Horse Racing
Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at both Saratoga and Del Mar and even at Ellis Park, which attracts its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. Already this year at Saratoga, City Man (Mucho Macho Man), Mo Strike (Uncle Mo) and Empress Tigress (Classic...
Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, will host the 2023 Breeders' Cup World Championships for a record 11th time. The 40th renewal of the Breeders' Cup will take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3 and 4, 2023. "Santa Anita Park is an integral part of Breeders' Cup history and is the perfect venue for our landmark 40th running," said Drew Fleming, Breeders' Cup President and CEO. "Since our founders conceived this season-ending championship four decades ago, the Breeders' Cup has consistently been one of the leading global events in Thoroughbred...
Top sophomore colt Epicenter (Not This Time) and Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) highlighted the Saratoga worktab over the last few mornings as each prepares for big-race engagements July 30. Winchell Thorougbreds' GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. runner-up Epicenter makes his first start of the second half of the season in the GII Jim Dandy S. and went five furlongs over the Oklahoma training track Monday in 1:01.13 in the company of the 3-year-old maiden Flute Master (Gun Runner) (1:03.12). "Visually impressive is what he is,"...
Thoroughbred racing at the Timonium meet runs Aug. 26 through Sept. 6 during the Maryland State Fair. The meet will conduct the $125,000 Timonium Distaff S. Aug. 27. A $20,000 trainers' awards will be offered this year, sponsored by the Maryland State Fair. Grooms awards will also be given to the best turned out in each race. Annual College Day at the Fair will take place Aug. 27. Eleven $1,000 college scholarships are awarded to preregistered full time college students in attendance.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- Just a mere mention that Clairiere (Curlin) might be underappreciated, brought a quick, robust reaction from Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. "Not by us," Asmussen said, shaking his head. Asmussen promptly made the case for the 4-year-old filly, a Stonestreet Stables homebred daughter of Cavorting (Bernardini), who will seek her third win in four starts this year in the GII Shuvee S. Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. "She's a multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire by one of the greatest horses of all time out of one...
Trainer Juan Carlos Vazquez has been banned from running horses in the state of New York, according to a release from the New York State Gaming Commission. In a ruling issued July 7, the Pennsylvania Board of Stewards suspended Vazquez through Jan. 26, 2025, alleging that a horse under his care was shipped from Belmont Park to Parx Racing who was in such poor health that it had to be euthanized after its arrival. The stewards labeled Vazquez's behavior "grossly negligent, cruel and abusive." It its statement Monday, the NYSGC...
Effective Monday, July 18, 2022, purses at Assiniboia Downs have been increased across the board. The highlights include a 25% increase in maiden special weight races to $20,000 and a 20% hike for open allowance heats for $24,000 while the new minimum purse for 'open' stakes races has been raised to $40,000. "Our community of owners, trainers and jockeys continue to be so supportive of the racing program here," said Darren Dunn, CEO of the Winnipeg, Manitoba-area track. "We are happy to be in a position that we can introduce...
The Jockey Club's Annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing will be held Sunday, Aug. 14, at 10 a.m. ET and hosted for the first time at the Saratoga Springs City Center in Saratoga Springs, NY. It will be conducted as an in-person event in 2022 after being held virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference will also be streamed live at The Jockey Club's website and on its Facebook page. The full agenda and biographical information of all speakers at the conference...
Santa Anita Park will once again offer its 'Ship & Win' program, which has successfully attracted significant numbers of horses based outside of California over the last two years, at the track's 18-day fall meeting, which is set to begin Friday, Sept. 30. The program offers a $5,000 bonus for eligible horses making his or her first start, and a 35% bonus, excluding stakes races, is also available. The 'Ship & Win' program is a joint venture with the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. "Ship and Win has proven to be...
Mo Strike (Uncle Mo) was the second 8-1 shot to win a graded event at Saratoga Saturday, taking his record to two-for-two with a victory in the GII Sanford S. Away in good order from the six-hole, the bay rushed up to contest the pace alongside Curly Jack (Good Magic) with 'TDN Rising Star' Andiamo A Firenze (Speightstown) to his outside through a :22.59 opening quarter. They ran three abreast on the backstretch run, registering a :45.94 half-mile. Great Navigator (Sea Wizard) tried to break through that trio in early...
At 8-1, Peter Brant's In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) may have been the least fancied of the four Chad Brown runners in this six-horse renewal of the GI Diana S. Saturday at Saratoga, but she did the most running, wiring the field in a course record-setting performance. Her three stablemates--Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), favored Brant colorbearer Bleecker Street (Quality Road) and Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}), partially owned by Brant--finished behind her in that order for a Brown superfecta. Hesitating for just a breath while breaking from post six, In...
Michael Hui homebred Fadethenoise (Mendelssohn), well-beaten, but troubled on Churchill dirt debut June 9, took beautifully to the turf course at Ellis Park Saturday, becoming the first North American winner for his freshman sire (by Scat Daddy) in graduating by a half-dozen lengths. Sent off at 6-1, the chestnut broke alertly and attended a sharp pace while about four off the inside to the turn. Going better than the rail-skimming Spanish Dubloon (Malibu Moon) as they raced on the bend, Fadethenoise pinched a break in upper stretch and pulled well...