Brian Robin

Muck Rack profile
In Italian broke the Saratoga track record for 1 1/8 miles, winning the Grade 1 Diana Stakes. She led a 1-2-3 Chad Brown parade in Saratoga's first Grade 1 of 2022. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

In Italian Speaks Universal Language of Setting Saratoga Track Record

- 3 min read

In Italian was Chad Brown’s fourth of four entries into Saturday’s Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga. At 8/1, she was the longest shot of Brown’s four-headed Diana armada, charged with being the rabbit for undefeated Bleecker Street or Rougir. Run fast, set a blistering pace for the closers to […]

Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba, seen here during a June 25 workout at Santa Anita Park, is headed to next's week's Grade 1 Haskell Stakes. He reunited with trainer Bob Baffert last week. (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

Baffert Enjoys Reunion With Taiba, Sending Him to Haskell Stakes

- 3 min read

Trainer Bob Baffert reunited with one of his star sophomores, Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba, this week and the reunion went so well that Baffert will send Taiba to next Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. “I hadn’t seen him in a long time. I’m happy with the […]

Kitten's Joy was one of the most influential stallions this century, especially on turf. He died Friday at his Kentucky farm. (Image: Hill 'n' Dale Farm)

Influential Turf Sire, Champion Kitten’s Joy Dies at 21

- 3 min read

Kitten’s Joy, a former Champion Male Turf Horse and one of the top turf sires of the 21st century, died Friday at his Hill n’ Dale Farm home in Xalapa, KY. of an apparent heart attack. He was 21. Ramsey Farm’s social media accounts announced the death Friday. Ramsey Farm […]

Bleecker Street comes into the Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga perfect in seven races. Included in that was this victory in the Grade 1 New York at Belmont Park. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher)

Brown Shows Four of a Kind in the Hunt for Diana Title No. 7

- 5 min read

The Diana Stakes are the first of 19 Grade 1 stakes at Saratoga and it’s clear that Chad Brown is wasting no time playing for keeps in defense of his Saratoga training title. Brown is flooding the Diana zone. He’s sending four of the six 4-year-olds and up into the […]

Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Sonny Leon is moving his tack to Gulfstream Park. He's returning to the US track he began his career on in 2015. (Image: Coady Photography)

Derby-Winning Jockey Sonny Leon Moves On Up to Gulfstream Park

- 2 min read

When Sonny Leon came to the United States from his native Venezuela in 2015, the first place he put down his tack was Gulfstream Park. After winning his first race in only his fourth start, Leon went 3-for-his-next-67. He became an afterthought on the competitive South Florida circuit. An afterthought […]

Andiamo a Firenze, a three-quarters brother to multiple graded stakes winner Firenze FIre, is one of the ones to watch in the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga. That race concludes this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: SR Photo/NYRA.com)

Saratoga’s First Grade 1, Deep Allowances, Head Cross Country Pick 5

- 3 min read

Saratoga’s first Grade 1 of its 2022 Summer Meet opens this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5. The weekly sequence includes races from not only the Spa, but also from Ellis Park and Monmouth Park. Interestingly, those latter two tracks offer wagering options not available at Saratoga. […]

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Twilight Gleaming captured her last race -- the Mamzelle Stakes at Churchill Downs -- at night. She is a strong favorite to win Friday's Coronation Cup at Saratoga. (Image: Coady Photography)

Twilight Gleaming Casts a Bright Light on Her Coronation Cup Rivals

- 2 min read

Twilight Gleaming owns victories on four different tracks in two countries and two continents, none of the tracks happening to be Saratoga. Now, the reigning Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint champion will attempt to rectify that oversight in Friday’s Coronation Cup. The $150K Coronation Cup sends its 3-year-old fillies 5 […]

You'll see Malathaat (outside) run twice during Saratoga's 2022 season. Last year's Champion 3-Year-Old is likely to be favored in both the Grade 2 Shuvee and Grade 1 Personal Ensign. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher)

Champion Malathaat Ready for Two Saratoga Stakes Close-Ups

- 2 min read

Of all the star horses expected to run at the 2022 Saratoga meet, Todd Pletcher said you’ll see his standout filly Malathaat twice at the Spa. The Hall of Fame trainer said his 4-year-old filly will run the Grade 2 Shuvee on July 24. That will tune up the Champion […]

Saratoga remains one of America's most iconic and picturesque sporting venues. It's 2022 season opens Thursday. (Image: Chelsea Durand)

Saratoga Brings Big Names, Big Money, Big Dreams to 2022 Season

- 3 min read

The 2022 Saratoga season opens Thursday with full barns, the full attention of horseplayers around North America, and a full roster of A-list trainers, jockeys, and horses. It also opens with a full level of optimism that always follows the sport to the upstate New York hamlet. It’s the New […]

Bettors on Ellis Park wagers this Friday will enjoy penny breakage, meaning they will cash bigger tickets than horseplayers in other states. That's courtesy of a penny breakage bill that goes into effect Friday. (Image: Ellis Park)

Kentucky Becomes First State Implementing Penny Breakage on Wagers

- 3 min read

Beginning this Friday, horseplayers wagering on Kentucky races will get paid to the penny when the state’s long-awaited penny breakage law takes effect. The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, a grassroots advocacy group for horseplayers and horse owners, reported the change kicks in this week at Ellis Park. “This is a welcome […]

Jack Christopher's Grade 1 Woody Stephens victory was one of the highlights of Belmont Park's 2022 Spring/Summer Meet. One of the most lucrative meets had a rise in average daily handle and a drop in overall handle from 2021. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Mixed Messages Define Belmont Park’s Spring/Summer Handle

- 2 min read

First, the good news for Belmont Park and its just-concluded Spring/Summer Meet. The track enjoyed a 2% increase in average daily handle over 2021. The average daily handle came in at $13,437,509 for the 44-day meet that ended Sunday. According to the New York Racing Association, the average daily handle […]

Emmanuel, seen her after winning the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge last month, was scratched from Saturday's Grade 1 Belmont Derby over a medication procedure gaff. Trainer Todd Pletcher was fined $1,000 for the procedure violation. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher)

Pletcher Fined for Medication Procedure Offense After Emmanuel Scratch

- 2 min read

The fallout from Todd Pletcher scratching Emmanuel from Saturday’s Grade 1 Belmont Derby went beyond taking front-end speed out of the race. The Daily Racing Form reported Pletcher scratched Emmanuel for receiving three doses of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory within seven days of a race. Dr. Scott Palmer, the equine medical […]

Chad Brown won his seventh training title with a record 47 victories. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Chad Brown, Irad Ortiz Jr. Capture Belmont Park Training, Riding Titles

- 3 min read

Chad Brown added to his record-extending seventh consecutive Belmont Park Spring/Summer training title when the conditioner racked up 47 victories. Brown’s 47 victories eclipsed David Jacobson’s 2013 mark of 44 set over a 56-day meet. Brown’s 47 came in 44 days. “My team should be very proud of themselves and […]

High Connection (5) turned aside favored Slow Down Andy to win Bob Baffert his fifth Los Alamitos Derby and first stakes race since his return from suspension.(Image: Benoit Photo)

High Connection Brings Baffert Another Los Alamitos Derby Title

- 2 min read

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert eased back into his post-suspension routine with what has been a routine victory for him: the Los Alamitos Derby. The conditioner captured his fifth consecutive Los Alamitos Derby Saturday with High Connection. That came two hours after Baffert’s Rhetoric won a Los Al maiden […]

To the victor goes the flower blanket. McKulick and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. bask in the Belmont Park winner's circle after winning the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Saturday. (Image: SR Photo)

Star Filly McKulick Puts Everything Together, Wins Belmont Oaks

- 3 min read

McKulick was named after trainer Chad Brown’s former bookkeeper, the late Mary McKulick. The filly was the daughter of the legendary sire Frankel. That sire was named after the late Bobby Frankel, the Hall of Fame trainer who Brown apprenticed for before heading out on his Eclipse Award-winning career. The […]

Classic Causeway held off heralded European turf runners Nationls Pride adn Stone Age to win the Grade 1 Belmont Derby at 26/1. It was his first race on grass in his nine-race career. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Classic Causeway Proves the Grass is Greener, Wins Belmont Derby

- 3 min read

Classic Causeway came into the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational as an afterthought, the “other” horse in Kenny McPeek’s barn. The “other” horse making his turf debut a mere two weeks after finishing third in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby. He came out of it a Grade 1 winner, a […]

Nations Pride is one of five European invaders to Saturday's Grade 1 Belmont Derby at Belmont Park. He is the 5/1 second choice. (Image: Godolphin)

Yes, There’s a Heavy European Flavor to the Belmont Derby

- 4 min read

Based on what we saw in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational last year, this European invasion wasn’t only predictable, it was expected. After supertrainer Aidan O’Brien sent Bolshoi Ballet across the Atlantic and into the Belmont Park winner’s circle in 2021, the British are definitely coming. So are the […]

Rattle N Roll rolls back on one week rest to 5/2 favored status in Saturday's Grade 3 Indiana Derby. (Image: Coady Photography)

The Indiana Derby Brings You Sophomores Across the Class Spectrum

- 4 min read

As you’re trying to fit the fluid and shifting 3-year-old colt/gelding class into their places, consider Saturday’s Grade 3 Indiana Derby as one of those bridge events between the Triple Crown season and the higher-profile sophomore races later this summer. Nobody’s confusing the Indiana Derby, or its junior-varsity derby counterparts […]

Interstatedaydream won the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan comfortably. She is the favorite for the Indiana Oaks, Leg 4 of this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Jerry Dzierwinski/Maryland Jockey Club)

Sophomores Take Center Stage in All-Stakes Cross Country Pick 5

- 3 min read

Belmont Park’s two Grade 1s share the stage with the biggest day on Horseshoe Indianapolis’ schedule to create this week’s all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5. The New York Racing Association starts this week’s Cross Country Pick 5 at home with the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational. The 10-filly field of […]

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