Horse Racing

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 12th-CD, $127K, Alw/OC, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 6:25 p.m. ET Just a mid-May foal, WISH YOU WELL (American Freedom) was purchased by Redwings for $160K at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase and improved into a $550K Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream juvenile after working a furlong in :10 flat (see below). The most expensive of her sire's 39 first-crop 2-year-olds reported as sold last year, Wish You Well made a giant impression in her career debut at Gulfstream Apr. 2, defeating the well-meant Inventing (Union Rags) by...

2nd-Churchill Downs, $71,943, Msw, 5-5, 2yo, f, 5f, :58.09, ft, 5 1/2 lengths. DEVIOUS DAME (f, 2, Girvin--The Shady Lady, by Quality Road) was sent off the 21-10 second choice just a handful of weeks after fetching $240,000 at the OBS March and became the first winner for her freshman sire (by Tale of Ekati) with a powerful 5 1/2-length debut success Thursday at Churchill Downs. The Florida-bred jumped away well and showed good early speed, but favored Empire of My Own (Classic Empire), herself a $170,000 OBSMAR purchase, speared...

Godolphin's progressive Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) goes for a third consecutive victory and second at the graded level when she lines up against nine sprinting sophomore fillies in Friday's GII Eight Belles S. at Churchill Downs. An easy first-out winner at Ellis last August, the homebred was second to Marissa's Lady (Violence) in this track's Fern Creek S. Nov. 27 ahead of a distant runner-up effort behind GI Longines Kentucky Oaks hopeful Secret Oath (Arrogate) in a one-mile Oaklawn allowance Dec. 31. The bay returned to winning ways with a...

It seems nearly inconceivable that there is a stakes race for 3-year-old fillies that has not been won by trainer Chad Brown, but such is the case with Friday's $500,000 GIII Edgewood S. at Churchill Downs. It will be equally surprising if that statistical anomaly is not corrected, as the conditioner is represented by the top three choices on the morning line, though Mother Nature might have something to say about it, with daylong rains predicted. Klaravich Stables' McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was a poignant debut winner at Saratoga last...

Whisper Hill Farm, Qatar Racing and Flurry Racing Stables' Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) is expected to jump a warm favorite as she goes in search of a third Grade I success beneath the famed Twin Spires in Friday's GI La Troienne S. Upset winner of the 2020 GI Kentucky Oaks, the bay outfought Envoutante (Uncle Mo) to win this event by a length 53 weeks ago and atoned for a third-place effort behind champion Letruska (Super Saver) in the GI Odgen Phipps S. with a 3 1/4-length score in the GI Clement...

For weeks before the Guineas meeting there will have been talk about the ante-post favourites, the big stables, the rich and famous owners. There will have been acres of press about the betting markets and the numbers and every single journalist will have tried to squeeze some clue out of the trainers, who don't want to give any clues. In some strange way, the horse can get lost in all this. I mean the horse in general--not a single Classic contender, but all the horses, the roughly 2,500 Thoroughbreds who...

Edited Press Release The Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs stands to gain anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000 based on the results of Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby beneath the Twin Spires. In January, Brook Smith--a longtime supporter of the BLC--placed a $10,000 Kentucky Derby Future Wager on Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), pledging any winnings to the center. A Derby victory would be worth $114,000. Smith's wager was a friendly challenge to Texas-based businessman and famed sports bettor "Mattress Mack" Jim McIngvale's Future Wager bet for the same...

According to a tweet from Churchill Downs' Senior Director of Communications and Media Services Darren Rogers, Un Ojo (Laoban), who registered a 75-1 upset in the GII Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park Feb. 26, was not entered for Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby. The Wayne Lukas-trained Ethereal Road (Quality Road), who missed by a half-length in the Rebel and exits a fourth in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland Apr. 16, will take the 20th spot in the field when entries are drawn Monday afternoon. "It's a little bit unexpected,"...

Throughout the nation, the horse racing industry is under both increased scrutiny and pressure to reduce the number of equine fatalities and breakdowns. While progress has been made at many tracks, in recent years, i.e. Turfway, Woodbine, Golden Gate, and Gulfstream, there is less of a tolerance than ever for equine injuries and fatalities, as doping scandals have marred our most cherished events and as advocates and animal rights groups such as PETA have gained momentum. Horse racing is under real pressure to enhance safety, with many critics seeking to...

Those who swallowed the 1-5 on the comebacking War Like Goddess (English Channel) in Friday's closing-day GIII Bewtich S. at Keeneland were made to sweat it out, but the gaps finally came with time ticking away and the George Krikorian colorbearer proved best following a trip that can best be described as adventurous. With Joel Rosario somewhat controversially taking over at the controls from Julien Leparoux aboard the 2021 Eclipse Award finalist, War Like Goddess settled in third position in a scratched-down field of just five turf marathoners, but the...

Summer Anthem (Temple City), impressive winner of Friday's fourth race at Keeneland, has been added to the Keeneland April Horses of All Ages Sale, to be held following the conclusion of the closing-day program at 6:30 p.m. The 3-year-old gelding will be consigned by Gainesway, agent, as hip 104. Trained by Rodolphe Brisset for September Farm LLC and Black Fern LLC, the dark bay gelding was making his first start on turf Friday after just being beaten on the wire in a one-mile maiden allowance over the Turfway synthetic track...

Monmouth Park opens its 2022 meet May 7 with new wagering and dining options. The New Jersey oval will offer fixed odds wagering, allowing bettors to retain the odds at the time of their bet as opposed to tote wagering. "We are excited to finally be able to offer this new wagering opportunity to our fans," said Dennis Drazin, CEO and Chairman of Darby Development, operators of Monmouth Park. "We believe this is just the start of what will be an extremely popular wager. For the first time, bettors can...