Horse Racing

1st-CD, $141K, OC100k/C, 3yo/up, 1m, 5:00 p.m. ET. DRAGOON GUARD (Arrogate) turned in a strong 2024 campaign as the gray broke his maiden second out by 3 3/4 lengths at Keeneland in April then cleared an optional claimer at Churchill Downs in early June. The colt captured both the GIII Indiana Derby in July and the GIII West Virginia Derby in August before running third to Seize the Grey (Arrogate) in the GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx to close out his season in September. Back on the work tab at...

Neil Pessin, who trained the late Bob Lothenbach's Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) to a victory in the GI Derby City Distaff in its COVID-delayed renewal in 2020, is leaving the training ranks effective immediately. The affable conditioner's final starter was Finn McSorley (English Channel), who finished eighth in a Keeneland maiden special weight on the grass Apr. 25. "I'd like to keep training, but financially it's very tough and I was down to two maiden turf horses, one maiden claimer, and it's just not financially feasible to keep going," Pessin...

GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) departed the Pimlico backstretch Monday morning on a van bound for Saratoga, where he will train towards a possible appearance in the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, the GI Belmont Stakes over a mile and a quarter on Saturday, June 7. Trainer Michael McCarthy revealed the news when a guest on At The Races With Steve Byk on satellite radio Monday morning. One day after winning the Preakness in breathtaking style, part-owner Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and McCarthy indicated...

Horse racing frequently talks about the importance of fan building, ownership development and growing our workforce. But imagine if the leading organizations in Thoroughbred racing truly joined forces to invest in tomorrow's fans, workforce, and owners. That's exactly what the golf industry did in 1997. The USGA, LPGA, Masters Tournament, PGA of America, and PGA TOUR collaborated to launch First Tee, a youth development non-profit with a mission to make golf accessible and affordable for all children. The USGA alone committed $3 million in the program's first three years--an amount...

To adapt Shakespeare on Cleopatra: "age cannot wither him, nor custom stale his infinite variety." To be enjoying an Indian summer like this, however, Medaglia d'Oro has had to stem what often proves an inexorable tide once a stallion enters the evening of his career. For the ageism so common among breeders can be self-fulfilling. Any stallion still operating at 26 must have shown an unequivocal prowess over the years. That being so, however, he will typically have produced fashionable sons to erode his own market share. And once enough...

It may've started slow, but Firenze Flavor (Liam's Map) was flying late to contribute her part toward a thrilling finish in the GIII Honeymoon Stakes at Santa Anita, pulling a 7-1 upset in the process. Last seen Apr. 25 when she defeated optional claiming company over this turf course, the Patrick Gallagher charge had broken her maiden Jan. 20 by three-quarters of a length, but ran a flat seventh in between her two victories Feb. 21. in her first attempt at beating the optional claiming condition. In no rush after...

Baltimore, MD-Two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby, Journalism (Curlin) endured a difficult trip and had to settle for second behind Sovereignty (Into Mischief). The colt's connections--Eclipse Thoroughbreds, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Bob LaPenta, Elayne Stables, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith and trainer Michael McCarthy--waited for more than a week to make the decision to pull the trigger on a start in the GI Preakness Stakes. Heading down the Pimlico stretch Saturday evening, it appeared that the GI Santa Anita Derby winner and jockey Umberto Risploi...

Debuted earlier this season at Gulfstream to be a troubled fourth, the well-related Crudo really put his best foot forward at second asking when wiring a maiden special weight at Keeneland by 7 1/4 lengths Apr. 19. Triple Crown nominated for trainer Todd Pletcher, the son of Justify opted for this restricted spot on Preakness Day in Baltimore for his two-turn debut and showed much the same talent from a month ago. The rail-drawn 7-2 second choice jumped clear to the lead but had quick early pressure from race favorite...

Drawn widest in a field of 11 for Saturday's Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico, Retribution found another gear in the final 150 yards to become the 11th first-crop stakes winners (from 120 starters entering Saturday's action) for champion 2024 freshman sire Vekoma. One of the first to break the line, the $87,000 Keeneland September acquisition was a forward factor early on, then retreated to sit just ahead of midfield as favored One Nine Hundred (Dialed In) blazed an opening quarter in :22.86. Advancing three or four off the inside around the...

Following severe weather Friday evening in Timonium, Maryland, Fasig-Tipton has adjusted the format of Sunday's final session of its Midlantic May Two-Year-Olds in Training under tack show as all horses will now gallop only and there will be no timed breezes, the auction company said in a press release Saturday. "The severe thunderstorms that moved through here last night dropped torrential rains in a very short amount of time," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "In light of these conditions, we feel that the responsible course of action is for horses...

Godolphin's GI Kentucky Derby-winning homebred Sovereignty (Into Mischief) returned to the work tab Saturday at Saratoga Race Course, breezing a solo half-mile over the Oklahoma dirt training track for trainer Bill Mott in preparation for the GI Belmont Stakes next month. Guided through the work by Eclipse Award-winner Neil Poznansky, Sovereignty stretched his legs with a gallop around most of the oval first before assuming position on the backside to break off into his work and post splits of :12.88 seconds, :25.02 and the half-mile in :49.76. He galloped out...

Towering over this competition on paper, 'TDN Rising Star' Booth dutifully got the job done with a one-length score over Epic Ride in Saturday's GIII Maryland Sprint Stakes. Breaking like a shot, the 4-5 choice was fortunate to get the jump on neighboring Concrete Glory (Bodemeister), who hesitated at the start and never got going as his six rivals raced down the backstretch. Narrowly ahead of a tightly-bunched trio, which headed by 3-2 second choice Epic Ride through an opening quarter in :23.30, the Steve Asmussen trainee was moving under...