In April, Conagher announced his presence with a 6 ¾-length blitzkrieg of a Keeneland allowance field. And just to remind everyone this is a 3-year-old to watch, Conagher nearly broke the Churchill Downs seven-furlong track record Friday. En route to his second allowance victory in as many starts, Conagher covered […]
Former Derby Prospect Emmanuel Ready for His Turf Close-Up
One week before several of his former Triple Crown trail rivals tackle the “Test of the Champion:†the Belmont Stakes, Emmanuel tackles his first turf test in Saturday’s Grade 2 Pennine Ridge at Belmont Park. The 1 1/8-mile trek along Belmont Park’s inner turf course serves as a key prep […]
This Cross Country Pick 5 Features Grade 1 Winner, Four Stakes Races
The return of a Grade 1 winner and an intriguing Grade 2 stakes race provide the highlight of this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s races come to horseplayers from Belmont Park and Churchill Downs. The aforementioned Grade 1 winner is Americanrevolution, who returns six […]
Wow Indeed: Wow Whata Summer Springs 83/1 Penn Mile Upset
Wow Whata Summer couldn’t even meet his $24,000 reserve price at the 2020 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. He came into Friday’s Grade 2 Penn Mile with one victory on the ledger – and that coming via disqualification. And now, he has a Grade 2 win on the […]
Unbeaten Annapolis Sets Sail for Penn National as the Penn Mile Favorite
Undefeated Annapolis takes center stage at a track that rarely takes center stage – Penn National – for Friday evening’s Grade 2 $400K Penn Mile. The Pennsylvania track holds court as the site of six stakes, including the $150K Penn Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. Annapolis makes his 3-year-old debut as […]
Tiz the Bomb Ready to Blow Up Again on His Preferred Turf Surface
Tiz the Bomb’s long-expected move to turf was formally announced Thursday when trainer Kenny McPeek said the versatile colt will begin his grass career with the Grade 1 $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational. That July 9, 1 1/4-mile race at Belmont Park opens the New York Racing Association’s Turf Triple […]
Kentucky Downs Announces Record Purses, Added Races
Kentucky Downs officials announced the boutique meet’s 2022 schedule, which features record purses, expanded stakes, and the richest maiden races in the world. The seven-day meet, which runs Sept. 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, and 14 over the all-turf, kidney-shaped track, offers 17 stakes worth a record $10.7 million. […]
Derby Winner Rich Strike Arrives in New York for Belmont Stakes
Rich Strike arrived at Belmont Park today, 10 days before the 154th Belmont Stakes. The surprise Kentucky Derby winner took a trot around the dirt training track before heading to the barn for a long nap. The Derby winner, along with exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes and outrider Juan Galvez and […]
Can Golden Glider Turn Back the Belmont Stakes Clock to Sir Winston?
Mark Casse figures if Sir Winston could do it, why not Golden Glider? Three years ago, the Hall of Fame trainer brought Sir Winston into the Belmont Stakes starting gate. The colt broke his maiden at Woodbine, then missed the board in two Kentucky Derby preps: the Tampa Bay Derby […]
Smooth Like Strait Looks Like the Right Fit in Shoemaker Mile
That Smooth Like Strait is the 4/5 morning line favorite for Monday’s Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita Park is understandable on several levels. Thirteen of them, to be precise. That’s the string of graded stakes races the 5-year-old turf terror brings into the second of Santa Anita’s three […]
Santa Anita Park’s Rainbow Six Expected to Hit $5 Million Monday
Santa Anita Park officials expect Monday’s 20 cent Rainbow Six jackpot to hit $5 million as horseplayers pile into the wager on a mandatory payout day. Nobody hit the wager Sunday, which requires holding a single ticket with six winners. That sends a $588,484 carryover into Monday’s 10-race Memorial Day […]
Hollywood Gold Cup: The Race Where Someone Wins Their First Grade 1
The Hollywood Gold Cup is the race movie stars attended and the race won by a movie star – Seabiscuit, who won the inaugural Gold Cup in 1938. It’s the race won by Triple Crown champions Affirmed and Citation, who retired after winning the 1951 edition. That race made him […]
Memorial Day Cross Country Pick 5 Offers Millionaire Duel, Sconsin Return
Four stakes races, including a festival of New York-bred races on the Belmont Park card, highlight a special Memorial Day Cross Country Pick 5. This special Cross Country Pick 5 features those Big Apple Showcase Day races at Belmont and two races from Churchill Downs. The Twin Spires plays host […]
Champion Apprentice Pyfer Wins Her First Stakes as Journeyman
In what would otherwise be a nice, but unremarkable Black-Type stakes race, Jessica Pyfer turned Saturday’s Snow Chief Stakes into one of the day’s feel-good racing stories. The reigning Champion Apprentice Jockey, Pyfer returned to the races eight days after being injured in a paddock accident to win her first […]
Sprinter Sconsin Returns to Paint Her Defense in Winning Colors
While Santa Anita Park and its three Grade 1s is the center of Monday’s racing universe, the return of multiple graded stakes winner Sconsin to the track opens another window into a possible presence on the older female front. The 5-year-old mare returns to the track for the first time […]
Cross Country Pick 5 Offers Several Deep Fields, Two Stakes
Two stakes races, one featuring a Breeders’ Cup board hitter, highlight Saturday’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5, which come to you from Belmont Park and Churchill Downs. This is the first of two Cross Country Pick 5s this weekend. The multi-race, multi-track wager resets Monday with stakes […]
Trainer Peter Miller Returns After Six Months On Hiatus
Peter Miller, who hasn’t raced a horse since Nov. 28, returns to the barn for the first time in six months when he sends out 3-year-old gelding Respect the Code for Sunday’s eighth race at Churchill Downs. The California-based trainer, who won nine training titles at Del Mar, took what […]
Breeders’ Cup Digs In, Creates Dirt Dozen Incentive Program
Further trying to incentivize participation in its dirt races, the Breeders’ Cup announced a participation bonus for connections of dirt horses – the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen. The 12-race program encompasses existing graded stakes races scheduled from now through October at six US tracks. The Dirt Dozen awards bonuses for […]
Brickyard Ride Goes for Five in Sunday’s Triple Bend Stakes
Standout sprinter Brickyard Ride has taken his connections on quite a journey this year, one continuing Sunday when he goes for his fifth consecutive stakes victory in the Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The 5-year-old son of Clubhouse Ride is on pace to win 12 stakes […]
One Bettor Solves Pimlico’s Rainbow 6 for Nearly $500K
A savvy horseplayer including 10/1 Sky of Gold on his ticket cracked Pimlico Race Course’s Rainbow 6 for $479,801.24 Thursday, ending an eight-day stretch of rollovers for the 20-cent wager. The last time someone solved the Rainbow 6 occurred on May 8, the closing day for Laurel Park’s spring meet. Outside […]