The shifting, quaking earth under the 3-year-old division slid once again Saturday, when 6/5 favorite Epicenter put away Zandon, Tawny Port and Early Voting, winning the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga by 1 ½ lengths. Put aside for the moment that Epicenter passed the $2 million mark in career […]
The first thing that stands out about Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga is the “Grade 2†class prefix that comes along for the ride. There is no truth-in-advertising here. Not with this year’s 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy, which figures to answer more questions than who’s hot going […]
This time, Nest finished the job. There would be no yielding to her rival, Secret Oath. There would be nothing but vapor trails and dirt for Secret Oath and the rest of Saturday’s Grade 1 CCA Oaks field to absorb. Now, after Nest bludgeoned her rivals by 12 ¼ lengths […]
One day after Chad Brown racked up the Diana Stakes superfecta, he discussed his barn’s new MO acquiring horses, where Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting is running next and what’s next for his other two standout sophomores: Zandon and Jack Christopher. You’ll see Early Voting next in the July 30 […]
For the third straight year, Monmouth Park offers a $1 million bonus to the connections of any horse who sweeps three of the biggest races remaining on the 2022 racing calendar. All you have to do is win the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes, the Grade 1 Travers Stakes and the […]
Along with a purse boost of $1.1 million from 2021, the New York Racing Association announced Saratoga Race Course’s 2022 stakes schedule Tuesday. The schedule features 77 stakes spread over the 40-day meet, where horsemen and women will race for $22.6 million in purses. Headlining that stakes schedule as always is the […]
Those of you wanting to see Essential Quality run again must wait until the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Want to see Knicks Go? Trainer Brad Cox is a bit more accommodating. He’ll turn the 5-year-old loose in the Oct. 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs. Cox told the Daily […]
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 […]
You’ve got an in-form Gamine running a seven-furlong sprint on an Eastern track with a Breeders’ Cup berth on the line. Given what this combination has created in the past, it’s no wonder you’ll find the Champion Female Sprinter of 2020 in a race called the Ballerina. After all, almost […]
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 […]
Yes, Dynamic One’s victory came in a listed stakes, the Curlin. Yes, it came in a 3-year-old race buried in the laundry that is Jim Dandy Weekend at Saratoga – especially with star sophomore Essential Quality headlining. But Friday’s Curlin, which was limited to 3-year-olds who had not won a […]
Monmouth Park and BetMakers Technology Group announced a $1 million bounty – the BetMakers Bonanza — to any 3-year-old who wins the Haskell Stakes, the Travers Stakes, and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Just win three of the most prestigious events in American racing. Simple, right? Actually, one horse collected the […]
Even after Hot Rod Charlie reeled off record early fractions, and even after Essential Quality caught and passed him in the stretch, both leading protagonists from Saturday’s Belmont Stakes came out of their 1 ½-mile “Test of the Champion†in fine form. “He looks amazing. It doesn’t look like he […]
The New York Racing Association and the State of New York want to give racing fans seeking a seat at storied Saratoga this summer a literal shot in the arm. All eager fans have to do for a shot at visiting the famed track is to get a COVID-19 shot. […]
Connections for Kentucky Derby favorite Essential Quality said Tuesday that they intend on skipping the Preakness Stakes and sending the Godolphin colt to the June 5 Belmont Stakes instead. The announcement first came on Steve Byk’s At The Races With Steve Byk radio show on Sirius/XM. Trainer Brad Cox told […]
Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association unveiled an expanded partnership agreement Thursday that extends the regional sports network’s television rights for NYRA races through 2030. The agreement opens up options for a Fox Sports subsidiary to purchase a 25% stake in NYRA Bets, the association’s advance deposit wagering […]
The tradition-rich Saratoga Race Course meet just picked up two more tradition-rich races for its 40-day summer meet, which the New York Racing Association announced Friday. The $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup and the $600,000 Flower Bowl move from Belmont Park to the Spa, where they will anchor Saratoga’s […]
Reigning Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law was retired to stud Wednesday, ending one of 2020’s most storied campaigns due to a veterinarian’s diagnosis. That diagnosis revealed bone bruises to his front leg bone. Those bruises were discovered when assistant trainer Robin Smullen noticed Tiz the Law […]
Illustrating in vivid detail the Road to the Kentucky Derby remains perilous, connections for Caracaro scratched the horse from the Sept. 5 Derby after a Friday workout at Saratoga. Exercise rider J.J. Delgado sent the Travers Stakes runner-up on a 1:12.26 six-furlong workout Friday morning. Afterwards, Delgado told trainer Gustavo […]
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