Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--Honor Marie (Honor Code) has his partner for the $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 24. Trainer Whit Beckman said Saturday that Tyler Gaffalione will ride the colt in the marquee race of the summer at the Spa. Beckman made it official after Honor Marie, with Gaffalione on board, worked four furlongs in 48.75 (12/44) on the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning. They worked in company with stablemate Anthem King (Bolt d'Oro), who was ridden by T. C. Stevens. "Tyler knows how to...

'TDN Rising Star' Showcase (c, 2, Uncle Mo--Buy Sell Hold, by Violence), a runaway debut winner going 5 1/2 furlongs downstate at the Big A July 6, muscled his way out for racing room in the stretch and stayed perfect in style going an additional furlong in Saturday's GII Saratoga Special Stakes. The 3-1 chance traveled nicely in an inside fifth through an opening quarter in :21.85. All dressed up with nowhere to go at the top of the lane, Irad Ortiz, Jr. finally found a narrow seam and shifted...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Before Sandman (Tapit) had reached the post-race test barn following his victory in the opener at Saratoga Race Course Saturday, trainer Mark Casse was dealing with the "what's next" question. Casse did not have the answer to the happy task presented by Sandman's 1 3/4-length victory over Innovator (Authentic) in the seven-furlong $100,000 maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds. "I've got to figure out the best path to the Breeders' Cup," Casse said. "I think he's that kind of horse." Under jockey Dylan Davis, Sandman stalked...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.   After losing just about any chance at the break, Praetor (c, 2, Into Mischief--Curlin's Approval, by Curlin) showed plenty of promise in defeat finishing third behind ultra-impressive 'TDN Rising Star Ferocious (Flatter) on debut at Saratoga Aug. 3. Well-backed at 7-2 for trainer Chad Brown over a muddy and sealed surface, Praetor was bumped and pinched back at the start and trailed the field of nine through...

Representatives from several Thoroughbred partnerships and racing syndicates will be available for a meet and greet Saturday, Aug. 10 at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, the museum announced via presser Friday. During the free event, offered as a part of the Saturday Morning Social, interested guests may learn how to get involved with various different ownership groups with 11 total sending representatives. They are--in alphabetical order--Adelphi Racing Club, Brown Road Racing, Centennial Farms, Ironhorse Racing Stable, MyRacehorse, Riverdee Stable, Sackatoga Stable, Shooting Star Thoroughbreds, Uptowncharlybrown Stud,...

Three Chimneys Farm's Touchy (Nyquist) would go heavily favored in any maiden race at the Spa, but connections continue to campaign the homebred colt boldly as he remains in stakes company for his second career appearance in Saturday's GII Saratoga Special Stakes. The bay colt was bet down to 85 cents on the dollar for his debut in the June 6 Tremont Stakes on the first day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at this venue, and he made the majority of the running before giving way late to be...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- It was quiet trackside at Saratoga Race Course Friday morning. Everyone had a day off after the New York Racing Association canceled Friday's card after Thursday's was run. The reason was the havoc expected to blow through the area thanks to the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby. The heavy stuff was predicted to come later in the afternoon. Horses, however, did not get the memo. They still went to work. As did the trainers and exercise riders and grooms and hotwalkers. "No days off," Hall of...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga, Ellis Park and Del Mar: Saturday, August 10, 2024...

The 10-race card scheduled for Friday, Aug. 9 at Saratoga Race Course has been canceled due to heavy rainfall and high winds associated with Tropical Storm Debby forecast to impact Saratoga and the greater Capital Region overnight and throughout the day on Friday, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Thursday evening. Friday's featured $125,000 Evan Shipman and $125,000 Union Avenue will be rescheduled. Saratoga Race Course will be closed to the public on Friday. Live racing is slated to resume Saturday at Saratoga with first post at 12:35...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - At 4 a.m. Thursday morning, trainer Kenny McPeek changed the game. With the prospect of stormy weather on the horizon courtesy of the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby, McPeek decided to move up the work of his star filly, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). So, instead of a Saturday breeze for Thorpedo Anna, she went five furlongs in :59.59 (1/4) on the Oklahoma Training Track with exercise rider Danny Ramsey at 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Thorpedo Anna is being pointed to the $1.25-million GI Travers Stakes at...

Repole Stable's homebred 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) returned to the worktab Thursday for the first time since his determined one-length victory in the GII Jim Dandy July 27, posting a half-mile in company with graded stakes winner Surprisingly (Mastery) in :49.59 (89/172) over the Saratoga Race Course main track. "Perfect," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said of the work. "We originally scheduled it for tomorrow, but that [the weather] looked dicey, so we went today. He did really good and seems very happy. He went with...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Ten days before the start of the Saratoga season, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott was typically optimistic and realistic about how his stable might follow yet another solid summer at the Spa. Long a force at Saratoga, where he has won or shared nine titles, Mott was without most of the heavy hitters from the lineup that carried him to an Eclipse Award: - Horse of the Year and champion Cody's Wish (Curlin), third in the GI Whitney in the experiment at 1 1/8 miles,...