In a 24-hour span, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. epitomized the topsy-turvy, runaway rollercoaster nature of his chosen sport, claiming his 3,000th victory one day after receiving a five-day suspension for reckless riding. Ortiz captured his 3,000th victory Thursday at Gulfstream Park, piloting Order and Law to the winner’s circle in the […]
The $20 million Saudi Cup, a.k.a. the world’s richest race, opens this week’s opportunity for horseplayers to get rich via the New York Racing Association’s Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s five-race sequence takes on a cross-global flavor. It features races from the home of the Saudi Cup — King Abdulaziz Racetrack […]
Churchill Downs officials wasted little time putting cosmetic touches on what they hope is a concrete decision. On Tuesday, the track’s staff replaced Medina Spirit’s nameplate with the now-official 2021 Kentucky Derby champion: Mandaloun. The 3-year-old Kentucky Derby king is dead — literally in the late Medina Spirit’s case, and […]
Envoutante has always been a filly who was good, but often not quite good enough to break through at the highest levels. Trainer Kenny McPeek attempts to change that by sending the now 5-year-old mare to Santa Anita Park’s Grade 1 Beholder Mile. “Envoutante is going to work next Friday […]
Oaklawn Park wrote Monday’s featured eighth race as a $101,000 allowance. But judging by the familiar names in the one-mile allowance, this race does a credible impression of a stakes race. There’s Wells Bayou, making his second comeback from physical issues that cost him much of his 3-year-old and 4-year-old […]
Pimlico Race Course announced the schedule for the May 20-21 Preakness weekend: a slate featuring 16 stakes – 10 graded – worth $3.8 million. Headlining that weekend, of course, is the 147th running of the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of America’s Triple Crown for 3-year-olds. The 1 […]
Yes, February seems to be rather early to discuss qualifying for November’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, but Japan’s Café Pharoah became the first horse to qualify for the Breeders’ Cup’s marquee race when he won Sunday’s February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse. Café Pharoah’s defense of his 2021 February Stakes title in […]
Santa Anita Park features a mandatory payout in its 20-cent Rainbow Pick 6 Sunday and a salty stakes race could decide the fate of a pool expected to hit $5 million. With no single ticket hauling in the $664,316 Rainbow 6 pool Saturday, that amount carries over into Sunday. Based […]
The last time we saw Letruska, she was more human and less equine machine. The next time we’ll see the newly minted Eclipse Award winner is next Saturday at Gulfstream Park for the Grade 3 Royal Delta Stakes. The 6-year-old warmed up for her first race since the Nov. 6 […]
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 […]
WIth a nod to Winston Churchill, Saturday’s Grade 2 Risen Star signals both the beginning of the end and the end of the Kentucky Derby trail’s beginning. The prelims are over and we’re now at the beginning of the win-and-you’re-in stretch of the Derby trail. That’s because the 1 1/8-mile […]
Lost in the Fair Grounds wash of Saturday’s Grade 2 Risen Star and Rachel Alexandra, two respectable preps for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, respectively, is an intriguing Grade 3 race featuring several familiar names — the Mineshaft Stakes. Wondering what happened to Derby dark-horse O Besos? He’s here. […]
Running into a stiffening headwind of opposition, The Jockey Club rescinded its controversial rule limiting the number of mares bred per stallion Thursday. The rule limiting stallions born in 2020 or later to a maximum of 140 mares in a calendar year was adopted in May 2020. The Jockey Club […]
Two familiar veteran runners pop up in this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5 wager, a bet encompassing races at Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs and Oaklawn Park. The first recognizable name for casual horseplayers and fans is Diamond Oops, who makes his 7-year-old debut in the third […]
There was a familiar look to the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) Pool 3 that emphasized the Bob Baffert factor is alive and well – and that Smile Happy doesn’t have to run to draw money. Once again, “All Other 3-Year-Olds†– a.k.a. the field – closed as the betting […]
Flightline, horse racing’s undisputed star of 2022, will miss an undetermined amount of 2022 with what is believed to be a strained right hock. The Daily Racing Form reported the news Saturday, quoting trainer John Sadler saying that while X-rays were negative, the star sprinter’s gait was “not perfectly normal.†[…]
Tampa Bay Downs’ first stop on the Kentucky Derby trail, Saturday’s Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes is one of those races where you’re best served paying more attention to the horses outside the winner’s circle. Take last year. Candy Man Rocket won the race in typical Davis fashion. He […]
An extensive necropsy performed on Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit could not determine a definitive cause of death in the late 3-year-old colt, according to a release issued by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB). The CHRB’s statement said the postmortem examination of Medina Spirit, performed by five members of the […]
True to his running style, Knicks Go broke out to a big lead and proved uncatchable, capturing the Eclipse Award for 2021 Horse of the Year when the Eclipse Awards were announced Thursday night at Santa Anita Park. The now-6-year-old horse received 228 votes out a possible 235 first-place votes […]
This time last year, Lone Rock was preparing for a mid-level allowance race at Oaklawn Park. He was three months away from being claimed for $40,000 after a November race at Churchill Downs. Now, the gelding is two days away from racing for a chunk of a $600,000 purse in […]
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