Tag: Ron Moquett

Kenny McPeek's Dash Attack splashed his way to victory New Year's Day in the Smarty Jones. Can he do the same on a dry track as the 7/2 second choice in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park? (Image: Coady Photography)

Yes, Baffert has the Southwest Stakes Favorite, But He’s Got Company

- 4 min read

Today’s $750,000 Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park has the usual Bob Baffert flavor: 2/1 morning-line favorite Newgrange, shipping in from California in search of Baffert’s record-tying fifth Southwest title. But there’s a new contender awaiting: Kenny McPeek, who finds himself in the unfamiliar role of trainer of Kentucky […]

Assistant trainer Laura Moquett, the wife of trainer/co-owner Ron Moquett, was the only one who galloped Whitmore during his storied career. The 8-year-old Champion Sprinter retired Saturday. (Image: Richard Rasmussen/Sentinel-Record)

Popular Champion Sprinter Whitmore Retired from Racing

- 3 min read

Popular and petulant sprinter Whitmore was retired from racing on Saturday, ending a remarkable career culminating in his naming as 2020 Champion Sprinter of the Year. Whitmore finished fifth of eight in Saturday’s Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga. Sensing something was wrong with the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Sprint champion, […]

Running for a tag, like on this Oaklawn Park claimer, is the tricky foundation of horse racing. And trainers at Del Mar are claiming horses at a rate threatening a 16-year-old record. (Image: Sarah Andrew Photo)

Staking A Claim: The Name of Del Mar’s Racing Game This Summer

- 3 min read

One of Del Mar’s mottos is “cool as ever,” a saying that doesn’t apply to the claiming department for this summer season. The track where the “turf meets the surf,” to borrow another Del Mar phrase, became the track where the claim game is hotter than ever. For the first […]

Mischevious Alex won his first Grade 1 with this 5 1/4-length blowout in the Carter Handicap in April. He is the 2/1 favorite to win his second at Saturday's Vanderbilt Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand)

Watch the Blue-Blooded Sprinting Talent Clash in the Vanderbilt

- 4 min read

The Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes gives you the venerable Whitmore, the ubiquitous Firenze Fire, and the dynamic Mischevious Alex. Enough sprinting talent to throw in a trifecta box at, say, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint this fall at Del Mar. Except that, a few hours after Saratoga turns that […]

The temperamental Whitmore in one of his more gentle moments, right after he and Irad Ortiz Jr. won the Breeders' Cup Sprint last November at Keeneland.(Image: Coady Photography)

Temperamental, Cranky Champion Whitmore Returns to Saratoga

- 3 min read

Whitmore is the equine version of your cranky uncle; the one who tells the great stories when he’s not telling the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn. And while this creates a special brand of headache for trainer Ron Moquett, it also comes with built-in aspirin for those headaches. […]

You'll see December post parades at Oaklawn Park this winter if the Arkansas Racing Commission approves the track's proposed meet extension. That would push Oaklawn's opening date from late January to early December. (Image: Coady Photography)

Oaklawn Park Proposes Meet Extension Into December

- 2 min read

Oaklawn Park announced a proposal for a historic extension of its racing season Monday, adding December race dates to its calendar to create a 66-day season at the Arkansas track. Under the proposal, Oaklawn would open its meet Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 and run through Sunday, May 8, 2022. By […]