Horse Racing

At 5.25/1, Uncharacteristic captured the Manitoba Derby on a record wagering day at Assiniboia Downs. Horseplayers wagered more than $2.5 million on the card, with more than $1.4 million going toward a Jackpot Pick 5 (Image: Twitter/@staylorsports)

Record Handle Chases Manitoba Derby Day Jackpot Pick 5

Nobody picked a unique winning ticket for Monday’s Manitoba Derby Day Jackpot Pick 5, which didn’t prevent horseplayers from wagering a record $2,542,309 on Assiniboia Downs’ Manitoba Derby Day card. The cash avalanche included a record $1,488,795 coming in on the Jackpot Pick 5. That cash chased a $1 million […]

Unbeaten Life Is Good expects to return for the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Aug. 28 at Saratoga. Likely foes include Jackie's Warrior, Drain the Clock and Following Sea. (Image: Horsephotos)

How Strong is This? Life Is Good Returning Against Jackie’s Warrior

It takes a lot to upstage the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, but undefeated Life Is Good facing standout one-turn artist Jackie’s Warrior in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Handicap could be the best race on the Aug. 28 Travers Day card at Saratoga. According to the Daily Racing […]

Monomoy Girl (6) lost this duel to Letruska (inside) in April's Grade 1 Apple Blossom. The Champion Older Female hasn't run since and isn't expected back until December. (Image: Coady Photography)

Recovering Monomoy Girl Doubtful for Breeders’ Cup Distaff Defense

While she returned under tack to WinStar Farm, defending Breeders’ Cup Distaff champion Monomoy Girl is doubtful for this year’s Breeders’ Cup. The two-time event champion and current Champion Older Female has been out since mid-April, recovering from muscle strains and hamstring issues. BloodHorse reported that Monomoy Girl isn’t expected […]

Trainer Kenny McPeek is not smiling after seven of his horses were denied entry into various Saratoga races this week. His stable emerged from a 21-day quarantine Monday. (Image: Sarah Andrew)

McPeek Files Request for Hearing After Several Entries Denied

Even with the quarantine for Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) lifted on Monday, trainer Kenny McPeek filed a hearing request with the New York State Gaming Commission after several of his horses were denied entry into early-week races at Saratoga. BloodHorse reported that attorney Andrew Mollica filed the request on McPeek’s behalf […]

Assiniboia Downs put up $1 million for a single Pick 5 ticket on Manitoba Derby Day. That is the Winnipeg-area's flagship race. (Image: Assiniboia Downs)

Assiniboia Downs Puts Up $1 Million for Manitoba Derby Day Pick 5

Assiniboia Downs decided to celebrate Monday’s Manitoba Derby Day by offering a $1 million guaranteed payout to any single bettor holding a winning ticket on the Jackpot Pick 5. The payout goes to the holder of a unique winning ticket. Meanwhile, that Canadian track located outside of Winnipeg, announced a […]

After a disappointing Kentucky Derby, Dynamic One returned from a nearly three-month racing layoff to win the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga. The $725,000 colt may run the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga next. (Image: Coady Photography/Churchill Downs)

Dynamic One Was Finally Just That in the Curlin; Travers Likely Next

Yes, Dynamic One’s victory came in a listed stakes, the Curlin. Yes, it came in a 3-year-old race buried in the laundry that is Jim Dandy Weekend at Saratoga – especially with star sophomore Essential Quality headlining. But Friday’s Curlin, which was limited to 3-year-olds who had not won a […]

Decorated sprinter C Z Rocket won the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien on this Del Mar track last summer. He look for his first Grade 1 win as the 5/2 favorite in Saturday's Bing Crosby Stakes. (Image: Benoit Photo)

C Z Rocket Takes Off In Search of Elusive Grade 1 in Bing Crosby Stakes

Considering how many times he’s figured in various race mixes, it defies logic that C Z Rocket comes into Saturday’s Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes lacking a Grade 1 victory. And yet, here he is, one of the West Coast’s top sprinters and owner of 11 victories and nearly $1.4 […]

Reigning Champion Turf Male Channel Maker will try giving trainer Bill Mott his record-setting fifth Bowling Green title in this week's finale of the Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Janet Garaguso/NYRA Photo)

Cross Country Pick 5 Takes to the Stakes This Week

Four stakes races up and down the graded-stakes ladder highlight this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5. The horizontal exotic once again brings you races from Monmouth Park, Saratoga, and Canada’s Woodbine. The minimum bet for the three-track, five-race wager is 50 cents. The Cross Country Pick […]

Mischevious Alex won his first Grade 1 with this 5 1/4-length blowout in the Carter Handicap in April. He is the 2/1 favorite to win his second at Saturday's Vanderbilt Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand)

Watch the Blue-Blooded Sprinting Talent Clash in the Vanderbilt

The Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes gives you the venerable Whitmore, the ubiquitous Firenze Fire, and the dynamic Mischevious Alex. Enough sprinting talent to throw in a trifecta box at, say, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint this fall at Del Mar. Except that, a few hours after Saratoga turns that […]

Essential Quality hasn't raced since beating Hot Rod Charlie in the June 5 Belmont Stakes. He is the prohibitive favorite to win his fourth graded stakes race of 2021: the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga. (Image: Adam Coglianese/NYRA)

Essential Quality Looks Like a Real Jim Dandy Favorite Here

Proving not all graded stakes winners are viewed equally, Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga features five graded stakes winners in the six-horse field. None of them are viewed through the prism of expectations as Essential Quality. The Belmont Stakes champion comes in as the 1/2 favorite in the […]

Bernardini's victory here in the 2006 Jockey Club Gold Cup was his sixth and final victory. The 2006 Preakness winner won six of eight races and became a prolific stallion and broodmare sire. (Image: Darley Farm)

Preakness Champion and Prolific Sire Bernardini Euthanized at 18

Bernardini, the 2006 Preakness Stakes winner and one of the most decorated international sires of this century, was euthanized on Friday after complications from laminitis. He was 18. The stallion was euthanized at Jonabell Farm in Kentucky, where he lived since beginning his stallion career in 2007. Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley […]

Drain the Clock nipped rival Jackie's Warrior to win the Grade 1 Woody Stephens last month. The two meet again in Sunday's Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Chris Rahaye/NYRA)

Budding Superstar Drain the Clock Looks Sweet in the Short Races

The only race Drain the Clock lost this year came the only time he went two turns. You may have noticed this hiccup, since it came in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on the Kentucky Derby trail last winter. But while you paid attention to Triple Crown trail stalwarts […]

The temperamental Whitmore in one of his more gentle moments, right after he and Irad Ortiz Jr. won the Breeders' Cup Sprint last November at Keeneland.(Image: Coady Photography)

Temperamental, Cranky Champion Whitmore Returns to Saratoga

Whitmore is the equine version of your cranky uncle; the one who tells the great stories when he’s not telling the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn. And while this creates a special brand of headache for trainer Ron Moquett, it also comes with built-in aspirin for those headaches. […]

Channel Cat (inside) held off charging rival Gufo to win his first Grade 1: the Man o' War Stakes at Belmont Park. With trainer Jack Sisterson's proclivity for upsets, he could deliver nice value in Saturday's Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Sisterson Ready to Spring Another Trap With Channel Cat

By now, the sight of a Jack Sisterson horse in a New York graded stakes race – like Channel Cat in Saturday’s Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes — should send alarm bells ringing in the heads of his competitors. While Sisterson doesn’t carry the high profile of a Todd Pletcher […]

Masqueparade (10) held off King Fury to win the Grade 3 Ohio Derby in June. Can the talented, but untested colt, make the next leap in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes? (Image: JJ Zamaiko Photography)

Talented, Barely Tested Masqueparade Ready for His Jim Dandy Close-Up

Masqueparade is a graded-stakes winner who impressively captured his last three races, turned away two Kentucky Derby horses, and who has more than a hint of the flavor du jour about him. And yet, trainer Al Stall Jr. has no illusions about what awaits his Ohio Derby winner in Saturday’s […]

Arlington Park issued layoff notices to all union employees over the weekend. The suburban Chicago track is on the selling block and current owner Churchill Downs Inc. plans selling to a non-racetrack entity. (Image: Arlington Park)

It’s Happening: Arlington Park Issues Layoff Notices to Employees

The ticking clock on Arlington Park’s 97-year history of racing sped up this weekend when employees for the iconic suburban Chicago track were issued layoff notices. According to the notice, which the Chicago Daily Herald reported, track workers will lose their jobs within 14 days of the Sept. 25 season […]

Maracuja (left) outkicked previous unbeaten Malathaat to win last Saturday's CCA Oaks. The two are on a path to tangle again in the Aug. 21 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Elsa Lorieul/NYRA)

After CCA Oaks Upset, We’re Ready for Maracuja vs. Malathaat 3.0

Maracuja and Malathaat put on such a show in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, that you can’t wait to see the rematch between the two 3-year-old fillies. And, it’s looking like we will at the Aug. 21 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. Trainers for […]

Crystal Ball saw her way to a 1 1/4-length victory in the Lady Jacqueline Stakes at Thistledown. She goes for her fourth win of 2021 in the Grade 3 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga Sunday. (Image: JJ Zamaiko Photography)

Does Crystal Ball’s Future Include an Elusive Graded-Stakes Spa Victory?

Crystal Ball sees her way into Sunday’s Grade 3 Shuvee Stakes a pristine 3-for-3 in 2021. She’s taken those three races on three different tracks in three different states with three different jockeys. Now, the trek toughens. The competition stiffens. And the stakes literally heighten. Named after the Hall of […]

Jolie Olimpica's last victory came 14 months ago in the Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes at Santa Anita. She is one of the favorites in the opening leg of Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5: the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Cross Country Pick 5 Features Familiar Names, International Flavor

Familiar names such as Jolie Olimpica, Split Then Double and Merveilleux, along with promising newcomers like Chileno, Watasha and Volcanic play their parts in Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 wager. This week’s New York Racing Association’s Cross Country Pick 5 comes with international flavor. The wager encompasses races from Saratoga, […]