Horse Racing

Even without spectators, Keeneland managed more than $148.2 million in handle during its just-concluded Fall Meet. It plays host to the Breeders' Cup in two weeks. (Image: David Coyle/Team Coyle)

Keeneland Wraps Fall Meet with Modest Handle Decline

With the Breeders’ Cup looming in two weeks as Keeneland’s worldwide close-up, the Lexington, KY, track ended its Fall Meet Saturday with a modest 7.5% drop in all-sources handle from 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Keeneland ran its 17-day Fall Meet without spectators. Yet the track recorded $148,229,708 in […]

The Saudi Cup card in Riyadh added four qualifying events to its card. Two of those send the winner to the $20 million Saudi Cup. (Image: Bandar Al-Jaloud/Agence France-Presse-Getty Images

Saudi Cup Day Adds Pegasus World Cup Events as Automatic Qualifiers

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced Friday that four races in the US and Japan will serve as “Win and You’re In” events for next year’s Saudi Cup Day races. Heading the list is the Grade 1 $3 million Pegasus World Cup. That race, one of the richest in […]

Jockey Daisuke Fukumoto and Mighty Heart raise the hopes of race fans that they can win Canada's first Triple Crown in 17 years. The one-eyed horse, who wears a ball over his missing eye, is the even-money favorite in Saturday's Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine. (Image: Nathan Denette)

From One Eye, Mighty Heart Sees a Path to the Canadian Triple Crown

Many eyes on Saturday will be on one-eyed Mighty Heart, focused to see if the small 3-year-old can run to his name and become the first Canadian Triple Crown winner in 17 years. Mighty Heart, your even-money favorite, headlines Saturday’s Breeders’ Stakes from Woodbine Racetrack outside Toronto. The 1 ½-mile […]

Standout filly Gamine is in trouble again after testing positive for excessive amounts of an anti-inflammatory after last month's Kentucky Oaks. (Image: Skip Dickstein/For the Times Union)

Baffert Team Disputes Gamine’s Failed Kentucky Oaks Drug Test

After news broke late Thursday that a Kentucky Oaks horse tested positive for a Class C medical violation, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert confirmed in a statement that his star filly, Gamine, was the culprit. The New York Times, citing two sources, reported Thursday evening that Gamine tested positive […]

Derby City Gaming HHR machines in Louisville played their parts in fueling a $2.26 billion industry benefiting Kentucky racing and breeding. (Image: WDRB.com)

Kentucky Horse Racing Industry Goes on Offensive for HHR Machines

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association petitioned to file an amicus brief this week, seeking a return of the historical horse racing (HHR) machines recently outlawed by the Kentucky Supreme Court. The petition comes on the heels of an amicus brief filed last week by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce illustrating the […]

Going into Gulfstream Park West's ninth race Sunday, nine tickets were still live for the Rainbow 6. One ticket survived, good for nearly $250,000. (Image: @jasonblewitt30/Twitter)

Lone Horseplayer Finds Gold with $249,204 Rainbow 6

A single bettor picked the lock of Gulfstream Park West’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 Sunday, cashing the lone winning ticket for $249,204. This followed on the heels of Gulfstream Park West’s sister track – Santa Anita Park – yielding a nearly half-million dollar Rainbow 6 last week. The Gulfstream Park West […]

Ghaiyyath's 8 1/2-length beatdown of his rivals in February's Millennium Stakes was one of four 2020 victories. The No. 1-ranked turf horse in the world retired Monday. (Image: Godolphin)

No. 1-Ranked Ghaiyyath Retires, Won’t Run Breeders’ Cup

Ghaiyyath, the No. 1-ranked turf horse in the world, retired from racing Monday after his connections discovered muscle soreness in his legs after a routine workout. Godolphin, the international racing conglomerate that owns Ghaiyyath, announced the retirement in a statement. The sudden retirement means Ghaiyyath won’t run next month’s Breeders’ […]

Decorated Invader owns four stakes victories on four different tracks. He leads the field in the Grade 2 Hill Prince Sunday at Belmont Park. (Image: West Point Thoroughbreds)

Decorated Invader Looking for More Wins at Less Distance in Hill Prince

Those extra three-sixteenths of a mile Decorated Invader tackled in his last race apparently did what few other horses could do to the standout 3-year-old — slow down the son of noted sire Declaration of War. This explains why Decorated Invader cuts back to a mile for Sunday’s Grade 2 […]

The payouts for Santa Anita's eighth race Friday. This produced a single winning Rainbow 6 ticket worth more than $450,000. (Image: Santa Anita Park's Twitter)

Single Bettor Hits Santa Anita Park’s Rainbow 6 for $450,706

A horse named New Heat brought new riches to one lucky ticket holder who held the lone winning ticket for $450,706.96 in Friday’s Santa Anita Park 20 cent Rainbow 6 Jackpot. New Heat went off at 14/1 in the maiden special weight eighth race. The 3-year-old, Cal-bred daughter of Unusual […]

Undefeated Nadal Heading to Japan to Begin His Stallion Career

Undefeated 3-year-old multiple stakes winner Nadal will head to Japan for his stud career, Japanese breeding farm Shadai Stallion Station announced Wednesday. The announcement ended speculation on where the $700,000 Blame progeny would stand after his once-promising racing career prematurely ended in May. The one-time Kentucky Derby points leader, Nadal […]

Stradivarius Searches Again for the Right Note in Long Distance Cup

The British Champions Long Distance Cup is where dominance ended for Stradivarius last year. And after his seventh-place finish in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the British Champions Long Distance Cup is where Stradivarius seeks to regain it this year. And bettors think he will. The standout Irish stayer […]

Fair Grounds offers 51 stakes races on its 76-day winter/spring card. Three Kentucky Derby preps -- the Louisiana Derby, Risen Star, and Lecomte -- headline the meet. (Image: NOLA)

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 […]

Irad Ortiz Jr. rode Improbable to his second of three Grade 
wins at August's The Whitney. His current form makes him the favorite in Circa Sports' Breeders' Cup Classic futures betting. (Image: Daily Gazette)

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 […]

The scene for the 2021 Pegasus World Cup day won't be as crowded as it was in 2018. But Gulfstream Park will allow fans inside for its Championship Meet that begins Dec. 2. (Image: John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Gulfstream Park Will Allow Limited Fans Inside for Championship Meet

Gulfstream Park announced Monday it will allow fans inside for its Championship Meet, which begins Dec. 2 at the South Florida track north of Miami. Bill Badgett, the executive director of Florida racing for track owner The Stronach Group, told Thoroughbred Daily News Gulfstream Park will cap attendance at 50% […]

Frankie Dettori and Enable were No. 1 a remarkable 14 times in 17 races together. The star 6-year-old mare retired Monday. (Image: Sandown Park)

Two-Time Horse of the Year Champion Enable Retires

Record-breaking mare Enable retired on Monday when her Juddmonte Farms connections announced she would begin her breeding career next year. The announcement came in a written statement from Juddmonte Farms early Monday. The statement announced that Enable’s first date next spring is with the stallion Kingman. “After consulting her trainer […]

Serengeti Empress gets one more opportunity to duplicate her victory here in the Ballerina Stakes. She'll head to the breeding shed after the Breeders' Cup. (Image: Chris Rahayel/NYRA)

Serengeti Empress, McKinzie Take Different Paths to Breeding Shed

Serengeti Empress has one more race before the breeding shed awaits. McKinzie is headed to stud immediately. And so drops the curtain on two of the more prominent Thoroughbreds of the last three years. Serengeti Empress will make her final start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Nov. […]

Unbeaten in three races, including this Saratoga Special win, Jackie's Warrior is the favorite for Saturday's Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park. (Image: Coglianese Photo)

Champagne Stakes Uncorks Juvenile Horses in Vintage Race

The Champagne Stakes dates to 1867, making this a vintage race if there ever was a non-American Classic vintage race. Yet, it holds its vintage status while turning loose 2-year-olds upon the racing world. Call it a vintage race with fledgling racers. But while you’re at it, call Saturday’s Grade […]