Horse Racing

Maryland Jockey Club President and GM Sal Sinatra said the claiming system in North American racing needs to disappear. (Image: Eric Stocklin)

Racing Exec Says Scrap Claiming System at Jockey Club Conference

- 4 min read

Nuke the claiming system and start over with ratings. That’s the unequivocal message Sal Sinatra, the president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, left virtual attendees at this year’s Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing. Normally held in Saratoga Springs, NY, the annual conference […]

Colonial Downs has had a rough decade, exacerbated by a six-year closure. Now, the Virginia track canceled the rest of its 2020 season due to the coronavirus. (Image: Coady Photography)

Colonial Downs Cancels Remainder of 2020 Meet Due to COVID-19

- 2 min read

Virginia’s Colonial Downs is the latest racing victim of COVID-19, announcing Friday evening that its canceled the remainder of its 2020 summer meet. The abrupt closure came three days after jockey Trevor McCarthy, who led the track’s jockey standings with 14 wins, tested positive for COVID-19. The Daily Racing Form […]

Six months after he broke his maiden with this neck victory at Oaklawn Park, Pneumatic charges into the final stop on the Kentucky Derby Trail as the 5/2 favorite. (Image: Coolmore Farm)

Pegasus Stakes Closes the Kentucky Derby Trail for Would-Be Entrants

- 3 min read

This is it – the end of the trail. Monmouth Park’s Pegasus Stakes is your last stop for Kentucky Derby points before the “Closed” sign goes up. Monmouth Park’s finish line for Saturday’s Pegasus Stakes doubles as the Kentucky Derby Trail’s finish line. Get your points here – and there […]

Spice is Nice, seen her breaking her maiden at Aqueduct last year, has the pedigree to run 1 1/4 miles. But does she have the class to run with standouts such as Swiss Skydiver? (Image: Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photo)

Alabama Stakes Takes Fillies on a Long Distance Runaround

- 3 min read

Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga gives you another glimpse of standout filly Swiss Skydiver, who figures to take most of the money and figures to go off at odds-on. It also gives you a rare glimpse of fillies doing something few American fillies and mares do – run […]

At 50/1, Giacomo (left) fended off 71/1 Closing Argument to win the 2005 Kentucky Derby. Lucky/savvy superfecta bettors cashed a $432,127 ticket. (Image: James Crisp/AP)

Now, Kentucky Derby Bettors Can Drop a Dime on Superfecta Wagers

- 2 min read

One benefit of no long betting lines at Churchill Downs for this year’s Kentucky Derby is the new 10-cent minimum superfecta wager track officials instituted for this year’s Derby. Previous, the minimum superfecta wager – one requiring bettors to pick the first four horses in order – was $1. When […]

Jockey Chris Hayes and He Knows No Fear (9) nipped 7/5 favorite Agitare and Kevin Manning at the Leopardstown finish line. He Knows No Fear's stretch drive rewarded nervy bettors wagering on the 300/1 long shot. (Image: David Fitzgerald/SportsFile)

He Knows No Fear Shows Plenty of Nerve, Winning Irish Race at 300/1

- 3 min read

Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said that “there’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” No one mentioned that to He Knows No Fear, who lived up to his name on Thursday afternoon, becoming the biggest-priced winner in British or Irish racing history when the 300/1 shot captured a maiden race at […]

You won't see scenes like these from the 2019 Kentucky Derby infield at this year's Derby. The infield is closed for the Sept. 5 race and seating is limited to 40% of capacity. (Image: Christopher Fryer/Louisville Business First)

Churchill Downs Limit Kentucky Derby Attendance to 40% of Capacity

- 3 min read

In further response to COVID-19 health and safety concerns, Churchill Downs Racetrack officials released a 62-page health and safety operations plan on Wednesday that will limit Kentucky Derby attendance to fewer than 23,000 guests for the Sept. 5 race. That total is less than 14% of the record 170,513 fans […]

Kentucky Derby hopeful Max Player is on the move, from Linda Rice's New York barn to Steve Asmussen's Kentucky barn. (Image: Skip Dickstein)

Derby Hopeful Max Player Moved to Steve Asmussen’s Kentucky Barn

- 3 min read

Three days after Max Player finished third to Tiz the Law in his second consecutive Grade 1 effort, owners for the horse switched trainers, moving him from Linda Rice to Steve Asmussen. The move came after Max Player finished third – 7 ½ lengths behind Tiz the Law at Saturday’s […]

Maximum Security (7) edged Midnight Bisou to win February's inaugural Saudi Cup. Only Midnight Bisou, however, received her purse winnings this week as Saudi officials investigate Maximum Security's former trainer. (Image: Edward Whitaker)

Saudi Cup Purse Money Released to All but Maximum Security

- 2 min read

Nearly four months from its initial announcement to withhold Saudi Cup purse money, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced it will award prize money to the horses finishing second through 10th. That conspicuously excludes race winner Maximum Security. The JCSA said it will withhold prize money from Maximum Security […]

Tiz the Law made the Travers Stakes look as easy as his other three 2020 victories. Oddsmakers dropped his Kentucky Derby odds under 2/1 as a result. (Image: Stacey Heatherington/NYRA via AP)

Derby Odds Fall as Tiz the Law’s Stock Rises

- 3 min read

It is a testament to Tiz the Law’s dominance over the rest of his 3-year-old contemporaries that his odds to win the Triple Crown (+250 at Circa Sports) are lower than any of his counterparts’ future odds on them winning the Kentucky Derby. That’s one takeaway from Tiz the Law’s […]

With the San Gabriels framing the track, horses go through their morning paces at Santa Anita Park. The Southern California track's fall season opens Sept. 19 -- one week earlier than usual. (Image: Jenna Schoenfeld/NY Times)

Santa Anita Park Falls into Autumn Meet with 24 Stakes Races

- 2 min read

Santa Anita Park’s fall season begins a week earlier than usual, but features 24 stakes – 15 graded – over its 18-day autumn campaign. The Southern California track opens Sept. 19 and runs through Oct. 25. Usually, Santa Anita’s opening weekend loads up with graded stakes races. But with the […]

Jockey Brian Hernandez and Art Collector plan using the Ellis Park Derby as a tune-up for the Kentucky Derby. They are the 4/5 morning line favorite for the penultimate Kentucky Derby prep. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Art Collector Unveiled as Easy Ellis Park Derby Favorite

- 3 min read

Being a Kentucky Derby prep is uncharted waters for Ellis Park. And training a Kentucky Derby hopeful is definitely uncharted waters for Tom Drury. Those two storylines will collide Sunday at the Ellis Park Derby with all eyes on Drury’s odds-on favorite, Art Collector. In a normal year, the ungraded […]

Gamine may be the best 3-year-old filly in North America. Bettors treat her as such, making her th 3/5 favorite for Saturday's Test Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Al Bello/Getty)

Gamine Faces Her Latest Question — at Saratoga’s Test Stakes

- 3 min read

Gamine has passed every test facing her on the track: breaking her maiden, winning an allowance, and romping to a near-record time in her first Grade 1. So Saturday’s Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga is a natural for the 3-year-old, Bob Baffert-trained filly. A seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, […]

Tiz the Law and exercise rider Heather Smullen turned in a strong pre-Travers workout last Saturday. The Belmont Stakes champion is even-money to win Saturday's Travers Stakes. (Image: Skip Dickstein/ Albany Times Union)

Upstarts, Baffert Star All Chasing Travers Stakes Favorite Tiz the Law

- 4 min read

The reigning Belmont Stakes victor is in the field as your deserved race favorite. So is one member of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s 3-year-old Derby Legion of Doom. And so are a wealth of upstarts seeking to make Saturday’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes another trip into Saratoga’s “Graveyard […]

Mike Smith aboard Authentic captured the July 18 Haskell Stakes in front of a largely empty Monmouth Park. But the track enjoyed record handle that sparked July's boost in racing handle. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Equibase Economic Indicators Show Uptick in July Betting Handle

- 3 min read

The Equibase Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing report for July revealed another year-over-year increase in wagering, with horseplayers putting down more than $1 billion during the month. That reflects a 16.6% increase over July 2019’s numbers. This increase happened because more tracks opened up during July, most notably Saratoga and […]

Tiz the Law opens as the even-money favorite for Saturday's Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. He is 3-for-3 this year, including this decisive Belmont Stakes win in June. (Image: The Saratogian)

More Distance, Time Off: None of it Fazes Travers Favorite Tiz the Law

- 3 min read

He’s back and he’s back as the even-money – for now — favorite. And lest you think Tiz the Law can’t handle the 1 ¼-mile distance he faces for the first time in Saturday’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga, trainer Barclay Tagg is here to disabuse you of that […]

Irad Ortiz and 31/1 shot Math Wizard provided one of 2019's biggest racing upsets. He'll remain reigning Pennsylvania Derby champion for one more year. (Image: Barbara Weidl/EQUI-PHOTO)

Parx Racing Cancels Pennsylvania Derby, Cotillion Stakes

- 3 min read

While tracks throughout North America were able to reschedule races in the coronavirus era, Parx Racing in Pennsylvania announced Wednesday it canceled the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes. Both $1 million races, along with the Turf Amazon Stakes, the Parx Dirt Mile, and the Grade 2 […]

Thousand Words earned Bob Baffert his 3,000th career victory at the Robert B. Lewis in February. His Kentucky Derby futures odds fell to 12/1 after he won his first race since capturing the Lewis. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Thousand Words Has More to Say About His Derby Futures Odds

- 3 min read

Thousand Words is now out of the Kentucky Derby futures shadow. And Cezanne is now out of the Derby futures picture. Those are the oddsmakers’ takeaways from last weekend’s Derby Prep – the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. Thousand Words, who spent the spring disappointing and the summer disappearing […]

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