Horse Racing

Baeed and jockey Jim Crowley take in a replay of their 1 3/4-length Sussex Stakes victory. The No. 1-ranked horse in the world, Baaeed is undefeated in nine starts. (Image: Goodwood)

Divine Nine: Baaeed Wins His Ninth Consecutive Race at Goodwood

After riding Baaeed to his ninth consecutive victory, Jim Crowley was in awe. After watching his charge capture the Group 1 Sussex Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths, trainer William Haggas was relieved. These are the reactions perfection — and the tightrope navigating that entails in horse racing — bring out […]

Baaeed is the top-ranked horse in the world. The 4-year-old comes into Wednesday's Sussex Stakes unbeaten in eight races. (Image: Shadwell Stud)

No. 1 Baaeed Goes for Nine in a Deep Sussex Stakes Field

Even putting aside undefeated favorite Baaeed, who comes into Wednesday’s Group 1 Sussex Stakes at 8-for-8, the depth in this Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race is so pronounced that trainer Charlie Appleby can replace one major contender with a Breeders’ Cup champion. Appleby has that luxury, courtesy of Modern Games. […]

Del Mar's opening-day crowd wagered its way to a record handle. Large field sizes helped the track to a record opening weekend handle. (Image: Benoit Photo)

With Large Field Sizes, Del Mar Sets Opening Weekend Handle Records

The first weekend of racing at Del Mar put to rest the fallacy that West Coast racing is synonymous with small fields and weak handles. Instead, Del Mar clocked record handles and field sizes that are the envy of any North American track. The seaside track north of San Diego set […]

After his third-place finish in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell Stakes, Jack Christopher will cut back to races like the Pat Day Mile. (Image: Coady Photography)

Jack Christopher’s Route Experiment Ends, Will Cut Back in Distance

Turns out, nine furlongs was a bridge too far for previously unbeaten Jack Christopher, And the 3/5 odds he left the Monmouth Park gate carrying for Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes were nowhere near his realistic chances for winning. This explains his third-place finish behind 7/1 Cyberknife and 2/1 Taiba. […]

NYRA stewards ruled Saratoga's seventh race on the inner turf course Sunday a "No Contest" after a mechanical failure to the gate tractor. (Image: Saratoga Springs Photo)

NYRA Declares Saratoga Race No Contest After Gate Tractor Failure

New York Racing Association stewards ruled Sunday’s seventh race at Saratoga a No Contest due to a mechanical issue with the starting gate tractor. That mechanical issue created a delay in removing the gate once the field started the race. The outriders communicated to the jockeys there was a problem. […]

Nest finished all alone in Saturday's Grade 1 CCA Oaks -- 12 1/4 lengths ahead of her closest pursuer. The standout filly could run against the boys again in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes. (Image: NYRA Photo)

After CCA Oaks Win, Nest Could Challenge the Boys in the Travers

This time, Nest finished the job. There would be no yielding to her rival, Secret Oath. There would be nothing but vapor trails and dirt for Secret Oath and the rest of Saturday’s Grade 1 CCA Oaks field to absorb. Now, after Nest bludgeoned her rivals by 12 ¼ lengths […]

Clairiere (left) finally outdueled Malathaat in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps last month. It was the first time Clairiere beat her rival in five starts. The two duel again in Sunday's Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Chelsea Durand/NYRA.com)

It’s Malathaat vs. Clairiere Part the Sixth at the Shuvee Stakes

Clairiere and Malathaat share the same sire (Curlin) and the same breeder (Stonestreet Stables), so it’s only natural the two 4-year-old fillies share the same stage for the sixth time in Sunday’s Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga. As rivalries go, this one took a while. But these two ride […]

Cyberknife (inside) held off a surging Taiba at the wire to win the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes. He set a Monmouth Park record for 1 1/8 miles along the way. (Image: Monmouth Park)

Cyberknife Carves His Way To Haskell Title, Monmouth Park Record

Cyberknife not only left the heralded Haskell Stakes duel between Jack Christopher and Taiba in the dust, he left both horses behind – along with the Monmouth Park track record for 1 1/8 miles. Also left behind was Jack Christopher’s aura of invincibility, along with Chad Brown’s chances of sweeping […]

Taiba's biggest victory in his three-race career came in April's Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. The Bob Baffert charge shipped east as the morning line favorite for the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park Saturday. (Image: Benoit Photo)

The Haskell Buzz Follows Baffert’s Taiba, Brown’s Jack Christopher

The buzz horse in Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes is definitely Jack Christopher. The buzz trainer – as he usually is in high-profile 3-year-old races – is Bob Baffert who brings in 7/5 morning line favorite Taiba. So when the starting buzzer goes off in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell, who’s […]

Secret Oath turned in a dominant performance in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks May 6. She has never lost to another filly in five races, a streak she puts on the line in Saturday's Grade 1 CCA Oaks at Saratoga. (Image: Coady Photography)

CCA Oaks Provides Another Glimpse of Secret Oath vs. Nest

There are actually five horses in Saturday’s featured Grade 1 CCA Oaks at Saratoga. But do not let yourself get bogged down by numbers. Let yourself get bogged down by details. Because this year’s CCA Oaks marks only the third time in the last 25 years the top-two finishers from […]

Aidan O'Brien's Broome won the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. He's O'Brien's hope for a fifth King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes title Saturday at Ascot. (Image: Mathea Kelly)

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Come With Plenty of Jewels

Consider Saturday’s Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot a European preview to November’s Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland. And consider it a meeting of some of the best turf runners in the world: European Division. Which is appropriate, given the winner of this 1 1/2-mile jaunt […]

Tribuvan made last month's Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes look easy. Now, he seeks a defense of his title in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park. (Image: Viola Jasko/NYRA.com)

United Nations Offers Up French Favorite: Defending Champ Tribhuvan

In case you forgot how good United Nations Stakes favorite and defending champion Tribhuvan can be when he’s given the lead, the 6-year-old gelding provided you with another lesson on Belmont Stakes day last month. The French-bred son of Toronado outran his foes and outran his 19/1 odds, going gate-to-wire […]

Jack Christopher destroyed his Woody Stephens competition by 10 lengths last out. He is the 3/2 second choice to win the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes. That's the fourth leg of this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

All-Stakes Cross Country Pick 5 Features the Haskell, UN, Caress

The Grade 1 Haskell Stakes, its Grade 1 turf undercard United Nations, and a salty Grade 3 filly turf sprint finale at Saratoga headline this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s Cross Country Pick 5 features stakes races coming from Monmouth Park, Saratoga, and Canada’s […]

Santa Anita Park owns the record for largest Breeders' Cup crowd: more than 118,000 in 2016. The annual fall racing festival returns to Santa Anita for the 11th time in 2023. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Breeders’ Cup Returns to Santa Anita Park in 2023

The Breeders’ Cup World Championships announced Thursday it will bring the Breeders’ Cup back to Santa Anita Park for a record 11th time in 2023. That milestone for the Southern California track also signifies the 40th running of the Breeders’ Cup. The 2023 Breeders’ Cup will take place on Friday, […]

The much-traveled Caravel goes for her third victory in four races under Brad Cox's tutelage in Saturday's Grade 3 Caress Stakes at Saratoga. Last month, she won the Grade 3 Intercontinental at Belmont Park. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Caravel’s Winding Road Leads Her Back to Saratoga’s Caress Stakes

This time last year, Caravel was about to win the Grade 3 Caress Stakes for owner/trainer Elizabeth Merryman. Coming out of that victory, her third consecutive score, Caravel was about to go to Bobby Flay. The celebrity chef and racing aficionado bought a majority share of the filly before that […]

Mackinnon heads a 14-colt field into Friday's Oceanside Stakes, Del Mar's traditional opening day feature. The seaside track opens its 31-day meet Friday. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Del Mar Opening Day Features Sold-Out Stands, Maxed-Out Fields

Del Mar opens its 83rd season of racing Friday with boosted purses, the customary opening-day sellout crowd, and a sellout field of 14 for the meet’s first feature, the Oceanside Stakes. Lost to history and time is the Hollywood flavor the seaside track enjoyed from the moment Bing Crosby took […]

Gun Runner has made his progeny's connections smile like Florent Geroux did during the horse's final 2018 race: the Pegasus World Cup. Gun Runner is the top first- and second-crop sire in North America. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Zoe Metz)

Star Stallion Gun Runner Going South For Australian Breeding Season

Like any rock star worth his paycheck, Gun Runner is taking his act on the road. The leading second-crop sire in North America will breed a limited number of Southern Hemisphere mares during the Down Under breeding season. Thoroughbred Daily News reported that Gun Runner will stand for $75,000 US/AUS $109,700. […]

Del Mar returns its successful wagers to its 2022 betting menu. The seaside track's 83rd season begins Friday and runs through Sept. 11. (Image: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club)

Del Mar Betting Menu Includes Extra Pick 6 Mandatory Payout Day

When Del Mar begins its 83rd summer season on Friday, it will do so with one notable change in its wagering menu: an extra mandatory payout day for its Rainbow Pick 6. That brings to three the number of mandatory payout days for the wager, which requires horseplayers to hit […]

In Italian enjoys the spoils of her victory in Saturday's Grade 1 Diana Stakes. The filly provides an example of trainer Chad Brown's new emphasis of developing standout turf runners. (Image: Janet Garaguso Photo)

Chad Brown Talks Turf Dynasty, Where His Star Sophomores are Headed

One day after Chad Brown racked up the Diana Stakes superfecta, he discussed his barn’s new MO acquiring horses, where Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting is running next and what’s next for his other two standout sophomores: Zandon and Jack Christopher. You’ll see Early Voting next in the July 30 […]