Cherie DeVaux

The GI Dunkin' Diana Stakes continues, as it has for nine of the last ten years, to run through the Chad Brown barn as Excellent Truth (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) just edged out favorite She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) in a stretch duel to take the opening Grade I of the Saratoga summer meet. While eyes and wagering dollars were on Cherie DeVaux's She Feels Pretty, Brown wielded a strong hand in stablemates Excellent Truth and Dynamic Pricing (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), the one-two finishers in the GI Just...

6th-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 4:02 p.m. ET. SCHWARZENEGGER (Not This Time) is unveiled for the ownership group of David Fennelly, Brook Smith, Mrs. John Magnier and Resolution Road. Initially a $410,000 purchase during Keeneland November in 2023, the colt went for $950,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale the following year and was sent to trainer Wesley Ward. The first-time starter is out Soothsaying (Lemon Drop Kid), who was a Gainesway buy for $350,000 at the 2024 Keeneland November Sale while a filly by Nyquist was in-utero....

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Before the young horse with the easy-going disposition even stepped on the track at Saratoga Race Course Friday afternoon, just about everyone knew the story behind Dr, Agne (Into Mischief), who is out of Lady Eli (Divine Park). When the 2-year-old colt powered to the finish line and won the seven-furlong, $100,000 maiden special weight, the story came full circle. Dr. Agne, trained by Cherie DeVaux, is named for Dr. Robert Agne, who died at the age of 54 on Labor Day of 2015 after being hit...

It's not often in the case of a horse's breeding that six-time leading general sire Into Mischief would the less-successful parent. But such is the case for Dr. Agne who not only claims Spendthrift's elite stallion on the top side but also is the third foal and second winner out of Eclipse-winning Turf Champion Lady Eli who banked nearly $3,000,000 in her career before selling to John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale for $4.2m at KEENOV in 2018. Dr. Agne himself went through the ring at Keeneland as a yearling last...

The GI Dunkin' Diana Stakes has run through the Chad Brown barn for the last three years and while Brown has two solid entries here, the race runs through the rail-drawn Cherie DeVaux starter She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}). The 4-year-old Lael Stables-owned filly has won four straight dating back to last year, including three Grade I races over several of the rivals she'll line up against Saturday. For reference her last two 1 1/8-mile races resulted in wins by a combined 8 1/4 lengths and she'll be stepping back...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - And now for the main event. With nine days of racing already in the books--a proper warmup by any measure, topped by the GI Belmont Stakes--the 157th season of racing at Saratoga begins Thursday with a 10-race program. It is the earliest-possible start in the calendar-driven schedule for the 40-day season that closes on Labor Day Sept. 1. With one exception in 1982, in the 45 years after racing resumed at Saratoga in 1946 following World War II, Saratoga was what eventually came to be known...

In How To Talk To Customers, co-author Tom Larkin wrote that the key in business relationships was to "Make A Great Impression on the Customer"--known by his signature acronym M-A-G-I-C. "Results matter, and so does the process used to get those results," the Preface pithily preached. According to those that knew him best, Larkin built a successful consulting company which focused on the development and enhancement of a business's number one concern, outreach. He traveled the world giving dynamic presentations on what has become the lost art of customer service....

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - There was far more than a simple change of address for trainer Cherie DeVaux when she was assigned Barn 83--for decades the Saratoga base for legendary D. Wayne Lukas--for this summer's racing season. In addition to dealing with the daily demands of managing her large stable, DeVaux, a rising star in the sport, has embraced her new roles: historian and preservationist of an important corner of the barn area on the sprawling Saratoga Race Course grounds. Within a day or two of DeVaux moving her stable...

Though the grandstand remains quiet during the off-season at Keeneland, the racetrack does not, as trainers' barns grow and flourish with the continuous arrival of 2-year-olds ready to take the next step towards debuting as fully-fledged racehorses. It's a time of year filled with a sense of excitement for what's to come as trainers, owners and fans alike brim with the anticipation of watching who might develop into future stars. This feeling is one that seems to reverberate most throughout Cherie DeVaux's barn following the recent arrival of one very...

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...

It's been a long time between drinks for Vahva (Gun Runner), the 2024 GI Derby City Distaff Stakes winner whose last career win came exactly a year ago in the Chicago Stakes at Churchill Downs, when it was a Grade III event. Upgraded to Grade II this year, the Chicago Stakes was targeted by Vahva's connections after the now-5-year-old made no impact in this year's edition of the Derby City Distaff. Irad Ortiz, Jr. kept her a little closer to the pace than usual in the Chicago, as she tracked...

She had to work for this one but She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) added yet another Grade I win to her resume (her fourth overall) with a gutsy victory over 17-1 longshot Beach Bomb (SAf) (Lancaster Bomber) in the GI New York Stakes Friday. Practically untouchable for trainer Cherie DeVaux, the 4-year-old made just the second start of the year but came back in style by winning the GIII Modesty Stakes at Churchill on the Kentucky Oaks undercard May 2. All that after capping her 3-year-old campaign with back-to-back Grade...