Brian Robin

Muck Rack profile
Bowling Returns to TV; Can Betting on the PBA Be Far Behind?

Bowling Returns to TV; Can Betting on the PBA Be Far Behind?

As the sports world slowly reopens amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Professional Bowlers Association joins the resumption parade on June 6, with the inaugural PBA Strike Derby. The event is one of several PBA events taking place over the summer – all aired on Fox or FS1. The Strike Derby […]

Betting shops around England plan to get a jump on reopening before the Royal Ascot meet begins June 16. The UK government allowed books to reopen June 15. (Image: Thomas Lovelock/Silverhub)

Bookmakers Get Government Approval to Reopen in Time for Royal Ascot

Bookmakers throughout England received welcome news on Monday when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced all “non-essential” shops may reopen as early as June 15. That would allow books to take bets the day before the Royal Ascot meet opens. This, of course, hinges on non-essential retail outlets – which […]

His Preakness Stakes win showed why War of Will was one of the most talented and unpredictable 3-year-olds last year. He's back on turf as one of the favorites in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Preakness Winner War of Will Headlines Deep Shoemaker Mile Field

Flavien Prat will ride War of Will in Monday’s Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita Park. And if that doesn’t set off the irony bells and whistles – while running red flags from every mast – nothing else will. Last May 4, Prat found himself a Kentucky Derby-winning jockey […]

Favored in the Matt Winn Stakes, Maxfield is the best horse in the field. But is there value elsewhere in this Kentucky Derby prep? (Image: Jordan Thomson)

Matt Winn Stakes Takes Center Stage for Derby Hopefuls

It’s the fourth Saturday in May, which brings us Churchill Downs’ headline race for 3-year-olds this spring. You can hear the dulcet tones of “My Old Kentucky Home” as the 10 horses enter the gate for the Matt Winn Stakes. No, that’s not a typo or the result of a […]

Luis Saez flashes the number of victories he had in one day earlier this year. It also equals the number of days he's suspended after serving at 15-day suspension for reckless riding during last year's Kentucky Derby. (Image: Lauren King/Gulfstream Park

Luis Saez Ends Appeal, Starts Suspension From 2019 Kentucky Derby

After dropping his appeal, standout jockey Luis Saez began his 15-day suspension for his Kentucky Derby trip aboard Maximum Security that resulted in the horse’s disqualification. Saez, who leads North American jockeys with 132 wins this season, began his suspension Wednesday. It runs through June 3. His agent, former trainer […]

Bettors imitated jockey Joel Rosario and given thumbs-up to Nadal. He is the early betting favorite at +325 on Circa Sports' new Kentucky Derby futures board. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Circa Sports Opens New Kentucky Derby Futures Betting Market

Circa Sports burst on the sports betting scene last year in an audacious, aggressive manner that revealed an organization not afraid to take chances or try new things with its lines. The downtown Las Vegas property stayed true to form this week when Circa released its Kentucky Derby futures board. […]

Even with the six extra races, Queen Elizabeth's 2017 Royal Ascot entrance won't be duplicated this year. (Image: Getty)

Royal Ascot Adds Six New Races to Revamped 2020 Meet

In this time of COVID-19, Royal Ascot won’t have the Queen in attendance this year. It won’t have stylishly dressed fans in the grandstands and boxes. But, the Royal Ascot meet will have six extra races, giving punters more options throughout the five-day meet. The revamped card for the June […]

Honor A.P. is one of the sleeper Kentucky Derby picks. His trainer, John Shirreffs, opted to bypass the Belmont Stakes for home-track Santa Anita Park. (Image: Santa Anita Park)

New Kentucky Derby Trail Presents Options, Tough Choices for Trainers

Sole Volante is off to the Belmont Stakes. His stablemate, Ete Indien, heads to the Haskell Stakes. And Honor A.P. stays home for the Santa Anita Derby. These three Kentucky Derby contenders illustrate how many different paths have emerged on the Derby Trail during the COVID-19 era. Even in a […]

The last time we saw Maxfield race, he came from ninth to first to win the Breeders' Futurity last October. He returns to the gate Saturday after 7 1/2 months off. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Maxfield Ready to Rejoin the Derby Trail at Saturday’s Matt Winn Stakes

The expectations surrounding Maxfield on his 3-year-old debut at Saturday’s Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs can be viewed through the prism of two other horses who recently returned from extended time off. The first: Bob Baffert’s Tale of the Union, who returned to the starting gate at […]

NYRA instituted new safety and claiming regulations the organization said should create a safer, more equitable track for horses. (Image: Brad Penner/USA Today)

NYRA Institutes New Safety Regulations for Belmont Park Meet

Now that the New York Racing Association has set a new date for the Belmont Stakes and a new schedule for its Belmont Park spring/summer meet, the organization moved to creating new entry rule requirements and safety regulations. The organization announced in a release several new entry rule changes that […]

Lone Star Park officials are making a concerted push down the stretch to open Friday. (Image: Richard Rodriguez/Fort Worth Star Telegram)

Texas’ Lone Star Park Opens Friday, Fans Not Allowed Inside … Yet

Adding to the other racetracks opening or reopening around North America, horseplayers get another option Friday when Texas’ Lone Star Park begins its spring/summer meet. At the outset, the track will run spectator-free. Located north of Dallas in Grand Prairie, Texas, Lone Star Park was scheduled to open April 16 […]

King Guillermo, seen here winning the Tampa Bay Derby in March at 49/1, won't sneak up on anyone in the Belmont Stakes. His connections decided to bypass the June 20 first leg of the Triple Crown. (Image: Coolmore Farm)

Connections Bench King Guillermo From Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes already has Bob Baffert’s powerful unbeaten duo of Charlatan and Nadal. It has Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law. But it won’t have King Guillermo. Juan Carlos Avila, King Guillermo’s trainer, tweeted the Tampa Bay Derby winner won’t run the June 20, 1 1/8-mile Belmont Stakes. Instead, […]

Swiss Skydiver jumped into center stage among 3-year-old fillies by winning the Fantasy Stakes at 16/1. She will stay in the States for her next race, the Santa Anita Oaks. (Image: Coady Photography/Oaklawn Park)

Swiss Skydiver Won’t Dive Into English Classic, Will Drop into Santa Anita

After all is said and done, standout 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver won’t parachute into the 1,000 Guineas. Instead, the likely favorite for the Kentucky Oaks will drop into Santa Anita for next month’s Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks. Swiss Skydiver in the English Classic would have turned heads for several […]

Wonder Gadot beat the boys to win the 2018 Queen's Plate, the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America. It moves to September this year due to the coronavirus. (Image: Woodbine Entertainment)

Canada’s Queen’s Plate Pushed From June to September

The first leg of Canada’s Triple Crown, the $1 million Queen’s Plate, will run Sept. 12 at its traditional Woodbine home outside Toronto. The Queen’s Plate is North America’s oldest continuously run stakes race and a summer fixture in Canada. Originally scheduled for June 27, it moved to its new […]

The coronavirus moved the Belmont Stakes to a new June date and a new shorter distance. It will run 1 1/8 miles instead of 1 1/2. (Image: AP Photo)

Triple Crown Picture Finished: Shorter Belmont Stakes Will Run in June

The final jewel to the 2020 Triple Crown fell into place Tuesday morning when the New York Racing Association announced the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes will run Saturday, June 20. With that date, the 152-year-old race opens the Triple Crown for the first time in history. That’s not the only […]

The sight of fans in the stands will greet horses at Texas' Lone Star Park. The track can reopen after Friday with 25% capacity. (Image: Lone Star Park)

Texas Becomes First State Allowing Fans Back Into Racetracks

Texas is about to become the first state in the COVID-19 era to reopen racetracks with fans in attendance, courtesy of Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that allows facilities to reopen at up to 25% of capacity. Abbott signed executive order GA-23 Monday afternoon. It opens the state’s simulcast facilities […]

Flavien Prat's surprise at winning last year's Kentucky Derby via disqualification yielded to amazement at winning six races in one day Sunday. (Image: AP Photo/Greg Payan)

Prat Rides Off With a Six-Pack of Santa Anita Victories on Sunday

Sunday at Santa Anita Park saw Flavien Prat experience what few jockeys ever get to savor in their riding careers — the joy of six trips to the winner’s circle. Prat won six of Santa Anita’s first nine races on Sunday’s card, a rare feat that vaulted him into rarefied […]

The starting gate for the 2020 Preakness Stakes opens Oct. 3 instead of May 16. The second jewel of the Triple Crown runs outside May for the first time in 75 years. (Image: Emma Patti Harris/Zuma Press)

2020 Preakness Stakes Finally Gets Its New October Date

On the day the Preakness Stakes would normally run, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced the 2020 race’s new date of Oct. 3 – a move made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic. That puts the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, the shortest of the Triple Crown events, four weeks after the Kentucky Derby. […]