David Cabrera hadn’t ridden since going on the shelf after an April 8 riding accident, yet he hung on from the sidelines to win his first Oaklawn Park riding title by one victory over Francisco Arrieta. Not that Arrieta didn’t make Cabrera sweat it out. When Cabrera suffered head, neck, […]
A million-dollar gelding and one of the first stakes races on Belmont Park’s Spring/Summer Meet provide two of the storylines for this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5. The weekly, multi-track, multi-race wager comes from Belmont Park and Oaklawn Park this week. While it’s light on stakes […]
This Letruska script is one we’ve seen before. After all, it bears a striking resemblance to the 2021 script for the powerful, now 6-year-old mare. Win Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park. Head to Kentucky to train for the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. Leave no mistake who […]
The numbers tell you how competitive Saturday’s Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap is from a wagering standpoint. Because this is a race where just about everyone can win. How competitive is the anchor stakes race on Oaklawn Park’s 12-race card? Six of the eight older horses in the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn […]
There are only five horses in Saturday’s Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, a statistic that trainer Rob Atras puts into perspective for everyone. “It’s a small field, but it’s got like a Breeders’ Cup kind of feel to it,” Atras told Oaklawn Park’s Jennifer Hoyt. That’s probably the […]
The last time Jackie’s Warrior stepped into a starting gate, he did so as the 1/2 favorite in last November’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar. It was supposed to be the exclamation point on a seven-figure coronation as the country’s top male sprinter. Instead, Jackie’s Warrior lost the plot. He […]
In 1984, D. Wayne Lukas decided on a whim to bring back his filly Althea for the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. That this was unconventional – even for those times of running horses far more often than happens now – can’t be understated. That’s because Althea ran the week before, […]
While Cezanne has never traveled outside of California, he does have a role model to call upon for what kind of springboard to great seasons the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile can present. A role model doubling as a former stablemate: Improbable. Two years ago, the Bob Baffert-trained Improbable was a […]
Two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox is skilled at keeping his front-row charges apart from each other – a skill he abandoned for Saturday’s Grade 3 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park. Cox sends out a pair of millionaire multiple Grade 3 winners: Plainsman and Warrior’s Charge, for the 1 1/16-mile […]
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Sunday he planned running standout filly Secret Oath against the boys in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby April 2 at Oaklawn Park. Lukas broke the news to retired Hall of Fame jockey and current jockey agent Gary Stevens late Saturday on Fox […]
While eyes are on Tampa Bay Downs and its Kentucky Derby prep, Oaklawn Park offers up the juicy Grade 3 Azeri Stakes, starring an Eclipse Award winner and a mare who could eventually become one. That would be reigning Eclipse Award-winning female sprinter Ce Ce, who tangles with the Azeri’s […]
When it comes to the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, it doesn’t really matter that Bob Baffert is suspended from Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. All that matters is one question, the answer of which is typically “yes.†Does Baffert have a live candidate in this year’s Rebel? Of course […]
You don’t usually see Wesley Ward holding court at Oaklawn Park. But the renowned trainer of younger horse carries an open secret that he hopes Happy Soul can broadcast to horseracing fans Saturday in the Listed Dixie Belle Stakes. That secret? Yes, Ward usually holds court at Keeneland or Royal […]
The fact Bob Baffert’s Newgrange won his second Kentucky Derby prep in as many months was more important to the Hall of Fame trainer than the fact that, right now, Newgrange isn’t eligible to run in the May 7 Derby. “I’m not going to worry about that right now,” Baffert […]
During the week, David Harrison is a real estate appraiser. On the weekends, however, he appraises Thoroughbreds as an old-school handicapper. This weekend, he proved himself as the best appraiser of horseflesh in the world. Harrison bested a field of 643 entries at Bally’s Las Vegas, capturing the 23rd annual […]
Today’s $750,000 Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park has the usual Bob Baffert flavor: 2/1 morning-line favorite Newgrange, shipping in from California in search of Baffert’s record-tying fifth Southwest title. But there’s a new contender awaiting: Kenny McPeek, who finds himself in the unfamiliar role of trainer of Kentucky […]
Brad Cox knows the rules of engagement, which doesn’t make Concert Tour’s last-place finish in last weekend’s Fifth Season Stakes at Oaklawn Park any easier to digest. Losing by 15 lengths as the 3/2 favorite in the nine-horse Fifth Season field does, however, come with reinforced lessons. One of which being, […]
Kenny McPeek has what you call a Kentucky Derby embarrassment of riches coming courtesy of Dash Attack, who won Saturday’s Listed Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park. And the dynamic trainer is still trying to put the talented pieces together. That’s because, on Saturday, McPeek added another piece to an […]
Whichever candidate wins Saturday’s Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park will get themselves a dress rehearsal for the Kentucky Derby and its cavalry-charge-sized field. Because, barring any scratches, the Smarty Jones will send out the largest field in event history with 14 horses. The one-mile Smarty Jones, the first of […]
Caddo River opened the 2021 season as one of the hottest 3-year-olds on the Kentucky Derby trail. Now, he closes it Sunday attempting to shake afterthought status in an Oaklawn allowance. The Hard Spun colt returns for the first time in 6 ½ months as the 8/5 morning-line favorite in […]
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