Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella sends 4/1 second-choice Subconscious out in today’s Grade 1 Hollywood Derby. But even he knows where most of the attention is during Del Mar’s Bing Crosby Meet closing weekend. And that’s Brown. Chad Brown. Trainer of turf terrors and eastern feaster of this weekend’s […]
Tag: horse racing
Derby Trail Traffic Resumes Saturday With Kentucky Jockey Club
Traffic on the Kentucky Derby trail picks up again Saturday with a full cast of 14 entered in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club, the headlining race on Churchill Downs’ Saturday card. Up for grabs are 10-4-2-1 Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers, along with another Derby prospect […]
Asmussen Bags Record Five Wins on Churchill Downs’ Thanksgiving Card
In August, Steve Asmussen took the mantle as North America’s winningest career trainer. On Thanksgiving Day, he went from macro record-setter to micro record-setter, winning what is believed to be a record five races on one card at Churchill Downs. Churchill Downs officials said records prior to 1991 are incomplete, […]
Brown Seeks Another Del Mar Turf Crown with Steady Rockemperor
That Rockemperor is the 8/5 favorite in Friday’s Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar makes sense if you look at the Rockemperor who won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park. If you look at the Rockemperor who finished a troubled eighth in the Breeders’ […]
Clark Stakes Provides A Juicy Grade 1 Opportunity for Familiar Names
The Grade 1 Clark Stakes provides the final opportunity for Maxfield to grab a Grade 1 win. It’s an opportunity for Midnight Bourbon to shake his seconditis and grab his first Grade 1. And it provides a great opportunity for Dr. Post and King Fury to grab validation in their […]
California Chrome Trainer Art Sherman Will Retire at End of Year
Trainer Art Sherman, who burst into the public conscience when he guided California Chrome to the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, announced he will retire at the end of this year. The 84-year-old conditioner told Blood-Horse he plans to travel the country with his wife and do some bloodstock […]
Conquering This Falls City Handicap is a Wide-Open Affair
Last year, Bonny South came into the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap as the 8/5 favorite. She didn’t run to those odds, finishing a distant second, six lengths behind winner Envoutante. And yet, Churchill Downs morning-line author Mike Battaglia has no issue making her this year’s 9/5 favorite for the […]
Asmussen, Ortiz Parachute Into Zia Park, Depart with Three Stakes Titles
Hall of Famer Trainer Steve Asmussen and Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. turned their Zia Park invasion into a walk in the park. The pair of Eastern invaders won three of the seven stakes on Zia Park’s Land of Enchantment Day card on Tuesday. That included the day’s biggest […]
Betting On The Derby Gene Pool: Who Will Father the 2022 Derby Winner?
One of the more interesting prop wagers in horse racing, betting on the sire of the future Kentucky Derby champion, opens Thursday with “All Other Sires†as the early 6/1 favorite. The Kentucky Derby Sire Future Pool is offered concurrently with Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, but […]
Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool Opens Without Baffert Colts
In case you’re curious, the first Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool opens this weekend with “All Other Colts and Geldings from the 2019 Foal Crop†as the even-money favorite. It also opens with the current Las Vegas futures favorite, Corniche, literally missing from action. Currently 6/1 at Caesars at William […]
Asmussen, Ortiz, Prat Invade Tiny Zia Park for Land of Enchantment Card
When it comes to must-see tracks, Zia Park is far off the high-profile path. The New Mexico track isn’t even located in – or near — one of the state’s two high-profile cities, Albuquerque or Santa Fe. But for Tuesday’s Land of Enchantment Stakes card, Zia Park is big enough […]
Azul Coast Breaks Out of the Shadows, Takes Native Diver at Del Mar
Azul Coast was the forgotten Baffert; the also-ran in the three-headed contingent the Hall of Fame conditioner sent out in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday. Hidden in the shadow of the more heralded Eight Rings and the veteran stakes runner Ax Man, and coming […]
Illinois HBPA Rejects CDI’s Bid to Operate its ADW in the State
The board of directors of the Illinois Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association rejected its consent for Churchill Downs Incorporated’s TwinSpires advance-deposit wagering (ADW) betting platform to operate in the state of Illinois. Under Illinois law, horsemen get consent rights for an ADW platform to operate in the state. State law […]
Channel Cat Chases That Elusive Grade 1-Winning Form in Red Smith
Channel Cat is by default, the class of the Grade 2 Red Smith Handicap field. This is a status that by no means, makes him a lock to win the $200,000 race over Aqueduct Racetrack’s inner turf course. He may be the lone millionaire in the 10-horse field of 3-year-olds […]
Which Obligatory Will We See in the Grade 3 Chilukki Stakes?
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 […]
Jackie’s Warrior Has Bone Chip Removed, Will Return in 2022
Standout sprinter Jackie’s Warrior joined other 2021 stars on the operating table last week, undergoing surgery for a bone chip in his left knee at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky. Dr. Larry Bramlage, who this week performed shin surgery on 2-year-old star Jack Christopher, did the procedure. The […]
Two 2022 Derby Hopefuls Share Future Odds on Differing Paths
As one Kentucky Derby hopeful underwent surgery, another underwent surgery to his Derby futures odds after winning his stakes debut. Jack Christopher, who was the 9/5 morning-line favorite before being scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, had a screw placed in a left shin, according to Blood-Horse. After Dr. Larry […]
Santa Anita Breaks Out Turf Starter Series for Allowance-Level Runners
Following in the successful hoofprints of the Tin Man Starter Allowance Series, Santa Anita Park announced a new series of turf allowance races for fillies and mares, the Santa Anita Turf Starter Series. The Turf Starter Series is comprised of four sprints and four route races, all on the Santa […]
Santa Anita Derby Winner Rock Your World Rolls Into Retirement
Add Rock Your World to the 2022 first-year stallion crop after the Santa Anita Derby winner was suddenly retired from racing on Monday. The son of standout sire Candy Ride will stand at Spendthrift Farm for $10,000. Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey said he’ll be featured in the farm’s “Share […]
The (Former) Apprentice Pyfer Makes a 50/1 Farewell Splash at Del Mar
Jessica Pyfer provided the perfect apprentice rider graduation program to herself: pilot a 50/1 long shot to victory in your final victory as an apprentice. Pyfer took Primer Dimer and his 50/1 odds to the Del Mar winner’s circle on Saturday afternoon. It was her final victory as an apprentice […]