Tag: Ny Traffic

Jackie's Warrior won last year's Amsterdam by 7 1/4 lengths. He's the prohibitive favorite to win his fifth Grade 1 and fifth Saratoga outing at the Vanderbilt Handicap. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Jackie’s Warrior is a Blue-Chip Horse for the Blueblood Vanderbilt

- 3 min read

Since Jackie’s Warrior is understandably attracting all the attention in Saturday’s Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes, trainer Steve Asmussen is searching for more superlatives to describe his star sprinter. He’s officially out of superlatives. And even after looking at Jackie’s Warrior’s resume, Asmussen realizes simple is best. “He’s 4-for-4 […]

Early Voting worked out at Saratoga last week in preparation for Saturday's Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes, the fourth race on this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Janet Garaguso)

Jackie’s Warrior, Zandon, Early Voting Head Cross Country Pick 5

- 3 min read

The return of Jackie’s Warrior to Saratoga and the return of Triple Crown veterans to the track highlight this week’s Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s Cross Country Pick 5 is light on the stakes. Only two make this week’s wager: the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes and the […]

Drain the Clock won last year's Grade 1 Woody Stephens at 7/1. A mainstay of Saffie Joseph Jr.'s barn, he opens his 4-year-old campaign Feb. 5. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Remember These Two Joseph Horses? Drain the Clock, Ny Traffic Return

- 2 min read

Get ready to welcome back two familiar names from the Saffie Joseph Jr. barn: Drain the Clock and Ny Traffic, both who return in the next month for campaign-beginning races. And after those two warm-up starts, the pair could meet in the April 9 Grade 1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct. […]

One-time A-list 3-year-old Art Collector won the Alydar Stakes at Saratoga for his first win in nearly a year. He travels to West Virginia ,where he's the 5/2 favorite for Friday's Grade 2 Charles Town Classic. (Image: NYRA)

Art Collector Leads the Redemption Brigade into Charles Town Classic

- 4 min read

Art Collector is the 5/2 morning-line favorite for Friday’s Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at Hollywood Casino at Charles Races. And yes, it’s strange to read one of 2020’s top 3-year-olds is running in West Virginia and not in Saratoga this weekend. Art Collector’s path to the starting gate for […]

Informative (5) pulled away from favored Ny Traffic to win Monmouth Park's Salvator Mile at 79/1. (Image: Ryan Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)

Informative Makes his 79/1 Presence Known in Salvator Mile

- 3 min read

Since Informative can’t explain himself or describe the impact of his 79/1 upset in Saturday’s Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park, let’s go to his jockey, Jose Ferrer. “The horse can’t read the board, so he didn’t know (his odds),” Ferrer told Monmouth Park. “I’ve always said you don’t have a […]

With no Charlatan in the gate, Knicks Go becomes a likely favorite for the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on the June 5 Belmont Stakes undercard. (Image: Coady Photography)

Cox Calls a New Play for Knicks Go — The Met Mile

- 2 min read

Even Brad Cox understands how the avoid Bob Baffert game is played, which explains why he moved his star older horse, Knicks Go, to the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. That June 5 race is the first-among-equals Grade 1 on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Cox originally targeted Knicks Go for the […]

Ny Traffic opened his 3-year-old campaign last January winning this Gulfstream Park allowance. He opened his 4-year-old season Sunday, winning a Belmont Park allowance by 6 1/2 lengths. (Image: Lauren King/Gulfstream Park)

Ny Traffic Returns With a Vengeance, Takes Apart Belmont Park Allowance

- 2 min read

Whatever rust Ny Traffic possessed during a seven-month layoff disappeared in less than 90 seconds on Sunday, when the colt dismantled a Belmont Park allowance field of New York-breds by 6 ½ lengths. The Cross Traffic progeny made his 4-year-old debut nearly seven months to the day after he finished […]

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 […]

Kentucky Derby winner Authentic opens as the +225 favorite on Circa Sports Preakness futures board. (Image: MyRacehorse/Coady Photography)

Authentic Captures Top Spot on Circa’s Opening Preakness Futures Board

- 3 min read

Circa Sports in Las Vegas unveiled its Preakness Stakes futures odds this weekend and, not surprisingly, Kentucky Derby winner Authentic finds himself the opening favorite at +225. This is better than what the foreign books offer. The best odds offered overseas are 3/2. Meanwhile, Authentic celebrated his futures board-topping debut […]

Tiz the Law brings that placid demeanor everywhere but the starting gate. It's one reason he's the favorite to win Saturday's 146th Kentucky Derby. (Image: Churchill Downs)

No Asterisks Needed: Breaking Down the 2020 Kentucky Derby

- 10 min read

Historians 100 years from now will note the 2020 Kentucky Derby took place the first Saturday in September, instead of the first Saturday in May. They’ll note that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, America’s annual racing bacchanalia was shy of bacchanalia because Churchill Downs was shy of spectators. Barring any […]

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 […]

Art Collector, seen her romping to an easy victory in the Ellis Park Derby, is one of six Kentucky Derby horses with a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure. (Image: Coady Photography)

Speed Rules: How Fast is Your Favorite Kentucky Derby Hopeful?

- 4 min read

When it comes to handicapping the Kentucky Derby, the speedy rule of thumb used to be simple. Bring your thumb down to the horses who ran at least a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, and begin your handicapping from there. That’s an easy place to start, considering 25 of the last […]

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 […]

Art Collector follows his Blue Grass Stakes victory with the Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9. (Image: Coady Photography)

July’s Kentucky Derby Preps Introduce New Contenders, Old Favorites

- 4 min read

If we get a Kentucky Derby finish like the Haskell Stakes finish, they’ll be talking about that Derby for years to come. And after that Haskell, and the rest of July’s Derby preps, it’s a good time to see where the Derby contenders are at mid-summer – weird as that […]

Mike Smith and Authentic holding off Paco Lopez and Ny Traffic in Saturday's Haskell Stakes keyed a record handle day for Monmouth Park. The New Jersey track broke $20 million in daily handle for only the second time in its 75-year history. (Image: Peter Ackerman)

Saratoga, Monmouth Break Out Fast with Strong Handles

- 3 min read

There were no fans in the stands at Saratoga for opening weekend, and few fans in the stands at Monmouth Park on Haskell weekend. But both tracks notched increased handles year-over-year from 2019. Saratoga’s opening weekend all-sources handle came in at $80,325,660, up 9.4% from 2019’s $73,441,101. The historic upstate […]

After losing his first race last month in the Santa Anita Derby, Authentic seeks a return to his San Felipe-winning form in Saturday's Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. (Image: MyRacehorse.com)

Can the Jersey Shore’s Haskell Be an Authentic Playground for Baffert?

- 4 min read

When you’re Bob Baffert and you’ve got a murderer’s row of 3-year-olds looking for marquee races to run in this coronavirus era, the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes almost seems like a gimme. And that’s the scenario Baffert seeks with 4/5 favorite Authentic in Saturday’s marquee race from Monmouth Park. Yet, […]

Ny Traffic won't turn heads with blinding speed. But he usually turns exotic bettors into believers. He's the 7/2 third choice to win Saturday's Haskell Stakes. (Image: Ryan Thompson/Gulfstream Park)

Ny Traffic Seeking to Break Out of Pack at Haskell Stakes

- 3 min read

Unlike his namesake, Ny Traffic sits under the radar, repeatedly yielding the spotlight to sexier horses and sexier-named trainers. This version of Ny Traffic doesn’t make you late for dinner. And Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park falls right into Ny Traffic’s lane. There’s Bob Baffert’s Authentic as […]