Horse Racing

Arkansas lumberman John Ed Anthony reached 300 career wins at Oaklawn Park when favored Brunia (Tekton) broke her maiden in the 10th and final race on Friday's 2025-2026 opening day card, a press release from the track said on Saturday. Brunia, an Arkansas homebred for Anthony's Shortleaf Stable, is trained by Lindsay Schultz. Anthony, 86, reached 299 career Oaklawn victories last March when 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Quietside (Malibu Moon) captured the GII Fantasy Stakes. The Fantasy was also Anthony's record 40th career Oaklawn stakes victory. The late...

Turfway Park Racing & Gaming has moved Saturday's full Synthetic Championships program to Sunday, Dec. 21, due to extreme cold temperatures and accumulating snow forecasted for the Florence area, a press release from the track on Saturday morning said. The National Weather Service is calling for 3-7 inches of snow throughout the day and evening, with temperatures expected to fall into the single digits and wind chill values approaching minus 9 degrees overnight. The Sunday, Dec. 21 program will feature the complete $1-million Synthetic Championships, including the $250,000 Prairie Bayou,...

Toaster (McKinzie) firmed into even-money favoritism at the off, took command of what appeared to be a wide-open race in upper stretch and kept on nicely to graduate at first asking Friday at Los Alamitos. Drawn one from the outside, the $247,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling turned $525,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic breezer showed enough early toe to track the pace from well off the inside beneath Juan Hernandez. Allowed to stride into the lead approaching the long straight, Toaster was asked for her best five away from the fence leaving the quarter...

The Thoroughbred transcends borders, oceans, entire cultures. To do so literally, of course, it will need a little help: ideally, nowadays, a plane. And that's where Andrea Branchini's day job comes in, as a shipping clerk with the transport firm Mersant International. But this is a man himself without frontiers. Branchini has lived and worked in five different countries, and traveled widely in between, constantly absorbing what makes one society different from another, and what brings them together. Few fields of interest, Branchini has observed, achieve the latter quite like...

The lone first-starter in a field of seven, Authentic Cat (Authentic) loaded as the 63-10 fourth choice in the wagering in the season opener at Oaklawn Park and was off to an uneventful beginning before settling in clear air in fifth as the top four were reasonably well-grouped up ahead. Patiently handled through the middle furlongs by Manny Esquivel, the gray filly made inside progress on the turn and into the stretch, came out to challenge in the two path in upper stretch and finished powerfully to graduate by 5...

Echo Town (by Speightstown), the winner of the GI H. Allen Jerkens, was purchased by Tyree Wolesensky and has relocated to her Leadem Farm in Arkansas for the 2026 breeding season, according to a release from Vinery Sales on Friday. Brokered by Vinery's Jay Goodwin, Echo Town has arrived in Arkansas and is ready for inspection. He will stand the 2026 season for $3,500. "Just really excited for Arkansas breeders to have a Grade I-winning sprinter with that pedigree, who has already proven the ability to sire precocious graded stakes...

Hong Kong is the December place to be for world-class horseracing and Sunday's Longines Hong Kong International Races--offering some HK$130 million (£12.5 million/US$16.7 million) across four races--has once again attracted a veritable who's who from a variety of racing jurisdictions. In a real racing rarity, each of the winners from last year's meeting returns to Sha Tin and each has realistic chances to repeat the dose. Indeed, it would be a complete shock if two of the four--Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) and Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress)--fail to deliver in the HK$40-million...

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 Nakayama Racecourse: Saturday, December 13, 2025 6th-NKY, ¥14,250,000 ($92k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m HO O PHAROAH (JPN) (c, 2, American Pharoah--Marlborough Road {Ire}, by The Gurkha {Ire}) is the first foal from his dam, a half-sister to 2006 GI Garden...

The connections of the half-dozen European raiders among a field of 11 for Sunday's HK$26-million Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400m) will have been mostly pleased with the outcome of the barrier draw, which was held in the state-of-the-art parade ring at Sha Tin Racecourse Thursday morning. Resolute Racing and Baron Philip Von Ullman's Goliath (Adlerflug) makes a second trip across to Hong Kong in the space of eight months, having finished a disappointing ninth to Tastiera (Jpn) (Satono Crown {Jpn}) at a fairly short price in the G1 FWD QE...

7th-OP, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 4:22 p.m. ET. Set for her unveiling is SANGARETTE (Charlatan), a 2-year-old who was purchased for $500,000 by Tom Durant during the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale last year and sent to trainer Ray Ashford. The filly's dam, GISP Sweet Shirley Mae (Broken Vow), produced SW Mae Never No (Ire) (No Nay Never). Sangarette's extended female family includes GSW Chaos Theory (Curlin). Also making the starting gate on opening day of the Oaklawn meet is Don Alberto homebred Eagle Dance (Audible). Trained by Brad Cox,...

Al and Bill Ulwelling's Mansetti (Collected), upset winner of this year's C$1-million King's Plate at Woodbine, is one of 42 horses that have been added to the upcoming Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale in Lexington Jan. 12 and 13, 2026, the auction house said in a release Thursday. Consigned by Four Star Sales, agent, as a racing or stallion prospect, the Ontario-bred colt--a $40,000 OBS April grad--also took out this year's GIII Marine Stakes and showed his versatility when just run down in the Sept. 9 Prince of...

In this series, we will have a look predominantly at American-bred first-time juvenile starters (through the end of 2025) and debuting 3-year-olds in maiden races at Meydan Racecourse, with a specific focus on pedigree and/or performance in a sales ring. The flagship venue for racing in the United Arab Emirates is Meydan Racecourse, which will host racing on Fridays through the end of March, with the exception of Super Saturday on Feb. 28 and Dubai World Cup night Mar. 28, 2026. Here are the horses of note for this Friday's...