Horse Racing

Jockeys hoping to experience the rush of a Preakness stretch run must undergo COVID-19 testing in Maryland no later than 72 hours before their first race Preakness weekend. (Image: Pimlico Race Course)

Preakness Jockeys Subject to Drive-Up COVID-19 Tests, Other Protocols

Maryland Jockey Club officials announced Friday that jockeys riding Preakness weekend at Pimlico Race Course must undergo COVID-19 testing 72 hours prior to their first mount. That’s one of numerous safety protocols MJC officials instituted for Preakness weekend, which begins Thursday, Oct. 1, and culminates with the 145th Preakness Stakes […]

Spielberg was a breeder's box-office smash, selling for $1 million a year ago at Keeneland. He strives for his first victory in Saturday's American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Park. (Image: Keeneland)

Favored Spielberg Shoots for Winning Close-Up in American Pharoah

Could this be Spielberg’s long-awaited Oscar moment? Is Saturday’s Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Park the race where Spielberg finds box-office – or winner’s circle – gold? The $1 million juvenile comes into his third race as the 3/1 morning line favorite in this eclectic, but well-bred, […]

United owns six victories in 15 career starts, including the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes. He is the expected favorite in Sunday's John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita. (Image: Benoit Photo)

United Seeks Redemption in John Henry Turf Championship

The John Henry Turf Championship is the perfect race at the perfect place for United — a meeting of opportunity and talent in a setting the standout turf runner should devour. And United has devoured Santa Anita Park. Three of his six career victories came at Santa Anita. Missing on […]

Victor Espinoza geared down Princess Noor after she ran away from her rivals in the Del Mar Debutante. She looms large in Saturday's Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita Park. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Princess Noor Arrives as the Brightest Light in the Chandelier Stakes

Bob Baffert is sending three of the five starters out for Saturday’s Grade 2 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita Park, but make no mistake as to which Baffert bears attention: precocious Princess Noor. The Chandelier is one of seven stakes on Santa Anita’s packed Saturday card. It sends the five […]

A gutty, home-bred with good early speed, Rowdy Yates seeks to become only the third Oklahoma-bred to win the Oklahoma Derby. (Image: Coady Photography)

Oklahoma Derby Unveils an OK Field in the State’s Biggest Race

Two Kentucky Derby ex-pats won’t answer the bell, but the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby brings its share of recognizable names and decorated 3-year-olds to Remington Park for Sunday’s 32nd edition of the state’s biggest race. You won’t find Major Fed and Necker Island in the field. The two Derby runners […]

Max Player's owner said he looked like a hose who wanted to keep running. He'll make his next appearance in the Preakness Stakes. (Image: Coady Photgraphy)

Three New Entries Bring Preakness Stakes Probables to 10

Enter Max Player and Excession to the Preakness Stakes field. Along with Country Grammer, the two Steve Asmussen-trainees bring the field for the third and final jewel of the 2020 Triple Crown to 10 horses. They join Pneumatic, bringing Asmussen’s Preakness contingent to an appropriate three. The Hall of Fame […]

Finishing second in the Kentucky Derby took more out of Tiz the Law than his victories did. He'll skip the Preakness Stakes and focus on the Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 7. (Image: Jamie Squire/Getty)

Tiz the Law Passes on Preakness, Bound for Breeders’ Cup

To the surprise of few, standout 3-year-old Tiz the Law will bypass the Preakness Stakes and train for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, according to his primary owner, Jack Knowlton. The managing partner of Sackatoga Stable, the Saratoga Springs-area consortium which owns Tiz the Law, Knowlton confirmed his prize colt will […]

Steve Asmussen became only the second trainer to win 9,000 career races. (Image: Dustin Orona/Remington Park)

Hall of Fame Trainer Asmussen Wins 9,000th Race, Top Spot In Sight

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen won his 9,000th race last weekend at Remington Park, becoming only the second trainer in history breathing that rarefied air. But illustrating how fluid these things are, and how prolific Asmussen is, by the end of the weekend, he sat on 9,004 victories. Troy […]

Improbable turned aside Mr. Buff to win the Whitney at Saratoga. He'll find winning his third consecutive Grade 1 a bit tougher in the Awesome Again Stakes Saturday at Santa Anita. (Image: NYRA/Dom Napolitano)

Stakes, Stakes, and More at Stake this Weekend at Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park’s postponed opening created a bettor’s bonanza this weekend. The Southern California track will open with 12 stakes races – 11 of those graded stakes events. Officials pushed opening weekend at the iconic track back a week due to air-quality concerns from the nearby Bobcat Fire. One of […]

Standout sprinter Volatile retired Monday after a leg injury. His July victory here in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt marked his sixth and final race. (Image: Erica Miller)
Volatile

Star Sprinter Volatile Retires to Stud After Breaking Bone

Volatile, the standout sprinter who set records on numerous tracks, broke a bone in his leg Monday and immediately retired from racing. Considered the top sprinter in America, Volatile suffered a hairline fracture of his right front cannon bone. The injury, while not life-threatening, ends Volatile’s dynamic racing career and […]

Kentucky Derby winner Authentic opens as the +225 favorite on Circa Sports Preakness futures board. (Image: MyRacehorse/Coady Photography)

Authentic Captures Top Spot on Circa’s Opening Preakness Futures Board

Circa Sports in Las Vegas unveiled its Preakness Stakes futures odds this weekend and, not surprisingly, Kentucky Derby winner Authentic finds himself the opening favorite at +225. This is better than what the foreign books offer. The best odds offered overseas are 3/2. Meanwhile, Authentic celebrated his futures board-topping debut […]

Gretzky the Great won the Soaring Free Stakes to give his sire, Nyquist, his first progeny stakes winner. Gretzky the Great goes for his hat trick in Sunday's Summer Stakes. (Image: Michael Burns)

Gretzky the Great Gunning for Hat Trick in Summer Stakes

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse won the Grade 1 Summer Stakes three consecutive years from 2013-2015. Now, he sends Gretzky the Great out in search of his own hat trick in one of Woodbine’s two Grade 1 races Sunday. The Grade 1 Summer Stakes sends seven 2-year-olds a mile […]

Arlington Park played host to racing's first $1 million race in 1981. The 93-year-old track may not race beyond 2021. (Image: Jonathan Daniel/Getty)

Arlington Park A Go In 2021, But is That The Iconic Track’s Finish Line?

The Illinois Racing Board approved a 68-day 2021 racing schedule for Arlington International Racecourse. But the pressing question hangs over the iconic Chicago-area racetrack. Will that be the last season of Arlington Park racing? The wariness stems from comments Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen made on a July conference […]

Antoinette's ability to hold off Stunning Sky down the Saratoga Oak stretch bodes well for her in Saturday's Belmont Oaks. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Will Antoinette Tell Her Belmont Oaks Foes, ‘Let Them Eat Turf?’

A British invader by way of France taking on a Kentucky-bred horse sporting a French name. The prime storyline surrounding Saturday’s Grade 1 Belmont Oaks can be confusing, to say the least. Just remember, Magic Attitude is the foreign invader and Antoinette is the home-bred filly in the five-filly field. […]

At 8/1, Marine Stakes winner Shirl's Speight offers high-flying value in his first Grade 1 race. (Image: Kevin Burns Photography)

Eclectic Cast of Characters Takes On the Woodbine Mile

The Woodbine Mile field defines the term “eclectic.” You’ve got a Preakness winner, a 7-year-old mare with multiple graded stakes victories, and one of Canada’s most promising 3-year-olds. And all three of them could lose to one of the best closers in Canadian racing. The eclectic field of eight tangles […]

Fillies, colts, it really doesn't matter who Swiss Skydiver runs against. Trainer Kenny McPeek is considering entering the filly in the Preakness Stakes. (Image: Coady Photography)

Swiss Skydiver’s Next Plunge Could be at Preakness Stakes

A second crack at Art Collector and a first crack at a Triple Crown race. That’s what Swiss Skydiver’s connections ponder as they explore running the filly in the Preakness Stakes. Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver’s trainer, said the Oct. 3 Preakness at Pimlico is in the mix for the standout […]

Jackie's Warrior's decisive win in the Hopeful Stakes made him the 4/1 early favorite to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He's 33/1 to win the 2021 Kentucky Derby. (Image? Mike Kane/Special to the Albany Times Union)

Jackie’s Warrior the One to Watch in Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Futures

Jackie’s Warrior made himself the juvenile to watch with his victories in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes and two other races. The overseas bookmakers paid enough attention to make the 2-year-old star the 4/1 favorite to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Oddschecker put Breeders’ Cup Juvenile future lines on 26 […]

Smoke and flames from the Bobcat Fire forced the evacuation of 305 homes near Santa Anita Park. THe track pushed back its 2020 fall meet opener due to the poor air quality and ensuing flames. (Image: County of Los Angeles Fire Department)

Santa Anita Park Pushes Fall Opener Back Due to Nearby Bobcat Fire

The massive Bobcat Fire, burning just five miles away from Santa Anita Park, resulted in the Southern California track pushing its opening day back a week to Friday, Sept. 25. Originally set to open this Friday, a week earlier than usual, Santa Anita returns to its customary last weekend of […]

Honor A.P. retired as the only horse to beat Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. He begins his stud career next year. (Image: Lane's End)

Honor A.P. Retires After Derby Injury, Heads to Stud

Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A.P. suffered an apparent injury in the Kentucky Derby, immediately sending him to Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky where his stud career awaits. The tendon injury apparently happened during the Derby, according to trainer John Shirreffs. “Honor A.P. is a horse with an immense talent. […]