Tag: New York Racing Association

Chad Brown won his seventh training title with a record 47 victories. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Chad Brown, Irad Ortiz Jr. Capture Belmont Park Training, Riding Titles

Chad Brown added to his record-extending seventh consecutive Belmont Park Spring/Summer training title when the conditioner racked up 47 victories. Brown’s 47 victories eclipsed David Jacobson’s 2013 mark of 44 set over a 56-day meet. Brown’s 47 came in 44 days. “My team should be very proud of themselves and […]

Embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert may face a two-year ban from racing in New York if a hearing officer's ruling is upheld. (Image: Susie Raisher/NYRA)

NYRA Hearing Officer Recommends Two-Year Ban for Bob Baffert

Retired Justice O. Peter Sherwood, who presided over the January hearing pitting Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert against the New York Racing Association issued a report recommending Baffert be banned from NYRA tracks for two years. That 54-page report was issued to the media on Wednesday. In it, Sherwood […]

Sprinter Diamond Oops makes his first start since finishing eighth in the Keeneland Turf Mile in October. He's one of the marquee names in the five NYRA Cross Country Pick 5 this weekend. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Lauren King)

Veteran Runners Headline This Week’s NYRA Cross Country Pick 5

Two familiar veteran runners pop up in this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5 wager, a bet encompassing races at Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs and Oaklawn Park. The first recognizable name for casual horseplayers and fans is Diamond Oops, who makes his 7-year-old debut in the third […]

Bob Baffert's suit to toss out a NYRA suspension hearing was thrown out Friday. His pre-suspension hearing from NYRA begins Monday. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Judge Tosses Baffert Suit Against NYRA, Suspension Hearing Forthcoming

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s lawsuit against the New York Racing Association was dismissed Friday, clearing the way for his pre-suspension hearing from the organization to go forward. Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York threw out Baffert’s attempt to […]

Kendrick Carmouche and 72/1 Bourbonic won the 2021 Wood Memorial in the slowest time since 1952. NYRA wants to boost the prestige of the once-front-row Kentucky Derby prep by raising the purse if a Grade/Group 1 winner enters the April 9 race. (Image: Joe Labozzetta/Coglianese Photos)

Aqueduct Announces Derby Prep Purse Twist to Spring Stakes Schedule

The first Grade 1 of the New York Racing Association’s 2022 season, and the possibility of a boosted purse in the track’s flagship Kentucky Derby prep, headline Aqueduct Racetrack’s Spring Meet stakes schedule. The 15-day spring meet opens Thursday, March 31, and runs through Sunday, April 24. Aqueduct’s Spring Meet […]

Essential Quality won the 2021 Belmont in one of the year's great races. Fox Sports acquired the media rights to the third jewel of the Triple Crown starting in 2023. (Image: NYRA Photo)

FOX Sports Signs Eight-Year Agreement to Broadcast Belmont Stakes

FOX Sports and the New York Racing Association announced Wednesday that the network now owns the exclusive media rights to one of the jewels of the Triple Crown. FOX Sports acquired the exclusive media rights to the Belmont Stakes beginning in 2023. The eight-year agreement with the New York Racing […]

Cooke Creek, seen here winning the Rocky Run Stakes at Delaware Park, is the 5/2 favorite in Saturday's Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct. (Image: Hoofprintsinc.com Photo)

The Jerome Stakes Provide a New York Fork in the Derby Road

The Listed Jerome Stakes, one of four New Year’s Day Kentucky Derby preps, generally doesn’t prove anything come Derby time. But the Aqueduct one-turn mile race for 3-year-olds that dates to 1866 does serve as a proving ground of sorts. The eight newly minted 3-year-olds competing for the 10-4-2-1 Derby […]

Gunite showed off his versatility winning the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga last month. He comes with 4/1 morning-line value for Saturday's Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park. (Image: Sarah Andrew)

Champagne Stakes Bubbles With Four Legitimate Juvenile Contenders

The Grade 1 Champagne Stakes predates the Kentucky Derby by eight years. In fact, the one mile juvenile test that sets the early bar for Derby prospects appeared only two years after the Civil War ended. Derby preps have to get their momentum somewhere, which is where the Champagne pours forth. Saturday’s test […]

Racing milestones, standout horses, riders and trainers and a record handle. The 2021 Saratoga meet had it all this summer. (Image: Saratoga.com)

Saratoga Closes the Gates On a Record Handle, Memorable Moments

Saratoga cracked $800 million in all-sources wagering handle for the first time in its storied history, ending its most successful summer meet with $815,508,063 in all-sources handle. That represented a 15.6% increase over the track’s previous record of $705,343,949 set in 2019. Saratoga set its new record last Wednesday, with […]

War Like Goddess captured her third consecutive graded-stakes with this commanding victory in the Grade 2 Glens Falls. She goes for her first Grade 1 score in Saturday's Flower Bowl Invitational. (Image: Coglianese Photos/NYA)

War Like Goddess Smelling Like Roses Going into Flower Bowl

As is his MO, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott brought War Like Goddess along slowly, guiding the 4-year-old filly through the class pyramid with care and an eye toward building confidence. So when War Like Goddess won three consecutive races – and 5-of-her-first-6 – Mott realized she is ready […]

Crystal Ball saw her way to a 1 1/4-length victory in the Lady Jacqueline Stakes at Thistledown. She goes for her fourth win of 2021 in the Grade 3 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga Sunday. (Image: JJ Zamaiko Photography)

Does Crystal Ball’s Future Include an Elusive Graded-Stakes Spa Victory?

Crystal Ball sees her way into Sunday’s Grade 3 Shuvee Stakes a pristine 3-for-3 in 2021. She’s taken those three races on three different tracks in three different states with three different jockeys. Now, the trek toughens. The competition stiffens. And the stakes literally heighten. Named after the Hall of […]

Fans returned to Belmont Park for this year's spring/summer meet, albeit in smaller numbers. The track still recorded a 20.6% boost in all-sources handle from 2019. (Image: NYRA)

Belmont Park Reports 20% Boost in 2021 Spring/Summer Meet Handle

Displaying further signs of post-pandemic economic health, Belmont Park boosted its 2021 spring/summer meet handle by 20.6% over 2019 totals, and 63.5% over last year’s handle. The New York Racing Association released the figures Wednesday. They showed the 48-day Belmont spring/summer meet brought in $632,208,251 in all-sources handle. This, from […]

Golden Pal makes his 3-year-old debut on Saratoga's opening day Thursday. The standout sprinter is the 1/2 morning-line favorite in the Grade 3 Quick Call. (Image: Coolmore)

Saratoga’s 2021 Season Opens with Fans, Golden Pal’s Return

The long-anticipated 2021 Saratoga Meet opens Thursday, headlined by a familiar name — Golden Pal — making his seasonal debut. The standout sophomore sprinter anchors a deep field of 3-year-olds in the Grade 3 Quick Call. That 5 ½-furlong sprint on the Mellon Turf Course is one of two stakes […]

True Timber and Kendrick Carmouche won last year's Cigar Mile. Aqueduct's featured race during its Fall Meet is the lone Grade 1 race among its 26 stakes events. (Image: Susie Raisher/NYRA)

Cigar Mile Once Again Headlines Aqueduct’s Fall Stakes Schedule

The New York Racing Association took time out from prepping for Thursday’s Saratoga Meet opener to announce Aqueduct’s stakes schedule for its fall meet. Aqueduct’s 18-day fall meet offers 26 stakes races – 10 of those graded – along with $4.9 million in purses. That meet begins Friday, Nov. 5 […]

The 153rd Belmont Stakes anchors three of NYRA's six, two-day special wagers Belmont Stakes weekend at Belmont Park. (Image Chelsea Durand/NYRA)

NYRA Offers Wagering Menu Smorgasbord for Belmont Stakes Weekend

The New York Racing Association unveiled its wagering menu for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, headlined by a two-day Pick 6 that begins Friday, June 4, and ends with the 153rd Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5. The NYRA’s wagering menu includes six, two-day wagers incorporating many of the Belmont […]

Mind Control owns seven victories and more than $1 million in career earnings. He's also the only one of the five Carter Handicap entries with a Grade 1 victory. (Image: Susie Raisher)

The Carter Handicap Knows Its Place on the Wood Memorial Undercard

The Carter Handicap is that rare Grade 1 race sitting on an undercard featuring no other Grade 1s. But there it sits, the sixth race on Aqueduct’s Saturday card, almost an afterthought on Wood Memorial Day at the Big A. The $300,000, seven-furlong Carter, however, holds court as the first […]

Arrogate's record victory in the 2016 Travers Stakes was Fox Sports' first telecast of that iconic race. Along with purchasing an equity stake in ADW NYRA Bets, Fox Sports signed an extension to television NYRA races through 2030. (Image: Jesse Caris/Caris Photography)

Fox Sports Buys Share of NYRA Bets, Extends NY Race Coverage to 2030

Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association unveiled an expanded partnership agreement Thursday that extends the regional sports network’s television rights for NYRA races through 2030. The agreement opens up options for a Fox Sports subsidiary to purchase a 25% stake in NYRA Bets, the association’s advance deposit wagering […]