Tiz the Law came out of the Kentucky Derby perfectly fine, save for his aura of invincibility and his Triple Crown hopes. And, according to trainer Barclay Tagg, that aura may not renew at the Preakness Stakes. Tagg is non-committal about his prize trainee’s future plans, but intimated he may […]
There was a thin sense of normalcy to the 2020 Kentucky Derby. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert won his record-tying sixth Derby, this time with Authentic. And unheralded Mr Big News played this year’s designated long shot, blowing up many tickets – in good ways and bad – by […]
One of Saturday’s most prestigious races goes 1 ¼ miles and features the likes of Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid and Pleasant Colony on its winner’s roll. That would be the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, not the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Even with the Derby sucking the racing and […]
Gamine has been an unstoppable force. Swiss Skydiver, the prototypical immovable object. That prompts the inevitable question surrounding Friday’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs: Who will prevail and emerge as the best 3-year-old filly in America? The unstoppable force that is even-money Gamine? Or the immovable object that […]
Expected to be a single-digit second favorite and the chief challenger to favorite Tiz the Law, Art Collector withdrew from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby due to a slight injury to his left front hoof. Trainer Tommy Drury, who was making his first career Kentucky Derby appearance with Art Collector, said that […]
At even-money, Gamine enters Friday’s Kentucky Oaks as the shortest-priced favorite in 11 years, where she looms large over the smallest Oaks field in 15 years. Gamine starts the 146th running of the prestigious 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies from post 5 in the nine-horse field, drawn Monday afternoon […]
When it comes to handicapping the Kentucky Derby, the speedy rule of thumb used to be simple. Bring your thumb down to the horses who ran at least a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, and begin your handicapping from there. That’s an easy place to start, considering 25 of the last […]
An impasse between Nevada casinos and Churchill Downs Inc. sent the state’s casinos back to booking the Kentucky Derby in-house, rather than partaking in the national pari-mutuel pools. In an agreement signed last week, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved a resolution that allows the state’s casinos to book action on […]
Nuke the claiming system and start over with ratings. That’s the unequivocal message Sal Sinatra, the president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, left virtual attendees at this year’s Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing. Normally held in Saratoga Springs, NY, the annual conference […]
The jockey dominoes on Kentucky Derby riders began to fall this weekend when Jose and Irad Ortiz Jr. elected to stay at Saratoga and skip the Derby. Along with the brothers Ortiz, Joel Rosario and Luis Saez will remain in New York and finish out Saratoga’s meet, according to the […]
Virginia’s Colonial Downs is the latest racing victim of COVID-19, announcing Friday evening that its canceled the remainder of its 2020 summer meet. The abrupt closure came three days after jockey Trevor McCarthy, who led the track’s jockey standings with 14 wins, tested positive for COVID-19. The Daily Racing Form […]
Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said that “there’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” No one mentioned that to He Knows No Fear, who lived up to his name on Thursday afternoon, becoming the biggest-priced winner in British or Irish racing history when the 300/1 shot captured a maiden race at […]
Three days after Max Player finished third to Tiz the Law in his second consecutive Grade 1 effort, owners for the horse switched trainers, moving him from Linda Rice to Steve Asmussen. The move came after Max Player finished third – 7 ½ lengths behind Tiz the Law at Saturday’s […]
Santa Anita Park’s fall season begins a week earlier than usual, but features 24 stakes – 15 graded – over its 18-day autumn campaign. The Southern California track opens Sept. 19 and runs through Oct. 25. Usually, Santa Anita’s opening weekend loads up with graded stakes races. But with the […]
Being a Kentucky Derby prep is uncharted waters for Ellis Park. And training a Kentucky Derby hopeful is definitely uncharted waters for Tom Drury. Those two storylines will collide Sunday at the Ellis Park Derby with all eyes on Drury’s odds-on favorite, Art Collector. In a normal year, the ungraded […]
Thousand Words is now out of the Kentucky Derby futures shadow. And Cezanne is now out of the Derby futures picture. Those are the oddsmakers’ takeaways from last weekend’s Derby Prep – the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. Thousand Words, who spent the spring disappointing and the summer disappearing […]
Thanks to the coronavirus, this was not a typical Whitney Day crowd at Saratoga, because there was no Whitney Day crowd. Even so, that didn’t prevent the track from setting an all-sources handle record of $35,796,435. That bested the previous record of $31,835,863, set last year when Saratoga welcomed 40,791 […]
Honor A.P. is safely in the Kentucky Derby. So safe, he’s one of the favorites. Thousand Words is not-so-safely on the Derby bubble. And Cezanne is nowhere near the Churchill Downs gate, nor the bubble. That’s the scenario all three would-be Derby contenders face entering Saturday’s Shared Belief Stakes at […]
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. […]
The people who run Claiborne Farm expect this to be another case of like father, like son. The large Kentucky breeding farm purchased the breeding rights to War of Will, who will join his sire, War Front, upon his retirement. That gives Claiborne a true rarity that will appeal greatly […]
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