GI Belmont Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- When a barn is lucky enough to have a horse like Dornoch (Good Magic), the goal, naturally, is to find another one. A year ago, trainer Danny Gargan won the GI Belmont Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes with the talented 3-year-old. After Saturday's sixth race at Saratoga, a $100,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old colts, Gargan was not about to proclaim he has found the second coming of Dornoch, but, hey, a guy and his partners can dream, can't they? At the end of the seven-furlong...

MGISW Journalism (Curlin) put in his first work since arriving back from the Jersey Shore following his victory in the G1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park last month. The GI Preakness Stakes winner, who was the runner-up in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes, returned to trainer Michael McCarthy's barn on the Del Mar backside a few days after the Haskell. On Saturday, it was back to work for Journalism who went four furlongs in :48.40 with rider Tony Gutierrez in the saddle. McCarthy clocked his colt with...

Not only has he been successful in the short time he has been involved in racing, former MLB All-Star Jayson Werth has obviously fallen in love with the racing game. His infectious enthusiasm was on display all of last year as he was among a group of owners who campaigned GI Belmont S. and GI Haskell S. winner Dornoch (Good Magic). He was back in the spotlight this year with Flying Mohawk (Karakontie ({Jpn}), who finished second in the Jeff Ruby Stakes S. and made it into the GI Kentucky...

SARATOGA SPRINGS--When Neil Poznansky, sitting on the back of GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty (Into Mischief), saw jockey Junior Alvarado early Friday morning, he wore a wide smile. "How'd I do?" Poznansky said. Alvarado grinned back. No answer necessary. Sovereignty did what Poznansky, Alvarado and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott wanted to see as he had his second work since winning the Belmont last month. Working in company with 4-year-old stablemate Jefferson Street (Street Sense), Sovereignty and Poznansky, Mott's assistant, covered four furlongs in :48.99...

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Next Wednesday, 2024 Horse of the Year & 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) is expected to be in Saratoga. Trainer Kenny McPeek said she will ship to the Spa from Kentucky along with Mystik Dan (Goldencents), last year's GI Kentucky Derby winner. Thorpedo Anna is coming off a three-length win in the GII, $500,000 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs last Saturday. "She is fine, she is like a rocket ship," McPeek said by phone from Kentucky Thursday. "She loves her work; she loves...

NYRA CEO David O'Rourke has a lot on his plate these days. There's the rebuild of the Belmont stands, the shuffling back and forth between Long Island and Saratoga for the GI Belmont Stakes and the preparation for the return of the Breeders' Cup in 2027. That meant there was a lot to cover when O'Rourke joined our team for this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. O'Rourke was the Gainesway Guest of the Week. On the subject of moving the GI Belmont Stakes a few weeks back...

Jockey Junior Alvarado joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss his win aboard Sovereignty in the GI Belmont Stakes and the long road it took to get back to the winner's circle after an injury earlier this year.

SARATIOGA SPRINGS--One thing trainer Michael McCarthy didn't have to worry about as he planned his trip to Saratoga Race Course was lodging. For his horses, anyway. When McCarthy shipped GI Belmont Stakes favorite Journalism (Curlin) and two other stakes horses to the Spa, he knew right where they were going. That would be the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, whom McCarthy worked for as an assistant for nearly 12 years before going out on his own in 2014. "I was a slow learner," McCarthy said with a...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--The event that horse racing has been waiting for is here. Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and Journalism (Curlin), the top two finishers in the GI Kentucky Derby, will get their rematch in Saturday's $2-million GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The two heavyweights of the 3-year-old division are the headliners of the 157th running of the Belmont, which will be run for the second straight year at Saratoga while Belmont Park continues its major renovation downstate. A field of eight was entered at Monday's draw, which was held...

C R K Stable and Grandview Equine's Baeza (McKinzie) worked over Saratoga's Oklahoma track Monday morning in advance of a start in Saturday's GI Belmont Stakes. With Flavien Prat aboard, the half-brother to Classic winners Mage (Good Magic) and Dornoch (Good Magic) reeled off splits of :24.89, :48.93 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:16.41, according to NYRA clockers. "I thought the work was very good, especially the way he moved over the racetrack," said Shirreffs Monday. "He is light on his feet. Everything he does is effortless." A winner...

The GI Belmont Stakes, presented by NYRA Bets will return to FOX Sports for its 157th edition, which takes place at Saratoga Race Course June 7. The third jewel in the Triple Crown highlights the Belmont Stakes Festival, which kicks off Friday with six graded stakes--including the GI Ogden Phipps and GI DK Horse Acorn Stakes. Saturday's Belmont Stakes card features seven additional graded stakes, including the GI Metropolitan and GI Woody Stephens. Pro Football Hall of Famer and longtime FOX NFL Sunday analyst Terry Bradshaw will make special appearances...

There's not much that Jimmy Ventura hasn't done in racing. He's trained, owned and bred horses. He's worked at Three Chimneys and Spendthrift and has worked in the racing office at Monmouth. But he's never had that big horse. That may be about to change. Ventura, who works in commercial real estate, has partnered with celebrity chef Bobby Flay on a son of Justify that they bought as a weanling at Keeneland November for $350,000. The horse's name is Crudo (Justify) and though he's only had three lifetime starts he...