Antiquarian

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Michael McCarthy would like nothing more than to have the wildly popular Journalism (Curlin) return to Saratoga Race Course this summer. "It would be awfully nice if he could," McCarthy said just outside Journalism's stall at the Oklahoma Training Track Thursday morning. "Saratoga, as I keep on saying, is a magical place for horses and people alike. We would be more than happy to bring him back here if the opportunity presented itself." First things first. Journalism, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When it's a big race day, you'll find Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Saturday is a big race day at Saratoga Race Course. Seven graded stakes--six of them Grade Is worth $5.9 million. Of course, Baffert is going to be here. He doesn't have a horse in the $2-million GI Belmont Stakes, but he has an impressive trio--Nysos (Nyquist), Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) and Imagination (Into Mischief)--running on the undercard. Nysos and Crude Velocity are both 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard.' "It's a big...

'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Golden Tempo (Curlin) was not the only marquee name on the worktab over the last 48 hours, as horses prepping for next week's Belmont Stakes Racing Festival--as well as some household names not heading to upstate New York--turned in breezes at racetracks from coast-to-coast, from Saratoga, Laurel and Fair Hill to Santa Anita. To follow are works in alphabetical order at the various venues with parenthetical mention of intended targets or races to which the horses have been nominated. Saratoga (Oklahoma unless othewise indicated)...

Repole Stable and Robert and Lawana Low's Renegade (Into Mischief) returned to the worktab at Saratoga Thursday morning for the first time since being outfinished by 'TDN Rising Star' Golden Tempo (Curlin) in the May 2 GI Kentucky Derby, going a half-mile in :49.80 (8/22) in the company of Repole's Powershift (Constitution). Both are possibilities for the $2-million GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 6. Renegade, a flashy winner of the GI Arkansas Derby ahead of his effort at odds of 11-2 beneath the Twin Spires, worked to the...

Antiquarian, winner of last year's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, but last seen being a distant eighth in the Nov. 1 GI Breeders' Cup Classic, kicked off 2026 with a stylish victory in the GIII Westchester Stakes Sunday at Aqueduct. The chestnut sat just off the pace as favored Bishops Bay and Quint's Brew were up front through a quarter in :24.19 and a half in :47.00. Antiquarian rolled up three wide on the far turn, stuck a head in front at the top of the lane and strode clear...

The World Championships concluded Saturday with sterling efforts and drama abound, and the connections of the newly crowned took Sunday morning to provide updates on their charges as they look ahead. Trainer Michael McCarthy reported that all six of his Breeders' Cup horses came out of their races in good order, and plans for MGISW Journalism (Curlin)--whether to continue racing or retirement--will be finalized in the coming week. The colt finished fourth in the Classic under new rider Jose Ortiz. "This is more or less what we've seen from him...

On both coasts, preparations for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic continued as leading contenders from the West took to the track, and hopefuls from the East began finalizing travel plans. Scheduled to walk Saturday morning after the trio put in Friday works at Saratoga, Todd Pletcher-trainee Antiquarian (Preservationist) will ship to Del Mar Sunday in advance of the World Championships along with stablemates Fierceness (City of Light) and Mindframe (Constitution). "I don't think [Antiquarian is] a particularly difficult horse to ride," said Pletcher. "I think he needs a strong rider....

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher sent out a quartet of workers over the Oklahoma dirt at Saratoga on Friday who are all intended for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. The group of workers included Antiquarian (Preservationist) and 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard, Fierceness (City of Light), Mindframe (Constitution) and Locked (Gun Runner). Mindframe breezed to the inside of Locked shortly after the first renovation break and the pair covered five furlongs in 1:01.49, according to NYRA clockers. Mindframe edged clear of the Sept. 27 GII Woodward-winner Locked...

Facing plenty of racing dram this past weekend, trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed that GI Pacific Classic and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup winners Fierceness (City of Light) and Antiquarian (Preservationist), respectively, came out of their races in good order and will train up to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. The Gold Cup was marred by an incident soon after the start, where Pletcher-trained Mindframe (Constitution) swerved, dropping Irad Ortiz Jr. and was ultimately collared by the outrider. "[Antiquarian] is doing excellent, very good," Pletcher said of the...

Bi-coastal, 1 1/4-mile Grade I stakes over the weekend at Del Mar and Saratoga featured a number of contenders projected to target the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The obvious winner was continent-crossing jockey John Velazquez, who parlayed a win in Saturday's GI Pacific Classic into a score 16 hours later in Sunday's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. Here's a look how the horses who were in action emerged from those efforts and where they stand heading into the championship race. Fierceness: For a colt who has a reputation for sometimes...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--After the last two starts, there may be those who gave up on White Abarrio (Race Day). Saffie Joseph Jr., the trainer of the 6-year-old gray horse, isn't one of them. White Abarrio reappears at Saratoga on Sunday in the $1 million GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, a 1 1/4-mile test that has attracted some of the best older horses in the country. GI Whitney Stakes winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone is here, so is fellow 'Rising Star' Mindframe (Constitution), winner of all three of his...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Jockey Junior Alvarado, the race day partner of Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the leading 3-year-old in the country, knows how everyone feels now. That's because he saw up close just how powerful Sovereignty is. Sovereignty had his final work before next weekend's $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes Saturday morning at the Oklahoma Training Track. As usual, he was being ridden by Neil Poznansky, the assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Alvarado, helping the barn out, climbed aboard Fort Nelson (Bernardini), who was Sovereignty's workmate for...