Tag: King Guillermo

Maxfield makes his first trip west of the Mississippi for Saturday's Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. He's the 8/5 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/4-mile "Big 'Cap." (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

Maxfield Puts Maximum Attention on Santa Anita Handicap

- 4 min read

The Santa Anita Handicap was the race that put Seabiscuit into the Depression-era public conscience. It was the first race offering a $100,000 purse, earning it the nickname “The Hundred Grander,” back when that was real money. Now, Maxfield is putting the Santa Anita Handicap back on the racing map. […]

Performer is 5-for-6 lifetime, including his lone graded stakes victory last year in the Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct. He is the 7/5 morning line favorite to win the Grade 1 Cigar Mile. (Image: Coglianese Photo)

Performer, King Guillermo, Firenze Fire Make for a Smooth Cigar Mile

- 4 min read

King Guillermo is back for the Cigar Mile, seven months after he last entered a starting gate. You’ve also got sprinting standout Firenze Fire stretching out to a mile. And your Cigar Mile favorite – Performer – makes only his second start in 11-½ months. When it comes to betting […]

Tampa Bay Downs plans to allow spectators when its 2020-21 meet opens next week. (Image: Tampa Bay Times)

With Precautions, Tampa Bay Downs Open to Fans for 2020-21 Meet

- 2 min read

With new health plans in place, Tampa Bay Downs announced Wednesday it will admit spectators for its 2020-21 winter/spring meet that begins Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving. This season is the track’s 95th-anniversary campaign. Headlining that campaign is the 41st Tampa Bay Derby, the track’s marquee event, and a […]

King Guillermo will miss the Kentucky Derby due to a fever. Trainer Juan Carlos Avila tweeted, "He is happy and we are very sad but proud to take care of him." (Image: Churchill Downs)

Fever Scratches King Guillermo from Kentucky Derby

- 2 min read

In a different twist on “Derby Fever,” Tampa Bay Derby winner King Guillermo became the latest Kentucky Derby casualty, scratching from Saturday’s race due to a fever. King Guillermo’s connections, owner Victor Martinez and trainer Juan Carlos Avila, discovered he had a fever Wednesday afternoon. They turned matters over to […]

Jockey Manny Franco and Tiz the Law, seen here winning the first leg of the Triple Crown in June, go for the second as the 3/5 Kentucky Derby favorite Saturday. (Image: Seth Winig)

Tiz the Law Opens as Lowest-Priced Kentucky Derby Favorite in 31 Years

- 4 min read

The fact nobody has ever won the Kentucky Derby from post 17 didn’t dissuade Churchill Downs morning line oddsmaker, Mike Battaglia, from making Tiz the Law a 3/5 favorite for Saturday’s 146th Kentucky Derby. The Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes champion drew post 17 in the 18-horse field, the smallest […]

King Guillermo, seen here winning the Tampa Bay Derby in March at 49/1, won't sneak up on anyone in the Belmont Stakes. His connections decided to bypass the June 20 first leg of the Triple Crown. (Image: Coolmore Farm)

Connections Bench King Guillermo From Belmont Stakes

- 2 min read

The Belmont Stakes already has Bob Baffert’s powerful unbeaten duo of Charlatan and Nadal. It has Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law. But it won’t have King Guillermo. Juan Carlos Avila, King Guillermo’s trainer, tweeted the Tampa Bay Derby winner won’t run the June 20, 1 1/8-mile Belmont Stakes. Instead, […]

Bob Baffert's unbeaten Nadal is the 5/2 favorite in the tougher of the two Arkansas Derby divisions. (Image: AP)

Deep End of Arkansas Derby Pool is Smack Dab in Second Division

- 3 min read

With the Arkansas Derby’s split divisions, here runs the talent. The Arkansas Derby’s second division features your graded-stakes winners, your low-odds Kentucky Derby futures picks and the horses owning Derby prep victories. Here is the Arkansas Derby’s varsity division – the second division. This is where you find your Louisiana […]