Horse Racing
Because of the pandemic in 2020, six-race cards on Fridays and a run of rainy weather to start this year's meet, apples-to-apples, year-over-year handle comparisons aren't easy to come by at Monmouth. But all indications are that the Jersey Shore track has gotten off to a poor start, and that raises an important question--are bettors staying away because of the new rules that prohibit whipping? Sunday's card was the first of the meet where all the scheduled races were run on the turf and there was not an abundance of...
With news that the province of Ontario has entered Step One of the 'Roadmap to Reopen' plan earlier than anticipated, officials at the Woodbine Entertainment Group have announced that Thoroughbred racing will return to the track this Saturday, June 12, with first post set for 1:20 p.m. ET. "While it has been a very frustrating period, I would like to thank the Government of Ontario for the recent attention it has given the horse racing industry," said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. "In particular, I would like to thank Premier...
For the first time in its 117-year history, Oaklawn Park will add December dates to its racing calendar and will host 66 days of live racing beginning Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 through Sunday, May 8, 2022. The season will be conducted on a largely Friday-through-Sunday schedule with some exceptions. The track will be dark over the Christmas holiday Dec. 24-26 and there will be no racing on Easter Sunday, Apr. 17. As is their custom, Oaklawn will host a holiday program on Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 21. "For many years,...
His passing in the summer of 2019 leaves an immense void in the worldwide breeding industry, but even posthumously, the legendary Deep Impact (Jpn) just keeps churning out the results. On May 21, his 2-year-old son out of American listed winner and European multiple group-placed Premier Stars (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) fetched an astonishing ¥517 million (£3.33 million) at a breeze-up sale and just nine days later, Shahryar (Jpn) provided the stallion with a seventh winner of the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and fourth in succession. At Epsom Friday, Snowfall...
Loveherheart became the first winner for her freshman sire Klimt (Quality Road) with a dominant victory at Santa Anita Friday. Adding blinkers and dispatched at odds of 7-1 off a debut fifth when well-bet over 4 1/2 furlongs May 7, the $17,000 KEESEP yearling turned $50,000 OBS March breezer was off to a much better start this time around, set the pace in hand and widened through the final furlong to take it by about five lengths. Fellow OBSMAR grad Signora Minister (Valiant Minister) rallied late to finish second, just...
Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) should jump a warm favourite to become the first repeat winner of the G1 Yasuda Kinen since two-time Horse of the Year Vodka (Jpn) (Tanino Gimlet {Jpn}) when she squares off against 13 males in Japan's premier spring mile. The Yasuda Kinen serves as a 'Win and You're In' qualifying race for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in early November. The 5-year-old, a daughter of Breeders' Cup winner Tapitsfly (Tapit), has won six of eight over the metric...
Peter Callahan's Eclipse Award winner Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), the joint second choice on the morning line for Saturday's $500,000 GI Ogden Phipps S. at Belmont Park, will be scratched from the race after spiking a fever. "Unfortunately Swiss Skydiver had a 104 fever this morning. We are a scratch," trainer Ken McPeek tweeted early Friday. "We've treated her to knock down the fever and will regroup later in the season." Last year's GI Preakness S. upsetter returned from her winter's rest to romp by 2 3/4 lengths in the GI...
In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes 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 Chukyo and Tokyo Racecourses, which stage the first juvenile races of the season on the JRA circuit, featuring the first-crop progeny of former US-based American Patriot (War Front) and Drefong (Gio Ponti) in addition members of the lone crop...
Addressing the media Wednesday through a Zoom call, Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority Chair Charles Scheeler said that the authority will go to great lengths to clean up the sport and its efforts will include increased out-of-competition testing and investigative work that goes beyond the standard methods of drug testing. When asked whether or not rules and penalties under the authority may be stricter than they are currently with state racing commissions, Scheeler replied: "It's certainly a possibility in some areas." He continued: "We need to make it so...
TEXAS DERBY, $300,000, Lone Star, 5-31, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45.03, sy. 1--WARRANT, 124, c, 3, by Constitution 1st Dam: Whisper Number, by First Samurai 2nd Dam: Santerra, by Tejabo 3rd Dam: Sioux City, by Carson City 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Twin Creek Racing Stables, LLC; B-Twin Creeks Farm (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Joel Rosario. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-2-1, $294,700. *1/2 to Ms Locust Point (Dialed In), GSW, $675,975. 2--Mr. Wireless, 124, g, 3, Dialed In--Voussoir, by Arch. O-Jon Lapczenski & JIL Stable; B-John & Iveta Kerber (KY); T-W. Bret Calhoun. $60,000....
Narrowly favored at 9-5 in Monday's GI Hollywood Gold Cup, WinStar Farm's Country Grammer (Tonalist) became his Lane's End-based stallion's first Grade I winner, narrowly outbattling Royal Ship (Brz) (Midshipman) in a rousing finish. Away alertly, the former Paul Pompa runner was taken hold of to sit second as longshot Brown Storm (Chi) (Scat Daddy) rolled to the front showed the way through moderate splits of :22.92 and :47.16. Switched off nicely in the two path for the run down the backstretch, Country Grammer was asked for a bit of...
Cannon Thoroughbreds' Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute), narrowly beaten in three previous attempts at the top level, earned an automatic berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile with a wire-to-wire victory in the GI Shoemaker Mile S. Monday at Santa Anita. Sent off at 3-5, the bay colt broke alertly and took the early lead under his own steam. He hugged the rail while pressed by Restrainedvengeance (Hold Me Back) and Whisper Not (GB) (Poet's Voice {GB}) and the top trio separated themselves from the rest of the field through...