The Belmont Stakes was the race Mike Repole wanted more than any other. It was the race the entrepreneur he called “his Kentucky Derby.†The race the native New Yorker loved so much that he watched the replay numerous times of his best finisher in the race: Stay Thirsty, in […]
Tag: Jose Ortiz
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 […]
Flightline Unwraps 2021’s Best Beyer With Malibu Stakes Victory
As trainer John Sadler put it after watching his star runner Flightline on Sunday, “Christmas came a day late.†For Sadler and the connections of the 3-year-old son of Tapit, Flightline’s performance in Sunday’s Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park was the gift that keeps on giving. And […]
Off to Oklahoma for This Week’s Derby Prep: the Springboard Mile
Before you dive into this week’s Kentucky Derby prep — Friday night’s Springboard Mile at Remington Park — a couple of caveats are in order. First, no Springboard Mile alum has ever won the Derby. That shouldn’t be surprising, given Remington Park’s off-the-beaten-path locale in Oklahoma. But don’t look at […]
Brown Sees Green Again, Wins Sixth Straight Belmont Park Training Title
Belmont Park continues to be Chad Brown’s world and the rest of the New York horse racing community is merely living in it. Brown clinched the Belmont Park Spring/Summer Meet training title for the sixth consecutive year, racking up 32 victories over the 48-day meet that ended Sunday. Jose Ortiz […]
Without Baffert, Knicks Go’s Fast Break Makes Him Pegasus Favorite
If horses run in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Bob Baffert doesn’t train any of them, does it really happen? We’re about to find out what the richest dirt race for older horses in North America – non-Breeders’ Cup division – looks like without the preeminent dirt trainer of […]
Carmouche Breaks Into Big Time with First NYRA Riding Crown
Between 2008 and 2011, Kendrick Carmouche won seven riding titles at Parx, outside Philadelphia, staking his claim as that track’s dominant jockey and earning a spot in its Hall of Fame. But that was at Parx; a nice track, but a track out in the riding provinces. Now, Carmouche is […]
Playing Dominoes with Derby Jockeys: Who’s Coming, Who’s Staying Put
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 […]