Bob Baffert has six entries, including three in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Aidan O’Brien counters with 10 entries. And just like that with Wednesday’s pre-entries, lineups for the 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championships races are falling into place. All told, 201 horses pre-entered into the Nov. 6-7 racing festival at […]
Tag: Swiss Skydiver
Three Kentucky Derby Preps Headline Fair Grounds’ 2020-21 Stakes Cards
Three key Kentucky Derby prep races headline Fair Grounds Race Course’s 51 stakes schedule for the 2020-21 season, which begins Thanksgiving Day. Those stakes on the Louisiana track carry a combined purse of more than $7 million over the 76-day meet, which runs through March 28. What’s interesting about the […]
Circa Sports Makes Improbable the Breeders’ Cup Classic Futures Favorite
One day after opening the first domestic Breeders’ Cup Classic futures board, Circa Sports puts Improbable as the favorite to capture the $6 million Breeders’ Cup’s marquee event on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. Improbable opened at +380, then moved up slightly to +410. His best odds overseas are 4/1. The […]
Winning Preakness Complicates Swiss Skydiver’s Breeders’ Cup Plans
She’s run with the boys. Now, with her Preakness victory last Saturday, Swiss Skydiver beat the boys. So what’s the next challenge for one of the great North American fillies of her generation? That would be the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland. That much, we know. But what are […]
Swiss Skydiver Wins Epic 2020 Preakness Stakes Amid Plunging Handle
Not even one of the most exciting Preakness finishes in memory prevented a 48.7% drop in betting handle from 2019’s record figure, according to Equibase. Pimlico’s 12-race Preakness handle checked in at $51,252,631, a nearly 50% drop from last year’s $99,852,653 record handle. That 2019 handle came on a 14-race […]
The Triple Crown Ends Here: Breaking Down the 2020 Preakness Stakes
It’s October 2020, which in this bizarre of all bizarre years, means it’s Preakness Stakes time. That there is no Triple Crown at stake does not mean there is nothing at stake in the third and final jewel of a wild, 15-week Triple Crown campaign. The 2020 American Classics trail […]
Preakness Stakes Draw: Derby Winner Authentic Takes Favorite Spot
While Preakness Stakes favorite Authentic was wrapping up his final pre-race workout, the 9/5 favorite for Saturday’s 145th Preakness drew post 9 at Monday morning’s post draw in Baltimore. In what’s already been a wild and unpredictable Triple Crown season, at least one reliable standby remains true. The Kentucky Derby […]
It’s Official: Swiss Skydiver Jumps into Preakness Stakes
Swiss Skydiver’s trainer Kenny McPeek confirmed Saturday his star filly will take on the boys in next Saturday’s Preakness Stakes. McPeek told the Daily Racing Form that the decision to run Swiss Skydiver in the final Triple Crown race of 2020 “was one of the toughest decisions of my career.†[…]
Authentic Captures Top Spot on Circa’s Opening Preakness Futures Board
Circa Sports in Las Vegas unveiled its Preakness Stakes futures odds this weekend and, not surprisingly, Kentucky Derby winner Authentic finds himself the opening favorite at +225. This is better than what the foreign books offer. The best odds offered overseas are 3/2. Meanwhile, Authentic celebrated his futures board-topping debut […]
Swiss Skydiver’s Next Plunge Could be at Preakness Stakes
A second crack at Art Collector and a first crack at a Triple Crown race. That’s what Swiss Skydiver’s connections ponder as they explore running the filly in the Preakness Stakes. Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver’s trainer, said the Oct. 3 Preakness at Pimlico is in the mix for the standout […]
Gamine, Swiss Skydiver Finally Meet as Kentucky Oaks Favorites
Gamine has been an unstoppable force. Swiss Skydiver, the prototypical immovable object. That prompts the inevitable question surrounding Friday’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs: Who will prevail and emerge as the best 3-year-old filly in America? The unstoppable force that is even-money Gamine? Or the immovable object that […]
Gamine Takes Even Money Favored Status In Kentucky Oaks
At even-money, Gamine enters Friday’s Kentucky Oaks as the shortest-priced favorite in 11 years, where she looms large over the smallest Oaks field in 15 years. Gamine starts the 146th running of the prestigious 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies from post 5 in the nine-horse field, drawn Monday afternoon […]
One-Time Favorite Venetian Harbor Won’t Dock at Kentucky Oaks
Earlier this spring, Venetian Harbor was the 9/2 futures book favorite to win the Kentucky Oaks. But in an example of how a September Oaks/Derby can negatively affect a horse, the 3-year-old filly will sit out next week’s Oaks. Instead, Venetian Harbor’s trainer, Richard Baltas, is setting his sights on […]
Kentucky Oaks Card Comes Loaded with Big Names, Great Resumes
If the clash of the filly titans at the Kentucky Oaks isn’t enough to grab your attention, then consider this; this year’s card is in serious danger of upstaging Churchill Downs’ Derby Week. And that’s including the marquee event of Derby Week, the 146th Kentucky Derby. It’s OK to pay […]
Waiting Game Starts as Road to Kentucky Derby Ends
The Road to the Kentucky Derby is finally complete. Now, it’s just a matter of certain connections deciding if their horses will enter the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the long and winding Derby trail claimed some standout horses, most notably Nadal, Charlatan, and Maxfield. The […]
Alabama Stakes Takes Fillies on a Long Distance Runaround
Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga gives you another glimpse of standout filly Swiss Skydiver, who figures to take most of the money and figures to go off at odds-on. It also gives you a rare glimpse of fillies doing something few American fillies and mares do – run […]
Art Collector Becomes Hottest Object on Kentucky Derby Futures Board
Winning the Blue Grass Stakes made Art Collector the latest shiny object for Kentucky Derby bettors to focus on as his odds to win the Sept. 5 Run for Roses plunged across the board. On Circa Sports’ Kentucky Derby Futures Board, Art Collector sits at 7/1. He’s now the fourth […]
Swiss Skydiver Takes on the Boys, History in Blue Grass Stakes
Last month, Kenny McPeek was a coronavirus odyssey away from sending Swiss Skydiver to England for the 1000 Guineas. So why wouldn’t he turn the standout filly loose against the boys in Saturday’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland? “This has already been one of the weirdest years ever. […]
Swiss Skydiver Looking to Leap into Blue Grass Stakes
Will Swiss Skydiver run with the boys? Will the talented filly who doesn’t need Kentucky Oaks points enter Saturday’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland – a Kentucky Derby prep? Or will Swiss Skydiver enter the Grade 1 Ashland Oaks and tangle with her usual fellow filly suspects? These […]
Swiss Skydiver Won’t Dive Into English Classic, Will Drop into Santa Anita
After all is said and done, standout 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver won’t parachute into the 1,000 Guineas. Instead, the likely favorite for the Kentucky Oaks will drop into Santa Anita for next month’s Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks. Swiss Skydiver in the English Classic would have turned heads for several […]