Concert Tour won his debut by 3-½ lengths at Santa Anita last Friday. Other than workouts, Bezos hasn’t entered a starting gate yet. So why are both horses now among the Kentucky Derby futures favorites? Two words: Bob Baffert. Yes, the magic words for 3-year-old Derby hopefuls cast its usual […]
Saturday brings us the first two Grade 1 stakes races of 2021: the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the Pegasus World Cup Turf, coming to you from Gulfstream Park. The Florida track captures this weekend’s stakes spotlight with those two high-profile races, along with five other graded stakes on its […]
Horse of the Year candidates Authentic, Improbable, and Monomoy Girl headline the finalists for the 2020 Eclipse Awards, announced Saturday by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), and the Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards get their name from the iconic 18th-century racehorse and […]
In a clear case of following the money, Charlatan will pass on the Pegasus and likely set down at the Saudi Cup. That’s what trainer Bob Baffert told Santa Anita’s Ed Golden on Sunday. Following the money, in this case, takes the 4-year-old son of Speightstown to Saudi Arabia on […]
Last week, the sophomores stole the stage. Now, it’s the older horses’ turn to seize the stakes spotlight, dim as it may be this weekend. This weekend’s stakes schedule doesn’t scream “high profile.†After all, 2021’s first Grade 1s are still two weeks away. But, it does raise its voice […]
Illustrating once again the fragile nature of modern Thoroughbred horses, defending Pegasus World Cup champion Mucho Gusto was suddenly retired Tuesday after suffering a soft tissue injury. Bob Baffert, Mucho Gusto’s trainer, said the injury happened Tuesday. He told Horse Racing Nation that due to the nature of the injury […]
Proving that Kentucky Derby futures boards and futures bettors view such matters through a kaleidoscope, Medina Spirit finished second in Saturday’s Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park. At 9/1, he needed a furious stretch rally to even get near race winner and fellow Bob Baffert stablemate, Life Is […]
Bob Baffert will take two of his older mainstays, Mucho Gusto and Charlatan, into his bid for a third Pegasus World Cup Invitational title. Those two are among the 16 horses earning invites to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park. The 1-1/8-mile Pegasus headlines a seven-graded […]
Yes, Saturday’s Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park is only a Grade 3. And yes, only five horses are entered. But no. These facts scare away exactly nobody interested in New Year Kentucky Derby reconnaissance. That’s because one of those five is Life Is Good. The same Life Is Good […]
Life Is Good returns this weekend as the leading player among several Kentucky Derby contenders and would-be contenders among three Derby preps on both coasts. And those Derby contenders and would-be Derby contenders? They lose their juvenile status and become official 3-year-olds on Friday. Aqueduct, Santa Anita Park, and Gulfstream […]
Consider this week on the Kentucky Derby futures odds watch the lull before the Kentucky Derby prep storm. And that storm blows in this weekend, ushering in three prep races opening 2021. Those are Friday’s Listed Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, Saturday’s Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, and the […]
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 officially became law Sunday night when President Donald Trump signed the $2.3 trillion omnibus spending bill. That bill provided $900 billion for COVID-19 relief, along with keeping the US government operating. HISA was part of that bill. Representatives Andy Barr (R-KY) and […]
With Charlatan winning Bob Baffert’s 17th Grade 1 race of 2020 headlining an 11-race, six-stakes card, Santa Anita Park set an all-time opening day handle record of $23,003,159 Saturday. That surpassed the previous record: 2018’s 11-race opening-day handle, by more than $2.51 million. And it did so without the traditional […]
The tempting storyline in Saturday’s Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita Park is to look at the seven-furlong race through the quality vs. quantity prism. Steve Asmussen’s standout filly Finite vs. Bob Baffert’s quartet of Merneith, Golden Principal, Himiko and Provocation. Asmussen sending a multiple Grade 2 and […]
Winning more than $3.1 million in two races took so much out of Mucho Gusto that Bob Baffert, his trainer, decided Mucho Gusto needed mucho time off. Now, vacation time is over for the reigning Pegasus World Cup Invitational champion, who returns Saturday for his first race since February. After […]
Santa Anita Park’s opening day marks the return of this year’s Pegasus World Cup champion for the first time in 10 months. And poor Mucho Gusto; he’s not remotely the headline attraction. For that, he can thank Nashville, Charlatan, and Independence Hall, who all smashed and grabbed Mucho Gusto’s spotlight […]
This is how meaningful the Los Alamitos Futurity is when it comes to defining Kentucky Derby prospects. The inaugural Futurity, run at the late Hollywood Park in 1981, sent a couple of Derby contenders named Gato Del Sol and Laser Light to Churchill Downs for the 1982 Derby. They finished […]
The pre-Christmas lull before the graded stakes storm doesn’t mean there aren’t any graded stakes in this weekend’s racing slate. Nor does it mean this weekend misses good storylines or top-shelf horses. Take the Los Alamitos Futurity and the Mr. Prospector, your two graded stakes this weekend. Curious about potential […]
There were no high-profile stakes races for 2-year-olds last weekend, a fact that didn’t prevent high-profile movement in this week’s Kentucky Derby futures odds. The highest-profile movement came from a new entry to the front rank of Derby prospects, the aptly named Prime Factor. Before his 8-¾-length victory in his […]
One day after she was pulled up in the Starlet Stakes, standout 2-year-old filly Princess Noor was retired with a soft-tissue injury. Zedan Racing, Princess Noor’s owner, broke the news about the $1.35 million purchase in a statement issued Sunday morning. “She’s a star and a very talented filly,†Zedan […]
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