Bob Baffert

Goal Oriented (Not This Time) tuned up for his expected stakes debut in the GI Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course next Saturday with a four-furlong drill in :47.60 (4/35) at Churchill Downs Sunday. Churchill clockers caught the colt going the first quarter of a mile in :23 3/5 and galloping out five-eighths of a mile in 1:01 1/5 with exercise rider Eric Garcia in the saddle. "He went a half really easily," said trainer Bob Baffert, who will be looking to extend his record of eight Preakness victories. "He...

6th-Santa Anita, $61,000, Msw, 5-10, 3, 4,/5yo, 6 1/2f, 1:14.98, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN (r, 3, Mitole--Midnight Magic, by Midnight Lute), a $250,000 yearling turned $750,000 2-year-old, faced older rivals Saturday on debut for Bob Baffert including well-met stablemate Sierra Silver (Game Winner) who was last third behind 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Preakness Stakes entrant Goal Oriented (Not This TIme). Showing speed from an outside draw, the 7-2 second choice led from the first jump, rationing his speed ahead of his stablemate through fractions of :22.08 and...

5th-CD, $120k, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 1mT, 2:46p.m. ET OLYMPIC DAME (Medaglia d'Oro) will break from the rail here wearing the colors of Qatar Racing for trainer Brendan Walsh. A $385,000 FTSAUG purchase in 2023, the price looked like a steal three months later when her half-brother Honor Marie (Honor Code) brought home the trophy for the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes in late November, and kept himself in the headlines from there, running through the 2024 Kentucky Derby trail by route of Louisiana and eventually finishing eighth in the big...

GII Wood Memorial Stakes winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Rodriguez (Authentic) will not run in the 150th GI Preakness Stakes May 17 at Pimlico Race Course, trainer Bob Baffert said Friday. Scratched from last weekend's GI Kentucky Derby due to a minor foot bruise, Rodriguez had remained at Churchill Downs to prepare for the Preakness. Baffert will still be represented in the Preakness starting gate by undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Goal Oriented (Not This Time) who ran on the Derby undercard in an allowance race. Baffert told Pimlico media Friday...

Bob Baffert notified Pimlico Race Course officials Thursday of his intention to enter undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Goal Oriented (Not This Time), as well as GII Wood Memorial Stakes hero Rodriguez (Authentic) in the GI Preakness Stakes. Goal Oriented debuted at Santa Anita Apr. 6 with an off-the-pace 3 1/4-length victory in a six-furlong maiden special weight event, which earned him a 'Rising Star' badge. The 3-year-old cleared an optional claimer in front-running fashion on the Derby undercard. A $425,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale, Goal Oriented is...

While his status for the Preakness is still undecided, GI Kentucky Derby hero Sovereignty (Into Mischief) continues to impress his team with how well he has rebounded from his long stretch battle with Journalism (Curlin) last Saturday, but a decision might be around the corner. Since his win in the Spring marquee race, the son of Into Mischief has reportedly done no wrong, and has continued to thrive in his return to routine. Michael Banahan, Godolphin's director of bloodstock, told Steve Byk on his Monday morning satellite radio show that...

With Derby weekend in the books, we take a look back at the graded races in April that led us there. The month did not disappoint with great racing from coast to coast, although Keeneland, as per usual, was the star of the show. If the top of the sport is measured by graded races, few race weeks are as packed with quality or as anticipated as the boutique meets at Keeneland. With an inevitable focus on the Lexington track, we look at trends and notable items from the country's...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $127,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($125,000), 5-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42.83, sy, 3/4 length. GOAL ORIENTED (c, 3, Not This Time--Bizzy Caroline {MGSW, $347,935}, by Afleet Alex) topped a 'Rising Star' trifecta in this third contest on Derby Day. Racing three wide along the first bend, and clear of Sorcerer's Silver (Good Magic) as that one was pulled up and vanned off the track, the Baffert-trainee clicked off :23.63, :47.15, and 1:11.36 fractions over the sealed sloppy track. Maintaining his advantage as they swung for home, a pair of...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Journalism (Curlin) has gotten plenty of ink--and rightfully so--ahead of the 151st running of the GI Kentucky Derby. But here's something that you may not know about the 3-1 morning-line favorite. How did Journalism--campaigned in partnership by the powerhouse partnership of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, breeder Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5 and the Coolmore partners (Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith)--get his name? "We have always tried to mimic the Claiborne tradition of naming horses with one-word names with a...

The year was 1996, and Unbridled's Song was heading into the Kentucky Derby as the heavy favorite. D. Wayne Lukas, one of racing's superstars, also had the racing world on alert. Five horses from his barn were pointed to the Kentucky Derby; a show of force that made everyone else look like longshots. Included in the entries were two well-qualified runners from a relative newcomer to Kentucky, Bob Baffert. Five years earlier, Bob had been a hotshot Quarter Horse trainer until a nudge from his friend and owner Mike Pegram...

The GII Wood Memorial Stakes winner and Bob Baffert trainee Rodriguez (Authentic) has been scratched with a sensitive foot bruise from Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, according a tweet from SF Racing's Tom Ryan. "Out of an abundance of caution, we have made a very tough decision to scratch our Derby horse, Rodriguez," the post by Ryan said. "He has a small but slightly sensitive foot bruise that will need a few more days. Therefore, we are resetting our plans and will target him for the Preakness." The 'TDN Rising Star'...

VALENTINIAN (Into Mischief) marks his return following a third-place effort going 8 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland Apr. 9. A solid3 1/4-length victor in his career debut at Tampa Mar. 1, the $1.5 million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select yearling graduate is reunited with Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who was also in two last time out. Todd Pletcher trains the son of GI Spinaway heroine Rachel's Valentina (Bernardini), herself a daughter of Classic winner and champion Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro). Also trying to bounce back from a last-out loss, Tiz Secure (Maximum...