Brian Robin

Muck Rack profile
Bolshoi Ballet put on a textbook stretch drive to win the Belmont Derby. The Irish colt tries for the second leg of NYRA's Turf Triple series Saturday in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby. (Image: Janet Garaguso/Coglianese Photos)

Will Bolshoi Ballet Allow O’Brien to say ‘Eight is Enough’ at Saratoga?

- 3 min read

Bolshoi Ballet will attempt to rectify an oversight that’s as mystifying as it is counterintuitive by becoming Aidan O’Brien’s first winning horse at Saratoga. It defies logic that O’Brien, Europe’s most decorated trainer and one of the best horsemen in the world, has never sent a horse to the Spa’s […]

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a long-awaited bill legalizing fixed-odds wagering on his state's horse races. The bill faces regulatory issues with two state regulating agencies before being implemented. (Image: AP File Photo/Seth Wenig)

New Jersey Governor Signs Fixed-Odds Wagering Bill

- 3 min read

After a 45-day delay, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy finally signed the Fixed Odds Wagering Act into law, opening the windows for fixed-odds wagering on horse racing in the state. Don’t make a beeline for the Jersey Shore just yet, however. Implementation requires regulatory approval from the New Jersey Racing […]

Mr Wireless called up this nearly four-length Indiana Derby victory last month. He returns as the 9/5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park. (Image: Coady Photography)

West Virginia Derby Returns, Bringing Bourbonic and Mr. Wireless Back

- 3 min read

The West Virginia Derby is back after a year’s hiatus. And so are Mr. Wireless and Bourbonic, who headline Saturday’s Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park. The two 3-year-olds provide the recognizable names for the 1 1/8-mile race, which skipped 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Those created logistical […]

Grade 1 winner Dayoutoftheoffice suddenly retired from racing Wednesday. She won three of her six career races, including two graded stakes. (Image: Lauren King)

Star 3-Year-Old Dayoutoftheoffice Makes it Permanent, Retires Suddenly

- 2 min read

Dayoutoftheoffice, one of the best juvenile fillies of 2020 and a Grade 1 winner, retired Wednesday, three days before she was set to run in Saturday’s Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga. The winner of last year’s Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park, Dayoutoftheoffice just clocked a bullet 59-second […]

At 5.25/1, Uncharacteristic captured the Manitoba Derby on a record wagering day at Assiniboia Downs. Horseplayers wagered more than $2.5 million on the card, with more than $1.4 million going toward a Jackpot Pick 5 (Image: Twitter/@staylorsports)

Record Handle Chases Manitoba Derby Day Jackpot Pick 5

- 2 min read

Nobody picked a unique winning ticket for Monday’s Manitoba Derby Day Jackpot Pick 5, which didn’t prevent horseplayers from wagering a record $2,542,309 on Assiniboia Downs’ Manitoba Derby Day card. The cash avalanche included a record $1,488,795 coming in on the Jackpot Pick 5. That cash chased a $1 million […]

Unbeaten Life Is Good expects to return for the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Aug. 28 at Saratoga. Likely foes include Jackie's Warrior, Drain the Clock and Following Sea. (Image: Horsephotos)

How Strong is This? Life Is Good Returning Against Jackie’s Warrior

- 3 min read

It takes a lot to upstage the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, but undefeated Life Is Good facing standout one-turn artist Jackie’s Warrior in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Handicap could be the best race on the Aug. 28 Travers Day card at Saratoga. According to the Daily Racing […]

Monomoy Girl (6) lost this duel to Letruska (inside) in April's Grade 1 Apple Blossom. The Champion Older Female hasn't run since and isn't expected back until December. (Image: Coady Photography)

Recovering Monomoy Girl Doubtful for Breeders’ Cup Distaff Defense

- 2 min read

While she returned under tack to WinStar Farm, defending Breeders’ Cup Distaff champion Monomoy Girl is doubtful for this year’s Breeders’ Cup. The two-time event champion and current Champion Older Female has been out since mid-April, recovering from muscle strains and hamstring issues. BloodHorse reported that Monomoy Girl isn’t expected […]

Trainer Kenny McPeek is not smiling after seven of his horses were denied entry into various Saratoga races this week. His stable emerged from a 21-day quarantine Monday. (Image: Sarah Andrew)

McPeek Files Request for Hearing After Several Entries Denied

- 3 min read

Even with the quarantine for Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) lifted on Monday, trainer Kenny McPeek filed a hearing request with the New York State Gaming Commission after several of his horses were denied entry into early-week races at Saratoga. BloodHorse reported that attorney Andrew Mollica filed the request on McPeek’s behalf […]

Assiniboia Downs put up $1 million for a single Pick 5 ticket on Manitoba Derby Day. That is the Winnipeg-area's flagship race. (Image: Assiniboia Downs)

Assiniboia Downs Puts Up $1 Million for Manitoba Derby Day Pick 5

- 2 min read

Assiniboia Downs decided to celebrate Monday’s Manitoba Derby Day by offering a $1 million guaranteed payout to any single bettor holding a winning ticket on the Jackpot Pick 5. The payout goes to the holder of a unique winning ticket. Meanwhile, that Canadian track located outside of Winnipeg, announced a […]

After a disappointing Kentucky Derby, Dynamic One returned from a nearly three-month racing layoff to win the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga. The $725,000 colt may run the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga next. (Image: Coady Photography/Churchill Downs)

Dynamic One Was Finally Just That in the Curlin; Travers Likely Next

- 3 min read

Yes, Dynamic One’s victory came in a listed stakes, the Curlin. Yes, it came in a 3-year-old race buried in the laundry that is Jim Dandy Weekend at Saratoga – especially with star sophomore Essential Quality headlining. But Friday’s Curlin, which was limited to 3-year-olds who had not won a […]

Decorated sprinter C Z Rocket won the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien on this Del Mar track last summer. He look for his first Grade 1 win as the 5/2 favorite in Saturday's Bing Crosby Stakes. (Image: Benoit Photo)

C Z Rocket Takes Off In Search of Elusive Grade 1 in Bing Crosby Stakes

- 4 min read

Considering how many times he’s figured in various race mixes, it defies logic that C Z Rocket comes into Saturday’s Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes lacking a Grade 1 victory. And yet, here he is, one of the West Coast’s top sprinters and owner of 11 victories and nearly $1.4 […]

Reigning Champion Turf Male Channel Maker will try giving trainer Bill Mott his record-setting fifth Bowling Green title in this week's finale of the Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Janet Garaguso/NYRA Photo)

Cross Country Pick 5 Takes to the Stakes This Week

- 3 min read

Four stakes races up and down the graded-stakes ladder highlight this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5. The horizontal exotic once again brings you races from Monmouth Park, Saratoga, and Canada’s Woodbine. The minimum bet for the three-track, five-race wager is 50 cents. The Cross Country Pick […]

Mischevious Alex won his first Grade 1 with this 5 1/4-length blowout in the Carter Handicap in April. He is the 2/1 favorite to win his second at Saturday's Vanderbilt Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand)

Watch the Blue-Blooded Sprinting Talent Clash in the Vanderbilt

- 4 min read

The Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes gives you the venerable Whitmore, the ubiquitous Firenze Fire, and the dynamic Mischevious Alex. Enough sprinting talent to throw in a trifecta box at, say, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint this fall at Del Mar. Except that, a few hours after Saratoga turns that […]

Essential Quality hasn't raced since beating Hot Rod Charlie in the June 5 Belmont Stakes. He is the prohibitive favorite to win his fourth graded stakes race of 2021: the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga. (Image: Adam Coglianese/NYRA)

Essential Quality Looks Like a Real Jim Dandy Favorite Here

- 4 min read

Proving not all graded stakes winners are viewed equally, Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga features five graded stakes winners in the six-horse field. None of them are viewed through the prism of expectations as Essential Quality. The Belmont Stakes champion comes in as the 1/2 favorite in the […]

Bernardini's victory here in the 2006 Jockey Club Gold Cup was his sixth and final victory. The 2006 Preakness winner won six of eight races and became a prolific stallion and broodmare sire. (Image: Darley Farm)

Preakness Champion and Prolific Sire Bernardini Euthanized at 18

- 3 min read

Bernardini, the 2006 Preakness Stakes winner and one of the most decorated international sires of this century, was euthanized on Friday after complications from laminitis. He was 18. The stallion was euthanized at Jonabell Farm in Kentucky, where he lived since beginning his stallion career in 2007. Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley […]

Drain the Clock nipped rival Jackie's Warrior to win the Grade 1 Woody Stephens last month. The two meet again in Sunday's Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Chris Rahaye/NYRA)

Budding Superstar Drain the Clock Looks Sweet in the Short Races

- 3 min read

The only race Drain the Clock lost this year came the only time he went two turns. You may have noticed this hiccup, since it came in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on the Kentucky Derby trail last winter. But while you paid attention to Triple Crown trail stalwarts […]

The temperamental Whitmore in one of his more gentle moments, right after he and Irad Ortiz Jr. won the Breeders' Cup Sprint last November at Keeneland.(Image: Coady Photography)

Temperamental, Cranky Champion Whitmore Returns to Saratoga

- 3 min read

Whitmore is the equine version of your cranky uncle; the one who tells the great stories when he’s not telling the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn. And while this creates a special brand of headache for trainer Ron Moquett, it also comes with built-in aspirin for those headaches. […]

Channel Cat (inside) held off charging rival Gufo to win his first Grade 1: the Man o' War Stakes at Belmont Park. With trainer Jack Sisterson's proclivity for upsets, he could deliver nice value in Saturday's Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Sisterson Ready to Spring Another Trap With Channel Cat

- 3 min read

By now, the sight of a Jack Sisterson horse in a New York graded stakes race – like Channel Cat in Saturday’s Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes — should send alarm bells ringing in the heads of his competitors. While Sisterson doesn’t carry the high profile of a Todd Pletcher […]

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