You almost get the feeling that with Life Is Good and Olympiad heading the marquee for Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga, this 1 1/8-mile race sets up as more than one of the top older horse dirt races in the country. It sets up as a something-to-prove test. Because […]
It took a slow track and a trek halfway around the world to keep Life Is Good off the board in his last outing, and it took a superhorse to keep Speaker’s Corner out of the winner’s circle in his last race. Now, both standout colts seek to get back […]
When Flavien Prat hopped off Flightline last December, after he had just dismantled the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes by 11 1/2 lengths, the veteran jockey had what could be described as a religious experience. As any jockey can tell you when they’ve ridden a superhorse, the words sometimes don’t come […]
Last month, Highland Chief passed his first stateside Grade 1 test with a flourish, beating four other rivals, including Champion Turf Male Yibir, to win the Grade 1 Man o’ War at Belmont Park. A nice score to be sure, especially as the 19/1 longest shot in the field. Now, […]
The Carter Handicap is one of only two Grade 1s on Aqueduct’s schedule, with the other being December’s Cigar Mile. Yet, the seven-furlong sprint isn’t the headliner on the Big A’s 11-race card on Saturday. That would be the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, which gets top billing thanks to its […]
There’s a compelling and easy-to-understand reason why Olympiad took an 8/5 morning line favorite status into Saturday’s Grade 2 New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds. That compelling, easy-to-understand reason doubles as a record-setting reason. That’s exactly what Olympiad did the last time he traveled to Louisiana from trainer Bill Mott’s winter […]
The question surrounding Obligatory, the 5/2 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Grade 3 Chilukki at Churchill Downs, is an obligatory one, given the filly’s 2021 season. Will we see the Obligatory who won her last race at Churchill Downs, the Grade 2 Eight Belles on April 30 at 16/1? Or will […]
The first thing worth understanding about the Breeders’ Cup Classic is that it’s not kind to favorites. Unless you qualify for legend status, like Ferdinand, Alysheba, A.P. Indy, Cigar, Skip Away, Ghostzapper, Zenyatta and American Pharoah do. Last year’s winner, Authentic, was 5/1. Your favorite, meanwhile, was 3.20/1 Tiz the […]
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 Pennsylvania Derby, your traditional last major 3-year-old race of the season, returns after a COVID-related year absence. And the Penn Derby returns, asking the pressing question concerning a couple of decorated sophomore runners: Will either Hot Rod Charlie or Midnight Bourbon finally get that elusive Grade 1 victory? If […]
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott brings Du Jour and Mike Maker brings Somelikeithotbrown from New York to Kentucky Downs for two of the track’s biggest opening weekend races. Mott, Kentucky Downs’ leading trainer in 2005 and the No. 3 all-time trainer with 27 victories, sends Du Jour into Sunday’s […]
The Jockey Club Gold Cup trophy carries the names of four Triple Crown winners: Gallant Fox (1930), Whirlaway (1942), Citation (1948) and Affirmed (1979). You’ll find Hall of Famers like Man o’ War (1920), Hill Prince (1950), Sword Dancer (1959), Buckpasser (1966), Damascus (1967), Forego (1974), John Henry (1981), Easy […]
As is his MO, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott brought War Like Goddess along slowly, guiding the 4-year-old filly through the class pyramid with care and an eye toward building confidence. So when War Like Goddess won three consecutive races – and 5-of-her-first-6 – Mott realized she is ready […]
Art Collector is the 5/2 morning-line favorite for Friday’s Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at Hollywood Casino at Charles Races. And yes, it’s strange to read one of 2020’s top 3-year-olds is running in West Virginia and not in Saratoga this weekend. Art Collector’s path to the starting gate for […]
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 […]
The main storyline coming to you from this year’s Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga is what Chad Brown can do for an encore – times five. Yes, Brown owns the last five Diana titles and six overall. You expect Saratoga’s premier turf trainer to win Saratoga’s premier filly and […]
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. […]
The Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby is one of those Kentucky Derby preps that often gets lost in the shuffle. Part of that is the giant shadow Tampa Bay Downs fights from its southern Florida neighbor, Gulfstream Park. Part of that is the fact only two horses emerged from the […]
Nine new offerings entered the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 3 picture, but two familiar names continue holding court as the KDFW favorites. Essential Quality and Life Is Good opened as individual 8/1 morning-line favorites in the third of five KDFW pools. As expected, however, the overall favorite is “All […]
Three years ago, a horse named Flameaway captured the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The Mark Casse-trained colt set a stakes record for the 1 1/16 miles – 1:42.44. Flameaway would finish second in the Tampa Bay Derby. He would win a minor stakes as […]
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