Good Cheer

Halters worn by Storm Cat, Sovereignty, Good Cheer and Gun Runner will feature as part of the Bourbon & Bayou silent auction held by the nonprofit child advocacy organization CASA of Lexington. Each halter comes with a certificate of authenticity and is valued at $1,000. Bidding is available here opened Wednesday and continues until 9:45 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27. Also included with Gun Runner's halter is an exclusive VIP tour for up to 10 people of Three Chimneys Stallion Complex. The silent auction is part of CASA of Lexington's...

The constellation of stars in Johnny Burke's barn at Keeneland has shifted now that champions Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and Immersive (Nyquist), as well as 2025 GI Kentucky Oaks victress Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro), have shipped south to Payson Park, but the shedrow is just as busy as ever. For Burke, the departure of an elite trio simply makes room for the next wave of talent. Burke, who trained publicly out of The Thoroughbred Center for 15 years, has headed up Godolphin's pre-training and rehabilitation program at Keeneland since 2006. The...

Racing fans can bid to own a piece of Thoroughbred history in an online silent auction benefiting abused and neglected children. Halters for Sovereignty, Good Cheer, and Gun Runner are available in the Bourbon & the Bayou silent auction, run by the nonprofit child advocacy organization CASA of Lexington. Bidding opened today and continues until 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 27. The silent auction is part of CASA of Lexington's annual fundraiser, Bourbon & the Bayou. The event raises funds that provide advocacy for hundreds of abused and neglected children in...

Also honored in these same categories for 2024, Godolphin has been given the Eclipse Award for Best Owner and Best Breeder during Thursday night's ceremony. Godolphin both bred and raised 2025's GI Kentucky Derby winner and Champion 3-Year-Old Male Sovereignty (Into Mischief) along with GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro). They also picked up top-level wins with homebred Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and El Cordobes (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). As owners, Godophin earned more than $22,395,556,...

We continue to spotlight a few of the extraordinary mares--and some of the people behind them--who produced the Grade I winners of 2025. The two mares we highlight today are responsible for the last two GI Kentucky Oaks winners, with the 2024 Oaks victress adding to her laurels in 2025 and the 2025 Oaks winner returning to the track for 2026 in hopes of doing the same. Both are also finalists for this week's Eclipse Awards.  Sataves, dam of Thorpedo Anna By any measure, Judy Hicks is a smart woman....

Eleven of the most memorable events from Thoroughbred racing in North America last year have been nominated for the 2025 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the annual Eclipse Awards. Voting is now open on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) website, www.NTRA.com, and via X (formerly Twitter), where every retweet or use of the official hashtag for the moments as presented on the @NTRA account will be counted as one vote. The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be...

The cars scooting along on the nearby Pennsylvania Turnpike may have little from a speed standpoint on Saturday's GI Pennsylvania Derby in Northeast Philly, as the pace looks to be very much on and that could help those with stalking or closing ability in the final age-restricted Grade I of the season around two turns. But make no mistake: speed has been king--by and large--in the $1-million contest over the past dozen years or so. The Bob Baffert-trained Bayern (Offlee Wild)--next-out winner of a much-discussed GI Breeders' Cup Classic--future champion...

C R K Stable and Grandview Equine's Baeza (McKinzie), third to Sovereignty (Into Mischief) in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes and a latest second to the divisional leader in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes, and Gosger (Nyquist), runner-up to Journalism (Curlin) in the GI Preakness Stakes and when last seen in the GI Haskell Invitational Stakes in mid-July, drew gates eight and nine, respectively, in a field of 10 for Saturday's $1-million GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing north and east of Central Philadelphia. The human connections...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - As expected, the field for Saturday's 156th running of the $1.25-million GI Travers Stakes will be a small one. That is because the best 3-year-old in the country, Sovereignty (Into Mischief) is running. Only four others will challenge Godolphin's Sovereignty, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado. The last time only five horses were entered for the Travers was in 1994 when Holy Bull (Great Above) won. The smallest field in Travers history was two horses and that happened...

In the 145th running of the GI Alabama Stakes, it was Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) who took home the elite level glory at Saratoga. Entering the race, it was largely billed as a showdown between the 'big three' and it more or less went that way during the running. Nitrogen entered the historic contest fresh off a heartbreaker in the July 5 GI Belmont Oaks Invitational over the course next door where a nose denied her a first Grade I victory. Her tour de force two back June 7 in a...

Who's the current leader of the 3-year-old filly division? Featuring a rubber match between GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) and two-time GISW La Cara (Street Sense), we'll have our answer following a fantastic renewal of Saturday's GI Alabama S. at Saratoga. Good Cheer made it a perfect seven-for-seven for trainer Brad Cox with a powerful win on the first Friday in May, but never factored as the 1-4 favorite, finishing a lackluster fifth in the GI Acorn S. in the Saratoga slop June 6. The Godolphin homebred,...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- She would have been the likely favorite in next Saturday's $500,000 GI Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. But that point is moot now. 'TDN Rising Star' Ways and Means (Practical Joke) won't run. Trainer Chad Brown delivered the news Thursday morning at his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track. "Unfortunately, she got sick," Brown said, sitting at his desk in his office. "She's sick, she's not running. Next question. There is nothing to talk about. She's going to miss the race." Brown was forced to...