Horse Racing

Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm's $1-million Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) provided Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert with his 3,000th career victory--and eighth in this race--with a gutsy effort in Saturday's GIII Robert B. Lewis S. at Santa Anita. A debut winner sprinting here Oct. 26, he was last seen besting GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Anneau d'Or (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 7 and was pounded down to 3-5 to remain unbeaten. Breaking in slightly, the bay was unhurried early by Flavien...

While it briefly looked like he was finding similar traffic trouble to what he faced when a disappointing third in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Nov. 30, last year's leading juvenile colt Tiz the Law (Constitution) kicked off his sophomore season Saturday with an impressive tally in Gulfstream's GIII Holy Bull S. Drifting up to 6-5 at the off as well-connected Toledo (Into Mischief) took late action, the blaze-faced bay broke like a shot but rider Manny Franco took a hard hold of him to concede the early advantage...

Taraz earned the 'TDN Rising Star' moniker after romping by 7 1/2 lengths in her Churchill Downs unveiling Nov. 14 and made good on that initial promise with an 11 1/4-length tour de force in the Letellier Memorial S. in the slop at the Fair Grounds Dec. 21. Heavily favored to continue her hot streak in this sophomore bow, the Juddmonte homebred went straight to the front, cruising through early splits of :23.44 and :47.50. Still just cantering along as she turned for home in front, Taraz sauntered home to...

Max Player went from maiden winner to graded winner by outstaying his competition in Saturday's GIII Withers S. His victory was both the first black-type and graded for sire Honor Code (A.P. Indy), whose Lane's End barn mate Tonalist was also represented by his first graded winner Saturday in the form of GIII Forward Gal S. romper Tonalist's Shape. Awkward early but flying home late when second on debut going a mile at Parx Nov. 12, Max Player broke through in the slop by 4 1/4 lengths back in Bensalem...

2nd-Santa Anita, $55,000, Msw, 2-1, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:25.48, ft. CLIVETTY (f, 3, Into Mischief--Rosemonde, by Indian Charlie) brought $375,000 as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and RNA'd for $400,000 at OBS the following March, but returned to the Ocala auction ring in June, topping the sale at $900,000 after breezing in a snappy :20 4/5. Sent off at 5-1 in this career bow, the hulking bay filly was off a half-step slow and trailed the quintet as Eyes Open (Street Sense) clocked early splits of :22.37 and...

Tonalist's Shape kept her unbeaten record intact and trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.'s hot streak going while becoming her sire (by Tapit)'s first graded winner. The chestnut belied 19-1 odds to take her Sept. 28 unveiling here while in the barn of trainer Juan Avila and carrying the colors of Sabana Racing Stable Corp. The phone started to ring after that, and she resurfaced with her current connections to take a Gulfstream Park West optional claimer by daylight Oct. 20. Tonalist's Shape aired by nine lengths and earned a strong 89...

Chiefswood Stable homebred Edge of Fire (Curlin) was crunched into 17-10 favoritism off a morning line nearly three times that and the money proved smart indeed, as the chestnut wheeled off heels passing the midstretch marker and went on to a deceptively easy two-length debut score and 'TDN Rising Star' honors in the process. Away fairly, but given a busy ride by Jose Ortiz, Edge of Fire--who blew out three furlongs in a bullet :35 1/5 Jan. 28--was rousted along and responded to sit just behind the leading trio while...

Jay Ingle, an attorney with the Lexington, Kentucky-based law firm Jackson Kelly PLLC, released a statement on behalf of owner Ahmed Zayat Saturday morning addressing the complaint filed by trainer Mike Maker in Jefferson County Court this past Thursday seeking better than $120,000 in alleged unpaid training bills. "This lawsuit from Mike Maker is absurd," the statement read. "Ahmed Zayat made all payments required under his prior settlement with Mr. Maker until MGG seized control of Zayat Stables' bank account last month. It is outrageous for Mr. Maker to cry...

When condition book three for the Santa Anita winter/spring meet came online Jan. 29, conspicuously absent were any races for Thursday, Feb. 6. Track officials confirmed Friday that racing has in fact been canceled for that afternoon, meaning there will be no live Thursday programs until Feb. 27. In January it was announced that the track would be dark Feb. 13 and 20. There is holiday racing scheduled for Monday, Feb. 17. The California horse population has been on the decline for some time and the local product has faced...

Tired of all the bad news? So were we. So, in our new series, we focus on the positive, asking people from non-horse racing families two questions: how they get hooked, and how they'll hook someone else on horse racing this year. MIKE REPOLE What was the experience that made you fall in love with horse racing? Growing up in Queens, I would cut out of high school early to spend the day at "the beautiful Aqueduct Racetrack" to place a $2 bet and watch these amazing Thoroughbreds compete at...

Officials at Lone Star Park have announced the track's richest stakes schedule in a decade, topped by the inaugural running of the $300,000 Texas Derby (May 25) and the state's only graded race, the $300,000 GIII Steve Sexton Mile (Apr. 26). In total, Lone Star will play host to a dozen added-money events worth a combined $1.425 million, up $300,000 from 2019 and richest since 2011. Minor stakes races that previously offered $50,000 in purse money have all increased by 50% to $75,000 for 2020. "We are super excited about...

by Andrea Branchini BACCHANALIA (f, 4, Union Rags--Crazy Party, by A.P. Indy) Gulfstream Park, 1-30, Alw., 1 3/16mT, 1:52.74. B-Baumann Stables (KY). VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. Bacchanalia, a daughter of Crazy Party, is a 4-year-old filly and is cleverly named. According to Wikipedia "The Bacchanalia were Roman festivals of Bacchus, the Greco-Roman god of wine, freedom, intoxication and ecstasy. They were based on the Greek Dionysia and the Dionysian mysteries, and probably arrived in Rome c. 200 BC via the Greek colonies in southern Italy, and from Etruria, Rome's northern...