Horse Racing
A mare trained by 89-year-old Hall-of-Fame trainer Ron McAnally has been disqualified after winning a race at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club last November and subsequently testing positive for a metabolite of cannabidiol (CBD). A separate hearing to determine if McAnally will be further sanctioned will go before a hearing officer, California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) spokesperson Mike Marten told TDN. [Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated McAnally had avoided being fined or suspended after the issuance of the CHRB's Nov. 12 ruling mandating the DQ.] Roses and...
'TDN Rising Star' Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown) made a successful transition to the Tapeta track Saturday, racing away to a convincing score in the GII Bessarabian S., remaining unbeaten from four starts in the process. The Fipke homebred, whose prior victories include the GI Natalma S. over the local turf course last season, wired a Sept. 6 turf allowance over 8 1/2 furlongs, but was scratched after becoming fractious in the gate ahead of the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Oct. 16 at Keeneland and was a trainer scratch prior...
5th-Del Mar, $71,500, Msw, 11-12, 2yo, f, 5fT, :56.67, fm, 2 3/4 lengths. SHOPPINGFORPHAROAH (f, 2, American Pharoah--Smart Shopping {SP}, by Smart Strike) cut out a sharp pace in her six-furlong debut at Santa Anita Oct. 23 and yielded grudgingly to finish second by a length at 16-1. Sent off the 33-10 third favorite--with $22 less on her nose than second choice Granola Girl (Jack Milton)--the $300,000 Keeneland September yearling was once again ridden positively by Ricky Gonzalez at this slightly shorter journey, beating favored Comedic (Practical Joke) to the...
1st-Del Mar, $71,500, Msw, 11-12, 2yo, f, 5fT, :57.37, fm, nose. UNBRIDLED MARY (f, 2, Maclean's Music--Bauble, by Tale of the Cat) amassed a very imposing worktab, capped by a strong half-mile gate move in :47 4/5 (3/37) at Santa Anita Nov. 7, and was off right at her morning-line odds of 4-1. Hustled along early by Joe Bravo, the bay traveled sweetly inside on the turn and was angled out sharply into the three path on the swing for home. Whether by design or not, Unbridled Mary dropped back...
Carrot Farm's Lei Papale (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), winner of her first six career trips to the post, has stubbed her toe at short odds in her two most recent appearances and looks to get back on track as the likely favourite in Sunday's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2200mT) going three turns around Hanshin Racecourse. The bay filly got a relatively late start to her career, only debuting in January of 2020, and missed the 3-year-old filly classics, but quietly made her way through the grades and capped a...
1st-Aqueduct, $80,000, Msw, 11-12, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:26.45, my, head. KATHLEEN O. (f, 2, Upstart--Quaver {SP}, by Blame) was the buzz horse in the Friday opener from Aqueduct, as she was bet down all the way into 13-4 from a morning line of 8-1, but jumped only fairly from the widest stall in a field of seven. Racing in a detached last while trying to find her footing in the off going, the dark bay was ridden patiently by Javier Castellano while still clearly last into the turn, but began...
Some four decades after saddling his first winner, trainer Gary Sciacca celebrated the 1000th victory of his career, sending out Caumsett (The Factor) to win the Aqueduct fall meet opener Thursday afternoon. The 47-10 third favorite, Caumsett broke his maiden in a one-mile turf test beneath Hall of Famer Javier Castellano (video). Sciacca, a two-time leading trainer at Belmont Park (spring 1993 and fall 1997), has conditioned the likes of multiple Grade I winner Saratoga Dew--the first New York-bred to be named an Eclipse champion--and millionaire GISW Subordination. "I'm just...
On the heels of his front-running, 2 3/4-length defeat of Medina Spirit (Protonico) in the Nov. 6 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar, Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter) has been assigned a rating of 128 and sits atop the latest edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR). With his victory in the $6-million centerpiece of Breeders' Cup weekend, the 5-year-old improved on his previous best ranking of 124. Knicks Go ranks one point higher than the trio of G1 Investec Derby/G1 King George & Queen...
In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Tokyo and Hanshin Racecourses. There is one Group 1 on each of the remaining seven weekends in 2021, kicking off with Japan's version of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup for fillies and mares, a race that would have attracted Loves...
Edited Press Release Total all-sources common-pool handle for the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was $182,908,409, a new record for the two-day event. The total represents a 4.7% increase over the prior record of $174,628,986 set when the event was held at Santa Anita Park in 2019 and a 14% increase from the total handle of $160,472,893 at the 2020 event held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, KY. Total common-pool handle on Saturday's 12-race Breeders' Cup card was a record $121,562,392. All sources common-pool...
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Breeders' Cup issued a collective statement Saturday regarding the incident at the gate prior to the start of Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, which results in the eventual winner, Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), ultimately being withdrawn from pari-mutuel pools and competing for purse money only. The statement, in its entirety, reads: "The CHRB, Del Mar, and Breeders' Cup officials reviewed the circumstances of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf last night and again this morning. "The CHRB determined...
'TDN Rising Star' Nervous Witness (Aus) (Star Witness {Aus}), who has seen his rating soar by 28 points in his first two career trips to the post, carries 133 pounds as the top-weight in Sunday's Suisse Programme H., a Class 3 test over the straight 1000 metres Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin Racecourse. Owned by Archie, Betty and Teresa Marie da Silva and campaigned in the green-and-black colours of the legendary Silent Witness (Aus) (El Moxie), the 4-year-old gelding was the $13 (3-10) favourite on debut Sept. 5, scoring by...