In horse racing’s version of splitting the foal in half, the Arkansas Racing Commission upheld three stewards’ rulings from the 2020 Arkansas Derby card, but rescinded drug-related disqualifications for two Bob Baffert horses — Charlatan and Gamine — running on that card. The six-vote, unanimous decision reinstates Charlatan’s first division […]
Tag: Nadal
Get Your Concert Tour Tickets for This Arkansas Derby
For reasons ranging from handicapping to running style to history, the Arkansas Derby is the perfect last stop on the Kentucky Derby Trail. You could dial up a better finishing prep race. But you’d second-guess yourself mid-thought and wind up back at Oaklawn Park. Yes, Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby […]
Expect Rebel Stakes to Flow Caddo River’s Way
The Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, which holds court as the lone Kentucky Derby prep of consequence this weekend, has a Grade 1 winner in its field. Bob Baffert doesn’t train 8/1 Get Her Number, the lone Grade 1 winner in Saturday’s Rebel at Oaklawn Park. Nor does Brad Cox. No, […]
Concert Tour’s Next Gig on Stardom Path: Rebel Stakes
If Concert Tour was your garden-variety band embarking on a, well, concert tour, he’d be one of those hot new groups from the underground. A group people have heard of, but don’t really know about. He may not have broken through to the main stage yet, but Concert Tour is […]
Authentic, Improbable, Monomoy Girl Head Eclipse Awards Finalists
Horse of the Year candidates Authentic, Improbable, and Monomoy Girl headline the finalists for the 2020 Eclipse Awards, announced Saturday by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), and the Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards get their name from the iconic 18th-century racehorse and […]
Undefeated Nadal Heading to Japan to Begin His Stallion Career
Undefeated 3-year-old multiple stakes winner Nadal will head to Japan for his stud career, Japanese breeding farm Shadai Stallion Station announced Wednesday. The announcement ended speculation on where the $700,000 Blame progeny would stand after his once-promising racing career prematurely ended in May. The one-time Kentucky Derby points leader, Nadal […]
Maxfield Injured, Star Colt Becomes Latest Derby Trail Casualty
Illustrating another example of the precarious nature of Thoroughbred horse racing, Kentucky Derby contender Maxfield injured his front right leg during a routine workout on Wednesday. He will miss the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby after suffering a condylar fracture in his leg. If this sounds eerily familiar, it should. This […]
Ankle Injury Takes Star Baffert Colt Charlatan Out of Belmont, Derby
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s vaunted Big Three Kentucky Derby contenders is now down to a Big One with the news that Charlatan will miss the Kentucky Derby with an ankle injury. Baffert told Paulick Report Publisher Ray Paulick the undefeated Speighstown progeny suffered “a filling in a front […]
Belmont Stakes Field Undergoes a Thursday Tremor
The Belmont Stakes field underwent a shakeup on Thursday, losing powerful Nadal to a broken leg and Wells Bayou to other Kentucky Derby preps. On the plus side, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed three of his horses, Dr. Post, Farmington Road, and Gouverneur Morris, will be in the […]
Broken Bone Forces Kentucky Derby Favorite Nadal Into Retirement
Illustrating the fragile nature of today’s Thoroughbred horses, Kentucky Derby favorite Nadal broke a bone in his left front leg during a Thursday morning workout. His owner, George Bolton, said Nadal has been immediately retired. One of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s standout 3-year-olds, Nadal worked a half-mile at […]
Circa Sports Opens New Kentucky Derby Futures Betting Market
Circa Sports burst on the sports betting scene last year in an audacious, aggressive manner that revealed an organization not afraid to take chances or try new things with its lines. The downtown Las Vegas property stayed true to form this week when Circa released its Kentucky Derby futures board. […]
What Did We Learn About Major Kentucky Derby Hopefuls?
The Arkansas Derby is behind us and a work-in-progress Kentucky Derby Trail lies in front of us. With tracks around the country beginning to open again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and Churchill Downs officials still mapping out prep races, it’s a good time to see where the […]
Deep End of Arkansas Derby Pool is Smack Dab in Second Division
With the Arkansas Derby’s split divisions, here runs the talent. The Arkansas Derby’s second division features your graded-stakes winners, your low-odds Kentucky Derby futures picks and the horses owning Derby prep victories. Here is the Arkansas Derby’s varsity division – the second division. This is where you find your Louisiana […]
Bob Baffert Solves Scheduling Problem For His ‘Superstar Material’ 3-Year-Olds
The Arkansas Derby for Charlatan and Nadal, the Oaklawn Stakes for Thousand Words, and time off for Authentic. That’s Bob Baffert’s solution for the “problem†of where he next sends his murderer’s row of talented 3-year-olds. In an interview with Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey of NBC Sports on Wednesday, […]
Which Speedster Can Lock Up Kentucky at the Rebel Stakes in Arkansas?
Like its Santa Anita counterpart, last weekend’s San Felipe, the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas is a Grade 2 Kentucky Derby prep race that boasts predictability, a blueblood pedigree of winners, and the ever-present Bob Baffert. The Rebel, a 1 1/16-mile, two-turn test, is Saturday’s lone Derby prep […]