Horse Racing

Life Is Good rolled up a 112 Beyer Speed Figure and a 5 1/2-length victory in last month's John A. Nerud Stakes. He's the 6/5 morning line favorite to win one of the biggest older horse races in the country: The Whitney. (Image: NYRA Photo)

The Whitney: The Summer Proving Ground for Older Horses

You almost get the feeling that with Life Is Good and Olympiad heading the marquee for Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga, this 1 1/8-mile race sets up as more than one of the top older horse dirt races in the country. It sets up as a something-to-prove test. Because […]

Classic Causeway led this cavalry charge in last month's Belmont Derby. He is one of seven horses from that race in Saturday's Grade 1 Saratoga Derby. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Classic Causeway Can’t Run Away And Hide in Saratoga Derby

This time, Classic Causeway won’t be sneaking up on the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby field as a 26/1 afterthought. That untested turf question mark is now an exclamation point. And thus, we have the biggest storyline for Saturday’s Saratoga Derby, the second leg of the New York Racing Association’s Turf Triple. […]

Matareya captured June's Grade 1 Acorn Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths. The 3-year-old filly comes into Saturday's Grade 1 Test Stakes unbeaten in four 2022 starts. (Image: AC Photo/NYRA.com)

Passing This Test Means Beating the Formidable Matareya

The aptly named Grade 1 Test Stakes applies to six of the seven 3-year-old fillies in the field. And it’s a test that — according to Matareya — none of the six are likely to pass. That’s due to Matareya, the leader in this class. She brings her 4-for-4 record […]

Simplification bled heavily during this fifth-place Preakness Stakes finish at Pimlico. He returns to action at Mountaineer Park for Saturday's Grade 3 West Virginia Derby. (Image: Jerry Dzierwinski/Maryland Jockey Club)

West Virginia Derby Comes With Three Familiar Names

Yes, this is the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby. Do not adjust your eyes when you see the likes of Triple Crown ex-pats Simplification, Skippylongstocking and We the People entering the starting gate for Saturday’s featured race at Mountaineer Park. The 1 1/8-mile West Virginia Derby headlines a seven-stakes, nine-race Saturday card. […]

Irish-bred Ocean Road won the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes in May. The Gamely is one of 10 Grade 1 stakes on Santa Anita Park's 2022-23 Winter/Spring Meet stakes schedule. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Santa Anita Park Announces Robust 2022-23 Stakes Schedule

Santa Anita Park’s 2022-23 Winter/Spring Meet offers 93 stakes races — 58 graded and 10 of those Grade 1s — during what is one of the longest racing meets of the year. Santa Anita’s Winter/Spring Meet runs Dec. 26-June 19. “We feel there is something for everyone in this stakes […]

Wit and Jose Ortiz will move to grass for Friday's Grade 2 National Museum of Racing at Saratoga. (Image: Francesca Le Donne Photo/NYRA.com)

With Precedent and Pedigree, Wit Brings His Next Act to the Grass

As Todd Pletcher sees it with Wit, the turf pedigree is there. As he sees it through recency bias, moving him to grass has a good precedent. And as Pletcher sees it through recent history, why not? The Hall of Fame trainer moves his 3-year-old multiple graded stakes winner to […]

Epicenter showed a new closer dimension winning the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Saturday. The victory puts the colt atop the 3-year-old class -- for now. (Image: Chelsea Durand/NYRA Photo)

Epicenter Answers the Question: Who’s The Best 3-Year-Old Today?

The shifting, quaking earth under the 3-year-old division slid once again Saturday, when 6/5 favorite Epicenter put away Zandon, Tawny Port and Early Voting, winning the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga by 1 ½ lengths. Put aside for the moment that Epicenter passed the $2 million mark in career […]

Jackie's Warrior and Joel Rosario made history look easy in Saturday's Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga. (Image: JG Photo/NYRA.com)

Jackie’s Warrior Rides Into Saratoga History Books, Wins Vanderbilt

Jackie’s Warrior came into Saturday’s Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap wanting to make progress toward his ultimate goal – the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He ended up making history. Jackie’s Warrior won the Vanderbilt by two lengths Saturday, a victory that made him the first horse in Saratoga history to […]

Country Grammer fired a bullet in this July 24 workout at Del Mar. He's the 5/2 favorite for the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap in his first US race in 14 months. (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

San Diego Handicap Punches Above It’s Weight as Pacific Classic Prep

The Grade 2 San Diego Handicap is considered the major prep for Del Mar’s flagship race: the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. But you can be forgiven if you mistake this nine-horse field for what lies ahead Labor Day weekend in the Pacific Classic. And that’s not only because defending Pacific […]

American Theorem owns the only 2022 graded stakes victory in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes field. He is the 4/1 co-second choice in Saturday's co-feature at Del Mar. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Deep Field of Sprinters Go On the Road in Del Mar’s Bing Crosby

The first instinct when looking at Saturday’s Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar is to see who’s not here for California’s richest sprint race ($400,000). There’s no Brickyard Ride. No Cezanne. No Dr. Schivel, the defending Bing Crosby champion, who finished second by an eyelash in the Breeders’ […]

Jackie's Warrior won last year's Amsterdam by 7 1/4 lengths. He's the prohibitive favorite to win his fifth Grade 1 and fifth Saratoga outing at the Vanderbilt Handicap. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Jackie’s Warrior is a Blue-Chip Horse for the Blueblood Vanderbilt

Since Jackie’s Warrior is understandably attracting all the attention in Saturday’s Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes, trainer Steve Asmussen is searching for more superlatives to describe his star sprinter. He’s officially out of superlatives. And even after looking at Jackie’s Warrior’s resume, Asmussen realizes simple is best. “He’s 4-for-4 […]

Epicenter hasn't run since finishing second in the Preakness Stakes May 21. He is the 3/2 favorite to win the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club)

Epicenter, Early Voting, Zandon: This Jim Dandy Lives Up to Its Name

The first thing that stands out about Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga is the “Grade 2” class prefix that comes along for the ride. There is no truth-in-advertising here. Not with this year’s 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy, which figures to answer more questions than who’s hot going […]

Flightline, seen here working out at Santa Anita in early July, will be the favorite in the first Breeders' Cup Classic Future Wager pool. That new future wager begins next week. (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

New Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager Pool Closes Wagering Hole

Taking a page from their Churchill Downs counterparts, the Breeders’ Cup took a long-awaited, beneficial step for horseplayers, instituting future wagering on the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Breeders’ Cup future wager not only borrows a page from Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) pools, it cribs the […]

Early Voting worked out at Saratoga last week in preparation for Saturday's Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes, the fourth race on this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Janet Garaguso)

Jackie’s Warrior, Zandon, Early Voting Head Cross Country Pick 5

The return of Jackie’s Warrior to Saratoga and the return of Triple Crown veterans to the track highlight this week’s Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s Cross Country Pick 5 is light on the stakes. Only two make this week’s wager: the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes and the […]

Undefeated Corniche's first of two Grade 1 wins came in last fall's American Pharoah Stake at Santa Anita Park.He returns for his first race in nearly eight months in Friday's Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Champion Corniche Returns for Sophomore Debut in Amsterdam

Todd Pletcher wants to paint a like-father, like-son picture with Corniche. This explains one reason why he chose Friday’s Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes as the sophomore’s season debut. Last year’s Champion 2-Year-Old hasn’t run since going gate-to-wire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall at Del Mar. That victory put […]

Due to construction of tunnels to Belmont Park's infield, the Belmont Park Fall Meet moves to Aqueduct Racetrack this fall. (Image: NYRA)

NYRA Moves Belmont Fall Meet to Aqueduct as ‘Belmont at the Big A’

Belmont at the Big A sounds like a mash-up of two tracks, which – thanks to construction – this year’s Belmont Fall Meet became. The New York Racing Associations announced Thursday that this year’s Belmont Fall Meet will run at Aqueduct Racetrack. The reason for the switch is ongoing tunnel […]

Monmouth Park joined Colonial Downs setting up a Monday Mid-Atlantic Pick 4 wager that begins next week. (Image: Monmouth Park)

Monmouth Park, Colonial Downs Introduce Mid-Atlantic Pick 4

Monmouth Park and Colonial Downs are joining the intertrack horizontal wagering club starting next week, when the two East Coast tracks roll out a Mid-Atlantic Pick 4. The new wager rolls out alongside Monmouth Park’s first Monday racing card of the 2022 season. The New Jersey track, which enjoyed its […]