Tag: Jesus’ Team

Running for a tag, like on this Oaklawn Park claimer, is the tricky foundation of horse racing. And trainers at Del Mar are claiming horses at a rate threatening a 16-year-old record. (Image: Sarah Andrew Photo)

Staking A Claim: The Name of Del Mar’s Racing Game This Summer

- 3 min read

One of Del Mar’s mottos is “cool as ever,” a saying that doesn’t apply to the claiming department for this summer season. The track where the “turf meets the surf,” to borrow another Del Mar phrase, became the track where the claim game is hotter than ever. For the first […]

Jesus' Team won December's Claiming Crown Jewel Stakes for his only stakes victory. The one-time claimer returns to the track as a millionaire for Sunday's City of Dania Stakes at Gulfstream Park. (Image: Lauren King/Coglianese Photos)

One-Time Claimer Jesus’ Team Returns to Action as Millionaire

- 3 min read

Jesus’ Team, the plucky, one-time $35,000 claimer-turned-millionaire, returns Sunday, headlining the field for the City of Dania Stakes at Gulfstream Park. That one-mile test is for 3-year-olds and up. And should Jesus’ Team pass that test to the satisfaction of trainer Jose D’Angelo, next on his agenda is the Grade […]

Mystic Guide put on blinkers in time to win last summer's Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. He's carried that form into favorite status in the $12 million Group 1 Dubai World Cup. (Image: Janet Garaguso/NYRA)

Dubai World Cup: Where Buying American Often Pays Off

- 4 min read

The list of Dubai World Cup champions since the race’s 1997 debut include inaugural winner Cigar, Silver Charm, Captain Steve, Curlin, Animal Kingdom, California Chrome and Arrogate. True Thoroughbred stars who commanded attention the moment their names entered a race. This is apt. Saturday’s Group 1 Dubai World Cup comes […]

Knicks Go (right) illustrated why he is one of 2021's star racing attractions, blazing past his rivals to win the $3 million Pegasus World Cup. (Image: Associated Press)

Knicks Go Dunks on His Rivals Again, Wins Pegasus Gate-to-Wire

- 3 min read

Enjoy Knicks Go while you can. Savor every start of his 5-year-old campaign, while you understand you’re watching horseracing’s star attraction of 2021. Knicks Go brought this lesson home in gate-to-wire fashion, winning the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Saturday afternoon. It’s certainly understandable if Knicks […]

If Knicks Go gets an unchallenged lead like he did in blitzing the field ini the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, the Pegasus World Cup will be over in short order. The 5-year-old is the 5/2 favorite in the $3 million race. (Image: Coady Photography/Keeneland)

Without Baffert, Knicks Go’s Fast Break Makes Him Pegasus Favorite

- 5 min read

If horses run in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Bob Baffert doesn’t train any of them, does it really happen? We’re about to find out what the richest dirt race for older horses in North America – non-Breeders’ Cup division – looks like without the preeminent dirt trainer of […]

Maximum Security emerged victorious from this stretch drive in the 2020 Saudi Cup. More than 100 horses from nine countries were nominated to the second edition of the $20 million race. (Image: Reuters)

Charlatan, Knicks Go, and Swiss Skydiver Headline Saudi Cup Nominees

- 3 min read

Swiss Skydiver, Charlatan and Knicks Go are three names you’d expect to find in the world’s richest race – the $20 million Saudi Cup. And those three American stars headline a lengthy nominee list for the Feb. 20 Saudi Cup. The 1 1/8-mile Saudi Cup drew 109 nominees from nine […]

Mucho Gusto seized last year's Pegasus World Cup title. He returns as one of two Bob Baffert entries in the Jan. 23 race at Gulfstream Park. (Image: Getty)

Knicks Go, Charlatan, Mucho Gusto Headline Pegasus World Cup Invites

- 3 min read

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 […]

Luis Saez won six races in a day for the second time at Gulfstream Park. He won five of the nine Claiming Crown races. (Image: Coady Photography/Churchill Downs)

Saez Claims Himself a Six-Pack of Victories on Claiming Crown Day

- 2 min read

On a day where Gulfstream Park set a handle record for its Claiming Crown series of races, two-time Gulfstream Park riding champion Luis Saez captured six of the track’s 11 races on Saturday. Saez, who won the Gulfstream Park riding titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18, won five of the nine […]

The $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational is one of 36 graded stakes on Gulfstream Park's 2020-21 Championship Meet schedule. The south Florida track opens its 84-day meet Wednesday. (Image: Getty)

Gulfstream Park Championship Meet Opens with No Fans, Rich Stakes

- 4 min read

Gulfstream Park opens its 2020-21 Championship Meet on Wednesday without spectators, but with a stakes schedule that – aside from several stops on the Road to the Kentucky Derby – offers one of North America’s richest races. Headlining Gulfstream’s 75 stakes races – 36 graded – is the $3 million […]

The venerable Pimlico Race Course clubhouse will play host to a small group of owners for Saturday's 145th Preakness Stakes. (Image: Getty)

The Triple Crown Ends Here: Breaking Down the 2020 Preakness Stakes

- 9 min read

It’s October 2020, which in this bizarre of all bizarre years, means it’s Preakness Stakes time. That there is no Triple Crown at stake does not mean there is nothing at stake in the third and final jewel of a wild, 15-week Triple Crown campaign. The 2020 American Classics trail […]

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

- 3 min read

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 […]

Pneumatic and jockey Joe Bravo easily captured the final Kentucky Derby points race -- the Pegasus Stakes. But they announced Monday they'll skip the Derby for the Preakness Stakes a month later. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Waiting Game Starts as Road to Kentucky Derby Ends

- 3 min read

The Road to the Kentucky Derby is finally complete. Now, it’s just a matter of certain connections deciding if their horses will enter the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the long and winding Derby trail claimed some standout horses, most notably Nadal, Charlatan, and Maxfield. The […]

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 […]