There’s Gufo, who hasn’t missed the board in 12 career starts. There’s Japan, one of his rivals, who ships in from Europe for another crack at Gufo. And there’s Arklow and Channel Maker, who combined to win the last three editions of the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. It’s […]
The Grade 1 Woodward Stakes returns to Belmont Park for the first time since 2005, bringing with it a field full of intriguing characters at varying points in their careers. And all seeking validation for where they are in those varying points. One of two Grade 1s on Belmont Park’s […]
The Grade 1 Champagne Stakes predates the Kentucky Derby by eight years. In fact, the one mile juvenile test that sets the early bar for Derby prospects appeared only two years after the Civil War ended. Derby preps have to get their momentum somewhere, which is where the Champagne pours forth. Saturday’s test […]
The New York Racing Association is adding a Pick 6 with a twist this weekend, playing host to the inaugural two-day Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 that features six races from the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. All six races coming to bettors from Belmont Park and Santa Anita Park are […]
Coming out of a layoff into a Grade 1 proved a minor annoyance for Life Is Good. Now, the 3-year-old standout will face another hurdle when he takes on older horses for the first time in Saturday’s Grade 2 Kelso at Belmont Park. When we last saw Life Is Good […]
British-bred Yibir highlighted a sterling weekend for breeding colossus Godolphin, winning Saturday’s $1 million Black-Type Jockey Club Derby Invitational – the final leg of the New York Racing Association’s Turf Triple series. This last-to-first outing over the 1 ½-mile Widener turf course at Belmont Park earned Yibir a berth in […]
Displaying further signs of post-pandemic economic health, Belmont Park boosted its 2021 spring/summer meet handle by 20.6% over 2019 totals, and 63.5% over last year’s handle. The New York Racing Association released the figures Wednesday. They showed the 48-day Belmont spring/summer meet brought in $632,208,251 in all-sources handle. This, from […]
Bolshoi Ballet and Santa Barbara came across the Atlantic from their Irish home, arrived at Belmont Park, won their respective Turf Triple Series races, and returned to Ireland on Sunday. But expect to see the Irish colt and filly back in November for the Breeders’ Cup. “That’s the plan for […]
Belmont Park continues to be Chad Brown’s world and the rest of the New York horse racing community is merely living in it. Brown clinched the Belmont Park Spring/Summer Meet training title for the sixth consecutive year, racking up 32 victories over the 48-day meet that ended Sunday. Jose Ortiz […]
The Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational offers up a Kentucky Derby alum, along with a former Bob Baffert colt who may be the turf star of his generation. It also gives you one of Europe’s top turf terrors, straight from the barn of that continent’s top trainer – Aidan O’Brien. […]
Bettors will have a veritable smorgasbord of options to choose from when Belmont Park’s Fall Meet takes to the track in September. In a schedule released by the New York Racing Association on Tuesday, organizers are featuring four, Grade 1 races and five Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In†Challenge […]
Good timing in one way or another plays an integral part in any horse race, but the good timing blessing Firenze Fire in his last race came from an outside source. Mother Nature. The favorite for Sunday’s Grade 2 John A. Nerud Stakes at Belmont Park, Firenze Fire won the […]
Mystic Guide comes into Saturday’s Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park riding a wave that crested during March’s $12 million Dubai World Cup. He’s fresh, rested, at the top of his game, and the No. 1-ranked Thoroughbred in the country, courtesy of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll. And […]
Last summer, Mystic Guide gave Mike Stidham that “a-ha†moment all trainers look for in their charges; the moment they see a horse “get it.†It’s a feeling every trainer seeks — the knowledge their horse is understanding their capabilities, how good they can be, and what they can do […]
Oleksandra provided the perfect blueprint for how to go out on top: win your final race as the lone mare in a nine-deep field of colts and horses as a 17/1 long shot. But the 7-year-old mare threw in an irresistible and endearing plot twist to her racing finale. Not […]
The last time Raging Bull didn’t face Grade 1 competition came more than two years and nine months ago. It came in the Grade 2 Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont Park, and it came with a fifth-place finish – albeit by only 1 ¾ lengths. That was 13 races ago. […]
Officials from both Saratoga Race Course and the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar announced Wednesday that their facilities will open to 100% capacity this year. The NYRA also announced the full reopening of Belmont Park, beginning June 24. The NYRA’s announcements came on the heels of New York Gov. Andrew […]
The last time Domestic Spending and Colonel Liam tried determining who was the best older male turf horse in the country, they decided nothing but what a dead-heat looks like. That came at the Grade 1 Turf Classic, on the Kentucky Derby undercard. There, Domestic Spending made the most of […]
One example of how deep Saturday’s Belmont Stakes card is comes to you via the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, best known as the Met Mile. This is a race that should be on its own, which it was as a Memorial Day staple until 2014 when the New York Racing […]
Looking at the familiar names lining up for Saturday’s Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Belmont Park, it’s tempting to dismiss the seven-furlong sprint as a race for Triple Crown washouts, has-beens, and never-weres. Don’t. Instead, understand that not every horse is bred to go two turns. Understand that the Woody […]
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