This time, courtesy of a slow break, Flightline managed “only†a six-length victory in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. But his reputation as a superhorse is alive and quite well. The latest convert? Jockey Junior Alvarado, who rode 2.75/1 second choice Speaker’s Corner to third in the Met Mile, one […]
Tag: Met Mile
Flightline Plus Speaker’s Corner Equals a Memorable Met Mile
When Flavien Prat hopped off Flightline last December, after he had just dismantled the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes by 11 1/2 lengths, the veteran jockey had what could be described as a religious experience. As any jockey can tell you when they’ve ridden a superhorse, the words sometimes don’t come […]
NYRA Betting Horseplayers Will Like These Two-Day Wagers
With a two-day Pick 6 as its centerpiece, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) unveiled a smorgasbord of special wagers for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival that begins Thursday. NYRA rolled out six two-day wagers that encompass the Festival’s biggest races. There are 17 stakes races over the three days, […]
Come for the Belmont Stakes, Stay for Seven Other Grade 1s in One Day
The biggest one-day collection of Grade 1 races outside of the Breeders’ Cup comes June 11 at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Belmont Park. The New York track will play host to eight Grade 1s that day, headlined by the third leg of the Triple Crown – the 154th […]
Next race for Super Sprinter Flightline: The February 5 San Carlos Stakes
The question on when standout sprinter Flightline would run again got answered on Sunday when trainer John Sadler said he’d run in the Feb. 5 Grade 2 San Carlos at Santa Anita. The seven-furlong San Carlos fits Sadler’s early-season itinerary. It also allows the son of Tapit to stay home, […]
The Met Mile Gives You Tradition, Depth and Knicks Go’s Return
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 […]
Cuomo Green-Lights Fans at NYRA Racetracks Starting April 23
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo caught the New York Racing Association by surprise on Wednesday when he announced fans could return to the state’s racetracks as early as April 23. That’s one day after Belmont Park’s Spring Meet opens. According to Cuomo’s edict, attendance at the three NYRA tracks, Belmont […]
Belmont Stakes Headlines NYRA’s Belmont Park Stakes Schedule
With the Belmont Stakes headlining eight Grade 1 races that day, Belmont Park will play host to one of the biggest days in American racing on Saturday, June 5. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Belmont Park’s Spring/Summer Meet stakes schedule, which features 11 Grade 1 races among 59 […]
Spendthrift Farm Adds Sizzling Vekoma to Already Deep Stud Stable
Spendthrift Farm acquired the breeding rights to its third Met Mile winner in the last four years when it secured stud privileges to multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma. Spendthrift, the famous Kentucky breeding farm owned by billionaire B. Wayne Hughes, the founder and chairman of Public Storage, adds perhaps the […]
Meet the Many Contenders in the Met Mile
The beauty for horseplayers and horse racing fans alike in Saturday’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Stakes, popularly known as the Met Mile, is the variety of runners meeting in the Belmont Park starting gate for a one-turn mile. Sprinters? They’re there with Vekoma, Hog Creek Hustle and Network Effect. Routers? How […]
Tacitus Brings Everything to the Track — Except Winning Tickets
You can say many things about Tacitus, your 9/5 morning line favorite for Saturday’s Grade 2 $200,000 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park. You can call him a disappointment — $2.7 million in earnings aside. You can say the 4-year-old Tapit progeny should own more than three victories in 11 career […]
McKinzie, Baffert Carry a Special Bond Into Every Race
To Bob Baffert, Saturday’s Grade 1 Met Mile at Belmont Park is more than one of the top older-horse races on Belmont Park’s summer calendar. To the Hall of Fame trainer, watching McKinzie seek history in one of the most historic races on the East Coast means more than another […]