Midnight Bisou Takes Owners and Racing Fans on the Ride of Their Lives

Brian Robin - July 29, 2020 3 min read

In his previous life, Jeff Bloom was a jockey. But at no time during his riding career did Bloom enjoy a ride like the one he’s on with Midnight Bisou. Bloom owns the 5-year-old mare in a partnership with Madaket Stables and Allen Racing, and the ride has been so […]

By My Standards Seeking to Do It His Way at Whitney Stakes

Brian Robin - July 28, 2020 3 min read

By My Standards ran his last race – June’s Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs — exactly by his standards. He chalked a 102 Beyer Speed Figure, tying his career-best mark. He raced exactly out of trainer Bret Calhoun’s playbook, even down to the strong gallop-out afterward. This should […]

Uncle Chuck Heads to Saratoga for Travers Tangle With Tiz the Law

Brian Robin - July 28, 2020 2 min read

You won’t have to wait until the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby to see Uncle Chuck take on Tiz the Law. Not after trainer Bob Baffert confirmed he will send Uncle Chuck to New York for the Aug. 8 Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. With Belmont Stakes champion Tiz the […]

McKinzie Goes on the Road to the Crosby, Improbable off to Whitney

Brian Robin - July 26, 2020 3 min read

Go long and far, or go short and stay home. When it came to deciding where prize colt McKinzie would run next, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert opted for the six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar over the 1 1/8-mile Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. Instead, Baffert sends Improbable […]

Javier Castellano

Starship Jubilee Flies Off With Adventurous Upset at Ballston Spa Stakes

Brian Robin - July 26, 2020 3 min read

While the horse racing world was focused on Maximum Security’s return on Saturday (spoiler alert: he won), the other end of the country produced one of the more surprising upsets in the graded stakes world. That, courtesy of Starship Jubilee, who took down 2/5 favorite Sistercharlie in the Grade 2 […]

Vanderbilt Handicap Short on Entries, Long on Volatile Speed

Brian Robin - July 24, 2020 3 min read

The secret is already out. But you can confirm exactly how volatile a sprinter Volatile is in Saturday’s Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap. The featured race on Saratoga’s Saturday card gives you a glimpse of some of the best sprinting talent in the country. Only five horses are entered […]

Whitmore Shows the Youngsters How This Sprinting Game Works

Brian Robin - July 23, 2020 3 min read

Usually, horses of Whitmore’s age are working in the breeding shed or are retired. They’re not doing morning workouts. Usually, horses with 14 career wins are … well, rarely do horses with this portfolio get to 14 career wins. But here is Whitmore, a 7-year-old gelding, seeking career win No. […]

Saratoga, Monmouth Break Out Fast with Strong Handles

Brian Robin - July 20, 2020 3 min read

There were no fans in the stands at Saratoga for opening weekend, and few fans in the stands at Monmouth Park on Haskell weekend. But both tracks notched increased handles year-over-year from 2019. Saratoga’s opening weekend all-sources handle came in at $80,325,660, up 9.4% from 2019’s $73,441,101. The historic upstate […]

Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Presents Bettors High Stakes Choices

Brian Robin - July 16, 2020 3 min read

You have your cross country Pick 4s and Pick 5s, which demand you pick winners from different tracks around the country. But the latest betting novelty for horseplayers takes the Cross Country Pick 5, boosts its class, and takes it international. Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 gives bettors a swing […]

NYRA Bans Outside Riders From Prestigious Saratoga Meet

Brian Robin - July 14, 2020 3 min read

In an effort to control the rampaging coronavirus among jockeys, the New York Racing Association took an unprecedented step for its crown-jewel Saratoga meet on Tuesday, closing the meet to out-of-town jockeys. That means only members of the NYRA jockey colony, which currently consists of 22 regular jockeys and three […]

Saratoga Schedule Features 39 Stakes, Tiz the Law Expected in Travers

Brian Robin - June 19, 2020 3 min read

The New York Racing Association put one of the final Kentucky Derby Trail pieces in place on Friday, releasing its Saratoga Race Course summer stakes schedule. It puts the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on Saturday, Aug. 8, four weeks before the Kentucky Derby. That date conveniently fits Tiz the Law’s […]

New York Racing Resumes in June After Governor’s Approval

Brian Robin - May 16, 2020 2 min read

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo put his state back in the horseracing game Saturday when he announced during his daily coronavirus briefing New York may resume spectator-free racing June 1. Along with Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields resuming in California and Churchill Downs resuming in Kentucky, this is […]

Kentucky, New York Officials Cautiously Plan Return to Live Racing

Brian Robin - April 30, 2020 4 min read

Government officials in two of the country’s biggest horse racing states, Kentucky and New York, opened the doors for live, spectator-free racing to begin amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcements came separately and, in both cases, contained few details on exactly when live racing would begin again. But in the […]

As Horse Racing Considers Its Future, NYRA and Churchill Downs Extend Track Closures

Brian Robin - April 9, 2020 3 min read

Both the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Churchill Downs on Wednesday announced delays in opening or re-opening training facilities after coronavirus-related track closures. But the two influential racing organizations diverged as to when facilities should be ready to return for spring/summer meets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

Elite Older Horses to Square Off Saturday in Whitney Stakes at Saratoga

Bob Mann - August 1, 2019 3 min read

A quartet of top-level older horses head an eight-horse field Saturday in the $1 million, 1 1/8 mile Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. McKinzie, Thunder Snow, Vino Rosso and Yoshida are all Grade 1 winners. But, the top four will have to deal with four other emerging runners in […]

Tax Files in Plenty of Time, Wins Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga

Bob Mann - July 27, 2019 3 min read

Former fringe player Tax is now front and center as a contender in the 1 1/4 mile, $1.25 million Travers Stakes Aug. 24 at Saratoga in Upstate New York. The former claimer disposing of a solid group of rivals in the $600,000 Jim Dandy, the local Travers prep. He’s now […]