The first page of this week’s Kentucky Derby futures board got tighter – partly a byproduct of two horses getting loose from their rivals last weekend. The first was Caddo River, who moved to 16/1 at Circa Sports and 15/1 at William Hill Nevada. Dropping beneath 20/1 at this point […]
Horse Racing
Colonel Liam Ripe for Promotion After Clutch Pegasus Turf Victory
If American Thoroughbred racing has a quality gap, it’s in the area that Colonel Liam addressed on Saturday – the older male turf division. That division needs a standout, a go-to, must-watch horse who can grab eyes every time he enters a gate. And with his neck victory over stablemate […]
Knicks Go Dunks on His Rivals Again, Wins Pegasus Gate-to-Wire
Enjoy Knicks Go while you can. Savor every start of his 5-year-old campaign, while you understand you’re watching horseracing’s star attraction of 2021. Knicks Go brought this lesson home in gate-to-wire fashion, winning the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Saturday afternoon. It’s certainly understandable if Knicks […]
Without Baffert, Knicks Go’s Fast Break Makes Him Pegasus Favorite
If horses run in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Bob Baffert doesn’t train any of them, does it really happen? We’re about to find out what the richest dirt race for older horses in North America – non-Breeders’ Cup division – looks like without the preeminent dirt trainer of […]
Colonel Liam Leads Pletcher Charge in $1 Million Pegasus Turf
As strange as it is to understand, turf maestro Chad Brown doesn’t have a horse in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf. Meanwhile, his East Coast training rival, Todd Pletcher, is bringing three charges to what is typically the best winter turf route race of the year. Before we […]
Kentucky Supreme Court Rejects HHR Appeal, Lawmakers Up Next?
In the latest salvo fired in the ongoing debate about historical horse racing (HHR) machines in Kentucky, the state’s Supreme Court denied an appeal from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission requesting a second opinion on the legality of those machines. The Kentucky Supreme Court refused to reconsider its Sept. 24 […]
Caddo River, Cowan Seeking Breakout Stakes Win in Smarty Jones
One of the seven horses entered in Friday’s Smarty Jones Stakes will get his first stakes victory. It won’t be a graded stakes victory, but not one connection will throw this one back. Nor will they throw back the 17 Kentucky Derby qualifying points up for grabs to the top […]
Iconic Trainer Lukas Back in the Oaklawn Park Saddle
He remains the Lion in Winter, albeit a lion overseeing a smaller pride these days. But D. Wayne Lukas is back at Oaklawn Park. He’s back to the winter jungle he ruled for most of the 1990s, and back without many of the high-profile clients who helped put him in […]
Knicks Go Draws Prime Pegasus Post, Tabbed as 5/2 Favorite
With three straight victories in as many 2020 starts, Knicks Go is exactly the type of horse who wins the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Now, add a prime starting spot from Post 4 to the mix, and it’s easy to understand how Knicks Go became the 5/2 favorite when Pegasus […]
Aqueduct Racetrack Doubles as State COVID-19 Vaccination Center
Aqueduct Racetrack once played host to a Pope and the only triple dead heat in a stakes race. Now, the New York track plays host to a state-run COVID-19 vaccination distribution center. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) opened Aqueduct’s first floor to state health officials, who began distributing the […]
The Field is Your Favorite in Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2
While Life Is Good yielded his favorite status in at least one Las Vegas future book, he holds down 6/1 individual favorite status in Pool 2 of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) pool. At the same time, the Derby field of “All Other 3-Year-Olds†is the overall 9/5 […]
Magic Words ‘Bob Baffert’ Bring Concert Tour, Bezos to Derby Futures
Concert Tour won his debut by 3-½ lengths at Santa Anita last Friday. Other than workouts, Bezos hasn’t entered a starting gate yet. So why are both horses now among the Kentucky Derby futures favorites? Two words: Bob Baffert. Yes, the magic words for 3-year-old Derby hopefuls cast its usual […]
The Pegasus Isn’t the Only Stakes Race This Weekend
Saturday brings us the first two Grade 1 stakes races of 2021: the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the Pegasus World Cup Turf, coming to you from Gulfstream Park. The Florida track captures this weekend’s stakes spotlight with those two high-profile races, along with five other graded stakes on its […]
Writing Santa Anita’s Morning Line Requires More than Chalk for White
By this point in his lengthy career in horse racing, which covers everything from steward to TV personality, Jon White’s skin is as tough as leather. He understands that most of you don’t understand what goes into making a racing morning line. But the saying, “Everyone’s a critic†means, well, […]
Authentic, Improbable, Monomoy Girl Head Eclipse Awards Finalists
Horse of the Year candidates Authentic, Improbable, and Monomoy Girl headline the finalists for the 2020 Eclipse Awards, announced Saturday by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), and the Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards get their name from the iconic 18th-century racehorse and […]
Lecomte Stakes: Kind to Closers, Anything but to Derby Prospects
The Lecomte Stakes takes center stage this week because it’s a Kentucky Derby prep, it’s a Kentucky Derby prep run in mid-January, and because there are some interesting candidates among its 11-horse field. Eventually, the wheat separates from the chaff, and races like the Grade 3 Lecomte start the Derby […]
Ex-Derby Hopeful Wells Bayou Finds Another Trail — the Comeback
Wells Bayou put himself on last year’s Kentucky Derby Trail with an electric, front-running style comprising equal parts promise and peril. Now, the reigning Louisiana Derby winner puts himself on the comeback trail in Saturday’s Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes. The $125,000 Louisiana is one of six stakes on Saturday’s Fair […]
Charlatan, Knicks Go, and Swiss Skydiver Headline Saudi Cup Nominees
Swiss Skydiver, Charlatan and Knicks Go are three names you’d expect to find in the world’s richest race – the $20 million Saudi Cup. And those three American stars headline a lengthy nominee list for the Feb. 20 Saudi Cup. The 1 1/8-mile Saudi Cup drew 109 nominees from nine […]
Canada’s Queen’s Plate Moves to August, Stays in Late Summer
Banking on extended time allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to subside and spectators to return, Woodbine Entertainment announced the 162nd running of the Queen’s Plate will take place Sunday, Aug. 22 at Woodbine Racetrack. The first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, the $1 million Queen’s Plate is typically held at […]
Powerhouse Owner, Breeder Prince Khalid bin Abdullah Dies at 83
Tributes from all over the racing world poured in Tuesday, remembering Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, who died Tuesday of undisclosed causes. The Saudi prince and nine-time Eclipse Award winner as owner and breeder was 83. A member of the Saudi Royal Family, Prince Khalid owned Juddmonte Farms, which announced the […]