Tag: horse racing

Olympiad is 4-for-4 in 2022, with this solid victory in the Grade 2 Alysheba at Churchill Downs on the ledger. He is expected to contend for the Grad3 2 Stephen Foster title Saturday. (Image: Coady Photography)

Churchill Downs All-Stakes Pick 5 Features Eclectic, Familiar Names

A veritable all-star roster of eclectic talent that includes a Kentucky Derby winner, a Kentucky Oaks winner, a Breeders’ Cup Sprint victor, and a true horse for course highlight Churchill Downs’ Saturday All-Stakes Pick 5. The All-Stakes Pick 5 wager encompasses all five of the Twin Spires’ stakes races on […]

Champion sprinter Ce Ce returns to defend her title in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney Invitational. THe 6-year-old mare is the 4/5 favorite to repeat. (Image: Gulfstream Park)

Ce Ce Returns to Princess Rooney Seeking Another Coronation

The Grade 2 Princess Rooney Invitational played a key role in Ce Ce’s coronation as Champion Female Sprinter last year. And the marquee race on Gulfstream Park’s Summit of Speed card provides the perfect setting for the versatile mare to defend her title. Saturday’s $300K Princess Rooney is a seven-furlong […]

Racing on the Churchill Downs turf course is done for the Spring Meet, canceling one turf stakes race and sending three others during closing weekend to the main turf. (Image: Coady Photography)

Churchill Downs Cancels Turf Racing for Duration of Spring Meet

Citing more problems from its new turf course, Churchill Downs officials suspended racing on the Matt Winn Turf Course for the track’s closing weekend. The decision cancels the Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes and sends three other stakes originally carded for the turf course to the main dirt track. Those […]

Drain the Clock hasn't won a graded stakes since holding off Jackie's Warrior in last year's Grade 1 Woody Stephens. He can end that streak with a victory in Saturday's Grade 3 Smile Sprint Stakes at Gulfstream Park. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher)

Drain the Clock Running Toward Good Vibes at Smile Sprint

The Grade 3 Smile Sprint is a race Drain the Clock needs right about now. A nice, low-pressure graded stakes race that should allow him to rebuild his confidence in familiar surroundings. Those surroundings are Gulfstream Park, where the six-furlong Smile Sprint is one of the featured races on Gulfstream’s Summit […]

Taiba, seen here relaxing in his Churchill Downs stall during Derby week, hasn't run since finishing 12th in the Derby. He may be one of trainer Bob Baffert's entries in the July 23 Grade 1 Haskell Stakes. (Image: Chad B. Harmon)

Baffert May Pick Up Sophomore Mantle at Familiar Spot

The Haskell Stakes and Bob Baffert have become so synonymous that the Hall of Fame trainer has nine Haskell titles on his mantle. And with his suspension ending this Sunday, Baffert may send one or more horses in his quest for Haskell title No. 10. The Asbury Park Press reported […]

Gerrymander's three-length victory in Saturday's Grade 2 Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park established her as a 3-year-old filly to watch going forward. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Gerrymander Carves Out Her Spot Among the Top Sophomore Fillies

As if this year’s 3-year-old filly class wasn’t already loaded with talent, now you can add Gerrymander to the list of first-row sophomores who bear attention every time they enter a starting gate. In case you needed more proof that the likes of Secret Oath, Nest (more on her in […]

Tawny Port, seen here working out two days before he finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby is the 3/1 morning line favorite for Saturday's Grade 3 Ohio Derby at JACK Thistledown. (Image: Coady Photography)

Ohio Derby Provides Derby Disappointments Redemption Opportunity

The Grade 3 Ohio Derby takes its turn in the racing spotlight at an ideal time, fitting in after the Triple Crown and before the lucrative Del Mar and Saratoga meets begin in mid-July. And it does so carrying three Kentucky Derby veterans making their first starts since that May […]

A NYRA three-member panel suspended Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert until the end of January. (Image: Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo)

Three-Member NYRA Panel Suspends Bob Baffert Until January

After taking two months to review its hearing report, the New York Racing Association suspended trainer Bob Baffert for 365 calendar days, effective immediately. The three-person hearing panel that reviewed Judge O. Peter Sherwood’s 50-page report from the April hearing credits Baffert with 59 days served. That came via NYRA’s […]

Bell's the One (L) and Sconsin renew their sprinting rivalry in Saturday's Grade 3 Chicago Stakes, which moves from the last Arlington Park to Churchill Downs. (Image: Coady Photography)

Bell’s the One, Sconsin Renew Rivalry in Relocated Chicago Stakes

By renewing their established rivalry, Bell’s the One and Sconsin double-handedly turned Saturday’s Grade 3 Chicago Stakes at Churchill Downs into one of the weekend’s most intriguing races. The seven-furlong Chicago also offers up Grade 1 winner Kalypso, who finds herself relegated to the chorus against her elders. The Grade […]

Dowagiac Chief broke his maiden in this Kentucky Downs maiden special weight. He is one of the favorites for the marquee Mystic Lake Derby at Canterbury Park's Northern Stars Turf Festival Wednesday. (Image: Coady Photgraphy)

Canterbury Park Gets Mystic with Northern Stars Turf Festival

The center of the horse racing universe will migrate north to Minnesota’s Canterbury Park on Wednesday, where the annual Mystic Lake Northern Stars Turf Festival offers five stakes and a rich smorgasbord of betting options. Those options include an all-turf stakes Pick 5 that offers an industry-low 10% takeout. That […]

Inspiral and Frankie Dettori romped to victory in last Friday's Coronation Cup. That helped two bettors hit all seven Royal Ascot races that day. (Image: Mathea Kelley)

A Royal Flush at Royal Ascot: Two Bettors Hit All Seven Races

The odds of hitting all seven races on last Friday’s Royal Ascot card were 122,889/1, according to William Hill. And yet, two horseplayers on opposite ends of the world managed to beat those odds and hit the improbable wager. And both did it in proverbial lottery fashion. An English bettor […]

Santa Anita Park's just-concluded Winter/Spring Meet was its safest on record. (Image: Santa Anita Park)

Santa Anita Park Enjoys Safest Winter/Spring Meet in its History

Santa Anita Park ended its six-month Winter/Spring Meet as the safest racetrack in North America among its large-track peers, with three racing fatalities from more than 4,800 starters during the just-completed 76-day meet. Only four years removed from a nightmarish season in which 30 horses died during racing or training, […]

Neige Blanche won the first of three closing-day stakes races at Santa Anita Sunday. That was her third stakes victory of the Southern California track's 2021-22 Winter/Spring Meet schedule. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Record Performances Headline Santa Anita Park’s Winter/Spring Meet

A training record for Phil D’Amato, a breakout riding season for Juan Hernandez, and a memorable first stakes win for the incomparable Flightline highlighted Santa Anita Park’s 2021-22 Winter/Spring Meet. The iconic Southern California track finished its 76-day meet Sunday with an 11-race card featuring three stakes races. One of […]

Santa Anita Park's training titlist Phil D'Amato sends Rijeka out in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano, Santa Anita's traditional closing day feature. Rijeka is one to watch in what could be a $3 million Rainbow Six. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Santa Anita Ends Long Meet with $3 Million Closing Day Rainbow Six

Santa Anita Park sends its 2021-22 Winter/Spring Meet into the history books on Sunday with a Rainbow Six pool expected to hit $3 million. The 20-cent Single Ticket Rainbow Pick Six comes with a mandatory payout on the Southern California track’s closing day. With that closing day, mandatory payouts come […]

Naval Crown won a nail-biting Platinum Jubilee Stakes at 33/1. The victory helped clinch Godolphin the Royal Ascot owner title. (Image: Godophin)

Moore, O’Brien, Godolphin Capture Royal Ascot Titles, Ward Blanked

Three very familiar names: Ryan Moore, Aidan O’Brien and Godolphin, wrapped up their respective titles as Royal Ascot wrapped up its 2022 meet Saturday. Godolphin’s successful defense of its owner title came after the Saudi monolith tied Coolmore with five wins each. But Godolphin notched three runners-up to Coolmore’s one. […]

Absolutely Zero won her May debut as an odds-on favorite. She's the favorite running against colts in the Fasig-Tipton Futurity. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Two Doug O’Neill Juveniles Provide Hopeful Glimpse Into Next Spring

Horseplayers looking for a sneak peek at some potential 2023 Kentucky Derby prospects and one Kentucky Oaks prospect need look no further than Santa Anita Park’s 11th race Saturday, where you’ll find Doug O’Neill charges Tahoma and Absolutely Zero. It won’t take much effort to find the pair. They’re the […]