journalism

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 222 selected yearlings for the 104th Saratoga Sale, to be held on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 4 and 5, in Saratoga Springs, New York, it was announced Wednesday morning. Sessions will begin each evening at 6:30 pm in the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion. "We have assembled another outstanding group of yearlings for Saratoga, the type of quality that buyers expect to find at the number one ranked yearling sale by percentage of Grade I winners," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. The Saratoga Sale is once again...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - And now for the main event. With nine days of racing already in the books--a proper warmup by any measure, topped by the GI Belmont Stakes--the 157th season of racing at Saratoga begins Thursday with a 10-race program. It is the earliest-possible start in the calendar-driven schedule for the 40-day season that closes on Labor Day Sept. 1. With one exception in 1982, in the 45 years after racing resumed at Saratoga in 1946 following World War II, Saratoga was what eventually came to be known...

Aron Wellman, who heads the Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners syndicate which is a co-owner of GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin), said his colt will run next in the July 19 GI Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. "If all goes well this coming weekend and he works to (trainer) Michael McCarthy's satisfaction and comes out of his work with good energy, the Haskell is Option A," Wellman said. "What are options B and C? I haven't thought beyond that. The Haskell is our target. If we find any reason for him...

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Next Wednesday, 2024 Horse of the Year & 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) is expected to be in Saratoga. Trainer Kenny McPeek said she will ship to the Spa from Kentucky along with Mystik Dan (Goldencents), last year's GI Kentucky Derby winner. Thorpedo Anna is coming off a three-length win in the GII, $500,000 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs last Saturday. "She is fine, she is like a rocket ship," McPeek said by phone from Kentucky Thursday. "She loves her work; she loves...

Godolphin star Sovereignty (Into Mischief) has moved up the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR) to sit in a joint fourth at 125, after the latest round of rankings were released on Thursday. Now the highest rated 3-year-old in the world, the colt achieved the distinction when he wrapped up the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga last weekend, which capped an impressive Triple Crown run to go along with his GI Kentucky Derby score. Sovereignty shares the mark with Danon Decile (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), who was last seen taking home...

First and foremost, let's salute Journalism (Curlin) and his connections for confirming that only feebleness in horsemen, not horses, menaces the Triple Crown schedule. In last weekend replicating his Churchill challenge to crop leader Sovereignty (Into Mischief), moreover actually moving up his numbers, the only horse to contest all three legs demonstrated precisely the prowess that breeders have long sought from this series. That deserves to be remembered once Journalism goes to stud. Obviously, the GI Belmont Stakes is not asking quite so exacting a question just now. By the...

The 2025 Triple Crown season delivered something even more elusive than a sweep of the series by a single horse--a legitimately intriguing rivalry between two talented colts that could end up on par with the likes of Affirmed vs. Alydar or Sunday Silence vs. Easy Goer. The afterglow of the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga includes plenty of anticipation and speculation about when one-two finishers Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and Journalism (Curlin) might meet again. In the meantime, here are seven takeaways from Saturday's card at the Spa. 1) The Preakness...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- The party was just getting started in the cramped winner's circle at Saratoga Race Course. It almost seemed like half of the 46,243 that came out to Saratoga to watch the GI Belmont Stakes were in there. Well, let's not get carried away. But it was jammed, and everyone was singing the praises of Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the Most Valuable Player in the second annual Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga. Even those who were vanquished by Sovereignty had to give a congratulatory nod to the Godolphin-owned,...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There's absolutely no doubt who the ruler of the 3-year-old division is now. Just like he did in the GI Kentucky Derby, Godolphin homebred Sovereignty (Into Mischief) collared Journalism (Curlin) in the stretch, and powered on by to capture the 157th running of the GI Belmont Stakes with authority. It was the same first three finishers across the line on the first Saturday in May with the blue-blooded Baeza (McKinzie) up for third once again. The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was held at Saratoga Race Course...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--As soon as Sovereignty (Into Mischief) crossed the finish line first in the GI Kentucky Derby, life changed for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. When you have the horse that wins the most famous race in America, the barn has a superstar in it. "The Derby winner is always held in high regard," Mott said outside of his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track. "There are always a lot of people who want to see him. They want to see him train, the want to see him...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There may not be a better person to talk to about the highly anticipated rematch between GI Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) in Saturday's GI Belmont Stakes than longtime Bridlewood Farm General Manager George Isaacs. Founded in 1976 by Arthur and Martha Appleton and currently owned by John and Leslie Malone, Bridlewood Farm (their legendary red-and-white silks were worn by Umberto Rispoli for that heart-stopping second leg of Triple Crown) campaigns Journalism in partnership with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners,...

The field for the GI Belmont Stakes, ranked in "likeliest winner" order. 1) JOURNALISM (c, Curlin--Mopotism, by Uncle Mo) O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. Sales history: $825,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 7-5-1-1, $2,838,880. Last start: WON May 17 GI Preakness Stakes. For most handicappers, the decision to bet on or against Journalism will come down to whether you think he's still riding an upward...