Yes, Dynamic One’s victory came in a listed stakes, the Curlin. Yes, it came in a 3-year-old race buried in the laundry that is Jim Dandy Weekend at Saratoga – especially with star sophomore Essential Quality headlining. But Friday’s Curlin, which was limited to 3-year-olds who had not won a […]
Maracuja and Malathaat put on such a show in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, that you can’t wait to see the rematch between the two 3-year-old fillies. And, it’s looking like we will at the Aug. 21 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. Trainers for […]
If you remember back in May, the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks is the race that Todd Pletcher put on Malathaat’s calendar. This was the race Pletcher and owner of the undefeated 3-year-old circled – as they were crossing off any Belmont Stakes plans. Now, because of Malathaat’s considerable […]
It’s never too early to put promising 2-year-olds on your Kentucky Derby radar screen, which is why it’s time to say hello to one of the most promising juveniles of 2021 – Wit. The Todd Pletcher charge graduated to graded stakes champion on Saturday, capturing the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes […]
The first thought that comes to mind when you see Mandaloun, Midnight Bourbon and Hot Rod Charlie lined up as the three headliners for Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes is that deja-vu sense of familiarity. You’ve seen these three clash repeatedly, but there’s something else about them that stands out. […]
The Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational offers up a Kentucky Derby alum, along with a former Bob Baffert colt who may be the turf star of his generation. It also gives you one of Europe’s top turf terrors, straight from the barn of that continent’s top trainer – Aidan O’Brien. […]
The fallout from Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s suspension from New York Racing Association tracks manifested itself again Thursday when WinStar Farm president and CEO Elliott Walden said he will send star 3-year-old Life is Good to Todd Pletcher once the horse is ready to return. That return may […]
The 153rd Belmont Stakes wraps up an unpredictable 2021 Triple Crown season with what should be the best race of the three for horseplayers. If 12/1 Medina Spirit winning the Kentucky Derby was a shock to the handicapper’s system, what was 11/1 Rombauer winning the Preakness Stakes? Two horses considered […]
One example of how deep Saturday’s Belmont Stakes card is comes to you via the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, best known as the Met Mile. This is a race that should be on its own, which it was as a Memorial Day staple until 2014 when the New York Racing […]
Essential Quality duplicated the favorite status he enjoyed for the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago, taking 2/1 morning-line favorite odds into Saturday’s 153rd Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. Tuesday morning’s Belmont Stakes draw put the Brad Cox-trained, Tapit progeny in post 2. He’s one of four Grade 1 winners and […]
Without a Triple Crown storyline, race fans were salivating at the prospect of filly Malathaat jumping into the Belmont Stakes pool and tangling with the boys in the final jewel of the Triple Crown. But connections for the undefeated filly said Tuesday she will pass up the Belmont. Instead, the […]
While the Belmont Stakes field remains an early work in progress, several trainers with possible sights on the final jewel of the Triple Crown have either indicated interest or put their horses through workouts with that June 5 race in mind. The Belmont Stakes field of possibles starts with Kentucky […]
Before we break down the field for the second jewel of the Triple Crown, we’ll dispense with the news everyone waited for concerning Saturday’s 146th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Both Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit and Concert Tour passed their three pre-race drug tests, meaning they […]
Voters to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame confirmed two of the easiest selections they’ll ever face when they selected Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and seven-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher to the 2021 Hall of Fame class. American Pharoah and Pletcher earned election in the contemporary […]
As Brad Cox ponders his Preakness plans with Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun and fourth-place finisher Essential Quality, the Preakness field is taking shape around him. Maryland Jockey Club stakes coordinator Trish Bowman put out a preliminary list of prospects for the May 15 second leg of the Triple Crown. That […]
Less than a day after Medina Spirit’s remarkable Kentucky Derby victory, trainer Bob Baffert said he’s on track for the May 15 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. Tentatively. “He came out of it well. It takes about a week to determine, so I’m going to come back next weekend and see,” […]
Welcome to the 2021 Kentucky Derby. And welcome back to what a normal Kentucky Derby looks like. Almost. The crowds? Well, they’re back – about 40,000. That’s a quarter of what normally turns Churchill Downs into a sporting bacchanalia. But there’s people in the stands. We’ll take it. The horses? […]
The Kentucky Oaks is the perfect stage for the equine soap opera like the one we have here. It’s the perfect setting for the interlocking set of filly rivalries and storylines that help horse racing out where it needs it most. Storylines merging into identities that, along with a plethora […]
One trainer has four horses – a quarter of the field – in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Surprisingly, his name is Todd Pletcher, and not Bob Baffert. It’s one of those counterintuitive Derby facts that most casual horse racing fans stumble over. And it’s not their fault. Nor is it […]
As expected, Essential Quality checked in as the 2/1 morning-line favorite for the 147th Kentucky Derby. And Tuesday’s post-position Derby draw sends the undefeated colt and his favorite status into post 14 for Saturday’s 2021 Triple Crown opener. As he watched the posts fill up on Tuesday morning, this put […]
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