Brian Robin

Muck Rack profile
Cezanne captured more than his debut race earlier this month. He seized the imagination of value-hunting Kentucky Derby bettors. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Cezanne Creates More Buzz Entering His Second Career Race

Cezanne’s potential as a Kentucky Derby contender will be further revealed on Thursday when the Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old enters the Los Alamitos Race Course gate for his second career race. A $3.65 million purchase and one of the loudest buzz horses on the Kentucky Derby Trail, Cezanne is the 4/5 […]

Ellis Park gets ready for its 2020 close-up when it opens to limited spectators Thursday. It is one of a handful of racetracks allowing fans inside. (Image: Ellis Park Racetrack)

Kentucky’s Ellis Park to Open Historic Meet with Limited Fans

Ellis Park will become the first Kentucky racetrack to allow spectators when the track opens Thursday for its summer meet. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s directive allows racetracks to admit spectators up to 50% capacity beginning Monday. The Henderson facility plans selling reserved seating to its Sky Theater, the second floor […]

John Sadler, seen here shaking hands with owner Kosta Hronis after their Accelerate won the 2018 Pacific Classic. will sit out the next 15 days. Three of his horses tested positive for banned substances. (Image: Hayne Palmour IV/San Diego Union-Tribune)

Top Trainer John Sadler Fined, Suspended for Medication Violations

John Sadler, one of the top trainers on the West Coast, was fined $15,000 and suspended for 60 days for three 2019 medication violations involving his horses. The ruling, handed down by the California Horse Racing Board on Sunday, came out of a settlement agreement between the CHRB and Sadler. […]

By My Standards won his first stakes race, last year's Louisiana Derby. He faces his biggest challenge to date against tough, seasoned Tom's d'Etat in the Stephen Foster. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Stephen Foster Composes Beautiful Front Line of Contenders

As marquee races go, this isn’t the Kentucky Derby. But you could do a lot worse than the Stephen Foster as the headline race of your meet, abbreviated and all. The Grade 2 Stephen Foster not only headlines Saturday’s strong 11-race, four-stakes card at Churchill Downs, it provides an enviable […]

Trainer Peter Eurton takes the blinders off Storm the Court for Saturday's Ohio Derby. Will Storm the Court put on the speed he used to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile? (Image: Horsephotos.com)

Seeking to End Slump, Storm the Court Downshifts into Ohio Derby

Storm the Court’s 2020 season defines the term “sophomore slump,” which explains why you’re seeing the Champion 2-year-old in the starting gate for Saturday’s Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown. The consolation for Storm the Court? There are two. He gets back Flavien Prat, the West Coast’s top jockey, who […]

Honor A.P. and Mike Smith enhanced their stallion value with their stretch-drive Santa Anita Derby win earlier this month. Honor A.P. will stand for stud at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Honor A.P. Will Join His Sire at Stud, Breeding Rights Sold to Lane’s End

The frenzy to acquire the breeding rights of star 3-year-olds continued Friday when Kentucky’s Lane’s End Farm announced Honor A.P. will stand at stud there when his racing career ends. The Santa Anita Derby champion, Honor A.P. sits at +545 on Circa Sports’ Kentucky Derby Futures board. He is +350 […]

Tom's d'Etat seeks his fourth consecutive stakes victory in Saturday's Stephen Foster. The 7-year-old is your even-money morning line favorite. (Image: Churchill Downs)

Favored Tom’s d’Etat Not a Revolutionary Pick in the Stephen Foster

You can’t call what Tom’s d’Etat did in the Oaklawn Mile a coup d’etat, not when he was the 4/5 favorite. Nor can you call his previous two races revolutionary. All of which explains why Tom’s d’Etat is the even-money favorite for Saturday’s Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. The Grade […]

Triple Crown winners American Pharoah (left) and Justify, who flank their trainer, Bob Baffert. This is the company awaiting Tiz the Law when he starts his stud career at Ashford Stud in Kentucky. (Image: Coolmore America)

Tiz the Law’s Breeding Rights Sold to Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud

Right on the heels of his impressive Belmont Stakes victory, Tiz the Law’s connections sold his breeding rights to Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, where he will stand at stud upon his racing retirement. In the meantime, Tiz the Law will continue racing for current owners Sackatoga Stable. The price was […]

The Kentucky Derby infield brings out a smorgasbord of party-goers. While fans are allowed inside this year's Derby, don't expect the same raucous infield crowds for a typical Derby. (Image: Jamey Price/Getty)

Kentucky Derby Will Run with Spectators, Limited Access, Strict Rules

Churchill Downs officials announced Thursday that the 146th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks will run with a limited and yet unspecified number of spectators, a decision made in consultation with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and state public health officials. In so doing, Churchill Downs is trying to make a concerted […]

At one time, Gouverneur Morris was a top-10 Kentucky Derby prospect. A bout of colitis made him the Derby Trail's latest casualty. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Colitis Claims Latest Derby Trail Hopeful — Gouverneur Morris

In the latest illustration of the perils found along the Kentucky Derby trail, Gouverneur Morris suffered a bout of colitis that will take him out of the Sept. 5 Derby. He is expected to recover at the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in New Jersey, where he went Monday after suffering […]

Yes, the bloodline is strong in this one. Cafe Pharoah, the son of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, qualified for the Kentucky Derby. (Image: Yuki Shimono)

Like Father, Like Son? Cafe Pharoah Qualifies for Kentucky Derby

There could be another Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Café Pharoah, a son of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, captured the Group 3 Unicorn Stakes in Japan, securing enough points on Japan’s Road to the Kentucky Derby to earn a spot – should his connections claim it. […]

New Jersey's Monmouth Park will open with 25% capacity July 3 for 37 days of racing. (Image: Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)

Monmouth Park Reopens Next Week, Limited Spectators Allowed

Monmouth Park joins the American racetrack opening parade next week, announcing it will open its track and in-house William Hill sports book Thursday, July 2. What sets Monmouth Park apart from its top-tier track brethren in this COVID-19 era is that the New Jersey track will allow fans inside. Under […]

His easy Belmont Stakes victory illustrates why Tiz the Law (No. 8) is an easy Kentucky Derby futures favorite. (Image: Al Bello/Getty)

Tiz the Law Takes Sole Command of Kentucky Derby Futures Odds

Even in a backward Triple Crown year like 2020, a performance like Tiz the Law’s Belmont Stakes victory Saturday means his Kentucky Derby futures odds can go only one direction. And down they went, to +275 at Circa Sports and +250 at William Hill-Nevada. This inevitable drop from 4/1 was […]

The Breeders' Cup Distaff is Midnight Bisou's season goal. Winning Saturday's Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs will get her into the field for the Nov. 7 Distaff. (Image: Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire)

Midnight Bisou Returns With More to Prove in Fleur de Lis

You could make a credible case that Midnight Bisou isn’t just the best filly or mare in the world, but that she’s the best horse in the world. And Midnight Bisou will further that case at Churchill Downs in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fleur de Lis. Waiting for her in a […]

Tiz the Law and Manny Franco captured the 2020 Belmont Stakes in front of an empty Belmont Park grandstand. His next race is expected to be the Aug. 8 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Getty)

Tiz the Law Rules Again, Captures 152nd Belmont Amid Falling Handle

Even with Tiz the Law passing the “Test of a Champion” with flying colors, the all-sources handle for the 152nd Belmont Stakes and its stakes-packed undercard declined by 33.7% — yet another byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic. Belmont Park normally welcomes nearly 100,000 people for Belmont Saturday, usually the first […]

This is what a 150/1 shocker looks like at the finish line. Nando Parrado pulled off the biggest upset in Royal Ascot history when he won the Coventry Stakes at 150/1. (Image: The Sporting Life)

Crash Survivor Namesake Nando Parrado Pulls 150/1 Royal Upset at Ascot

The horse was named for a survivor of the infamous 1972 plane crash in the Andes, which made Nando Parrado such an international celebrity that Ethan Hawke played him in the movie. And the horse Nando Parrado became an instant celebrity Saturday, becoming the biggest longshot to win a race […]

Veteran trainer Barclay Tagg and Tiz the Law are the team to beat in Saturday's 152nd Belmont Stakes. Tagg, 82, seeks his first Triple Crown title since Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2003. (Image: NY Jockey Club)

Breaking Down The 152nd Belmont Stakes, Worst To First

Yes, it’s condensed to 1 1/8 miles, instead of its typical hearty 1 ½ miles, meaning the Belmont Stakes goes from the longest Triple Crown race to the shortest. Yes, the Belmont Stakes leads off the Triple Crown season, rather than batting in the power-hitting three-hole. And yes, even in […]

Sharing and jockey Manny Franco took home the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last year. Trainer Graham Motion will be even more excited should she win Saturday's Royal Ascot Coronation Stakes. (Image: Horsephotos.com)

Greedy for Victory, Sharing Seeks Motion’s First Royal Ascot Triumph

Graham Motion understands the complexity of what lies ahead for him and his star filly, Sharing, in Saturday’s Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. It’s one thing to beat two of Europe’s best juvenile fillies on your home turf in America. It’s quite another to tangle with some of […]

Keen Ice (left) beat Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the 2015 Travers Stakes. The historic race moved up three weeks this year to Aug. 8. (Image: Dan Heary/For the Boston Globe)

Saratoga Schedule Features 39 Stakes, Tiz the Law Expected in Travers

The New York Racing Association put one of the final Kentucky Derby Trail pieces in place on Friday, releasing its Saratoga Race Course summer stakes schedule. It puts the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on Saturday, Aug. 8, four weeks before the Kentucky Derby. That date conveniently fits Tiz the Law’s […]