Tag: Vequist

Grade 1 winner Dayoutoftheoffice suddenly retired from racing Wednesday. She won three of her six career races, including two graded stakes. (Image: Lauren King)

Star 3-Year-Old Dayoutoftheoffice Makes it Permanent, Retires Suddenly

Dayoutoftheoffice, one of the best juvenile fillies of 2020 and a Grade 1 winner, retired Wednesday, three days before she was set to run in Saturday’s Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga. The winner of last year’s Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park, Dayoutoftheoffice just clocked a bullet 59-second […]

Yes, Essential Quality is No. 1 in the Kentucky Derby Future Pool 4. The Tapit colt opens at 7/2 when the KDFW's Pool 4 begins Friday. (Image: Coady Photography)

No Surprise: Essential Quality Opens as 7/2 Favorite in KDFW Pool 4

Essential Quality turned his Southwest Stakes victory on Saturday into 7/2 favored status for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) Pool 4. The KDFW’s Pool 4 runs concurrently with the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager’s sole pool. Clariere opens as the 5/1 favorite for that pool. The KDFW opens Friday at […]

Fire At Will proved he is great on grass with this Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf win. Can he give favorite Greatest Honour a dirt duel in Saturday's Fountain of Youth? (Image: Coady Photography)

Weekend Stakes: Third Time Should be Oaklawn Park’s Charm

This weekend’s stakes card gives us another shot at seeing the 2021 debuts of Essential Quality, Jackie’s Warrior, and Monomoy Girl. After two weather postponements over the past two weekends, Oaklawn Park finally gets a thumbs-up from Mother Nature. That means the Arkansas track finally gets to turn loose its […]

Between them, Todd Pletcher (left) and Bob Baffert own eight Kentucky Derby victories. Pletcher (45) and Baffert (23) have the most Triple Crown early nominated horses for 2021. (Image: Doug Engle/AP File)

Essential Quality Leads 326-Strong Triple Crown Nomination Parade

Getting your horse a Triple Crown nomination used to be so simple that connections to this year’s 3-year-old hopefuls nominated 326 horses to compete in the three American Classic races this spring. Those 326 nominations represent a slight, 6.1% dip from last year’s 347 early nominees. Those connections paid $600 […]

Authentic carried jockey John Velazquez to a Kentucky Derby title in September and his connections to an Eclipse Award as 2020 Horse of the Year. (Image: Gregory Shamus/Getty)

Authentic Runs Away With 2020 Horse of the Year Eclipse Award

Authentic rarely won his big races by big margins. But, he won his final “race” – the Eclipse Award for 2020 Horse of the Year – by a Secretariat at the Belmont-esque 31 lengths on the track. The Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic champion garnered 224 out of a […]

John Velazquez and Authentic sat atop the Thoroughbred world in 2020. The pair won the Breeders' Cup Classic, Kentucky Derby and three other races this year. (Image: Michael Conroy/Associated Press)

OG’s Eclipse Award Candidates Cover Some of 2020’s Greatest Races

Yes, it’s time for the Eclipse Awards, which in 2020, were brought to you by a scrambled Triple Crown schedule, along with tracks closing, reopening – and closing. Also featured were few – if any – fans in the stands and a rash of retirements. But the horses running in […]

It’s Economical How Gramm Won Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge

It’s Economical How Gramm Won Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge

Proving those who can do, can teach, Marshall Gramm, an economics professor at Rhodes College in Tennessee nailed an Authentic-Improbable exacta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The $170,250 score gave him the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge title. With the late bet, which vaulted Gramm over 429 other top handicappers, […]

Simply Ravishing was simply dominant in winning the Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland. She offers value and good speed figures in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. (Image: Coady Photography)

Breeders’ Cup Speed Figures: Juvenile Fillies Offer Simple Surprises

When handicapping the various Breeders’ Cup races, the logical first place to start is with speed figures. Toward that end, OG News will examine the speed figures of several Breeders’ Cup races in an effort to give horseplayers another tool in distilling possible overlays and underlays. The first race we’ll […]

Magical missed last year's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita due to a fever. But the 2020 three-time Group 1 winner is the likely favorite for the Breeders' Cup Turf. (Image: Caroline Norris)

Baffert’s Classic Trio, O’Brien’s Turf Duo Head Breeders’ Cup Pre-Entries

Bob Baffert has six entries, including three in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Aidan O’Brien counters with 10 entries. And just like that with Wednesday’s pre-entries, lineups for the 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championships races are falling into place. All told, 201 horses pre-entered into the Nov. 6-7 racing festival at […]

Vequist and Luis Saez raised their profile winning the Grade 1 Spinaway last month. Now, they try validating that victory in the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes Saturday at Belmont Park. (Image: Janet Garaguso/Coglianese Photos)

Vequist Skips Baby Steps Trying for Second Grade 1 Win in the Frizette

Vequist didn’t bother with a slow procession up the class ladder as the usual baby steps just wouldn’t work for the juvenile daughter of a Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup champion. The daughter of Nyquist did this whole maiden-breaking thing backward. She finished second in her first race – a […]

Sistercharlie won her sixth consecutive race at last year's Flower Bowl. That is one of four Grade 1 races on Belmont Park's Saturday card. (Image: Coglianese Photo/NYRA)

Belmont Park Takes the Stakes Spotlight This Weekend

Two weeks ago, Santa Anita put on a stakes-packed weekend card that sent seven horses to various Breeders’ Cup races. This weekend, Belmont Park captures the spotlight, featuring five graded stakes races on Saturday, including four Grade 1s. Among Belmont Park’s 11 Saturday races are four Breeders’ Cup “Win and […]