As Todd Pletcher sees it with Wit, the turf pedigree is there. As he sees it through recency bias, moving him to grass has a good precedent. And as Pletcher sees it through recent history, why not? The Hall of Fame trainer moves his 3-year-old multiple graded stakes winner to […]
Turns out, nine furlongs was a bridge too far for previously unbeaten Jack Christopher, And the 3/5 odds he left the Monmouth Park gate carrying for Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes were nowhere near his realistic chances for winning. This explains his third-place finish behind 7/1 Cyberknife and 2/1 Taiba. […]
Cyberknife not only left the heralded Haskell Stakes duel between Jack Christopher and Taiba in the dust, he left both horses behind – along with the Monmouth Park track record for 1 1/8 miles. Also left behind was Jack Christopher’s aura of invincibility, along with Chad Brown’s chances of sweeping […]
The buzz horse in Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes is definitely Jack Christopher. The buzz trainer – as he usually is in high-profile 3-year-old races – is Bob Baffert who brings in 7/5 morning line favorite Taiba. So when the starting buzzer goes off in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell, who’s […]
The Grade 1 Haskell Stakes, its Grade 1 turf undercard United Nations, and a salty Grade 3 filly turf sprint finale at Saratoga headline this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s Cross Country Pick 5 features stakes races coming from Monmouth Park, Saratoga, and Canada’s […]
One day after Chad Brown racked up the Diana Stakes superfecta, he discussed his barn’s new MO acquiring horses, where Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting is running next and what’s next for his other two standout sophomores: Zandon and Jack Christopher. You’ll see Early Voting next in the July 30 […]
First, the good news for Belmont Park and its just-concluded Spring/Summer Meet. The track enjoyed a 2% increase in average daily handle over 2021. The average daily handle came in at $13,437,509 for the 44-day meet that ended Sunday. According to the New York Racing Association, the average daily handle […]
Chad Brown added to his record-extending seventh consecutive Belmont Park Spring/Summer training title when the conditioner racked up 47 victories. Brown’s 47 victories eclipsed David Jacobson’s 2013 mark of 44 set over a 56-day meet. Brown’s 47 came in 44 days. “My team should be very proud of themselves and […]
The Jack Christopher Comeback Tour makes its next stop at the Grade 1 Woody Stephens, setting down once again on a Triple Crown undercard race. The seven-furlong Woody Stephens will be one of the eight Grade 1s on Saturday’s Belmont Stakes undercard. It’s not to be confused with the Grade […]
There was Chad Brown with Jack Christopher, standing in the Churchill Downs winner’s circle on the first Saturday in May. Just the way the four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer drew it up with the standout colt. Well, not quite. Brown and Jack Christopher were in the winner’s circle, not for the […]
Just like it did in November’s Pool 1, the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2 finished with All Other 3-Year-Olds as the favorite, and Smile Happy closing as the individual favorite. While Smile Happy closed at the same 8/1 odds he finished at in Pool 1, All Other 3-Year-Olds wound […]
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, and the Daily Racing Form announced the finalists for the 2021 Eclipse Awards on Saturday. The list of finalists did not include Horse of the Year candidates, for which Knicks Go is a virtual certainty. Instead, finalists in 16 of […]
Trainer Chad Brown told the Thoroughbred Daily News that his star 3-year-old, Jack Christopher, may not be ready for the Kentucky Derby. If Jack Christopher can’t answer the bell for the prep season, this would remove one of the current front-rank horses from the May 7 Derby. He’s currently the […]
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 […]
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 […]
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile favorite Jack Christopher won’t run in Friday’s $2 million Juvenile, according to the Breeders’ Cup, which announced the scratch on Twitter late Thursday night. The 9/5 favorite for the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile was scratched due to a left shin issue, according to a tweet from Bradley Weisbord, […]
If there was ever a time to put the chalk down and engage in the wagering version of dumpster diving, a Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar is that time. Saratoga may be the Graveyard of Champions, but the last time there was a Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, chalky tombstones […]
Make no mistake, the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf may anchor Friday’s opening day of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. But the adventures of Charlie Appleby’s Modern Games and Albahr in that race might as well be the chorus when it comes to “Future Stars Friday,†as Breeders’ Cup […]
The Grade 1 Champagne Stakes predates the Kentucky Derby by eight years. In fact, the one mile juvenile test that sets the early bar for Derby prospects appeared only two years after the Civil War ended. Derby preps have to get their momentum somewhere, which is where the Champagne pours forth. Saturday’s test […]
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