GI American Turf Stakes

Seven 3-year-old males have assembled to contest the annual renewal of the GIII Penn Mile Stakes over the turf on Friday evening. Look for D J Stable's MSW Alpyland (Vekoma) to garner quite a bit of interest by the betting public. Starting back in January, the gelding captured a pair of black-type wins when he took home the hardware in the Dania Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park and in the Columbia Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The Mark Casse trainee finished fourth in the GI American Turf Stakes on the...

Connections of Stark Contrast (c, 3, Caravaggio--Catch the Eye, by Quality Road), second in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks Mar. 21 behind scratched GI Kentucky Derby contender Fulleffort (Liam's Map), could have entertained a Derby bid with the 50 points he earned at Turfway, but opted instead for the 35th running of the GI American Turf Stakes Saturday on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs. And boy, did it pay off for the Michael McCarthy-trained Amerman homebred, who took home his first Grade I score. Sent as the 6-5 favorite,...

In the GI Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland on Friday, Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (r, 4, Ten Sovereigns {Ire}--Zindziswa, by Smart Strike) went gate to wire to hand trainer Chad Brown the 3,000th win of his career. The speedy turf star won on debut for trainer Andre Fabre at Saint-Cloud as a juvenile that June. A private purchase by Hubert Guy in France, the bay was unveiled under the care of Chad Brown and delivered a win less than three months later in the Aug. 29 running of the GIII With...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Moyglare Stud homebred Bellezza during the Belmont at the Big A meeting on GI Kentucky Derby eve. Siyouni's Bellezza Shines In New York Bellezza, making her American debut, waltzed away with the GIII Sheepshead Bay Stakes during the Belmont at the Big A meet on Friday (video). The daughter of Siyouni, trained by Christophe Clement, already sported a victory at listed level in...

The winner of this year's £100,000 Cardinal Stakes will receive an automatic berth in the starting gate for the $1 million GI American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby undercard, Chelmsford City Racecourse announced on Monday. Scheduled for Thursday, April 3, the Cardinal Stakes is a conditions race run over a mile and open to three-year-olds who will compete for the £51,540 on offer to the successful owner. The race also offers prize-money up to sixth place, a refund on entry fees if declared and financial support for international runners. The American Turf was recently elevated to Grade...

Churchill Downs has scheduled 50 stakes races cumulatively worth a record $26,175,000--a $525,000 increase--for its 2025 Spring Meet, which covers 43 race dates between April 26-June 29, the track said in a Friday press release. The American Turf for 3-year-olds, annually staged on the Kentucky Derby undercard, had its purse raised to $1 million after the American Graded Stakes Committee elevated the 1 1/16-mile grass race to Grade I status. The American Turf is one of four Spring Meet stakes that received purse hikes for 2025 and one of seven...