In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...
The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...
Churchill Downs's spring meeting will be headlined by 50 stakes races cumulatively worth a record $27.8-million with 22 of those black-type contests being run Kentucky Derby weekend with purses set at a record $19.1-million, the track announced Monday morning. Set to run Apr. 25 to June 28, the crown jewels of those 44 race dates will naturally be the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks, the latter of which will run under the lights in prime time for the first time on the NBC broadcast. Kentucky Derby Week (Apr....
Paladin (Gun Runner), most recently winner of the GII Risen Star Stakes, and GII Fountain of Youth Stakes runner-up Chief Wallabee (Constitution) were 8-1 co-favorites when the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 5 closed Sunday evening. The Chad Brown-trained Paladin, who runs next in the Apr. 4 GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, had $25,772 in Win bets, while the Bill Mott-trained Chief Wallabee, scheduled to make his next start in the Feb. 28 GI Curlin Florida Derby, handled $24,790--a difference of just $982. Next in the wagering was...
Mark Casse has mapped out next-race plans for a trio of his 3-year-old fillies. Counting Stars (Honor A. P.) and Search Party (Gun Runner), second and fourth in the GIII Honeybee S. Mar. 1, are headed to the $1-million GII Fantasy S. Mar. 27 at Oaklawn. Unbeaten Dixie Belle S. winner French Friction (City of Light), meanwhile, will stretch to two turns for the first time in the $750,000 GI Ashland S. Apr. 3 at Keeneland. Both races are 1 1/16 miles. "That was definitely one of the bright spots...
Live racing has been canceled at Laurel Park for this coming Saturday, Mar. 14 due to insufficient entries, the track announced Monday morning. With the impending meeting at Colonial Downs set to kick off Thursday, Mar. 12, and two Points races for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 14 at that venue, Laurel Park will move all originally scheduled races for Saturday to Sunday, Mar. 15 as overnight extras. There will be live racing Friday, Mar. 13 with an eight-race program with first post at 12:00pm...
By any measure, Steve and Denise Smith's Mesingw Farm, which celebrated just its fifth anniversary in December, had a banner year in 2025. From the sales ring, where the operation sold its first seven-figure yearling, to the racetrack where it had a graded-stakes placed juvenile at Saratoga in August and a Breeders' Cup starter in November, Mesingw was hitting on all cylinders. The momentum has carried into the new year with the Mesingw-bred Explora (Blame) a leading choice for the GI Kentucky Oaks following her win in the GIII Honeybee...
The biggest move made in this week's poll was the jump made by Explora (Blame) after her game win in the GIII Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn. She jumped from seventh to third. The latest list also includes She Be Smooth (Lexitonian), who lands at No. 4 after her impressive win in the GII Davona Dale Stakes. It will be a quiet weekend for the 3-year-old filly division, but they will run the rescheduled GIII Santa Ysabel Stakes Sunday at Santa Anita. All eyes will be on last year's 2-year-old filly...
Brereton C. Jones’s GI Kentucy Oaks victress Lovely Maria (Majesticperfection) makes her highly anticipated return from a brief freshening in Saturday’s GIII Delaware Oaks. Her conditioner, Larry Jones, seeks his second win in this event, having scored the first with 2008 Kentucky Oaks winner and fellow Brereton Jones homebred Proud Spell (Proud Citizen), who was named champion sophomore filly that year after also taking the GI Alabama S. Lovely Maria has done little wrong in her eight-race career and seems to be improving with each start. Kicking off her sophomore...