Tag: McKinzie

Even at 20, Tapit remains one of the top stallions in the world. His stud fee remains $185,000 for the 2022 breeding season. (Image: Gainesway Farm)

Even at 20, Gainesway’s Champion Sire Tapit Holds His Value

- 2 min read

Three-time Champion Sire Tapit’s stud fee remains at $185,000, the primary takeaway from Gainesway Farm’s 2022 stallion roster fee update. Even as Spendthrift Farm’s Into Mischief continues to draw most of the oxygen and attention on the sire tables, Tapit remains North America’s leading sire over numerous categories. He leads […]

Serengeti Empress gets one more opportunity to duplicate her victory here in the Ballerina Stakes. She'll head to the breeding shed after the Breeders' Cup. (Image: Chris Rahayel/NYRA)

Serengeti Empress, McKinzie Take Different Paths to Breeding Shed

- 3 min read

Serengeti Empress has one more race before the breeding shed awaits. McKinzie is headed to stud immediately. And so drops the curtain on two of the more prominent Thoroughbreds of the last three years. Serengeti Empress will make her final start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Nov. […]

McKinzie, seen here winning the seven-furlong Malibu Stakes, will run the six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar. It is the shortest race of his career. (Image: Benoit Photo)

McKinzie Goes on the Road to the Crosby, Improbable off to Whitney

- 3 min read

Go long and far, or go short and stay home. When it came to deciding where prize colt McKinzie would run next, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert opted for the six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar over the 1 1/8-mile Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. Instead, Baffert sends Improbable […]

One of the most underrated horses in the country, Vekoma splashed home to win the Carter Handicap by 7 1/4 lengths last month. The competition increases dramatically in Saturday's Met Mile at Belmont Park. (Image: NYRA)

Meet the Many Contenders in the Met Mile

- 3 min read

The beauty for horseplayers and horse racing fans alike in Saturday’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Stakes, popularly known as the Met Mile, is the variety of runners meeting in the Belmont Park starting gate for a one-turn mile. Sprinters? They’re there with Vekoma, Hog Creek Hustle and Network Effect. Routers? How […]

Because the horse bears the name of his late friend Brad McKinzie, Bob Baffert takes special pride when McKinzie wins races like last year's Whitney. He will be one to watch in Saturday's Met Mile at Belmont Park. (Image: NYRA Photo)

McKinzie, Baffert Carry a Special Bond Into Every Race

- 3 min read

To Bob Baffert, Saturday’s Grade 1 Met Mile at Belmont Park is more than one of the top older-horse races on Belmont Park’s summer calendar. To the Hall of Fame trainer, watching McKinzie seek history in one of the most historic races on the East Coast means more than another […]

Mike Smith, who rode Bob Baffert's Justify to the 2018 Triple Crown, once again has the confidence of the Hall of Fame trainer. Smith will ride Authentic in July's Haskell Invitational. (Image: Sean M. Haffey/Getty)

‘Big Money Mike’ Smith Takes Authentic’s Reins for the Haskell

- 3 min read

Mike Smith didn’t earn the nickname “Big Money Mike” for his gambling acumen, although the 54-year-old jockey has earned owners nearly $330 million over his nearly 40-year riding career. He earned the name because Smith is one of the most clutch jockeys in the world, which is why he’ll take […]

Maximum Security doing his morning workout earlier this week at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Process of Elimination Makes Maximum Security a Safe Bet in Saudi Cup

- 4 min read

The easiest way to look at Saturday’s Saudi Cup is to go back to your old test days. Remember when your teacher told you to eliminate the wrong answers and, eventually, you’d arrive at the right one? Not only does this work for geometry and history, it also works for […]