Saratoga

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 Friday at Saratoga: Friday, August 9, 2024 Saratoga 6, $90k, 2yo, (S),...

With 20 days down and 20 days to go for Saratoga 2024, the handle numbers are remarkably close to what NYRA posted in 2023. At the end of Wednesday's last race, $390,617,175 had been wagered on the meet, a 0.4 percent increase from the midway point of the 2023 meet. Last year's racing season was a trying one for NYRA as rain decimated parts of the meet. A total of $799,229,288 was bet on the 40 days of racing, a decline of 9 percent from 2022 figures. The wet weather...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Back at his office on the Oklahoma Training Track Wednesday morning, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott was trying to describe the four-furlong work he had just seen from his 3-year-old colt Batten Down (Tapit). "Wooosh," was one of the sounds he made. "Phhhffftt," was another. The cartoon melodies made by Mott were, supposedly, offered to show how impressive the grey/roan Batten Down looked to him. Batten Down was timed in :48 (2/13) in the move on the Oklahoma Training Track. It was his first work...

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 is the single such horse entered for Thursday at Saratoga and Del Mar: Thursday, August 8, 2024...

The Ed Brown Society, led by Chairman Greg Harbut and President Clark Williams, accepted the 2024 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame award on behalf of the late jockey Abe Hawkins during the induction ceremony Friday at Saratoga Springs. Hawkins, who died in 1867, is known for riding Lecomte to victory over the previously undefeated Lexington in 1854. The Ed Brown Society is a Lexington, KY-based organization whose mission is to celebrate the history of African Americans in the equine industry, and to provide exposures, experiences, resources, and professional...

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 is the single such horse entered for Wednesday at Saratoga: Wednesday, August 7, 2024 Saratoga 2, $80k,...

When people discuss Horse of the Year candidates, the name Next (Not This Time) almost never comes up. That's despite what is currently the most impressive winning streak and show of dominance in the sport. He's won eight of his last nine, all of them stakes, by a combined 81 3/4 lengths. On Sunday at Saratoga, he won the Birdstone Stakes, doing so while never appearing to do more than galloping across the track in what amounted to a paid workout. We haven't seen a horse like this for a...

Trainer Kenny McPeek has the horse that all eyes will be on this summer because his 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) is taking on the boys in the GI Travers Stakes Aug 24. He talks about the experience of having a horse like this and what it's like dealing with all the people that want to see her. He also tells us about his four-legged friend Sonny and what his life is like away from the racetrack. Read all about it in this week's Saratoga Conversation. TDN: You have...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- If you believed the tote board before the seventh race at Saratoga Race Course Sunday afternoon, it was best to move right on by the No. 8 horse in the $100,000 Maiden Special Weight for 2-year-old fillies. May Day Ready (Tapit) had no chance to win her debut, a 1 1/16-mile race on the inner turf. At least that's what the betting public thought. She was dead on the board at odds of 25-1; second longest shot in the field of 10. "The horse didn't know...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--The easy thing would be to blame the racetrack. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert wasn't going to do that the day after his National Treasure (Quality Road) finished a non-threatening sixth in Saturday's $1 million GI Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. National Treasure, who had been at the top of most lists as the best older horse in the nation, laid an egg as the 4-5 favorite. "He just didn't show up," Baffert said on the Saratoga backstretch Sunday morning. "Once he didn't get into the...

Clearly ready for her unveiling, it was Quietside (Malibu Moon--Benner Island, by Speightstown) who used her breakaway ability to envelop a field of juveniles and garner 'TDN Rising Star' honors after the opener at Saratoga on Sunday. Sent on her way as a 7-2 shot here, the homebred initially vied for the lead up the backstretch between Insight runner First Class Lady (Uncle Mo) and Ivory and Ebony (Spun to Run). Well-handled by Luis Saez, Quietside backed off and allowed the pacesetters to trade blows. The dark bay was then...

Junior Alvarado wasn't among this year's class of inductees over the weekend at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. But the 38-year-old veteran put on a mini-clinic across the street at Saratoga Race Course that underscored his versatility as an unheralded rider on an ultra-competitive circuit who consistently coaxes the best out of his mounts, regardless of surface, distance, running style or odds. Although the headline-grabber among his trio of victories was Saturday's decisive wiring of the GI Whitney Stakes aboard the older-horse division's newest phenom, Arthur's...