Brian Robin

Muck Rack profile
At age 7, Gift Box is one of the most dominant older horses in the country. He'll try to be the fifth horse to win multiple Santa Anita Handicaps Saturday. (Image: OG News)

Gift Box Seeks To Unwrap Second Consecutive Santa Anita Handicap

The Santa Anita Handicap is a race that rewards the complete package in a horse, which is why it presents an opening for Gift Box to find the winner’s circle. After vanquishing McKinzie with one of the best stretch duels of any 2019 race in last year’s edition, Gift Box […]

Sole Volante is a legitimate favorite in the Tampa Bay Derby. But against rival Chance It, can he close like he did here in winning the Sam F. Davis Stakes? (Image: SV Photography/Tampa Bay Downs)

Sole Volante, Chance It Renew Rivalry at Tampa Bay Derby

Up until last week, the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby looked to be the sole province of Sole Volante. The Sam F. Davis Stakes winner was more than a prohibitive favorite. He was the only horse anyone was talking about in the Kentucky Derby prep. That changed last week when […]

Chance It, seen here at Gulfstream Park beating As Seen On Tv by a nose in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes, has won four of his last six races. (Image: Lauren King)

Chance It Riding Wave of Momentum into Tampa Bay Chasing Derby Points

The chance for a better post draw brought Chance It to town for Saturday’s Tampa Bay Derby. And the chance of a lifetime brought trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. to the cusp of qualifying for the Kentucky Derby — something he’s angled for since arriving in the US from Barbados in […]

Dennis' Moment went off as the 6/5 favorite in the Fountain of  Youth. But a disappointing last-place finish has his camp puzzled. (Image: Holly M. Smith Photography)

Fountain of Youth Favorite Dennis’ Moment Disappoints on Derby Trail

Dale Romans was puzzled. Nothing he trained Dennis’ Moment for at Saturday’s Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park was supposed to play out like this. And unlike past mishaps, Dennis’ Moment’s start was good, his tactics were fine, and jockey Flavien Prat was turning in his usual solid, intelligent ride. […]

The Cheltenham Festival attracts upwards of 260,000 people a year. It's 2020 future is in doubt because of the Coronavirus. (Image: Edward Whitaker)

Will Cheltenham Festival Be Canceled Due to Coronavirus Threat?

The global-wide Coronavirus has infected the horse racing markets in Great Britain with news that two Gloucestershire residents have contracted the virus ahead of the annual Cheltenham Festival, scheduled to begin March 10. Betfair is now taking action on Cheltenham Festival races being canceled, with odds shortening from 5/2 to […]

Hall of Fame jockey John Velasquez is usually a thumbs-up option in the Fountain of Youth. He's won five times in 12 starts. (Image: Al Bello/Getty Images)

Here is the Predictable Path to the Fountain of Youth’s Winner’s Circle

There are several elements you can expect from this week’s top Kentucky Derby prep race, the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The track will be fast, Hall-of-Fame jockey John Velasquez will figure in the mix, and local knowledge is golden knowledge. These factors are all givens in the […]

Crystal Palace is in love with Patrick Van Aanhalt's free-kick wizardry. Can the Eagles' get more Van Aanholt this week against Brighton?

EPL Value Bets: Buying Crystal Palace and Going Over With the Hammers

Two weeks ago, we had our first losing week in our EPL Value Bets,. We easily won the Burnley-Southampton game. But stumbled on Liverpool-Norwich – despite predicting the Reds would score late, which they did — and by taking the under on Arsenal-Newcastle. This week, we have two games that […]

Maximum Security doing his morning workout earlier this week at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Process of Elimination Makes Maximum Security a Safe Bet in Saudi Cup

The easiest way to look at Saturday’s Saudi Cup is to go back to your old test days. Remember when your teacher told you to eliminate the wrong answers and, eventually, you’d arrive at the right one? Not only does this work for geometry and history, it also works for […]

Maximum Security, seen here winning the 2019 Florida Derby, has only been beaten across the finish line once.

Maximum Security Seeks Redemption in $20 Million Saudi Cup

Maximum Security had a year most owners and trainers would run with, culminating in his coronation as the year’s 3-year-old Male Eclipse Award Champion. But everyone who saw Maximum Security run knew he didn’t get the maximum out of his considerable talent. That considerable talent, more than anything he did […]

A.P. Indy won eight races in 11 starts, including the 1992 Belmont Stakes. But his stallion career was one of the most impressive in the annals of thoroughbred racing.
(Image: WKYT)

Legendary Sire, 1992 Horse of the Year AP Indy Dies at 31

AP Indy, the 1992 Horse of the Year and one of the most decorated stallions of the 1990s, died Friday at the Kentucky farm where he spent most of his life and sired horses responsible for winning hundreds of races. He was 31. The son of 1977 Triple Crown winner […]

Silver Prospector, ridden by Ricardo Santana, Jr., won the Southwest Stakes and is the horse to watch this weekend. (Image: Coady Photography)

Derby Preps: Silver Prospector Looking Golden

Two lesser Kentucky Derby prep races last weekend –  the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields and the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park — both yielded 10 Derby Qualifying Points to their winners, Azul Coast and Silver Prospector, respectively. But the process leading to those results couldn’t have […]

Brazilian import Jolie Olimpica is unbeaten in four races. Can her Olympian form hold in Saturday's Buena Vista Stakes? (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

Racing Notes: Jolie Olimpica Raising the Stakes at Santa Anita

The Buena Vista Stakes at Santa Anita is arguably the best Grade 2 race for fillies and mares in the United States. There’s buzz in horse racing circles that these stakes could eventually rise from Grade 2 to Grade 1 – and if that ever happens it will be because […]

By winning his first race in spectacular fashion, Charlatan drew comparisons to former Bob Baffert trainee Justify. Can he justify those comparisons? (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

A Charlatan has Joined the Kentucky Derby Futures Board

With five victories, the name “Bob Baffert” is synonymous with Kentucky Derby success. Accordingly, the Hall-of-Fame trainer rarely has a Charlatan in his endless barn of 3-year-old Derby hopefuls. Until now. Say hello to Charlatan, the newest top-10 member on the Kentucky Derby Futures Odds board. In his racing debut, […]

With European football possibly out next year, Pep Guardiola bears the weight of staying through 2021 or leaving at the end of this year. (Image: Sky Sports)

With European Ban, Odds Shrink On Pep Guardiola’s Future at Manchester City

Manchester City’s two-year ban from the UEFA Champions League has already sent ripples through the betting markets, starting with Pep Guardiola’s future. The Man City manager, considered one of the premier soccer bosses in the world, is now 1/5 to leave the Citizens in the summer, according to SportNation. He […]

Azul Coast, seen here at Santa Anita before his runner-up finish in the Sham Stakes, is the favorite for Saturday's El Camino Real Derby. (Image: OG News)

El Camino Real Highlights Under-the-Radar Derby Hopefuls

We’re flying below the usual Kentucky Derby prep radar, with a race not held on one of America’s A-list tracks. Therefore, chances are you’re not going to see a horse that will win all three Triple Crown races come out of Saturday’s El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields […]

Will Enforceable's jockey Julien Leparoux, seen here after winning the Lecomte Stakes, give another thumbs-up after the Risen Star? (Image: Holly Smith/The Pressbox)

Raising Stakes at Risen Star: (More than) Double Derby Points on the Line

Now, the points get real, which mean the stakes get real, and the slope gets really slippery for horses that don’t quite measure up to the demands of the Kentucky Derby Trail. That becomes apparent at Louisiana’s Fair Grounds Saturday with the first of the big-point races – the Grade […]

Sole Volante surprised the competition and proved he could be a Kentucky Derby contender with a strong finish at last week's Sam F. Davis stakes. (Image: Santa Anita Park)

Sole Volante Joins the Kentucky Derby Futures Board

Sole Volante, a proverbial dark horse, has added his name to the Kentucky Derby futures board by way of a strong stretch run at last week’s Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Downs in Florida. Who is Sole Volante and where did he come from? A strong stretch run that […]