One example of how deep Saturday’s Belmont Stakes card is comes to you via the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, best known as the Met Mile. This is a race that should be on its own, which it was as a Memorial Day staple until 2014 when the New York Racing […]
Tag: Knicks Go
Cox Calls a New Play for Knicks Go — The Met Mile
Even Brad Cox understands how the avoid Bob Baffert game is played, which explains why he moved his star older horse, Knicks Go, to the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. That June 5 race is the first-among-equals Grade 1 on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Cox originally targeted Knicks Go for the […]
Knicks Go Returns Off the Main Track — at Texas’ Lone Star Park
Standout 5-year-old horse Knicks Go, last seen finishing fourth in the Saudi Cup on Feb. 20, will return in an unlikely spot on May 31 – the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park. Trainer Brad Cox announced Knicks Go’s next go-moment during a National Thoroughbred Racing Association […]
Mishriff Takes Top Spot in Initial 2021 Longines Rankings
Led by Charlatan, American Thoroughbreds took three of the top eight spots, but it was Ireland’s Mishriff who seized the top spot in the 2021 first edition of Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. The John Gosden-trained 4-year-old earned a 122 rating from the racing officials and handicappers compiling the rankings […]
Charlatan Comes Out of Gutsy Saudi Cup Finish Ready for More
The day after Charlatan finished a game, but beaten, second to England’s Mishriff in the $20 million Saudi Cup, his trainer Bob Baffert gushed about what transpired on the other end of the world. “He ran a big race,†Baffert told Santa Anita Park’s Ed Golden on Sunday morning. “He […]
Let’s Cut to the Saudi Cup Chase: It’s Charlatan vs. Knicks Go
The best-case scenario for the connections of every Saudi Cup horse not named Knicks Go or Charlatan is easy to comprehend, if not easy to realize. It goes something like this. Leaving from Post 5, Joel Rosario sends Knicks Go out like a shot. From Post 9, Mike Smith and […]
New COVID Protocols Scratch Saudi Cup Jockeys Rispoli, Velazquez
Star jockeys Umberto Rispoli and John Velazquez lost their mounts for Saturday’s $20 million Saudi Cup after Saudi race organizers abruptly changed their COVID-19 testing protocols. That takes Rispoli off Max Player and removes Velazquez from Tacitus. Rispoli had three mounts on the Saudi Cup card, including Cowan in the […]
Knicks Go, Brad Cox Tell the Story of a Horse’s Renaissance
Every time Brad Cox looks at his first Eclipse Award as 2020’s Champion Trainer, he should give thanks to Knicks Go. For if there was ever an example of how important a trainer’s impact is on an individual horse, the story of Knicks Go is Exhibit A. And if there […]
Americans Take Center Post Stages at Saudi Cup Post Draw
Between Posts 4 and 9 sit the five United States horses running in Saturday’s $20 million Saudi Cup. Most spectators’ eyes will likely gravitate to Posts 5 and 9, where Knicks Go and Charlatan start, respectively. Post positions were drawn Wednesday for the Saudi Cup. There are 14 horses representing […]
Weekend Stakes Span the Globe From Saudi Arabia to California
Looking at this weekend’s notable stakes races takes the eye halfway around the world to the $20 million Saudi Cup. Another look also takes the eye back to three races postponed from last weekend to this weekend – the Southwest Stakes, the Bayakoa Stakes, and the Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn […]
Saudi Cup Connections Exempt from COVID Ban; Knicks Go a Go
As the Saudi Cup field takes shape, the Saudi Arabian government announced connections for the $20 million race participants will be exempt from the country’s ban on entering Saudi Arabia. Citing COVID-19 concerns, the country banned entry to residents of 20 nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. […]
Knicks Go Dunks on His Rivals Again, Wins Pegasus Gate-to-Wire
Enjoy Knicks Go while you can. Savor every start of his 5-year-old campaign, while you understand you’re watching horseracing’s star attraction of 2021. Knicks Go brought this lesson home in gate-to-wire fashion, winning the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Saturday afternoon. It’s certainly understandable if Knicks […]
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 […]
Knicks Go Draws Prime Pegasus Post, Tabbed as 5/2 Favorite
With three straight victories in as many 2020 starts, Knicks Go is exactly the type of horse who wins the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Now, add a prime starting spot from Post 4 to the mix, and it’s easy to understand how Knicks Go became the 5/2 favorite when Pegasus […]
Charlatan, Knicks Go, and Swiss Skydiver Headline Saudi Cup Nominees
Swiss Skydiver, Charlatan and Knicks Go are three names you’d expect to find in the world’s richest race – the $20 million Saudi Cup. And those three American stars headline a lengthy nominee list for the Feb. 20 Saudi Cup. The 1 1/8-mile Saudi Cup drew 109 nominees from nine […]
Knicks Go, Charlatan, Mucho Gusto Headline Pegasus World Cup Invites
Bob Baffert will take two of his older mainstays, Mucho Gusto and Charlatan, into his bid for a third Pegasus World Cup Invitational title. Those two are among the 16 horses earning invites to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park. The 1-1/8-mile Pegasus headlines a seven-graded […]
Gulfstream Park Championship Meet Opens with No Fans, Rich Stakes
Gulfstream Park opens its 2020-21 Championship Meet on Wednesday without spectators, but with a stakes schedule that – aside from several stops on the Road to the Kentucky Derby – offers one of North America’s richest races. Headlining Gulfstream’s 75 stakes races – 36 graded – is the $3 million […]
Not Every Horse Retired in 2020: Here are the Stars to See in 2021
Now that we’ve bid farewell to the Thoroughbred standouts who retired in 2020, which horses will we greet as the returning equine stars worthy of attention in 2021? We bid farewell to Authentic, Improbable, Maximum Security, Vekoma, Tom’s d’Etat, War of Will, McKinzie, Serengeti Empress, Enable, and Ghaiyyath in recent […]
On Record-Setting Day, Breeders’ Cup Handle Takes Mild Dip
With Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, standout filly Gamine, and Knicks Go all winning Breeders’ Cup races in record time – and without general public tickets available – the Breeders’ Cup World Championships managed its sixth-highest all-sources handle since 2007. That was the year the Breeders’ Cup expanded to two days. […]