Iowa Derby

Graded winner Magnitude (Not This Time) prepped for Saturday's GI Travers Stakes with a half-mile breeze over the Oklahoma dirt training track Sunday morning. Clocked in :50.22 (31/49) while working through a blanket of fog, the Steve Asmussen charge has been training up to the feature race this weekend after producing a 9 1/4-length masterclass last out July 5 in the Listed Iowa Derby. The son of Not This Time missed the Triple Crown series with an ankle chip, but has been moving forwardly since his return to the races...

Like so many others, Acacia Clement's favorite meet is Saratoga. As part of the Saratoga broadcast team and the wife of trainer Miguel Clement, she has to work long hours and juggle a hectic schedule. Preparation is something she takes seriously. But Saratoga also means great racing in a beautiful and historic location, a lively nightlife and so much more. There's a lot to like about this place. Appearing on the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland as the Gainesway Guest of the Week, Clement said what she loves...

Magnitude did not disappoint the hopefuls as he took the Iowa Derby stylishly at Prairie Meadows on Saturday evening. Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack's story this week on the colt's return to the races post-surgery reported that trainer Steve Asmussen was "dreaming big" about the Winchell-owned runner's prospects. The reason had something to do with the stellar result from the GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in mid-February when the 3-year-old won by 9 3/4 lengths with a 108 Beyer to boot. Prior to that, Magnitude had broken...

Forced to miss the Triple Crown series after exiting his sensational GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star S. victory with an ankle chip, Magnitude (Not This Time) makes his highly anticipated return in Saturday evening's $250,000 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows. He is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. The Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer was a 9 3/4-length, front-running winner of the Risen Star at odds of 43-1 Feb. 15, good for a 108 Beyer Speed Figure. His final time of 1:48.85 was the fastest Risen Star in seven runnings (including one year with split...

6th-Fair Grounds, $53,000, Alw, 3-1, (NW1X), 4yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:42.23, ft, 10 1/2 lengths. JUST A TOUCH (c, 4, Justify--Touching Beauty {GSW, $183,166}, by Tapit) was training 'exceptionally well' ahead of a pending return to action, Qatar Racing U.S. advisor Fergus Galvin told TDN Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack on Feb. 21, and those words proved more than prescient, as the 4-year-old colt galloped his rivals into the ground, suggesting the sky is the limit in the handicap division for 2025. Ridden forward from gate three, the bay colt had...

The outside-drawn gelding whose change-of-plans entry made it a foursome in Saturday's GIII Dwyer S. at Aqueduct has quite a bit going for him despite being ranked as the longest shot at 4-1 on the morning line. The cleverly and elegantly named Save the Trees (by Preservationist out of the Forestry mare Canopy Lane) sports a 2-for-2 record, an adversity-overcoming, off-the-pace style, and a $335,000 auction price that was third-highest at Keeneland's Apr. 26 Horses of Racing Age (HORA) sale conducted after the final race of the spring meet. That's...

Beginning May 10 and continuing through Sept. 28, Prairie Meadows will feature 22 stakes totaling over $1.85 million. A total of 80 racing days will be highlighted by both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. The season begins with 20 days of Thoroughbred-only racing from May 10 - June 15 and continues with a mixed Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse schedule of 60 race days from June 16 - Sept. 28. "Overnight Thoroughbred purses have been increased approximately 5% across the board for the upcoming 2024 season," noted Quarter Horse Racing Secretary...

By Christie DeBernardis & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY--There was plenty of buzz at Newtown Paddocks Monday with a lively day of trade for Fasig-Tipton's July Breeding Stock and Horses of Racing Age Sales. The popular Horses of Racing Age Sale was back for its ninth straight year and there was plenty of demand for promising or accomplished runners. Stakes winner Front Run the Fed (Fed Biz) topped the auction, selling to George Sharp for $440,000 off a third-place finish in the GIII Poker S. The second highest-priced horses was recent...

Prairie Meadows will host 84 days of live racing during its 2021 meet following approval by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Thursday. Racing at the Altoona, IA oval will begin Friday, Apr. 30 with 26 days of Thoroughbreds only, followed by 58 days of mixed cards also featuring Quarter Horses until the conclusion of the meet on Sept. 25. Racing will be conducted on a Friday to Monday schedule, with first post times of 6:00 PM CDT on Fridays and Saturdays, and 4:00 PM CDT on Sundays and Mondays,...

The stewards at Prairie Meadows Monday disqualified the second-place finisher in the 2019 Iowa Derby. They ruled that a post-race positive test for the beta-blocker drug Atenolol was likely the result of "inadvertent exposure," yet because of mitigating factors that included the "extensive medication violation history" of trainer Steve Asmussen, the Hall-of-Fame conditioner would be fined $1,000. Atenolol slows the heart rate and decreases blood pressure when prescribed in humans for various cardiac ailments. The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) lists it as a Class 3, Penalty B substance...