Midnight Bourbon, a presence in some of the biggest races of the last 17 months, died suddenly in his Churchill Downs stall due to what Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen called “an acute gastrointestinal situation.” The Tiznow colt was 4. The Daily Racing Form reported that Midnight Bourbon breezed […]
The Dubai World Cup features Life Is Good and his better-than-good speed, Hot Rod Charlie and his better-than-good tenacity, Country Grammer and his better-than-good ability at this distance and Midnight Bourbon and his better-than-good money finishes. All competing for a better-than-great $12 million purse at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Post […]
It’s off to Dubai for Country Grammer and Midnight Bourbon, back to the US for Mandaloun and Art Collector and a roving question mark for Emblem Road and Mishriff. This is the post-Saudi Cup itinerary for several of the principals of the third edition of the world’s richest horse race, according to […]
When handicapping the Saudi Cup, your typical first inclination is to lock in on the familiar. After all, it’s a race offering the unfamiliar in an unfamiliar-to-North American-bettors site. Two years ago, in the first iteration of the $20 million race, it was the familiar site of Maximum Security crossing […]
Should Mishriff conquer his outside post, the formidable presence of Mandaloun and the 12 other rivals stalking shares of the $20 million Saudi Cup purse, he’ll become the highest earning horse in Thoroughbred racing history. Read that sentence back. Should Mishriff defend his Saudi Cup title, the 5-year-old Irish-bred, British-trained […]
The $20 million Saudi Cup, a.k.a. the world’s richest race, opens this week’s opportunity for horseplayers to get rich via the New York Racing Association’s Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s five-race sequence takes on a cross-global flavor. It features races from the home of the Saudi Cup — King Abdulaziz Racetrack […]
Steve Asmussen hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to talking up Midnight Bourbon to anyone who will listen. And given what the heretofore snakebit colt has done to bettors, avid listeners are becoming harder and harder to find. “The only time he’s missed the break in his life was […]
The Louisiana Stakes, starring Mandaloun vs. Midnight Bourbon, sounds like deja vu all over again. And again. And again. And again. And, yes, again. This latest duel — the sixth between the newly minted 4-year-olds and 2021 Triple Crown rivals — returns the pair to Fair Grounds and the $150,000 […]
In August, Steve Asmussen took the mantle as North America’s winningest career trainer. On Thanksgiving Day, he went from macro record-setter to micro record-setter, winning what is believed to be a record five races on one card at Churchill Downs. Churchill Downs officials said records prior to 1991 are incomplete, […]
The Grade 1 Clark Stakes provides the final opportunity for Maxfield to grab a Grade 1 win. It’s an opportunity for Midnight Bourbon to shake his seconditis and grab his first Grade 1. And it provides a great opportunity for Dr. Post and King Fury to grab validation in their […]
The Pennsylvania Derby, your traditional last major 3-year-old race of the season, returns after a COVID-related year absence. And the Penn Derby returns, asking the pressing question concerning a couple of decorated sophomore runners: Will either Hot Rod Charlie or Midnight Bourbon finally get that elusive Grade 1 victory? If […]
Bob Baffert scratched Medina Spirit from Saturday’s Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Tuesday after the Kentucky Derby winner and 2/1 morning-line favorite drew an outside post that Baffert found troubling. Medina Spirit drew post 9 in the 10-horse Pennsylvania Derby field. That put his two chief competitors, Hot […]
On a chalky betting day where favorites beat a path to the Saratoga winner’s circle, the New York Racing Association announced an all-sources Travers Day handle of $51,381,515. That came from a paid crowd of 44,507, which generated an on-track handle of $9,406,526. This provided an obvious boost from last […]
Brad Cox and Essential Quality are simultaneously chasing Travers Stakes history and running from it at the same time. This counterintuitive feat illustrates Cox’s training prowess, Essential Quality’s running prowess, and the Travers’ recent prowess as a destroyer of favorites. Cox, who trains the prohibitive 4/5 favorite for Saturday’s headline […]
The names of those racing on Saturday’s Travers Day at Saratoga sound like a Thoroughbred all-star team: Essential Quality, Gamine, Letruska, Tribhuvan, Jackie’s Warrior, Life Is Good, Whitmore, Swiss Skydiver. All of them – and others you may have heard of – are set to run in one of Saratoga’s […]
The inherent danger of riding horses combined with a controversial rule change to create a frightening finish to Saturday’s Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. Hot Rod Charlie crossed the finish line first, nipping Mandaloun by a nose. That apparently gave him his long-sought first Grade 1 victory. However, the 4/5 […]
The first thought that comes to mind when you see Mandaloun, Midnight Bourbon and Hot Rod Charlie lined up as the three headliners for Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes is that deja-vu sense of familiarity. You’ve seen these three clash repeatedly, but there’s something else about them that stands out. […]
With no Medina Spirit, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will take Rombauer’s reins for the June 5 Belmont Stakes. The Daily Racing Form reported that trainer Mike McCarthy grabbed Velazquez’s services for the Belmont. He’ll take the reins from Flavien Prat, who returned to the horse he rode in […]
Malibu Moon, the grandson of a Kentucky Derby winner and the sire of another one, died late Tuesday of an apparent heart attack in his Spendthrift Farm stall. He was 24. The prolific sire of 126 black-type winners and 51 graded stakes winners was one of the most influential sires […]
While the Belmont Stakes field remains an early work in progress, several trainers with possible sights on the final jewel of the Triple Crown have either indicated interest or put their horses through workouts with that June 5 race in mind. The Belmont Stakes field of possibles starts with Kentucky […]
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