The cliché “quality over quantity†washes over this year’s Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga like the wake from Knicks Go’s last race. It floods the zone like Maxfield’s last two outings and Silver State’s last trip around Belmont Park. If you’re going to send only five horses around Saratoga’s […]
Tag: By My Standards
Oaklawn Mile Brings Three Familiar Names With Familiar Stories
The field for Saturday’s Listed Stakes Oaklawn Mile brings three familiar candidates with eclectic stories of redemption to a race that punches far above its weight class. There’s By My Standards, who makes his 2021 debut as the 5/2 favorite at the site of one of his 2020 victories. Hard […]
Recognizable Names, Deep Field: The Clark Stakes Has it All
Together, the $500,000 Clark Stakes field owns 22 stakes victories, 60 overall wins, and more than $12.6 million in earnings. And even in this topsy-turvy, runaway-roller coaster year, the traditional Black Friday headliner at Churchill Downs remains one of the most popular races on the late-season schedule. For the first […]
Breeders’ Cup Classic: Picking a Winner in this All-Star Field is a Puzzle
If you’re grasping to understand how good the field is for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic truly is, it’s easiest to picture what an All-Star horse race would look like. The Mid-fall Classic, as it were. If the Mid-fall Classic offered a $6 million purse, two Triple Crown race winners, […]
Breeders’ Cup Speed Figures: Looking at an Instant Classic
As you parse the speed figures for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, you understand there is truth in advertising to this year’s edition of the Breeders’ Cup’s flagship race. Putting aside the eight Grade 1 winners in the 10-horse field, these speed figures should make this Classic well … an instant […]
Circa Sports Makes Improbable the Breeders’ Cup Classic Futures Favorite
One day after opening the first domestic Breeders’ Cup Classic futures board, Circa Sports puts Improbable as the favorite to capture the $6 million Breeders’ Cup’s marquee event on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. Improbable opened at +380, then moved up slightly to +410. His best odds overseas are 4/1. The […]
Kentucky Oaks Card Comes Loaded with Big Names, Great Resumes
If the clash of the filly titans at the Kentucky Oaks isn’t enough to grab your attention, then consider this; this year’s card is in serious danger of upstaging Churchill Downs’ Derby Week. And that’s including the marquee event of Derby Week, the 146th Kentucky Derby. It’s OK to pay […]
The Whitney: Where History and Horse Racing Meet
It’s appropriate that in a race named after one of America’s most prominent families, the field consists of five millionaires. Yes, Saturday’s $1,200,000 Grade 1 1 1/8-mile Whitney Stakes at Saratoga, one of the most prestigious races for older horses in North America, features only five horses. But quality abounds. […]
By My Standards Seeking to Do It His Way at Whitney Stakes
By My Standards ran his last race – June’s Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs — exactly by his standards. He chalked a 102 Beyer Speed Figure, tying his career-best mark. He raced exactly out of trainer Bret Calhoun’s playbook, even down to the strong gallop-out afterward. This should […]
Stephen Foster Composes Beautiful Front Line of Contenders
As marquee races go, this isn’t the Kentucky Derby. But you could do a lot worse than the Stephen Foster as the headline race of your meet, abbreviated and all. The Grade 2 Stephen Foster not only headlines Saturday’s strong 11-race, four-stakes card at Churchill Downs, it provides an enviable […]
Older Horses Show Off Newest Tricks in Deep Oaklawn Handicap Field
This is scheduling as brilliant as the race its talent promises. In between the split Arkansas Derby divisions on Oaklawn Park’s dynamic closing day card rests the $600,000 Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap – a race punching far above its Grade 2 status. Put the grade aside. Far aside. This year’s […]