Omaha Beach

Facing a field where nearly the entire group was making just their second career start, Kingsolver stepped up to break her maiden in style with a two-length win in the Schuylerville Stakes Friday. Fifth on debut at Churchill Downs going just a half-furlong shorter June 11, the $95,000 OBS March grad arguably outran her odds that day when beaten just 2 3/4 lengths while posting a 68 Beyer Speed Figure. Drawn just off the rail, Friday's 3-1 shot was keen to go and briefly held the top spot through the...

In the Hanshin Stakes at Churchill Downs on Sunday, Will Take It (Tapit) was up in the nick of time to take the race for owners Willis Horton and Mandy Pope. Since coming over from the care of trainer Eddie Milligan, Will Take It has become a mark of consistency. His 2025 campaign has included clearing an allowance condition at Fair Grounds Jan. 4 and a runner-up finish against optional claimers in New Orleans Feb. 1. The colt then won at that level next out at the track Mar. 8...

Trainer Bob Baffert earned his ninth consecutive Los Alamitos Derby Saturday when favored Nevada Beach led in stablemate Varney to top an exacta for the Hall of Famer. In a field scratched down to just four (Baffert had a third entrant in Tiz Secure {Maximum Security}), it was clear the money was on the less experienced of the stablemates with Nevada Beach having broken his maiden Apr. 19 before running second to Gaming (Game Winner) in the Affirmed Stakes June 8. Drawn just to inside, Varney was making start five,...

2nd-Santa Anita, $58,800, Msw, 6-13, 2yo, 5f, :57.35, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. DESERT GATE (c, 2, Omaha Beach--Theogony {SW-Can, SW & MGSP-USA, $404,544}, by Curlin), who was facing three others for this debut, tracked pacesetter Acknowledgemeplz (Bucchero) up the backstretch. Moving rather effortlessly to the outside, the colt collared his rival around the far turn as the pair separated themselves from the other two entries. Desert Gate suddenly hit the accelerator entering the lane and powered away nicely to graduate by 2 1/4 lengths. The winner's dam is responsible for...

1st-Churchill Downs, $131,055, Alw (C), Opt. Clm ($100,000), 5-22, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:34.09, ft, 1/2 length. WILL TAKE IT (c, 4, Tapit--Lady Take Charge, by War Front) was the third fiddle from a pari-mutuel perspective, but was the recipient of a cerebral ride from Brian Hernandez, Jr. to spoil the return to action of dual Grade III winner and heavily favored Dragoon Guard (Arrogate). Off at odds just under 7-1, the $700,000 Keeneland September graduate was content to sit fifth down the back in the slipstream of Juddmonte's gray colt as...

6th-CD, $127k, Aoc, 3yo/up, f, 1 1/8mT, 8:30p.m. ET Sold for a price befitting royalty on the back of a 3-year-old season where she was Group 1-placed in Germany, SPANISH EYES (GER) (Zarak {Fr}) will debut here under the lights at Churchill Downs for her new connections. Purchased at ARQDEC last year for €1.3-million by David Redvers Bloodstock for the partnership of Qatar Racing and Michaela Faust, the filly is out of Sortilege (Ire) (Tiger Hill {Ire}), herself a multiple highweight mare in Germany and Italy as well as being...

While a lot of press has been given to Into Mischief and Medaglia d'Oro this week--and rightfully so, as one got his third GI Kentucky Derby winner and the other his third GI Kentucky Oaks winner--another exceptional sire once again proved why he's been at the top of the sire lists for years. You may even have missed his big weekend, as War Front didn't sire one of Saturday's headline winners. However, of the 11 graded races contested across the nation on Derby Day, three of his sons did. Three...

Leading into the first Saturday in May, the Beyer Speed Figure benchmark for the year hadn't been set by one of the star 3-year-olds in the nation, but by the 4-year-old California campaigner Kopion (f, 4, Omaha Beach--Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop), who closed out her 2024 season as a surprise 37-1 victress in the GI La Brea Stakes on Santa Anita's opening day in December. Saturday she made it three in a row and proved her last-out, year-topping 110 Beyer Speed Figure was no fluke as she made the...

Normandy Coast, cutting back in distance after being eased in the one-mile GIII Gotham Stakes last time out and missing out on his turf debut when this came off the lawn, skipped home a convincing winner of the Palisades Stakes at Keeneland Sunday. The 5-2 shot tracked favored Long Neck Paula, cut the corner to take the lead into the stretch and strode home 3 1/2 lengths in front. "We were actually praying for rain this week, so that happened for us. We wanted to run him on the dirt...

Spendthrift Farm and Repole Stable's Accelerize (c, 3, Omaha Beach--Motion Emotion, by Take Charge Indy) romped by daylight at first asking for 'TDN Rising Star' honors on Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby undercard. Off at odds of 7-2, the $400,000 KEESEP yearling hit the ground running beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. and cleared the field from his wide draw in post 12. He showed the way through fractions of :21.87 and :45.03 and blasted off at the top of the stretch to win going away by 7 3/4 lengths over favored Moment's...

As racing across the nation heats up with spring nearly upon us, we take a look at trends and notable items from the country's graded races in February.  February featured 20 graded races from coast to coast. Five tracks hosted graded events during the month: Fair Grounds (4), Gulfstream Park (3), Oaklawn Park (4), Santa Anita Park (7), and Tampa Bay Downs (2). Four were Grade II events, while 16 were Grade III. Six were contested on turf, with 14 on dirt. Eight of the graded contests were for sophomores,...

32 offerings complete the catalogue for the 2025 Inglis Digital USA February Sale which opened Friday and goes through Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Offerings include Suga Steve (Goldencents), a 4-year-old colt who enters on a three-race winning streak by a combined 16 1/2 lengths. Suga Steve most recently won a six-furlong allowance race on Jan. 24 at Laurel Park. Also available as a racing prospect is a 2-year-old Complexity filly being offered out of the Tapizar mare Caroline County and from the family of multiple Peruvian champion Ole...