Tag: Wesley Ward

The 2020 Royal Ascot Meet ran without fans, pomp or pageantry. The prestigious week off racing will run in front of 12,000 daily fans June 15-19. (Image: Edward Whitaker/Racing Post/Breeders' Cup)

Royal Ascot Meet Returning Some Pomp, Admitting 12K Fans Daily

- 3 min read

The Royal Ascot Meet carries a well-earned reputation as one of the biggest parties in world horse racing. And the English racetrack will resume its party host duties this year when it admits 12,000 fans daily to the five-day meet. The British government selected the track as one of its […]

The Kentucky Derby is only Rock Your World's second start on dirt. He is the fastest horse in the field based on speed figures. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Almost Back to Normalcy: Breaking Down the 2021 Kentucky Derby

- 12 min read

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? […]

Tuesday morning's draw for the 2021 Kentucky Derby from post 20 Bourbonic to post 1 Known Agenda. Those are two of trainer Todd Pletcher's four entries in Saturday's Run for the Roses. (Image: Churchill Downs)

Essential Quality Opens as 2/1 Favorite for 147th Kentucky Derby

- 4 min read

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 […]

After a year's hiatus due to the pandemic, Wesley Ward returned to his native habitat: winning Keeneland training titles. With 20 victories, the conditioner won his seventh Keeneland Spring Meet title. (Image: Coady Photography)

Keeneland’s Spring Meet Hops Into the Books With Strong Handle

- 2 min read

Despite selling limited tickets for its 15-day Spring Meet, Keeneland’s just-concluded meet brought a 7.55% handle increase from its 2019 numbers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic scrubbing Keeneland’s 2020 Spring Meet, 2019 represents the last comparable year. Headlined by Essential Quality’s Blue Grass Stakes victory, Wesley Ward’s seventh training title […]

Bohemian Frost became the answer to a trivia question when she won the first 2-year-old race of 2021 Friday at Keeneland. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Who’s Up Next? Keeneland Plays Host to First 2-Year-Old Races of 2021

- 3 min read

Lost in the wash of Keeneland’s opening day of its Spring Meet and Saturday’s three key Kentucky Derby preps across the country was a milestone on the racing calendar. Keeneland opened its 2021 Spring Meet with the first 2-year-old race of 2021. That honor went to Gulfstream Park last year. […]

Outadore led the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf until the final eighth. He makes his dirt debut in Friday's Springboard Mile at Remington Park. (Image: Coady Photography)

Springboard Mile Takes Would-Be Derby Hopefuls Off the Beaten Path

- 4 min read

Outadore and Cowan aren’t atop anyone’s Kentucky Derby betting lists. Nor is the Springboard Mile at Remington Park atop anyone’s top-tier Derby preps. But, the Oklahoma track’s top juvenile stakes race does offer yet another glimpse at 2-year-olds chasing Derby points. The $200,000 Listed stakes Springboard Mile headlines a 13-race, […]

Outadore comes into Friday's Springboard Mile off his third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. (Image: Coady Photography)

This Weekend’s Stakes Feature Derby Preps, Return of Ex-Derby Prodigy

- 2 min read

The pre-Christmas lull before the graded stakes storm doesn’t mean there aren’t any graded stakes in this weekend’s racing slate. Nor does it mean this weekend misses good storylines or top-shelf horses. Take the Los Alamitos Futurity and the Mr. Prospector, your two graded stakes this weekend. Curious about potential […]

Complexity made his victory in the Champagne Stakes two years ago look easy. He's a solid 2/1 favorite in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Three Breeders’ Cup Contenders Worth Your Attention

- 3 min read

The Breeders’ Cup Classic, Turf, Distaff, and – to a lesser extent, Juvenile – are the Breeders’ Cup races everyone follows. That’s understandable, especially in a year like this, when the Classic is a virtual All-Star race and when the Distaff offers one of the best duels of all 14 […]

Mutasaabeq registered his career-best speed figures in this dominating debut race at Saratoga in August. He's North America's best hope in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. (Image: TwinSpires.com)

Breeders’ Cup Speed Figures: Who Answers Europe in Juvenile Turf?

- 3 min read

When looking at speed figures for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, understand that European horses traditionally dominate this event. They certainly dominate this year’s Juvenile Turf field, comprising half of the 14 horses drawn into the main field. That means speed figures for European horses are not as available. So […]

Fauci broke his maiden in his second start with this length victory at Keeneland in July. He faces two of his Wesley Ward stablemates in Friday's Skidmore Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Ward Opens His Juvenile Playpen for the Skidmore Stakes

- 3 min read

Unlike many of his contemporaries, trainer Wesley Ward has no problem turning his charges loose against each other. This explains why you’ll see three of his standout 2-year-olds tangle in the Skidmore Stakes at Saratoga Friday afternoon. The 5 ½-furlong turf sprint features Fauci, Golden Pal, and Sunny Isle Beach […]

Four times in her six-race career, Kimari prompted jockey celebrations -- like this one from Channing Hill in April. She goes for her first Royal Ascot victory in Friday's Commonwealth Cup. (Image: Coady Photography)

Fleet Filly Kimari Takes On the Boys at Royal Ascot’s Commonwealth Cup

- 3 min read

In the horse trainer word association game, Wesley Ward’s name usually associates with his wondrous work training 2-year-olds. That is, when it’s not associated with being the American in England – the primary American presence at the yearly Royal Ascot meet. Due to the coronavirus Ward remains in the US […]

Trainer Wesley Ward is to training 2-year-olds as Bob Baffert is to 3-year-olds. He saddles favorite Lime in the first 2-year-old race of 2020. (Image: Keeneland)

Gulfstream Park to Host First 2-Year-Old Race of 2020

- 3 min read

Gulfstream Park’s 11-race Thursday card isn’t one to send the blood racing. There isn’t a stakes race, let alone a graded-stakes race, to be found. And the two “feature” races are both allowance claimers. But the otherwise ordinary Thursday card does feature something kind of special in its second race. […]