Aqueduct
5. LONESOME ROAD, LRL, 12/26-7th, 6 furlongs (video) Beyer Speed Figure- 93 (g, 3, by Maclean's Music-Walk of Stars, by Street Sense) O-Estate of R Larry Johnson. B-R Larry Johnson (Va). T-Michael Trombetta. J-Mychel Sanchez. The now-4-year-old gelding took a massive leap forward when Trombetta shifted him from grass to dirt, scoring by a widening 8 1/2 lengths as the latest success from the breeding program of late Maryland-based owner/breeder Larry Johnson. Lonesome Road traces back four generations to Johnson's foundation mare Ran's Chick through her daughter Special Kell--the same...
Next (Not This Time), who made his mark dominating dirt races at a mile-and-a-half or longer, has not been seen or heard from since finishing fourteenth and last in the 2024 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. He's now 8-years-old and hasn't run in nearly 14 months, but trainer Doug Cowans told the TDN that the gelding will be given every chance to launch a comeback in 2026. "This is a simple update," Cowans said. "He's in training at Turfway Park. He's probably due to breeze here soon. I expect his...
Dazzling Dame (Girvin) shot out to the front and romped in Saturday's $150,000 Busanda S. at the Big A, good for 20 points on the road to the Kentucky Oaks. The 2-1 chance showed the way through fractions of :23.55 and :47.20, let it out a notch on the far turn and dropped the hammer in the stretch to win by 11 1/2 lengths. Two Bits (American Pharoah) was second. The final time for the one-turn mile was 1:38.30. My World (Essential Quality) completed the same distance in 1:38.96 in...
My World (Essential Quality), winner of the Nashua S. at Aqueduct Nov. 1, made it three straight wins in Saturday's $150,000 Jerome S. at the Big A, good for 10 points on the road to the Kentucky Derby. The gray, off at odds of 5-2 in this scratched-down field of four going a one-turn mile, trailed the quartet through an opening quarter in :23.58. He began to make his move on the far turn, set his sights on favored Balboa (Not This Time) at the quarter pole and kept on...
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) wrapped up Aqueduct's fall meet Wednesday with Flavien Prat taking the leading rider title and Linda Rice taking the leading trainer honors. Prat's 46 wins included nine stakes victories and five graded victories. His record for the fall stands at 136-46-21-15, earnings of $3,247,016, and a win percentage of 33.82%. Manny Franco was second with 33 wins, while Kendrick Carmouche was third with 25 victories. Rice notched her fourth consecutive Aqueduct fall meet training title with 31 wins and an overall record of...
Sent off the 3-2 second choice in this second career start at Aqueduct, Ottinho (Quality Road), a half-brother to Horse of the Year and leading sire Gun Runner, broke sharply and cut out early splits of :24.02 and :49.79. Pressured by longshot Grey Bull (Essential Quality) through most of the early going, the homebred colt dispensed of the rival turning home, while his more fancied stablemate Hadrian's Wall (Curlin) mounted his challenge on the outside. Battling with the $1.3 million Keeneland September yearling purchase late, Ottinho lost the lead for...
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) released its 2026 racing schedule Thursday, a calendar which includes 196 live race days spread across Aqueduct Racetrack, Saratoga Race Course and the new Belmont Park. Additionally, NYRA has reached a multi-year agreement with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) and New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB) designed to provide racing participants with additional certainty regarding racing opportunities and underscores NYRA's commitment to year-round racing during the transition to a re-imagined Belmont Park. Accordingly, NYRA has established the foundation of a 2027...
The stakes schedule for the 2026 winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack will include 20 stakes races worth more than $3.1 million in total purses, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Wednesday. The 2026 Aqueduct winter meet will open Wednesday, Jan. 1 and continue through Sunday, Mar. 30. The winter meet will offer 45 live race days in total. The centerpiece of the winter meet stakes calendar is the Saturday, Feb. 28 card offering four stakes, led by the one-mile Grade III, $300,000 Gotham, providing 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying...
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has canceled live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack on Sunday due to a winter storm impacting the New York City area, the track said in an early morning press release on Sunday. The message said that South Ozone Park remains under a winter weather advisory with forecasts calling for continued snow, low wind chill values and high winds. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcasting, and online wagering is available via NYRABets.com. Live racing will resume following the holiday break on Friday, Dec. 26...
Trainer Linda Rice captured a record 165th training win on the NYRA circuit for 2025 when owned/trained Snide (Tonalist) won race 4 at Aqueduct Friday. Snide stepped into the maiden special weight out of the maiden claimers for the third jump of her career, and dueled her rivals into submission to win by 4 3/4 lengths in a final time of 1:41.23. Rice is also the leading owner on the NYRA circuit this year with 58 wins, and the conditioner credited her entire team, including assistant Marsha Barrs, for the...
Needless to say, some people are always going to chase the fast buck. In the main, however, we all know this to be the longest of games. You can't drive the green from every tee; nor should you panic if your first drive lands in the water. There are 17 more holes to go. For Jane Lyon and her late husband Frank, one of the least fulfilling days in their Turf journey must have been the GI Matron Stakes of 2005. They had just made an expensive gamble to restore...
Just Beat the Odds (Munnings) was the shortest price on the tote in the now-renamed GIII Elite Power Stakes at the Big A on Saturday. The chalk did not disappoint his backers as he won his first stakes race for owner Donna Wright. An incredibly consistent performer dating back to his 3-year-old year, Just Beat the Odds has only finished off the board once over his 12-race career. Earlier this season after being gelded, the dark bay demolished an optional claiming field by six lengths in Ozone Park in early...