for its just-completed fall meet. The New York Racing Association announced Aqueduct checked in with an average daily handle of $9,261,276. This daily increase came despite a drop in overall […]

Instilled Regard won his first graded stakes race on the turf in the Ft. Lauderdale Stakes last December. He turned into a standout turf horse over his career. (Image: Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photo)

Instilled Regard Reinvents Himself Again, Retires to Stud

Instilled Regard, a horse who illustrated the upside of redefining himself, retired Tuesday, his owners OXO Equine LLC announced. And, according to OXO Equine, Instilled Regard already has his first date. That would be Blue Prize, the three-time Grade 1-winning Argentinian mare. She is currently in foal to Into Mischief, […]

Kendrick Carmouche still hasn't come down from his first Grade 1 win, piloting True Timber to the Cigar Mile winner's circle last Saturday. Carmouche won his first NYRA riding title during Aqueduct's fall meet. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Carmouche Breaks Into Big Time with First NYRA Riding Crown

Between 2008 and 2011, Kendrick Carmouche won seven riding titles at Parx, outside Philadelphia, staking his claim as that track’s dominant jockey and earning a spot in its Hall of Fame. But that was at Parx; a nice track, but a track out in the riding provinces. Now, Carmouche is […]

Bodexpress became a YouTube sensation for dumping jockey John Velazquez at the start of the 2019 Preakness Stakes. But the horse matured into a Grade 1 winner before his sudden retirement. (Image: John McDonnell/Washington Post via AP)

Preakness Punchline Turned Clark Stakes Winner Bodexpress Retired

Bodexpress, who went from comedic punchline to Grade 1 winner, was retired late Sunday night, nine days after the biggest win of his career. Trainer and part-owner Gustavo Delgado tweeted out a message late Sunday night that the colt suffered “a career-ending injury.” That injury was described as a swollen […]

Brooklyn Strong splashed home by a neck in Saturday's Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct. This earned the 2-year-old gelding an odds cut on both Circa Sports and William Hill Nevada's Kentucky Derby Futures Boards. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

In a New York Minute, Brooklyn Strong Moves Up Derby Futures Board

They ran the Remsen Stakes, a Grade 2 race for 2-year-olds at Aqueduct on Saturday. Forget that the Remsen hasn’t produced a Kentucky Derby winner in 25 years because, despite that, the race impacted this week’s Kentucky Derby futures markets. How big an impact? Not only did Remsen winner Brooklyn […]

Knicks Go's record-setting win in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile marked one of November's racing highlights. Handle dipped slightly during the month year over year. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Despite Breeders’ Cup, Betting Handles Down During November

Despite the betting bonanza that is the Breeders’ Cup, November’s Thoroughbred betting handle dipped more than 6% from its 2019 numbers according to Equibase’s monthly report on Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing. The drop can be attributed to an 8% dip in Breeders’ Cup handle from its record numbers in […]

Princess Noor won two graded stakes races in her short career, including the Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita Park. That career ended Saturday after the juvenile filly suffered an injury. (Image: Benoit Photo

Standout Juvenile Princess Noor Retired After Suffering Leg Injury

One day after she was pulled up in the Starlet Stakes, standout 2-year-old filly Princess Noor was retired with a soft-tissue injury. Zedan Racing, Princess Noor’s owner, broke the news about the $1.35 million purchase in a statement issued Sunday morning. “She’s a star and a very talented filly,” Zedan […]

Luis Saez won six races in a day for the second time at Gulfstream Park. He won five of the nine Claiming Crown races. (Image: Coady Photography/Churchill Downs)

Saez Claims Himself a Six-Pack of Victories on Claiming Crown Day

On a day where Gulfstream Park set a handle record for its Claiming Crown series of races, two-time Gulfstream Park riding champion Luis Saez captured six of the track’s 11 races on Saturday. Saez, who won the Gulfstream Park riding titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18, won five of the nine […]

Astute sung a 7 1/2-length victory tune in the Desi Arnaz Stakes. She goes for her first Grade 1 victory in Saturday's Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos. (Image: Benoit Photography)

Which Starlet Will Reign Supreme Among These Precocious Fillies?

Bob Baffert rarely tastes defeat in the Starlet Stakes, which makes him the perfect trainer to put the crown back on Princess Noor’s head in Saturday’s Grade 1 Starlet at Los Alamitos. To do that, Princess Noor will not only have to beat two of her Baffert stablemates in the […]

Performer is 5-for-6 lifetime, including his lone graded stakes victory last year in the Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct. He is the 7/5 morning line favorite to win the Grade 1 Cigar Mile. (Image: Coglianese Photo)

Performer, King Guillermo, Firenze Fire Make for a Smooth Cigar Mile

King Guillermo is back for the Cigar Mile, seven months after he last entered a starting gate. You’ve also got sprinting standout Firenze Fire stretching out to a mile. And your Cigar Mile favorite – Performer – makes only his second start in 11-½ months. When it comes to betting […]

There's a good chance that Gulfstream Park races like this will start at or near post time. The Florida track wants to eliminate post-time drag -- starting races at or near schedule post times. (Image: Gulfstream Park)

Set Your Watches to Wager as Gulfstream Ends Post-Time Drag

Gulfstream Park wasted little time in between races on Wednesday, setting a novel precedent at the South Florida track in starting races as close to the listed post times as possible. On the track’s opening day, Gulfstream Park officials made a concerted effort to eliminate what’s known as “post-time drag.” […]

Yes, jockey Frankie Dettori is No. 1 again -- for the fourth time in six years. The Italian-born, British rider was named the World's Top Jockey by the International (Edward Whitaker)

Dettori Named World’s Best Jockey for the Third Consecutive Year

What’s been a given in Europe became a given throughout the world when Frankie Dettori captured the title of World’s Best Jockey for the third consecutive year in 2020. The award came from the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). The award isn’t subjective. It’s based on a rider’s performances […]

Circa Sports opened Essential Quality as the 10/1 favorite in its 2021 Kentucky Derby Futures Board. The downtown Las Vegas property went live with its Derby futures Wednesday. (Image: Godolphin)

Circa Sports Opens its 2021 Kentucky Derby Futures Board

The first Circa Sports 2021 Kentucky Derby Futures bet came in on favored Essential Quality at 10/1 The second came shortly thereafter. It went down on second-favorite Life Is Good – at 12/1. And with that, another Derby futures market was open for business. Circa opened its 2021 Kentucky Derby […]

Firenze Fire, seen here winning the True North Stakes at Belmont Park, owns two victories at Aqueduct. He's a strong contender for Saturday's Cigar Mile at the Big A. (Image: Chelsea Durand/NYRA)

Have a Grade 1 Cigar as You Handicap This Weekend’s Graded Stakes

New York’s final Grade 1 race of 2020 headlines this weekend’s bicoastal slate of graded stakes races, coming to you from Aqueduct and Southern California’s Los Alamitos. The Cigar Mile is that Grade 1 farewell from New York. The $250,000 race for 3-year-olds and up is Aqueduct’s flagship winter race. […]

The $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational is one of 36 graded stakes on Gulfstream Park's 2020-21 Championship Meet schedule. The south Florida track opens its 84-day meet Wednesday. (Image: Getty)

Gulfstream Park Championship Meet Opens with No Fans, Rich Stakes

Gulfstream Park opens its 2020-21 Championship Meet on Wednesday without spectators, but with a stakes schedule that – aside from several stops on the Road to the Kentucky Derby – offers one of North America’s richest races. Headlining Gulfstream’s 75 stakes races – 36 graded – is the $3 million […]

Furosimide, sold under the name Salix or Lasix, prevents pulmonary bleeding in horses. It is now banned in all Kentucky Derby points races, along with the Derby itself. (Image: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse)

You’ll See a Lasix-Free Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks in 2021

The 2021 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks will mark the first time in the history of those prestigious races that horses may run without furosemide, better known by its brand name Lasix. The ban on the powerful anti-bleeding medication, widely employed at tracks all over the country, extends to the […]

Life Is Good sprinted up the Kentucky Derby futures betting boards. His next test is likely at January's Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Life Is Good’s Next Stop: The Derby Trail’s Sham Stakes

The same day that 2-year-old sensation Life Is Good became the favorite in the first Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool, trainer Bob Baffert said he’s likely to run next in the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park. Baffert told the Thoroughbred Daily News that Life Is Good will join the […]