Doug O'Neill

Trainer Aggie Ordonez had a glittering prognosis for Om N Joy (Om) the day after her upset victory in the GII Santa Margarita Stakes where she collected a second graded win, and added that her stable star will now point to the GI Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar. "She's wonderful." Short and sweet, but words all connections want to hear. Ordonez reported the filly was no worse for wear Sunday morning, and that she would have an 'easy 30 days' of training before focus shifted to Del Mar. The...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Post positions will be assigned for the 158th running of the GI Belmont Stakes on Monday at Universal Preservation Hall. The morning line for the final leg of the 2026 Triple Crown will also be announced. Even though he finished second to Golden Tempo (Curlin) in the GI Kentucky Derby, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher thinks his Renegade (Into Mischief) could very well vie for favoritism on the morning line, which is put together by David Aragona of the New York Racing Association. "I think...

The form of the Mar. 7 maiden won by 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) continues to read extremely strong, as Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis's Decisive Win (c, 3, Nyquist--Weekend Away, by Malibu Moon) made light work of five rivals when graduating by the better part of a half-dozen lengths en route to his own 'Rising Star' Friday at Santa Anita. Beaten seven lengths into fourth on that occasion--an effort still strong enough to grade out at a 75 Beyer Speed Figure--the $200,000 Keeneland...

Picked up as an OBS March grad just two months ago for $150,000, He Is No Lie (Early Voting) lit up a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita Friday, wiring the field by a widening margin under wraps to become his juvenile sire's (by Gun Runner) second winner and first 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'. His wide draw proved of little consequence as this 2-5 favorite, facing six Californa-bred rivals, was pressed on to clear the inside traffic. Responding in kind to that ask, He Is No Lie...

She was the lightest raced in the field, and had started her 2026 campaign last month, but Marjoram (Quality Road) showed her heart to steal the GIII Senorita Stakes in the shadow of the wire in the Santa Anita nightcap. Unveiled at Churchill Downs Nov. 22 on a sloppy main track, she made her move from sixth coming off the bend and had just enough left late to win by three-quarters of a length over a persistent challenger. She went onto the sidelines before being moved west to this venue,...

1st-SA, $65K, Msw, 3-5yo, 6f, 4:00 p.m. ET. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has an uncoupled entry with 3-year-old Sir Davis (Justify) and 4-year-old Pecos River (McKinzie). The former was a $450,000 Keeneland September grad, while the latter went for $750,000 at the 2024 OBS March sale. Out of MSW Lovely Syn (Freud), Sir Davis is a half-brother to MSW Love in the Air, who was purchased by Japan's Dr. Masatake Iida for $425,000 during the 2023 Keeneland November sale while in foal to Life Is Good. As for...

The runner-up from the GII Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct, Right to Party (Constitution) was scratched from the GI Kentucky Derby by state regulatory veterinarians on Friday morning and Robusta (Accelerate) will take his place in the Churchill Downs starting gate on Saturday. Trainer Kenny McPeek said he was upset with the scratch itself and the timing, as well as what he feels is a growing trend of regulatory scratches in Kentucky. "They said he [Right to Party] was lame all week." said McPeek. "Why didn't they call it before...

Intrepido (Maximus Mischief), winner of last year's GI American Pharoah Stakes, worked four furlongs in :47.20 (2/97) at Santa Anita Sunday and will ship to Churchill Downs with connections hoping to gain a spot in the May 2 GI Kentucky Derby. "I didn't [expect that]," trainer Jeff Mullins said of the work, which was quicker than he had anticipated. "But we often get what we don't expect." The colt currently sits 22nd on the qualifying Derby points leaderboard and will need two defections to make the field for the race....

The 2025-26 Classic Meet at Santa Anita wrapped Sunday as jockey Emisael Jaramillo, trainer Doug O'Neill, and owner Kretz Racing stood atop their respective categories as leading rider, trainer, and owner, the track announced Monday evening. Leading rider at Gulfstream Park, Jaramillo won 50 races from 229 mounts at the Great Race Place, a 22 percent strike rate, in his first season riding full-time at Santa Anita Park. Of that total, six were stakes races including the GIII San Marcos and the GIII Santa Ana Stakes. Jaramillo's mounts earned a...

Intrepido (Maximus Mischief) and Robusta (Accelerate), both targeting Saturday's GI Santa Anita Derby, each worked Sunday. Intrepido, trained by Jeff Mullins, worked a half-mile under jockey Hector Berrios. Robusta, trained by Doug O'Neill, drilled six furlongs with jockey Emisael Jaramillo in the irons. Intrepido was officially clocked working four furlongs in :47.60. That time was quite a bit faster than what trainer Jeff Mullins had on his stopwatch. "Way off," Mullins said. "I had him in :50. A bunch of us up there had him in :50." Whatever the case,...

New Jersey racing has not had it easy, and has not had it easy for a long time. Monmouth was in such dire straits that, after the end of the 2025 meet, there was so little money in its coffers that the track wasn't able to pay horsemen money that was owed to them for months. That problem arose despite the fact Monmouth was receiving an annual $10-million subsidy from the state to supplement purses. Worried that the subsidy, never a sure thing, might go away under the newly elected...

Civil Liberty (Independence Hall), third-place finisher in last summer's GI Del Mar Futurity and a maiden of four career starts, will look to graduate in the GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct Apr. 4. The 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial offers 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. "That's definitely our goal," trainer Doug O'Neill said of the Wood Memorial. "He acts like the distance won't be a problem for him at all. It wasn't a problem for his pops--his dad could run the distance. We're excited about him." Carrying the colors of...