Tag: Maxfield

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. […]

Midnight Bourbon leads the top four finishers of last month's Lecomte Stakes into this weekend's Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. That race gives 50 points to the winner, virtually guaranteeing a Kentucky Derby spot. (Image: Hodges Photography)

Risen Star Brings Rising Derby Points to the Weekend Stakes

- 4 min read

This weekend’s stakes races bring us Essential Quality making his 3-year-old debut in one Kentucky Derby prep. They bring us the first win-and-you’re-in Derby prep, and they bring us a Derby prep that gives the winner a berth in the Preakness Stakes. They also bring back Monomoy Girl for her […]

In a year of amazing moments, Swiss Skydiver's Preakness victory was near the top of the list. The standout 4-year-old returned to the track after a two-month break. (Image: AP Photo)

Swiss Skydiver Returns to Track, Virus Knocks Maxfield Out of Pegasus

- 3 min read

As one 2020 standout returned to training, another one returned to the shelf – albeit temporarily. Swiss Skydiver hit the track, running for the first time since November’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, while a report said Maxfield suffered a virus that will keep him out of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. […]

Maxfield showed plenty of tenacity in all three of his races, including this 2019 Breeders' Futurity victory. He's the 8/5 favorite for Saturda's Tenacious Stakes. (Image: Coady Photography)

Tenacious Maxfield Makes Return 2.0 on Perfectly Named Stage

- 2 min read

You couldn’t pick a more aptly named race for Maxfield to make his long-awaited return – return 2.0 if you’re keeping track – than Saturday’s Tenacious Stakes at Fair Grounds. It’s a non-graded stakes and not where you’d expect to find an undefeated colt who was once mentioned near the […]

Outadore comes into Friday's Springboard Mile off his third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. (Image: Coady Photography)

This Weekend’s Stakes Feature Derby Preps, Return of Ex-Derby Prodigy

- 2 min read

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 […]

Monomoy Girl and Florent Geroux stood tall in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Distaff. just as they did in this 2018 Distaff victory. Even after selling for $9.5 million, the standout mare returns to the track in 2021. (Image: Darron Cummings/AP Photo)

Not Every Horse Retired in 2020: Here are the Stars to See in 2021

- 3 min read

Now that we’ve bid farewell to the Thoroughbred standouts who retired in 2020, which horses will we greet as the returning equine stars worthy of attention in 2021? We bid farewell to Authentic, Improbable, Maximum Security, Vekoma, Tom’s d’Etat, War of Will, McKinzie, Serengeti Empress, Enable, and Ghaiyyath in recent […]

Undefeated in three races, Maxfield injured a leg bone during a routine workout Wednesday. He's out of the Triple Crown races. (Image: Jordan Thomson)

Maxfield Injured, Star Colt Becomes Latest Derby Trail Casualty

- 3 min read

Illustrating another example of the precarious nature of Thoroughbred horse racing, Kentucky Derby contender Maxfield injured his front right leg during a routine workout on Wednesday. He will miss the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby after suffering a condylar fracture in his leg. If this sounds eerily familiar, it should. This […]

Favored in the Matt Winn Stakes, Maxfield is the best horse in the field. But is there value elsewhere in this Kentucky Derby prep? (Image: Jordan Thomson)

Matt Winn Stakes Takes Center Stage for Derby Hopefuls

- 3 min read

It’s the fourth Saturday in May, which brings us Churchill Downs’ headline race for 3-year-olds this spring. You can hear the dulcet tones of “My Old Kentucky Home” as the 10 horses enter the gate for the Matt Winn Stakes. No, that’s not a typo or the result of a […]

The last time we saw Maxfield race, he came from ninth to first to win the Breeders' Futurity last October. He returns to the gate Saturday after 7 1/2 months off. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Maxfield Ready to Rejoin the Derby Trail at Saturday’s Matt Winn Stakes

- 3 min read

The expectations surrounding Maxfield on his 3-year-old debut at Saturday’s Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs can be viewed through the prism of two other horses who recently returned from extended time off. The first: Bob Baffert’s Tale of the Union, who returned to the starting gate at […]