Horse Racing

Life Is Good won his debut by 9 1/2 lengths Sunday afternoon. He made enough of an impression to open at 12/1 on William Hill Nevada's Kentucky Derby Futures Board. (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

Life Is Good Certainly Proves it on William Hill Derby Futures Board

- 2 min read

It took exactly 75-½ seconds for Life Is Good to live up to his name, throw his hoof into the Kentucky Derby futures picture, and become the latest horse rocketing up William Hill Nevada’s Kentucky Derby Futures Board. After the Into Mischief progeny destroyed an over-classed quartet of maidens by […]

Into Mischief broke a 2016 Tapit record for highest progeny earnings in a calendar year. (Image: Spendthrift Farm)

Into Mischief Again Proves He’s a Breed Above the Rest

- 2 min read

Into Mischief illustrated again why he is the most sought-after sire in North America when his suddenly hot 2-year-old, Life Is Good, won his Del Mar debut Sunday. With the victory, Into Mischief broke the North American single-season progeny earnings record. When Life Is Good romped home by 9-½ lengths […]

Justin Stein and Starship Jubilee's victory in the Woodbine Mile was one of Woodbine's enduring racing images this year. The Canadian flagship track closed three weeks early due to a provincial government lockdown. (Image: Michael Burns Photo)

Weather, COVID-19 Puts an Early End to Woodbine’s Racing Season

- 2 min read

Mere hours after announcing the premature end of its Thoroughbred meet due to provincial COVID-19 restrictions, Woodbine Racetrack abruptly ended its meet on Sunday due to inclement weather rolling through the Province of Ontario. Track officials canceled the last seven races after a storm front brought snow and mixed precipitation […]

The 2020 Santa Anita Derby produced two of the top four Kentucky Derby finishers in Honor A.P. (right) and eventual Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. The 2021 Santa Anita Derby is one of 10 Grade 1 races on the Southern California track's 2020-21 winter/spring meet schedule. (Image: Benoit Photo/Associated Press

Santa Anita Park Raises Purses, Announces Robust Stakes Schedule

- 3 min read

Officials at Santa Anita Park announced a 10% bump in daily purse totals for its 2020-21 Winter/Spring Meet, lifting the daily average purse money available to more than $533,000 at the Southern California track. This is significant for the iconic track. Unlike many other tracks, Santa Anita doesn’t have a […]

Midcourt's last victory came in February's San Pasqual Stakes. He is odds-on to repeat as Native Diver Stakes champion. (Image: Benoit Photo)

With Better Rivals Retired, Midcourt Ready to Hold Court in Native Diver

- 3 min read

There is no Maximum Security or Improbable to trouble Midcourt this time. This time, being Saturday’s Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar, where Midcourt is the trouble. Midcourt is the one to beat in the $100,000 Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes. The 1-1/8-mile jaunt for older horses sends a condensed […]

Golden Gate Fields' grandstand and turf course remain empty for at least another two weeks after a COVID-19 outbreak spread throughout its backside. (Image: Vassar Photography/Golden Gate Fields)

Golden Gate Fields Extends Closure After COVID-19 Outbreak Worsens

- 2 min read

Golden Gate Fields officials extended their closure at least another two weeks after another coronavirus outbreak ravaged the Northern California track’s backstretch workers. According to the Los Angeles Times, at least 100 workers were infected. That’s a four-fold increase from the 24 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported last week when the […]

A fatal injury to Kentucky Derby runner Winning Impression prompted Churchill Downs officials to close the track's turf course for the duration of its fall meet. (Image: Coady Photgraphy/Churchill Downs)

Churchill Downs Closes Turf Course For Remainder of Fall Meet

- 2 min read

Citing an “abundance of caution,” Churchill Downs closed its turf course for the duration of its fall meet, scuttling two Grade 2 turf races. The move was in the offing, considering the track announced Nov. 14 it would move all turf races to the main track through Nov. 22. This […]

Sadler's Joy won the 2017 Sword Dancer Stakes for his lone Grade 1 win. As the 8/5 favorite, he tries defending his Red Smith Handicap title at Aqueduct Saturday. (Image: Joe Labozzeta/NYRA)

Get the Geritol: Red Smith Handicap Features Three Older Favorites

- 3 min read

Two of the contenders for Saturday’s Red Smith Handicap at Aqueduct are 7-year-olds. One of the other favorites is 6-years-old, confirming that the 60th Red Smith Handicap is the race where older horses head before heading out to pasture. Or not. There’s 7-year-old Sadler’s Joy taking on his fellow 7-year-old […]

Expo Gold, in foal to multiple Grade 1 winner Catholic Boy, sold for $950,000. She is better known as the dam of Preakness Stakes champion Swiss Skydiver. (Image: Keeneland)

Keeneland November Sale Brings Stability, Slight Dip to Sales Market

- 4 min read

One of the biggest horse sales in North America, the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, ended its 10-day run Wednesday with a modest, COVID-19-related drop in sales from 2019. At the same time, nine horses sold for at least $1 million each. The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale is one […]

Tampa Bay Downs plans to allow spectators when its 2020-21 meet opens next week. (Image: Tampa Bay Times)

With Precautions, Tampa Bay Downs Open to Fans for 2020-21 Meet

- 2 min read

With new health plans in place, Tampa Bay Downs announced Wednesday it will admit spectators for its 2020-21 winter/spring meet that begins Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving. This season is the track’s 95th-anniversary campaign. Headlining that campaign is the 41st Tampa Bay Derby, the track’s marquee event, and a […]

Monomoy Girl and Florent Geroux stood tall in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Distaff. just as they did in this 2018 Distaff victory. Even after selling for $9.5 million, the standout mare returns to the track in 2021. (Image: Darron Cummings/AP Photo)

Not Every Horse Retired in 2020: Here are the Stars to See in 2021

- 3 min read

Now that we’ve bid farewell to the Thoroughbred standouts who retired in 2020, which horses will we greet as the returning equine stars worthy of attention in 2021? We bid farewell to Authentic, Improbable, Maximum Security, Vekoma, Tom’s d’Etat, War of Will, McKinzie, Serengeti Empress, Enable, and Ghaiyyath in recent […]

Indicted trainer Jason Servis, seen here sweating out the steward's inquiry in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, now faces a charge of wire fraud along with his horse doping charges. (Image: Lexington Herald Leader)

New Indictments Handed Down in Servis-Navarro Horse Doping Case

- 3 min read

Federal prosecutors handed down superseding indictments Tuesday in the alleged horse doping scandal involving trainers Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro, and 12 other defendants. The new indictments tack on a charge of wire fraud to Servis and veterinarians Alexander Chan and Kristian Rhein. All three pleaded not guilty to the new […]

Red Flag and Victor Espinoza flew up the Kentucky Derby Futures Board with their 7 1/4-length breeze in Sunday's Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar. The Tamarkuz colt is 50/1 to win the 2021 Derby. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Wave Hello to Kentucky Derby Futures Board Newcomer Red Flag

- 3 min read

He ran only seven furlongs, not the 10 that possibly awaits next May. Even so, Red Flag’s 7¼-length romp in Sunday’s Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar vaulted the juvenile from off the board to 50/1 on William Hill Nevada’s 2021 Kentucky Derby Futures Board. The $220,000 purchase by A&M […]

Knicks Go broke the track record in the Breeders' Cup Dirt mile earlier this month. He could run the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Dec. 5. (Image: Coady Photography/Keeneland)

Don’t Take a Holiday on These Late-Season Races

- 3 min read

The Breeders’ Cup is in the rear-view mirror, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any prime late-season races on the horizon. The end of the year may seem like a racing lull before the calendar flips, but don’t let the last two months of the horse racing season go by […]

Spielberg -- the horse -- finished second in this summer's Del Mar Futurity. Expect the $1 million Bob Baffert trainee to ride the Road to the winner's circle in Sunday's Bob Hope Stakes. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Spielberg’s Next Close-Up Comes at Del Mar’s Bob Hope Stakes

- 3 min read

Spielberg going On the Road to Del Mar in the Bob Hope Stakes. It sounds like a Hollywood mashup, instead of the next hurdle on the heralded 2-year-old’s racing itinerary. The Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes is Sunday’s featured race at Del Mar’s Bing Crosby Meet. The $100,000 race sends […]

Golden Gate Fields closed down for the second time in seven months Friday after a COVID-19 outbreak ravaged the stable area. (Image: Josh S. Jackson/Flickr)

Golden Gate Fields Shuts Down for Second Time Due to COVID-19

- 2 min read

Golden Gate Fields in Northern California abruptly shut down Friday after 24 positive COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the Berkeley track’s stable area. The suspension announcement came 20 minutes before Friday’s first race on Golden Gate Fields’ weekend card. The track announced the closure runs through Friday, Nov. 20. Racing […]

It’s Economical How Gramm Won Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge

It’s Economical How Gramm Won Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge

- 2 min read

Proving those who can do, can teach, Marshall Gramm, an economics professor at Rhodes College in Tennessee nailed an Authentic-Improbable exacta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The $170,250 score gave him the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge title. With the late bet, which vaulted Gramm over 429 other top handicappers, […]

Tiz the Law will open his 2021 season at the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park. He'll do so with new rider John Velazquez aboard. (Image: Albany Times Union)

Tiz The Law Rides Into 2021 with a New Jockey: John Velazquez

- 2 min read

Five days after Tiz the Law came home a disappointing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, ownership group Sackatoga Stable announced that Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez replaces Manny Franco in the irons for the colt’s 2021 season. That season begins at the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at […]

Jockey Luis Saez and Essential Quality were exactly that at last week's Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Essential Quality is the prohibitive 10/1 favorite on William Hill's Kentucky Derby Futures Board. (Image: Michael Conroy/AP)

Essential Quality Surges to Top of William Hill Derby Futures Board

- 3 min read

The fluidity of William Hill’s Kentucky Derby future odds six months from the 2021 Derby clearly illustrated itself before last Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Note, the key word here: “before.” Because, before undefeated 4/5 Juvenile favorite Jackie’s Warrior entered the Keeneland starting gate, he was no longer the darling of […]

Maximum Security won 10 of his 14 races, including six in a row at one point. He retires with more than $12.4 million in career earnings and a wild career of ups and downs. (Image: Matthew Stockman/Getty)

Maximum Security Retires: Closes Book On Wild, Accomplished Career

- 3 min read

Three days after finishing off the board for only the second time in his career, Maximum Security retired from racing. The Eclipse Award 3-year-old Champion of 2019 heads to Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, where he’ll begin his stud career in 2021 standing for $20,000. The move comes after Maximum Security […]

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