Orb

Commandment
Commandment By a Whisker Over The Puma in Curlin Florida Derby

Wathnan Racing's Commandment (Into Mischief) came with a late surge to nail The Puma (Essential Quality) by a nose in a heart-stopping renewal of Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. It was a half-length back to 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Chief Wallabee (Constitution) in third. Favored Nearly (Not This Time) tired to fourth. The Diamond Anniversary of the Curlin Florida Derby offered 200 qualifying points for the GI Kentucky Derby on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10 to the first five finishers. The first jewel of the Triple...

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Commandment
Commandment, Chief Wallabee Meet Again in Loaded Curlin Florida Derby

Seven GI Kentucky Derby winners in the last 20 years--including last year's winner and Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief)--have used the GI Curlin Florida Derby as a launching pad to success on the first Saturday in May. Could we see another one emerge from Saturday's loaded renewal at Gulfstream Park? Chief Wallabee (Constitution) will look to punch his ticket to the big dance following a too-good-to-lose second to Commandment (Into Mischief) in a heart-stopping renewal of the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Feb. 28....

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Commandment
Breeding Digest: Docking in the Right Harbor Can Redeem Failed Stallions

The first sophomore skirmishes of the 2026 Classic crop vividly attested to the twin poles that support this business. One is that access to the most expensive blood must work out sufficiently to keep the elite programs in the game. But the other is that a good horse can come from anywhere, which gives us all some kind of chance. The impressive success of Commandment in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes reiterated how the annual quest for the GI Kentucky Derby winner currently starts with the rags-to-riches emperor of American...

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Commandment
Second Chances: Fourth in a Live Maiden at Keeneland, More Distance 'Could Be Better' for Commandment

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. Favored at 5-2 in his unveiling for Brad Cox in a very deep maiden special weight at Keeneland Saturday, Commandment (c, 2, Into Mischief) stamped himself as one to watch with a "sneaky good" fourth-place finish. Immediately under a ride from his inside draw, the Wathnan Racing colorbearer dropped back to race in 11th through an opening quarter in :22.75. He began to get his legs underneath...

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Jockey Club Chairman Stuart Janney To Receive Eclipse Award Of Merit

The Jockey Club of America Chairman Stuart S. Janney III will be honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit at the 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards Dinner and Ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 25, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) said in a Friday release. "The Eclipse Award of Merit is the Thoroughbred industry's highest honor, bestowed upon an individual who has displayed a lifetime of achievement in service to the sport," reads the press release from the NTRA. "Janney's decades of involvement and leadership...

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Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby Bottle to Benefit TRF

Stoneware & Co. will offer a limited number of signed Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby bottles to benefit the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. This year's signed collector's edition will commemorate the 10th anniversary of Orb winning the Run for the Roses and will be signed by his Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and Eclipse Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario. "The Kentucky Derby is one of the greatest sporting events in the country," said TRF executive director Kelly Armer. "With a captive horse racing audience, we are thrilled to be able to inform...

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Medina To Open Public Stable in Kentucky

Trainer Robert "Robbie" Medina has opened a public stable based out of Lexington, KY and is now accepting new clients. Since April 2020, Medina has served as the general manager and trainer for Blackwood Stables, the state-of-the-art training center near Lexington. At Blackwood, he focused on breaking, training, and rehabilitation for many of the sport's leading owners and trainers. He also ran horses under his own name at Kentucky tracks for a few select clients, including August Dawn Stable's Gun Runner S. winner Play Action Pass (Cairo Prince), who was...

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Unbeaten Annapolis Returns in the Penn Mile

'TDN Rising Star' Annapolis (War Front) makes his belated seasonal bow Friday in the GII Penn Mile S. A perfect two-for-two, the Bass homebred rallied to an impressive debut victory going two turns at Saratoga Sept. 4 and followed suit with a win in Belmont's GII Pilgrim S. Oct. 3, earning a field-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure. Originally scheduled to go on to the Breeders' Cup, the bay was sidelined by a hind ankle chip. Shug McGaughey saddles another talented son of War Front in Fort Washington. Graduating at second...

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This Side Up: Mourning Two Exceptions, Lamenting the Rule

The shocking loss this week of the young gun Laoban, preceded just days earlier by that of the venerable Malibu Moon, could not fail to renew the kind of questions we should all keep asking themselves about how a stallion can make an enduring reputation. Both had started out in a regional program, having shown only marginal eligibility for a stud career on the racetrack, before quickly earning migration to Kentucky. If that was just about all they had in common, then their different roles on two of the biggest...

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This Side Up: Something Missing in the Modern Derby

The fastest two minutes in sport? Maybe. Only sometimes, these days, it feels as though time is standing still. Last Saturday we had yet another GI Kentucky Derby where the protagonists had already volunteered themselves before the clubhouse turn. For the moment, speed seems to have a lock on the race. You have to go back to Orb for a closer; and beyond, for the flamboyant pounces of Calvin Borel. This time round, the first four were all in the first six at the first bend. At the quarter-pole, they...

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Wanamaker's Releases April Catalogue
Wanamaker's Releases April Catalogue

Wanamaker's has released the catalogue for its April online auction, which will take place Apr. 29. Highlights from the catalogue include the stakes winner Trixie Racer (Orb), offered as a broodmare prospect, along with yearlings, 2-year-olds, racehorses, and broodmares. The entire catalogue can be found at www.wanamakers.com. Prospective buyers may browse the website to view pedigrees, pictures, and videos. In-person inspections may be scheduled by contacting sellers with the information provided in the catalogue. Live bidding will open at 8:00 a.m. and the first listing will close at 5:00 p.m....

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Sunday's Insights: Deep Msw of Grassy Sophomore Sprinters On Tap at Santa Anita

5th-SA, $61K, Msw, 3yo, 6fT, 5:42 p.m. ET NAISMITH (Medaglia d'Oro) will lace them up for the first time for MyRacehorse and Hall of Famer Richard Mandella. The half-brother to GISW and young Darby Dan stallion Klimt (Quality Road) and GSP West Coast Chick (Malibu Moon) was a $385,000 KEENOV weanling and $150,000 OBS July 2-year-old. The rail-drawn Epidemic (Orb) has some bullets in the holster for his unveiling as well. Ryan Hanson trains the half-brother to millionaire Stanford (Malibu Moon), who most recently brought $165,000 as an OBS March...

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