Horse Racing

Santa Anita won't spring horses for the Santa Anita Derby Saturday. Despite fervent lobbying by track officials, Santa Anita remains closed by order of the Los Angeles County Health Department. (Image: Santa Anita Park)

Santa Anita Derby Pushed Back As Track Officials Lobby For Reopening

As track officials continue lobbying to resume racing, Santa Anita Park remains closed for another weekend. That pushes back Saturday’s planned Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks to dates yet to be determined. On Friday, Los Angeles County health officials abruptly shut the track down, […]

Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse continues its Wednesday and Sunday cards amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Horse racing is immensely popular in Hong Kong, with 30% of the population avid followers. (Image: Alpha Lighting)

Hong Kong Horse Racing Runs Uninterrupted Amid COVID-19 Fears

It is a late March Wednesday night at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong and normally, the track would be teeming with upwards of 20,000 racing fans. But even without spectators in this era of the COVID-19 virus, horse racing gallops along in Hong Kong without interruption or questioning about […]

The starting gate at iconic Santa Anita Park will stay empty for the foreseeable future after county health officials closed the track Friday morning. (Image: Santa Anita Park)

County Health Officials Abruptly Close Santa Anita Park

With 30 minutes to go before first post, officials from the Los Angeles County Health Department shut down racing at California’s Santa Anita Park Friday morning. The move came in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Track officials at Santa Anita, who worked hard to keep the track open for racing […]

New York racing fans have an undetermined wait to see the Wood Memorial. New York's premier Derby prep was the latest coronavirus casualty.

Wood Memorial Becomes Latest Derby Prep Shelved Due To COVID-19

With the New York Racing Association’s decision to suspend live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack through at least April 5 because of the coronavirus, another Kentucky Derby prep race went on the shelf. The latest postponed marquee race is the Grade 2 $750,000 Wood Memorial. Previously set for April 4, the […]

Even in a deep, talented Florida Derby field, it's not a stretch to picture Gouverneur Morris and John Velasquez emerging victorious. Velasquez owns five Florida Derby victories in eight trips and no finish worse than third. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Florida Derby Offers Talent, Versatility, History, and Best Derby Prep Field

Now, we’re getting serious. Now, we’re into the varsity of Kentucky Derby prep races and with Saturday’s Florida Derby from Gulfstream Park, we’re going to see a healthy helping of this year’s best 3-year-olds. The 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 Florida Derby offers a hearty helping of Derby Qualifying points: 100 […]

Javier Castellano is one of the best big-race riders in the country. Now, as the first prominent jockey to test positive for COVID-19, he becomes the unwilling face of the pandemic in his sport. (Image: Getty Images)

Hall-Of-Fame Jockey Javier Castellano Tests Positive for COVID-19

Hall-of-Fame jockey Javier Castellano announced on Twitter Thursday that he’s tested positive for COVID-19, making him the first US rider known to have a coronavirus infection. The initial announcement came via a tweet by his agent, John Panagot who said Gulfstream Park required Castellano to take a physical. He took […]

Tiz the Law overtook Ete Indien in earely stretch to win the Holy Bull Stakes nearly two months ago. The two renew their rivalry Saturday in the Florida Derby. (Image: Ryan Thompson)

Tiz the Law, Ete Indien Renew Rivalry in Florida Derby

One found himself a Kentucky Derby favorite last year. The other had his Derby-contending status thrust upon him last month. Now, both find themselves the headline acts in a deep, talented, and contentious Florida Derby. Tiz the Law, the 6/5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s marquee Kentucky Derby prep at Gulfstream […]

Despite legal threats from a city official who says racing is a non-essential business, Gulfstream Park intends to reach the finish line with its meet card. That includes Saturday's Florida Derby. (Image: Getty Images)

City Official Threatens Legal Action Against Gulfstream Park for Racing

Despite threats from a Hallandale Beach city official to take “legal action” if racing isn’t stopped, Gulfstream Park has no plans to close its doors this week and intends to run Saturday’s Florida Derby without any spectators in the grandstands. Hallandale Beach Vice Mayor Sabrina Javellana said Broward County’s ban […]

With his gate-to-wire victory in the Louisiana Derby, Wells Bayou currently leads the Kentucky Derby points standings. (Image: Hodges Photography/Lou Hodges Jr.)

Kentucky Derby Qualifying Trail Becomes Longer, More Unpredictable

With the postponement of the Kentucky Derby from May to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Derby Trail just got a lot longer. That means the Derby’s qualifying points system figures to get a lot steeper in terms of how many points are required to earn a spot […]

Gulfstream Park, the site of this Saturday's Florida Derby, is one of two American parks to institute regulations that jockeys and their agents are trying to navigate. (Image: Gulfstream Park)

Oaklawn, Gulfstream Institute New Jockey Restrictions For Riders

New jockey restrictions put in place by Oaklawn and Gulfstream Park sent the rider colonies at those two parks – and elsewhere — into a scramble of altered plans, missed racing days, and enforced quarantines. The new regulations, placed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, have jockeys and their agents […]

$12 Million Dubai World Cup Becomes Latest COVID-19 Casualty

$12 Million Dubai World Cup Becomes Latest COVID-19 Casualty

The $12 million Dubai World Cup, one of the world’s richest horse races, became the latest sporting casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic when organizers canceled the race and the rest of Saturday’s card. That card at Meydan Racecourse forms the world’s richest race day, one featuring $35 million in purses […]

Even by moving the Arkansas Derby from April to May, Oaklawn Park's role as one of the last Kentucky Derby preps won't come into play in 2020. (Image: Oaklawn Park)

Oaklawn Park Moves Arkansas Derby From April To May

Oaklawn Park in Arkansas became the latest facility to adjust its calendar in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, moving its flagship race – the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby – from Saturday, April 11 to Saturday, May 2. That is Oaklawn Park’s closing date. It was also the original date for […]

Enforceable is the 7/2 favorite in a packed Louisiana Derby field. But can he beat the traffic with his closer style? (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Full Field, Equal Talent Means Betting Opportunities in Louisiana Derby

When it comes to A-list 3-year-old talent, this year’s Louisiana Derby is an example of a race that is an inch deep and a mile – actually 1 3/16 miles – wide. It’s a Kentucky Derby prep featuring 14 solid, but heretofore unspectacular, horses all in search of a breakout […]

Horses won't be coming down the stretch at New York's Aqueduct Park in the foreseeable future. The track closed Thursday after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus. (Image: NYRA)

Aqueduct Park Closes After Backstretch Worker Tests Positive for Coronavirus

In the latest COVID-19-related news to hit the horse racing community, officials closed Aqueduct Racetrack in New York until further notice after a backstretch worker tested positive Thursday morning for the coronavirus. The unidentified worker, who lives and works in nearby Belmont Park, has been quarantined. He developed symptoms on […]

The Golden Slipper Trophy is the hardware for the world's richest race for 2-year-olds: the Golden Slipper Stakes in Sydney.

Golden Slipper, Richest Race for 2-Year-Olds, a Go in Australia

While the rest of the world postpones or cancels races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s almost business as usual for horse racing in Australia. The $3.5 million (A) Golden Slipper Stakes at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney is all set to run on Friday, albeit in front of an […]

Jockey Club Reports Horse Fatalities at Lowest Point in a Decade

Jockey Club Reports Horse Fatalities at Lowest Point in a Decade

The incidences of horse fatalities at American thoroughbred racetracks are now at their lowest point in a decade, according to statistics compiled by the Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database (EID). The 2019 rate of fatal injuries to horses is at its lowest number since the EID began collecting data in […]

The entrance to one of American racing's cathedrals: Churchill Downs, will be silent the first Saturday in May for the first time since 1945. (Image: KY Bluegrass/Wikimedia Commons

Kentucky Derby Moved to First Saturday in September, Fans Included

For the first time since World War II, the Kentucky Derby will not run the first Saturday in May. Instead, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will run the first Saturday in September. Churchill Downs officials made the announcement Tuesday morning in response to a directive from the Centers for […]

Maryland Governor Orders Racetracks Closed In Wake of COVID-19

Maryland Governor Orders Racetracks Closed In Wake of COVID-19

In the latest move to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan became the first governor to shut down racetracks Sunday when he issued an executive order closing all Maryland casinos, racetracks and simulcast betting facilities to the public. The executive order closing Laurel Park, Pimlico […]

The gate for the Grade 3 Sunland Derby at New Mexico's Sunland Park will be empty. The Derby prep race was canceled Sunday in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Image: Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino)

Sunland Derby Becomes First Derby Prep Race Canceled Due to COVID-19

The $700,000 Sunland Derby, New Mexico’s contribution to the Kentucky Derby Trail, became the first Derby prep casualty of the COVID-19 virus Sunday when track officials called off all races. Set for March 22, Sunland would’ve awarded 50-20-15-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers — enough to […]