Without even trying, trainer Kenny McPeek inherited Classic Causeway, getting the Kentucky Derby runner and two-time stakes winner from Brian Lynch’s barn. The Daily Racing Form reported that Kentucky West Racing and the Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust, which bred and owns Classic Causeway, moved him to McPeek’s barn. […]
Tag: horse racing
Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Brings New Twist to US Races
The Breeders’ Cup announced its 2022 list of Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races, known as the “Win and You’re In” events. The premise is simple: win one of these 82 races in 11 countries and you have a starting spot in one of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races. That brings […]
Tahoma Follows Triple Crown-Winning Sire Justify Into Winner’s Circle
At first glance, Sunday’s second race at Santa Anita Park looked to be a nondescript maiden special weight — even down to the 4/5 favorite, Tahoma. But even putting aside his two-length victory in the 4 1/2-furlong race, Tahoma is far from nondescript. The 2-year-old is the first foal from […]
Derby Winner Rich Strike Returns to the Track — For a Workout
As he watched his biggest meal ticket work out Saturday, Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed cast a figurative eye East toward Pimlico Race Course. Then, he answered the question of many fans wondering why he wasn’t there, running the second jewel of the Triple Crown — the Preakness Stakes. “Skipping […]
Preakness Winner Early Voting, No. 2 Epicenter Early Belmont Defections
You won’t see the top two horses from Saturday’s Preakness Stakes in Queens, New York, next month, as trainer Chad Brown said Preakness winner Early Voting won’t run the June 11 Belmont Stakes. Nor will Kentucky Derby and Preakness runner-up Epicenter. But Creative Minister, the third-place Preakness finisher, is likely […]
Epicenter’s Second Triple Crown Runner-Up Frustrates Asmussen
After Epicenter finished second in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Steve Asmussen was stunned. After Epicenter finished second in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, Asmussen was more than surprised. He was upset. Upset that his 6/5 favorite – who came into the 147th Preakness Stakes as the best all-around horse in the field […]
Early Voting Finds Target, Punches a Winning Ballot in Preakness Stakes
Chad Brown wanted Early Voting to have “a target†in the 147th Preakness Stakes. He wanted the lightly raced, but fast colt to go out fast – but he wanted someone else to go out faster. And Armagnac obliged. The California colt wasted no time taking the lead, providing Early […]
Breaking Down the 2022 Preakness Stakes: More Filly Follies?
The 2022 Preakness Stakes comes to you with a paradox, a wagering quandary that pits one 21st century trend against one 2020s trend. The trend this century is the friend to chalk. Since 2000, 10 favorites found the Pimlico Race Course winner’s circle. Oxbow at 15.40/1 in 2013 is the […]
Creative Minister Provides an Expensive Preakness Wild Card
There wasn’t a lot of creativity involved in putting Creative Minister in the 147th Preakness Stakes. Not unless you consider cutting a check for $150,000 to supplement his entry to be a creative act. It cost 150 large to put Creative Minister into the Pimlico Race Course starting gate because […]
Like His Sire, Happy Jack Searching for Preakness Glory
After explaining all the concrete reasons he’s running Happy Jack in the 147th Preakness Stakes, Doug O’Neill threw this little aside out as the cherry on top. “Oh, by the way, his sire, Oxbow, won this race and that is kind of a cool thing,†O’Neill told Santa Anita Park’s […]
Kentucky Derby Taught Tim Yakteen Plenty About Messier, Taiba
With both Messier and Taiba back at his Santa Anita Park barn, trainer Tim Yakteen took a look back at last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby shocker by 80/1 Rich Strike and came up with one inescapable conclusion many people overlooked. “Horses that show a fondness for Churchill Downs have a tendency […]
Can Champion Yibir Regain His Stellar American Form in Man o’ War?
Last fall, Yibir used Belmont Park as his American test stage for what became a marvelous score in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. And the British colt returns to the scene of his first American victory as the favorite for Saturday’s Grade 1 Man o’ War Stakes. The 1 3/8-mile Man […]
NBC Strikes Viral Gold with Replay of Rich Strike’s Kentucky Derby Win
If you watched NBC Sports’ overhead shot of Rich Strike’s remarkable ride to the 148th Kentucky Derby title, you had plenty of amazed company. The replay of that performance, with Larry Collmus’ call, has been viewed more than 38 million times across various social media platforms. When NBC released its […]
Derby Aftermath: Stunned Asmussen, Preakness Probables
Still trying to process how his Kentucky Derby futility streak hit 24 races, trainer Steve Asmussen was non-committal on whether Derby runner up Epicenter would run the May 21 Preakness Stakes. The two-time Preakness winner was very committal on his level of disbelief at what transpired 50 yards from his […]
Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed Hasn’t Woken Up From Derby Dream
Everything kept going back through Eric Reed’s mind like a never-ending dream, which the trainer of Rich Strike still wasn’t sure about. “I couldn’t sleep last night,†said Reed, still in shock over Rich Strike’s 80/1 shocking victory in the 148th Kentucky Derby. “At 4 this morning, I was wondering […]
Rich Strike Bowls Over Rivals in Stunning 80/1 Kentucky Derby Upset
Rich Strike’s trainer, Eric Reed, nearly lost his entire stable in a barn fire. He got Rich Strike – a $30,000 claimer with one career win in seven starts — into the 148th Kentucky Derby with five minutes to spare Friday. When he left Post 21 at Churchill Downs, Rich […]
Secret Oath Comes Out of Kentucky Oaks Win Looking at Preakness
The options before Secret Oath – newly minted Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath – are plentiful and profitable. And Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said the Preakness Stakes remains one of those options. “I’m going to let a few days go by and then I’ll get with (owner) […]
Racing Veteran White Sees Plenty of Gray in this Kentucky Derby
Jon White wants you to know this Kentucky Derby prognostication stuff can get rather tricky. He once picked Point Given to win the 2001 Derby because he simply was the best horse in the field. Point Given picked the first Saturday in May that year to run the worst race […]
Breaking Down the 2022 Kentucky Derby: Chaos Theory Reigns
Welcome to Kentucky Derby 148, a.k.a. The Chaos Derby. And we’re not talking about the usual infield escapades that happen as the Derby returns to it’s pre-pandemic crowds north of 150,000. Unpredictability? Depth? A Derby where surprises almost wouldn’t be surprising? This edition of America’s most popular race has it […]
The Exodus Continues: Champion Corniche Goes from Baffert to Pletcher
Eclipse Award winner Corniche became the latest top-shelf runner to move from Bob Baffert’s California barn to Todd Pletcher’s New York base, according to his owners Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner, who campaign as Speedway Stables. The Daily Racing Form first reported Corniche’s move, which came due to Baffert’s 90-day […]