gaming

Bob Baffert trainees Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) and Gaming (Game Winner), who made up the exacta in the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar Nov. 1, were among several notables to record timed workouts Saturday morning at Santa Anita. A contender for the Eclipse Award as the top 2-year-old colt, Citizen Bull drilled alongside stablemate Richi (Chi) (Practical Joke) going five furlongs in 59.40 seconds, which was the second-fastest of 59 works at the distance. Gaming worked five furlongs in 1:02.60. For Citizen Bull, this was his third...

Welcome to the Road to the Kentucky Derby, Journalism. Showcasing the same stalk-and-pounce ability that earned him a maiden win going just a 1/16 of a mile shorter last month, Journalism (Curlin) employed the same tactics Saturday night to upset a trio of Bob Baffert runners and take the GII Los Alamitos Futurity for Michael McCarthy and earn himself 10 points toward the first Saturday in May. The least experienced runner in the field by starts made (tied with 26-1 longshot Mellencamp {Constitution} who exited the same debut race), the...

A six-time winner of the race in its days at Hollywood Park, including with future GI Kentucky Derby hero Real Quiet (Quiet American) in 1997, trainer Bob Baffert took the first seven runnings of the GII Los Alamitos Futurity after the relocation to Ocean County in 2014 and ran his overall total to 14 when Wnystock (Solomini) caused a 13-1 upset last year. Just five juvenile males have taken up the challenge this term, three of whom are trained by Baffert, and Gaming (Game Winner) is an all-the-way candidate at...

With the Kentucky Derby still 23 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of "All Other Colts and Geldings from the 2022 Foal Crop" closed as the 9-5 favorite in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and recent debut winner Barnes (Into Mischief), from the barn of six-time Derby winner Bob Baffert, was the 13-1 second choice. Other horses who attracted interest from bettors include: GI Breeders' Futurity winner East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro) (15-1); GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) (16-1); GIII Street Sense winner Sovereignty (Into...

DEL MAR, CA - Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert had three chances at a record-extending sixth winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar Friday. And none of them were favored. Let go at odds of 15-1, Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) made every pole a winning one while leading home a one-two-four finish for Baffert's powerhouse stable. It was 1 1/2 lengths back to Gaming (Game Winner) in second. Irish raider Hill Road (Quality Road) rallied from last of 10 to tag 'TDN Rising Star' Getaway Car...

Some people only look for difficulties. Others seek solutions. Between those categories, it's not hard to place Joe Pickerrell and his wife Courtney. Having attended a couple of family weddings in South Africa, and been blown away by the venue each time, they struggled to find anywhere remotely comparable when planning their own nuptials back in Florida. Well, they thought, that was not just frustrating. Might it also be a business opportunity? So they found this amazing 1850 barn in Canada, dismantled it, and had it shipped and reassembled, beam...

For the 18th time, the GI Del Mar Futurity belongs to trainer Bob Baffert. The Hall of Fame trainer sent three horses to post Sunday in Del Mar's Closing Day feature and, while race favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Getaway Car (Curlin) was the expected winner, it was 7-2 shot Gaming (Game Winner) who stole the spotlight. He lined up facing not just his own talented stablemates (including the aforementioned favorite along with Citizen Bull {Into Mischief}) but also another gate-to-wire maiden winner in McKinzie Street (McKinzie) for Tim Yakteen....

It's the final day of the meet where the 'turf meets the surf' where trainer Bob Baffert will likely finish the afternoon with an unprecedented 18th winner of the GI Del Mar Futurity, the final major contest of the season before the track gets all decked out in purple for the arrival of the Breeders' Cup in early November. The Hall of Famer saddles three of Sunday's seven intended runners, each capable of walking away with the victory on their best. 'TDN Rising Star' Getaway Car (Curlin) is the most...

7th-Del Mar, $77,000, Msw, 8-11, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:17.42, ft, 5 1/2 lengths. GAMING (c, 2, Game Winner--So Stylish {SP-Ire}, by Johannesburg) came out running as the 2-1 favorite but took pressure to the outside into the far turn. As Arrakis (Bernardini) dropped out of it, Gaming kicked for home and outran the field, going gate to wire to win by 5 1/2 lengths over Rank (Honor A.P.). The second winner for his freshman sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}), Gaming was a $250,000 OBS March buy for the Three Amigos....

Both Churchill Downs ($120,000) and Keeneland Race Course ($100,000) are projecting maiden special weight (MSW) purses this autumn to be level with the money paid out at the same meets in 2022. Those figures were revealed by representatives of the two tracks Thursday during a meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory committee. The Churchill MSW purses for this year's two fall meets (Sep. 14-Oct. 1 and Oct. 29-Nov. 26) have been unchanged since 2020. In 2020, Churchill offered split MSW purse values in September-$97,000 during the pandemic-rescheduled...

A conceptual site plan newly submitted to the city of Phoenix for the proposed industrial development at Turf Paradise calls for the closure of the track once the under-agreement sale goes forward and development begins. But the incoming owner is still floating the idea of resuming racing at the 67-year-old Thoroughbred venue in the future if historical horse race gaming gets legalized in Arizona. Audrey Jensen of the Phoenix Business Journal first reported Aug. 8 on the new details about the project, which has been named Winner's Circle Business Park....

A money disagreement that has simmered for nearly a decade got a step closer to settlement Thursday when a federal judge ruled the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (OHBPA) is entitled to $2,769,652 in gaming revenues that the present and former owners of Belterra Park withheld between 2014 and 2018. The dispute arose from Belterra's failure to pay the OHBPA its share of net-win video lottery terminal (VLT) commission from Belterra Park. The quarrel was exacerbated when the two sides disagreed over the rate that was supposed to be...