We’re still eight days out from Day 1 of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup and six pre-entry horses already scratched, a group led by Kentucky Turf Cup winner Imperador. He pulled out of the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf, one of five Thursday scratches from the Nov. 5-6 two-day racing festival […]
Tag: California Horse Racing
Rock Your World Circles Back to Turf for Santa Anita’s Twilight Derby
First, Rock Your World tore up the turf. Then, he tore up the dirt – for one race. Now, the 3-year-old returns to the turf in Sunday’s Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita Park. The 1 1/8-mile Twilight and its deep, 11-horses field is the featured event on Santa […]
Breeders’ Cup Betting Menu Offers a Healthy Smorgasbord of Wagers
The Breeders’ Cup unveiled its 2021 wagering menu on Wednesday, adding a new All-Turf Pick 4 and a third Pick 5 to Saturday’s betting smorgasbord. Along with the wagering menu, officials for the Nov. 5-6 racing festival at Del Mar announced the official race order. Friday’s first day features 10 […]
Breeders’ Cup Reveals Intense Security Measures for Baffert’s Horses
The Breeders’ Cup may have been late to the Bob Baffert scrutiny party, but the organization is bringing a rather hefty punch to the proceedings. On Tuesday, it outlined to the Los Angeles Times the security measures the Hall of Fame trainer must adhere to for his horses to run […]
Baffert Makes Santa Anita Park His Personal Playground — Again
Two weeks ago, Bob Baffert made what appeared to be a head-scratching decision, keeping star 3-year-olds Medina Spirit and Private Mission home in California. That, instead of running the pair against their age group rivals in Parx Racing’s two marquee races, the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion. And yet again, […]
Awesome Again Pits ‘Youngster’ Medina Spirit Against His Elders
Medina Spirit is considered one of the “kids†in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes, a change in status from what his consideration would have been, had he run in last week’s Pennsylvania Derby. From one of the fellow 3-year-olds in that race, to one of the kids in Saturday’s […]
Standout Miler Mo Forza Likely the Best Turf Horse Under Your Radar
Mo Forza built himself quite the career running under your radar. One of the best turf milers in the country – or the world, according to trainer Peter Miller – is also one of the best horses you’ve probably never bet. If you have, you’re undoubtedly relishing the windfall this […]
Idol Worship: Big ‘Cap Winner Returns for Awesome Again Stakes
The last time we saw Idol, he was literally catching a Train – Express Train – who Idol ran down and passed just before crossing the wire of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. That half-length victory in one of the California track’s flagship events came on March 6, nearly […]
Inaugural Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 Gives Bettors Their Challenge
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 […]
Santa Anita Park’s Hot Take: Low Takeout for Win-Place-Show Bettors
Santa Anita Park unveiled the wagering menu for its 16-day Autumn Meet opening on Friday, with one of the biggest features being the lowest takeout on win-place-show bets among any major American racetrack. The suburban Los Angeles track’s takeout on the most common wager in North American racing is 15.4%. […]
Santa Anita’s Popular Hillside Turf Course Returns for Opening Weekend
Even with three Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In†Challenge Series events headlining Santa Anita Park’s Autumn Meet opener, the iconic track’s famous hillside turf course could seize the day’s attention. That unique and popular course returns to the forefront for the Friday, Oct. 1 opening day. It provides the […]
Del Mar Wrap: Nothing Average About Record Average Daily Handle
Del Mar closed its 82nd summer season with a track record for daily average handle, watching horseplayers wager an average of nearly $18.4 million each day of the 31-day meet. That surpassed last year’s daily average of $17.3 million, which came without fans in the stands thanks to the pandemic. […]
As Del Mar’s Pick 6 Pool Soars, Flightline Proves He’s Still an Ace
Sunday’s penultimate day of Del Mar’s summer season not only brought a six-figure rollover to the track’s elusive Jackpot Pick 6, but the re-emergence of one of the country’s sprinting stars in Flightline. While horseplayers were setting the betting table for what figures to be a $6 million-plus pot for […]
Del Mar Futurity Gives You Derby Prospects Worth Watching
The Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity is another one of those races carrying a heavy Bob Baffert flavor. The Hall of Fame trainer won the Futurity a record 14 times, including seven consecutive victories between 1996 and 2002. That’s not surprising when you consider it’s one of the top 2-year-old […]
Flashiest Wants to Go Forward in his Back-Up Race
Trainer Leonard Powell’s comments about Flashiest entering a deep Del Mar Derby field is more an indictment on Flashiest’s last race than an indictment on Saturday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Derby. “The Saratoga trip didn’t work out as we had planned, definitely not,†Powell told Del Mar. “Maybe if he […]
Del Mar’s Bing Crosby Season Sings a Grassy Stakes Tune
Del Mar renewed its emphasis on turf racing for its Bing Crosby Season, announcing a stakes schedule going deep on the seaside track’s Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Aside from the Nov. 5-6 Breeders’ Cup returning to Del Mar for the first time since 2017, the track features 18 stakes races. […]
Medina Spirit Edges Rock Your World in the Shared Belief
Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit returned to racing for the first time in 3 ½ months on Sunday, capturing the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. Along the way, Medina Spirit turned a trick no other Bob Baffert-trained horse has ever done. “For what this horse has gone through, he’s […]
Derby Champion Medina Spirit May Return Saturday for Shared Belief
Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, who hasn’t run since finishing third in the May 15 Preakness Stakes, could be back this Saturday for the Grade 3 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. According to the Daily Racing Form, the Bob Baffert-trainee’s return is contingent on a Monday workout for the […]
From Saratoga and Del Mar, Cross Country Pick 5 Lives Up to Its Name
This week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5 truly lives up to its name, putting out an all-graded stakes wager from Saratoga and Del Mar. The sequence includes three Grade 1s and two Grade 2s from the two tracks, located on opposite ends of the US. As usual, […]
Going Global Does Just That, Brings Four-Race Win Streak to Del Mar
Going Global began her racing career finishing fourth, 12th, and 13th in a trio of summer races in her native Ireland. There was nothing distinguishing her from the countless other 2-year-old fillies dotting Irish racetracks. This changed last November when Going Global broke her maiden in an Irish Handicap race […]