Horse Racing

Turf Paradise got unanimous 3-0 approval from the Arizona Racing Commission on Thursday to open its backstretch by the end of the month in anticipation of an 84-date, Jan. 4-May 1 racing season. The meet will mark the first Thoroughbred racing in Arizona since Mar. 14, when Turf Paradise ended its spring season prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, Turf Paradise withdrew its dates request for a traditional 2020-21 autumn-to-spring meet, citing liability concerns related to COVID-19. In between, the Arizona Downs summer meet never ran because local...

Confirming a report from Bill Finley in the Nov. 11 edition of the TDN, Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (Constitution) will train on in 2021 as a 4-year-old, with the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 23 as his target. In a release pushed across its social media channels Thursday afternoon, Sackatoga announced that Manny Franco, who had ridden Tiz the Law to victories in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. and to a runner-up effort to Authentic (Into...

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 Saturday running at Tokyo and Hanshin Racecourses. Dual surface Group 1 winner Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) goes around in Saturday's G3 Musashino S. at headquarters, while at Hanshin, debut winner Super Wooper (Overanalyze) tries stakes company off a debut victory last month. Sunday's horses...

Authentic (Into Mischief) provided Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert with a fourth victory-all with 3-year-olds--in the $6-million GI Breeders' Cup Classic, leading throughout en route to a 2 1/4-length defeat of stablemate Improbable (City Zip) as the sun set in Saturday's main event at Keeneland. Ridden for speed by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, the GI Kentucky Derby hero and narrow GI Preakness S. runner-up led the Classic field under the wire for the first time, doing so with a minimum of fuss, and with stablemates Improbable and Maximum...

Trainer Dermot Weld, widely regarded as the pioneer of traveling horses, has accomplished most everything there is to accomplish in this business, winning the 1990 GI Belmont S. with Go and Go (Ire) (Be My Guest) and the G1 Melbourne Cup twice with Vintage Crop (Ire) (Rousillon, 1993) and Media Puzzle in 2002, to name just a few of his considerable achievements. The latter was a son of Theatrical (Ire), trained by Weld for Bert and Diana Firestone to a runner-up effort in the 1985 G1 Irish Derby before finishing...

Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) completed a sensational championship season in 2018 with a victory in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs. After a series of medical issues forced her to miss her entire 4-year-old season in 2019, the Eclipse winner proved to be better than ever in her return to action this year, capping a perfect 2020 campaign with another victory in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland Saturday. Monomoy Girl was hammered down to even-money favoritism in an event billed as a match race between the top...

Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) only drew into the race with the scratch of One Master (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and needed a back-up rider when Christophe Soumillon was sidelined by a positive COVID test, but the 3-year-old overcame it all to lead home a one-two-three finish for Coolmore and trainer Aidan O'Brien in the GI Fanduel Breeders' Cup Mile Saturday at Keeneland. Off as a 73-1 outsider with Pierre-Charles Boudot picking up the ride from Soumillon, Order of Australia was able to get down into the three path after...

French Group 1 winner Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) punctuated her U.S. debut with a well-earned victory over five-time Grade I scorer Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) in the Maker's Mark GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland Saturday afternoon. GI Woodbine Mile heroine Starship Jubilee (Indy Wind) stumbled at the start, dropping Florent Geroux as Cayenne Pepper (Ire) (Australia {GB}) raced out from her outside berth to set the pace with Mean Mary (Scat Daddy) and Rushing Fall in close pursuit. Approaching the half-mile pole, Audarya moved...

This has been a year of ups and downs and the unconventional for everyone and that includes the Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter), but he ended 2020 on a high note with a victory in the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Dominant in two starts this season, albeit eight months apart with a minor surgery in between, the $87,000 KEESEP buy was favored at 9-5 in this return to Grade I company. Seizing the early advantage, the gray was pressed along by GII Kelso H. winner...

Bearstone Stud's Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead) became the first European invader to win the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, weaving her way through traffic to score a late-charging victory at Keeneland Saturday. Sent off at 10-1, the bay filly settled well slightly behind midpack as longshot Into Mystic (Into Mischief) took the field through an opening quarter in :21.26 while prompted by Bombard (War Front) and Texas Wedge (Colonel John). She inched closer along the rail on the turn and cut the corner into the straight and she was...

One race after recording a landmark 5,000th career success, trainer Todd Pletcher sent out Shadwell Stable's regally bred 'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat (Curlin), who negotiated the jump into stakes company with aplomb in Friday's Tempted S. at Aqueduct. Away neatly from gate three, the daughter of Grade I-winning juvenile Dreaming of Julia set a moderate tempo inside of Spa Ready (Street Sense) on the speed three deep. Maintaining what appeared to be a tenuous advantage rounding the turn, the $1.05-million Keeneland September graduate responded when asked leaving the quarter pole...

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 Saturday, with all the US-bred and -sired activity confined to Tokyo Racecourse: Saturday, November 7, 2020 5th-TOK, ¥13,400,000 ($129k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1600m SCATTER SEED (JPN) (f, 2, Uncle Mo--Scatladybdancing, by Scat Daddy) is out of a stakes-placed full-sister to SW Ultima D that...