Horse Racing

Making his graded stakes debut and looking to give trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux a sweep of the evening's two graded races, Godolphin's Shared Sense (Street Sense) got a cozy inside trip, tipped out four wide into the stretch and outfinished an unlucky Major Fed (Ghostzapper) to win the GIII Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand. Last but one early, with only Major Fed behind, Shared Sense took the inside route down the backstretch and made two-path progress into the second turn. Major Fed, consigned to a wide run...

Dismissed at longshot odds after drawing in from the also-eligible list, Libertyrun (Runhappy) sprinted clear in the final furlong to get his sire (by Super Saver) off the mark in Wednesday's fourth race at Indiana Grand. Debuting in the colors of owner/breeder Jim McIngvale as a 23-1 gamble, the Louisiana-bred jumped well and put himself right into the mix, settling about four off the inside and just off the pace into the turn. Between rivals on the bend, Libertyrun was confidently handled by Miguel Mena, responded when set down in...

Tiz the Law (Constitution) continued his preparations for the $1-million GI Runhappy Travers S. Wednesday morning, working five furlongs in a solid 1:01.10 over a Belmont main track labeled as fast. It was the New York-bred's second breeze since winning the GI Belmont S. June 20. He went a maintenance half-mile in :50.06 July 1. "He looked perfect," trainer Barclay Tagg said. "He's got a lot of energy. He wouldn't blow out a candle." Tiz the Law is perfect in three starts this season, having won the GIII Holy Bull...

The bettors had it right--well, in a sense. They pounded the previously undefeated Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) into 1-10 favoritism for Wednesday's Japan Dirt Derby, but Danon Pharaoh (Jpn) (American Pharoah) had other ideas, as he put away pacesetting Daimei Corrida (Jpn) (Eskendereya) in the final 150 meters en route to a 1 3/4-length success. Kitano Octopus (Jpn) (Fenomeno {Jpn}) rounded out a longshot trifecta that returned better than 7,700-1. The victory was worth 40 points on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Daimei Corrida jumped alertly from his...

The road to filling the financial potholes in California's self-insured workers' compensation program has been a rocky one indeed. But is a proposed workers safety program--part of a package of possible fixes to the workers' comp problems the California industry faces, and one that experts say would be unique within the industry--something that other jurisdictions might learn from, especially as the issue remains at the top of many trainers' hit-list of occupational headaches? To find out, I spoke with John Unick, one of the racing industry's foremost workers' comp experts....

According to figures supplied by Equibase, total wagering on U.S. races rose slightly in June, a welcome development after handle plummeted in March, April and May, the months when racing was most impacted by the coronavirus. A total of $998,448,300 was bet during the month, a 0.76% increase over 2019 numbers. Handle was off by 30.16& percent in May, 24.42% in April and 22.8% in March. The improved handle numbers were the result of more racetracks opening up, albeit most without fans allowed in the stands. The number of races...

Finnick the Fierce (Dialed In) and Man in the Can (Can the Man) were the recipients of Saturday morning bullets at Keeneland as each wrapped up their serious work ahead of next Saturday's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in Lexington. The one-eyed Finnick the Fierce drilled a half-mile in :46.20, the fastest of 90 works at the distance Saturday morning. The gelding, an adjudicated allowance winner at Oaklawn Apr. 4, was a sound third to the now-retired Nadal (Blame) in the GI Arkansas Derby May 2. He exits a third...

Shivaree (Awesome of Course), who belied odds of 80-1 to complete the exacta behind future GI Belmont S. hero Tiz the Law (Constitution) in the GI Curlin Florida Derby Mar. 28, worked five furlongs in 1:01.65 Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park in advance of the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland July 11. A homebred for Fred Brei's Jacks Or Better Farm, Shivaree required five starts to break his maiden, but has since proved he belongs in the 3-year-old discussion with a pair of stakes scores prior to his...

Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) breezed a half-mile in company in an easy :49.30 over the Belmont main track Saturday morning as she completed her preparations for the July 11 GII Ruffian S. at Big Sandy. Partnered with Javier Castellano, the 5-year-old worked in the company of her multiple stakes-winning stablemate A Bit of Both (Paynter) and was timed in splits of :12.30 and :24.40 before galloping out five-eighths of a mile in 1:02.10. "Today it was a very...

Is it even possible to be inclusive in an exclusive game? Kudos to Sue Finley and this publication for its series on diversity and inclusion, featuring several notable individuals who've made poignant cases for the benefits of opening racing's upper-echelon doors to Black people, people of color, women and other marginalized groups. However, the ways in which racing has been drifting are going to make this difficult. Money is power, and if you take away the participation of wealthy foreign stakeholders--South Americans, Europeans, and Middle Easterners--racing in this country is...

StableDuel, a racing fantasy game, officially launches Friday, July 3, with daily paid entry contests. Contestants can begin setting up their stables immediately in preparation. Featuring an interactive platform that provides players a feeling of virtual ownership, StableDuel contests require contestants to select a stable of horses from a specific race card within the confines of a salary cap. Horses are assigned a price (or salary) based on their morning-line odds. Players earn points when their horse finishes in the top five places, based on the order of finish and...

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 a couple of horses of interest for this weekend running at Fukushima and Hakodate Racecourses: Sunday, July 5, 2020 3rd-HAK, ¥9,680,000 ($90k), Maiden, 3yo, 1000m ALPHA ZIP (f, 3, City Zip--Alpha Centauri, by Dynaformer) failed to land a blow in four tries from seven furlongs to a mile to...