Breeders' Cup

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It was a low-key celebration for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott Saturday night after Sovereignty (Into Mischief) continued his stampede through the 3-year-old male division. "Put a couple hamburgers on the grill," Mott said, sitting at his desk in his office at the Oklahoma Training Track on a soggy Sunday morning at Saratoga. "Good hamburgers, by the way. They were from Fresh Market. That was it. Then early to bed." When Mott got his barn Sunday morning, he looked down his shedrow and saw the...

Even though Nysos (Nyquist) was 1-10 on the board, Saturday's GII San Diego Handicap was a race he didn't have to win. He sprinted in his last two starts and had never been the distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth. He also has a couple of large gaps in his form, suggesting that trainer Bob Baffert was having a hard time keeping him together. None of that mattered in the San Diego. Flavin Prat, who flew in from Saratoga for the ride, rode a patient race and saved ground into the second...

It was bomb's away Saturday at Del Mar as Lovesick Blues (Grazen) surged past pacesetter Hejazi (Bernardini) in the final sixteenth to spring the upset in the GI Bing Crosby Stakes and secure himself a spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint in November. The true war horse of the field (his 40 starts are more than several other runners combined), the 7-year-old gelding began his career all the way back in 2020, earning wins at nearly every California track and banking over $500,000. And while his career began at...

Reigning champion 3-year-old colt and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), second last out in the GI Stephen Foster on June 28 at Churchill Downs, worked a half-mile in :48.80 (52/167) Saturday to the inside of Secured Lender over the Spa main track. The Chad Brown runner is expected to start in next Saturday's GI Whitney Stakes, a 'Win and You're In' race for the GI Breeders' Classic in November at Del Mar. "He worked super. It was just maintenance," Brown said. "He's bounced out of the Stephen Foster...

By the time you're reading this article, the New York Racing Association (NYRA)'s years-long rebuild of Belmont Park that is on target to be finished by September 2026 will have reached or be very close to achieving a significant milestone. "The inner turf course will be complete by possibly [Friday] if not Monday with all the sod," Glen Kozak, NYRA's senior vice president of operations and capital projects, said July 25. "This was a big, big step for us, and now we're rolling right into the Widener turf course." Kozak's...

Edited Press Release Officials at Breeders' Cup Limited remind horsepeople that the deadline to nominate foals born in 2025 to the Breeders' Cup program at a one-time fee of $400 is Friday, Aug. 1, at 11:59 p.m. ET. To ensure that the 'Breeders' Cup Nominated' designation appears on catalog pages for upcoming fall and winter breeding stock sales, foals must be nominated by this deadline. The one-time $400 weanling nomination entitles each foal with racing eligibility to the Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup racing programs for its...

A pair of new media awards has been added to the lineup for the coverage of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, according to an organization release Thursday. The Tracy Award for Outstanding Photography and the Tracy Award for Outstanding Videography join the two existing writing awards--the Joe Hirsch Award for Outstanding News Reporting and the Bill Leggett Award for Outstanding Feature Writing. The new awards are named in honor of the award-winning late Scott Tracy, a popular and prolific videographer and multimedia producer. Tracy passed away unexpectedly in February at...

Atlantic Six Racing's Book'em Danno (Bucchero) has emerged from his career-best effort in a Grade I-quality renewal of the GII A. G. Vanderbilt Stakes on July 19 in good order, and connections are currently mulling over their options as they chart a course for the back end of the gelding's 4-year-old season. In posting a lofty 111 Beyer Speed Figure, the New Jersey-bred was taking his career record to 9-3-1 from 15 starts and his $220,000 paycheck over the weekend lifted his earnings to $1,580,425 "You always hope these horses...

To most people Wednesday will be just another Wednesday, but for the racing industry it is an important date. It will mark the start to the 100-day countdown to the Breeders' Cup. To celebrate the occasion, the Breeders' Cup will launch its first-ever Annual Day of Giving, which will become a yearly event. The goal this year is to raise $200,000, which includes a generous pledge from Ken Freirich, a racehorse owner and philanthropist. He will match up to $100,000 of all donations made on July 23. It's just one...

To strengthen industry support and impact, Breeders' Cup Limited will donate all royalties from merchandise purchases to Breeders' Cup Charities, as well as host an Annual Day of Giving July 23. The official outreach program of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Breeders' Cup Charities will lend support to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, and the Race Track Chaplaincy of America in 2025. These charities highlight five key pillars for the organization: Thoroughbred aftercare, jockey health and wellness, backstretch and industry workers,...

The only horse to run in all three Triple Crown races this season, GI Preakness hero Journalism (Curlin) was tabbed the 4-5 favorite for Saturday's $1-million GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes during Monmouth Park's press conference and post-position draw Tuesday. Co-owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables Five, and the Coolmore partners of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, & Derrick Smith, Journalism was assigned post 2 in the nine-furlong 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar....

22 stakes awarding a record $10.85 million are scheduled for the most lucrative stakes schedule for a racing season in Keeneland track history for the 17-day Fall Meet from Oct. 3-25. The Fall Meet also marks the 40th anniversary of the turf course at Keeneland, which in October 1985 became the first track in Kentucky to offer turf racing. Additionally, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund is contributing $2.55 million to Keeneland's Fall Meet stakes purses, pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation. "Competition from Thoroughbred racing's leading...