Less than two weeks after picking up his third consecutive Eclipse Award as the nation’s top jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr. illustrated why he owns an Eclipse trifecta: riding six winners on Saturday’s Gulfstream Park card. Putting this into further perspective, Ortiz won half of Gulfstream’s 12-race Saturday card. “You never […]
Horse Racing
You Never Know What Champions Come Out of Sam F. Davis Stakes
Three years ago, a horse named Flameaway captured the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The Mark Casse-trained colt set a stakes record for the 1 1/16 miles – 1:42.44. Flameaway would finish second in the Tampa Bay Derby. He would win a minor stakes as […]
The Withers: A Derby Prep Running on History
The Withers predates the Kentucky Derby by one year, a testament to its one-time status as one of the country’s prestigious spring races. This race once held court just below the Triple Crown races in terms of status and prestige. Man o’ War? Won the 1920 Withers. Native Dancer? Your […]
Racing Economic Indicators Show Jump in January Handle
Total horseracing handle jumped for the second consecutive month, providing one key takeaway from Equibase’s first Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing report of 2021. Betting in January climbed 9.57% from January 2020’s numbers to $959,602,269. That followed a 6.24% boost in December wagering, signifying that horseracing may be rebounding out […]
Champion Sprinter Gamine Disqualified from Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission formally disqualified Gamine from the 2020 Kentucky Oaks after the Bob Baffert charge tested positive for betamethasone. Along with that, the commission fined Baffert $1,500. As a result of the Jan. 30 ruling, posted on the KHRC website, Gamine forfeits the $120,000 she earned for […]
Affordability Checks: What are They and What Do They Mean for Racing?
Picture this scenario, courtesy of the Great Britain Gambling Commission and its proposed “affordability checks†on sports and race bettors. You save your betting money for the Royal Ascot meet in June. The meet arrives and you wager £100 each-way on the second favorite in the Group 1 Queen Anne […]
Saudi Cup Connections Exempt from COVID Ban; Knicks Go a Go
As the Saudi Cup field takes shape, the Saudi Arabian government announced connections for the $20 million race participants will be exempt from the country’s ban on entering Saudi Arabia. Citing COVID-19 concerns, the country banned entry to residents of 20 nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. […]
Keeneland Springs Into Robust Stakes Slate for Spring Meet
The 97th running of the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes and the 84th running of the Grade 1 Ashland headline Keeneland’s 2021 Spring Meet, which runs April 2-23 at the Lexington, Kentucky, track. The Blue Grass is one of the last Kentucky Derby preps. Last year, it featured a stellar […]
Derby Futures: Tarantino Shows Even Reservoir Dogs Have Their Day
It wasn’t a case of pulp fiction that Tarantino was sitting at 225/1 when he debuted on the Circa Sports and William Hill Nevada Kentucky Derby futures boards last week. Even the Jackie Browns and Inglorious Basterds of the world stared juicy odds in the face before Tarantino entered the […]
Weekend Stakes: Not Every Good 3-Year-Old Race is a Derby Prep
We’ll see several Kentucky Derby hopefuls return this weekend when two East Coast Grade 3 Derby preps headline the stakes races. And, we’ll meet some Kentucky Oaks contenders in two Oaks preps – one on each coast. At the same time, we’ll see a Grade 2 for 3-year-olds that isn’t […]
Greatest Honour Piggy-Backs Gulfstream to Holy Bull Record Handle
As Greatest Honour joined the front row of Kentucky Derby contenders, he helped carry Gulfstream Park to a record Holy Bull handle day on Saturday. The south Florida track rolled up a total handle of $21.87 million. That surpassed last year’s total handle by 20% and blew past 2017’s previous […]
Baffert’s Derby Prospect Medina Spirit Shows Plenty of Mettle in Lewis
This was a Grade 1 stretch duel playing out in a Grade 3 Kentucky Derby prep; one vaulting Medina Spirit into the front row of Derby contenders as we enter February. And once again, Bob Baffert holds yet another ace up his sleeve, along with his 10th Robert B. Lewis […]
Lewis Stakes Recount Historic Horses, Revive Current Rivalries
In 2012, little-known 43/1 long shot I’ll Have Another won the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita Park. This feat drew mild murmurs and a few curious looks throughout the horseracing world. After all, the Doug O’Neill-trained colt came into the Lewis off a horrible sixth in the Hopeful […]
Forget the Name: The Holy Bull Is No Bull When Talking Derby Preps
The Holy Bull is the race that vaulted Tiz the Law onto the front row of Kentucky Derby contenders. Never mind the fact he didn’t win the rescheduled Derby. It vaulted him to the Belmont Stakes title. Tiz the Law didn’t come out of the Holy Bull to a garland […]
Authentic Runs Away With 2020 Horse of the Year Eclipse Award
Authentic rarely won his big races by big margins. But, he won his final “race†– the Eclipse Award for 2020 Horse of the Year – by a Secretariat at the Belmont-esque 31 lengths on the track. The Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic champion garnered 224 out of a […]
Mutasaabeq Exits Kentucky Derby Trail After Shin Injury
Mere days before he was set to run in the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park, Mutasaabeq suffered a shin injury that will take the Kentucky Derby prospect off the Triple Crown trail. Trainer Todd Pletcher told reporters the injury – while frustrating for an upper-level Derby contender – […]
Authentic Ranked Second to Ghaiyyath in 2020 World Racing Awards
Two days before his expected coronation as Horse of the Year, Authentic took home the No. 2 spot in the 2020 Longines World Racing Awards. This translates to the Into Mischief colt being named the second-ranked horse in the world. It also translates into Authentic earning top honors as the […]
Breeders’ Cup Champion Sharing Retired After Paddock Injury
Standout filly Sharing, who won the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf as one of her five career victories, was retired from racing Tuesday after suffering an undisclosed paddock injury. The undisclosed injury won’t take the 4-year-old daughter of Speightstown out of her broodmare career, according to Aron Wellman, president […]
Santa Anita Scratches Friday’s Card Due to Expected Downpour
Citing a major winter storm expected this weekend, Santa Anita Park canceled its Friday racing card. The Southern California track announced the move Tuesday morning. Track officials announced that two turf stakes, the Grade 2 San Marcos on Saturday and Sunday’s Black-Type $75,000 Baffle, will move to next week. The […]
Holy Bull! This Weekend Stakes Features Cross-Country Derby, Oaks Preps
Two Kentucky Derby preps – one on each coast – grab this weekend’s stakes spotlight. Those are the Grade 3 Holy Bull from Gulfstream Park and the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis from Santa Anita Park. Not to be forgotten are two Kentucky Oaks preps, the Grade 3 Forward Gal […]