Oaklawn

With Eclipse Award-winner Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), who will be heavily favored in Saturday's GII Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn, having won her 2026 debut in the GIII Bayakoa Stakes, D.J. Stable could well be on its way to another successful year. But not everything has gone right in 2026 for the Green family and its stable. Two of its most prominent horses--Sandman (Tapit) and Ewing (Knicks Go)--have been surprisingly disappointing in recent races. In hopes of getting them back on track, the stable will be sending both to Mark Casse's farm...

6th-OP, 110K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 4:04 p.m. QUITE BAFFLING (Gun Runner) impressed enough at OBS March last year, breezing a quarter in :21.1, to warrant a $750,000 final bid from Case Clay Thoroughbred Management on behalf of owner Wathnan Racing. Debuting around two turns, Quite Baffling is a daughter of the unraced Graydar mare Baffling, herself a half-sister to MGISW and successful sire Constitution (Tapit). Another half-sister, GSW Jacaranda (Congrats), has produced SW/GISP Be You (Curlin). The only first-time starter in the field is trained by Steve Asmussen...

When Nu What's New (Munnings) started his career last year a sixth-place finish in a maiden race at Churchill and followed that with a seventh-place run in a maiden on the turf, trainer James DiVito couldn't have been happy. He had paid $300,000 for the horse at the 2024 OBS April sale and Nu What's New just wasn't performing. Fast forward several months later and Nu What's New is among the most improved horses in racing, and has a shot to defeat the favorite in Saturday's Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn...

Gary and Mary West's Sticker Shock (Uncle Mo--Smokey's Love, by Forestry) made it two-for-two going a route of ground when winning at Oaklawn Thursday afternoon. Allowed to settle in a two-wide third as Copper Wind (Gun Runner) led the way through a :23.49 quarter, the 3-2 favorite, who was getting-first-time Lasix here, took closer order as the pacesetter kept up the tempo through a half-mile in :47.62. Starting to put the pressure on the leader as the round the far turn, the West homebred held a narrow advantage straightening for...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, registered outrider Sydney Fried has been suspended for 90 days and fined $2,500 for failing to give investigators access to her personal bag during a routine barn search for fear, she argued, about the ramifications from marijuana possession. According to an...

5 - BLACKSMITH, SA, 2/20-3rd, 1 mile (video) Beyer Speed Figure-82 (c, 3, by Liam's Map--Sweet Achiever, by Curlin) O-Wathnan Racing. B-Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings & St Elias Stables (Ky). T-Bob Baffert. J-Florent Geroux. Distance has always been important for Blacksmith given his pedigree, and he was striding out nicely in this decisive 3 3/4-length score to make amends for a puzzling flop at odds-on six weeks ago. His unraced Curlin dam is a full-sister to former Baffert speed demon Cezanne, but her granddam happens to be Better Than...

Five different tracks produced our fastest maidens this week, and the list includes nothing but winners - no runners-up. 5. CREED'S VISION, TAM, 2/14-2nd, 6 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-89 (g, 4, by Jimmy Creed--Moon Vision, by Pollard's Vision) O-West Point Thoroughbreds, Michael P. Lyden and CJ Stables. B-Country Life Farm and Moon Vision Broodmare (Md). T-Arnaud Delacour. J-Charlie Marquez. West Point could have another solid Maryland-bred on its hands. Jaxon Traveler was recently retired after a remarkable run of sprint stakes wins every year from age 2 to 7,...

Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) worked five furlongs in 1:00 (1/62) Saturday morning for dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, who is pointing the millionaire Grade I winner for the $1.25 million GI Apple Blossom Handicap for older fillies and mares April 11 at Oaklawn. "The track's pretty deep right now," assistant trainer Caden Arthur, who oversees Casse's Oaklawn division, said Sunday afternoon. "I mean, not a lot of water, trying not to let it freeze. She moved over it phenomenally. Went a minute flat and did it cruising. Glad she...

5. LONESOME ROAD, LRL, 12/26-7th, 6 furlongs (video) Beyer Speed Figure- 93 (g, 3, by Maclean's Music-Walk of Stars, by Street Sense) O-Estate of R Larry Johnson. B-R Larry Johnson (Va). T-Michael Trombetta. J-Mychel Sanchez. The now-4-year-old gelding took a massive leap forward when Trombetta shifted him from grass to dirt, scoring by a widening 8 1/2 lengths as the latest success from the breeding program of late Maryland-based owner/breeder Larry Johnson. Lonesome Road traces back four generations to Johnson's foundation mare Ran's Chick through her daughter Special Kell--the same...

'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' D'code (Speightstown) will look to stretch out to two turns as he targets the GIII Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Jan. 31, his connections told track media Saturday. The 2-year-old dazzled in his six-furlong debut Dec. 13, putting up a final time of 1:09.57, the fastest time for the distance in Oaklawn history for a 2-year-old. The 99 Beyer Speed Figure was the second-highest of his generation this year behind only fellow 'Rising Star' Brant's (Gun Runner) 101 at Del Mar in July. "It was...

What will racing look like in 10 years? We asked some of racing's best and brightest to give us their predictions. Want to submit an answer? Email suefinley@thetdn.com MATT SCULL, FOUNDER, PRESIDENT OF FIRST RODEO RACING The care for the horse comes before all. A greater emphasis is now placed on the competition rather than the business of breeding and sales. The wrinkles in HISA have been ironed out and it has allowed the proper framework for all states/track operators to pull the rope in the same direction, rather than...

4th-OP, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 2:55 p.m. ET Mactak (Maclean's Music), produced by a stakes-winning daughter of MGISW Lady Tak (Mutakddim), has been working bullets ahead of his debut for L. William and Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm, Whispering Oaks Farm and Coteau Grove Farms and trainer Steve Asmussen. The $625,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase is the 3-1 program favorite. The field of 12 also includes $775,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic graduate D'code (Speightstown), who debuts for Tom R. Durant and trainer H. Ray Ashford, Jr. TJCIS PPs