Brian Robin

Muck Rack profile
The Arlington Park finish line won't have some of the world's top Thoroughbred horses sprint through it this year. Track officials and Illinois horsemen can't reach an agreement on 2020 racing. (Image: John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune

Arlington Million Becomes Latest Race Casualty, but Not Because of COVID-19

- 3 min read

The Arlington Million, Illinois’ biggest horse race of the year, is the most prominent casualty of a deadlock between Arlington Park officials and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association agreeing on a new contract. The two entities came to a tentative agreement on a daily purse structure for a 30-day meet […]

Honor A.P. galloped his way to victory in the Santa Anita Derby and his way up Kentucky Derby future boards. He's the co-favorite in one and the co-second favorite in another. (Image: Benoit Photo/USA TODAY Sports)

Derby Hopefuls Honor A.P., Cezanne Paint Their Way Up Futures Boards

- 4 min read

The Santa Anita Derby did what the West Coast’s premier Kentucky Derby prep always does – put another quality front-runner in the front row of Derby hopefuls for the Sept. 5 Run for the Roses. At the same time, it provided a good time to see where the top 3-year-olds […]

Charlatan easily captures his division of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. But it's been an uphill climb for the Bob Baffert colt since. He'll miss the Belmont and the Kentucky Derby with an ankle injury. (Image: AP Photo)

Ankle Injury Takes Star Baffert Colt Charlatan Out of Belmont, Derby

- 3 min read

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s vaunted Big Three Kentucky Derby contenders is now down to a Big One with the news that Charlatan will miss the Kentucky Derby with an ankle injury. Baffert told Paulick Report Publisher Ray Paulick the undefeated Speighstown progeny suffered “a filling in a front […]

The image of a Kentucky Derby winner -- like Victor Espinoza aboard American Pharoah in 2015 - was absent from May due to the coronavirus. That impacted horse racing betting handles for the month. (Image: Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald via Getty)

May’s Racing Economic Indicators Continue COVID-19 Plunge

- 3 min read

Even with tracks emerging from coronavirus shutdowns throughout May, Thoroughbred racing handles for the month plummeted compared to their 2019 totals, according to Equibase’s monthly report on horse racing’s economic indicators. The biggest individual culprit for May’s decline was easy to pinpoint: no Kentucky Derby and no Preakness Stakes. The […]

The powerful Quadrilateral and 20-year-old jockey Jason Watson, are shaping up to be the favorite in Sunday's 1000 Guineas. (Image: Edward Whitaker)

Bettors Square Up Wagers on Favored Quadrilateral in 1000 Guineas

- 4 min read

Quadrilateral is the favorite. Millsie is the sentimental favorite, thanks to her trainer, Jessica Harrington. And Love is the value favorite for Sunday’s 1000 Guineas on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket. The 1000 Guineas is the second of England’s four Classic races. Dating to 1814, it sends out the UK’s […]

Bob Baffert usually rides high in the saddle at the Santa Anita Derby. He's going for his 10th victory in the premier West Coast Kentucky Derby prep. (Image: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Baffert Gets an Authentic Opportunity for Santa Anita Derby Three-Peat

- 4 min read

Even in a year where the COVID-19 pandemic pushed matters from April to June, Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby storylines begin where they usually do – in Bob Baffert’s Santa Anita Park barn. After all, where else to begin than the barn that produced nine previous Santa Anita Derby […]

Mind Control brings late speed, the ability to overcome adversity and a three-race winning streak into Saturday's Carter Handicap. (Image: Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)

Carter Handicap Breaks Out of the Gate With a Blur of Sprinting Talent

- 3 min read

The depth of the Grade 1 Carter Handicap field provides exotic bettors with a dream handicap opportunity. The mind reels with the exacta, trifecta and superfecta possibilities in a race featuring some of the top sprinting talent in the country. The flip side of that coin, however, comes with figuring […]

Honor A.P. Looks to Leap Into Front-Row Derby Contention

- 3 min read

He may be the biggest sleeper of all the serious Kentucky Derby favorites, the one currently sailing under most Derby list radars. But you lose track of Honor A.P. at your own peril, which is why he’s in peril of winning Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby. It’s some dangerously fast company […]

Pinatubo put on a vintage performance in last year's VIntage Stakes, winning by five lengths. He is the prohibitive favorite to win the first English Classic of the season -- the 2,000 Guineas. (Image: Godolphin Racing)

Sizzling Pinatubo Odds-On Favorite to Erupt in 2000 Guineas

- 3 min read

Pinatubo got his name from a volcano in the Philippines, which proved his Godolphin owners either have a soft spot for lava and ash, or a hard sense of foreshadowing as to what kind of horse they own. Because right now, Pinatubo is the hottest horse coming into Saturday’s 2000 […]

Code of Honor's most impressive victory of 2019 came at the Travers Stakes in August. He opens his 4-year-old season Saturday at Belmont Park. (Image: Associated Press)

Code of Honor Seeks Another Mission at Saturday’s Westchester Stakes

- 3 min read

Code of Honor’s resume reflects a horse who deserves more credit than just completing the back end of a wild exacta at last year’s Kentucky Derby. And Saturday, last year’s official runner-up in the Derby, opens his 4-year-old campaign in the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes at Belmont Park. The 1 […]

Arrogate became the first horse in Saratoga history to break 2 minutes for 1 1/4 miles when he won the 2016 Travers Stakes. The richest horse in terms of on-track earnings was euthanized Tuesday. He was 7. (Image: Peter Barber/Daily Gazette)

Arrogate, North America’s Top-Earning Horse, Euthanized at Age 7

- 4 min read

Arrogate, who put on one of the most memorable runs of 21st-century racing en route to becoming North America’s richest racehorse, was euthanized Tuesday morning at an equine hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. The son of Unbridled’s Song suffered a mysterious neck illness last week at Juddmonte Farms, where he neared […]

The 1,000 Guineas on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket, one of the English Classics, highlights English racing's first week back. (Image: Mark Westley)

Amid Financial Woes, British Horse Racing Returns With Busy Week

- 3 min read

British horse racing returns Monday, coming back to the sporting forefront with a 10-race Newcastle card that opens the gates for the rest of the country’s 59 racetracks. Newcastle’s Monday card, which will run spectator-free, maxed out with all 10 races starting the full complement of 12 runners. The meet […]

Maryland's Laurel Park received approval to resume racing Saturday. It plans running through Aug. 22. (Image: Laurel Park)

Maryland’s Laurel Park Reopens for Racing Saturday

- 2 min read

After receiving unanimous approval by the Maryland Racing Commission on Thursday to resume racing, Laurel Park will waste little time reopening its starting gates. It joins the racing resumption parade Saturday. Laurel Park’s summer meet opens with three days of live racing from Saturday through Monday, and will run every […]

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher sends three horses into the June 20 Belmont Stakes field. (Image: Sarah Andrew/Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners)

Belmont Stakes Field Undergoes a Thursday Tremor

- 3 min read

The Belmont Stakes field underwent a shakeup on Thursday, losing powerful Nadal to a broken leg and Wells Bayou to other Kentucky Derby preps. On the plus side, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed three of his horses, Dr. Post, Farmington Road, and Gouverneur Morris, will be in the […]

Nadal won February's San Vicente Stakes for one of his four career victories. The cold retired Thursday after breaking a bone in his leg during a workout. (Image: Benoit Photography)

Broken Bone Forces Kentucky Derby Favorite Nadal Into Retirement

- 2 min read

Illustrating the fragile nature of today’s Thoroughbred horses, Kentucky Derby favorite Nadal broke a bone in his left front leg during a Thursday morning workout. His owner, George Bolton, said Nadal has been immediately retired. One of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s standout 3-year-olds, Nadal worked a half-mile at […]

Del Mar's summer meet will sprint out of the gate eight days early. The iconic California track will race nine weeks this summer instead of eight. (Image: KC Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune)

Del Mar Gets an Early Jump On 2020 Summer Meet, Plans Bigger Cards

- 3 min read

Officials from the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which operates Del Mar Race Track north of San Diego, announced they will open their 2020 summer meet eight days earlier than planned. In addition, the racetrack plans on running three days per week instead of its customary five. Del Mar will open […]

Keeneland will open its starting gate this summer for a limited, but loaded, July meet. (Image: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

Keeneland Receives Approval for Stakes-Packed Summer Meet

- 2 min read

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved Keeneland’s request to run a five-day, spectator-free summer meet in July, giving the Lexington racetrack back five days from its original 16-day spring meet. That meet became a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keeneland’s abbreviated meet is scheduled for July 8-12 and is […]

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