Belmont at the Big A meet

2nd-Belmont The Big A, $92,000, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 6-27, 4yo/up, 1m, 1:34.40, ft, 5 1/2 lengths. HIGHLAND FALLS (h, 5, Curlin--Round Pond {MGISW, $1,998,700}, by Awesome Again) was last seen running ninth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in a stacked edition of the race, but had come into that contest off a victory two back Sept. 1 in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga. Hammered at the windows here like he could not lose, the 1-5 favorite never gave them any reason to doubt in his...

Sweet Seraphine (Quality Road) sounded the drum late and scored her first black-type in the Wilton Stakes at the Big A on Sunday afternoon. As a juvenile, the filly debuted in third at Ellis Park in early August before heading to the sidelines. The bay came off the bench to don cap and gown by a nose at Churchill Downs May 24. The 6-5 choice here took an awkward step at the start which put her several lengths off the speed up the backstretch. Chasing the pace into the far...

1st-Belmont The Big A, $82,450, Msw, 6-15, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:49.19, sy, 10 1/2 lengths. STARS AND STRIPES (c, 3, Not This Time--Pearl River, by Quality Road) debuted in third at long odds during the Belmont At The Big A meet May 17. Trying two turns as the 85 cents on the dollar choice here, the colt was second and continued to flank a longshot leader for much of the backstretch. Pressing the pace at the top of the stretch, Stars and Stripes took off for home and quickly opened...

Rodeo Creek Racing's GIII Gazelle-winner Ballerina d'Oro worked a half-mile on Saturday over the Belmont Park training track in preparation for the GI Kentucky Oaks, NYRA said in Saturday press release. Trained by Chad Brown, the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro breezed under jockey Dylan Davis and was caught by NYRA clockers covering the distance in 48 seconds flat outside of 'TDN Rising Star' & GISP Hill Road (Quality Road), who the conditioner said is pointing to the GIII Peter Pan Stakes during the Belmont at the Big A meet May...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has expanded its overall investment in the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet and the July 4th Racing Festival from 56 stakes worth $16.85 million in 2024 to 55 stakes totaling $17,250,000 this year, according to press releases from the racing entity on Friday. Highlighted by the 157th edition of the Grade I, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday, June 7 at Saratoga, the five-day 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will include 27 stakes...

With less than a week until the Breeders' Cup World Championships, you can pregame with a bevy of graded stakes races across three tracks and two types of surfaces on Saturday. Heading up to the Belmont At The Big A meet, the New York Racing Association has carded a trio of graded contests. Chief among them is the GII Mother Goose Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going nine furlongs on the dirt. At first glance, this appears to be a street fight between the pair that ran second and third to...

6th-BAQ, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 3:16 p.m. ET. DIVINE ROSE (Good Magic) has reached her unveiling under the watchful eye of trainer Cherie DeVaux. The John Gunther and Eurowest homebred is a half-sister to GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes heroine and 'TDN Rising Star' Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief). Both are out of unraced Wildwood Rose (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who herself is a half-sister to GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song)--the dam of 'TDN Rising Star' and current sire Annapolis (War Front). Also set for a...

A well-bred daughter of Dubawi (Ire), Opulent Restraint donned cap and gown at second asking upstate Sept. 1. The gray was well-backed by the public here at 75 cents on the dollar. Settling at the rear of the field into the first turn with Rare Art (Munnings), the filly was on hold up the backstretch, but started to get underway before the top of the lane. Shifting into high gear in the three path, the juvenile took command with a furlong left and despite a challenge from her rival Rare...

3rd-SA, $54K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 5:00 p.m. ET. Joey Peacock's productive New Mexico mare Rose's Desert (Desert God) can already claim several stakes winners, including G1 Saudi Cup champ Senor Buscador (Mineshaft). Her latest homebred to hit the track is ROSE A (Hard Spun) and just like all the others she is trained by Todd Fincher. Rose's Desert, who is also responsible for GIII Sunland Derby hero Runaway Ghost (Ghostzapper), has a current yearling colt named The Hell We Did (Authentic) and a weanling filly by Into Mischief. Set...

La Mehana (Fr) (Al Wukair {Ire}) made a shrewd move up the rail in the final furlong and earned the first graded/group stakes win of her career in the GIII Waya at the Big A on Friday. Prior to going for €400,000 last December at the Arqana Mixed Sale, La Mehana began her career as a late juvenile in France under the care of Henri-Alex Pantall where after a second-place debut she made the switch to the yard of Jean-Claude Rouget. Over the course of the next two years, the...

8th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 4:22 p.m. ET. Juddmonte homebred BURNING GLORY (Into Mischief) makes his first start for trainer Bill Mott. The 2-year-old colt is out of SP Hail (Tapit). This dam is a half-sister to 'TDN Rising Star' and champion older mare Close Hatches (First Defence), who herself produced offspring by Tapit such as current sire Tacitus, 'TDN Rising Star' Scylla and GSW Batten Down. Hail's other prominent sibling is MGISP Lockdown (First Defence), the dam of champion older dirt female Idiomatic (Curlin). From the same shedrow as...

A stallion share in North American record holder and GISW Cogburn (Not This Time) will be sold at the inaugural Keeneland Championship Sale, to be held the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 30 at Del Mar, site of the 2024 Breeders' Cup World Championships on Nov. 1-2, according to a Wednesday release by Keeneland. The 5-year-old, who has amassed nearly $2.4 million in earnings over 15 starts, has won all three of his 2024 races: the GI Jaipur Stakes at Saratoga in North American record time of :59.80 for 5 1/2...