Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--During his Hall of Fame career, trainer Todd Pletcher has won the GIII Sanford at Saratoga a record eight times. He'll look to pad that stat on Saturday when he saddles Mentee (City of Light) in the six-furlong race, which will be run for the 108th time. "For me, it's always about the 2-year-olds," Pletcher said outside his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track when asked what the most exciting part of training is for him. "The 2-year-old program is fantastic here; the state program is great. We...

Twirling Queen (Twirling Candy) made it four wins from as many starts as a 3-year-old and remained perfect in two appearances on the grass, posting a comfortable victory in Friday's Coronation Cup Stakes at Saratoga. With 9-5 morning-line favorite Star of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) scratching in favor of Sunday's GIII Quick Call Stakes, the Coronation Cup shaped a more open affair, and Twirling Queen put herself right into the mix early just off the pace disputed by Ever So Sweet (Ire) (Calyx {GB}), the 9-4 choice, and Toupie (Uncle...

Miss Justify (Justify) rallied smartly along the fence in the stretch to capture Friday's $135,000 Wilton Stakes at Saratoga. Third in the Smart Halo Stakes while making her final start for trainer Susan Cooney at Laurel last November, the bay made two previous attempts for Todd Pletcher this term, including a front-running, last-out win going a one-turn mile in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs June 1. Backed at odds of 5-2 here, the rail-drawn Miss Justify chased from fourth through an opening quarter in :23.71. She crept up closer...

Chad Brown has won the GI Diana Stakes seven times in its last eight runnings and, well, the odds say that right about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, that will be eight out of the last nine. That's because the Mechanicville native will send out half of the 10 runners for the first elite-level contest of the Saratoga meeting. Strength, indeed, in numbers, but a quintet also not short on quality. Chili Flag (Fr) (Cityscape {GB}) is perhaps the antithetical European import for the barn in the sense that she required three...

7th-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 3:54 p.m. ET. SAM'S ROCKET (American Pharoah) debuts for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The colt went for $115,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Fall Yearling Sale before going to Frank Fletcher for $925,000 as the second highest price during this year's OBS April Sale. Dam More Roses (Uncle Mo) was purchased by D.C. Goff for $475,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale while Sam's Rocket--her only foal to date--was in utero. The first-time starter's stakes-winning second dam Flattermewithroses (Flatter) also produced two-time GII Santa...

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 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. To follow are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga and Ellis: Saturday, July 13, 2024 Saratoga 1, $80k, 2yo,...

C Two Racing Stable and Mathis Stables' The Queens M G (Thousand Words) provided her freshman sire (by Pioneerof the Nile) with a second juvenile stakes winner Thursday afternoon, returning $91 to her backers for a convincing 2 3/4-length victory in the Listed Schuylerville Stakes on opening day at Saratoga. The dark bay triggered a similarly hefty mutuel when graduating at first asking at Keeneland in April, but she flopped home last of seven as the 21-10 favorite behind Whatintheliteral (Lord Nelson) in the local June 6 Astoria S. after...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- It's a tossup as to what is the biggest sporting event this weekend for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. The choices are these: the $175,000 GIII Sanford Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday or the Vermont Lacrosse Classic two and a half hours away in the town of Essex. Come again? Englehart will do double duty because three of his five kids are in the lacrosse travel tournament. He wont miss that. And he can't be absent from the Spa because he has to to saddle Mo...

The 2024 Casamigos 'For Jocks and Horses' event will be held at the Adelphi Hotel in Saratoga Springs, NY, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, with all proceeds to benefit the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) and Permanently Disabled Jockeys' Fund (PDJF). During the event, which will take place between 6 and 8 p.m., guests will enjoy gourmet hors d'oeuvres, a signature Casamigos cocktail made exclusively for the event and a silent auction featuring unique items and experiences. The event is expected to be attended by some of the biggest stars in...

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 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. To follow are the horses entered for Friday at Saratoga: Friday, July 12, 2024 Saratoga 6, $80k, 2yo, (R), 5...

XBTV will once again offer free video workouts from Saratoga and Del Mar, the outlet said in a press release on Thursday. The site will capture, catalogue and upload content for both meets. For the past few years, the coast-to-coast teams have recorded over 3,000 workouts annually at Saratoga and Del Mar combined, which gives handicappers and horsemen access to the nation's top horses and future stars. The XBTV feed is available without cost to those with a 1/ST account. Click here for more information.

After a very successful mini-meet highlighted by the running of the GI Belmont Stakes, NYRA is set to return to Saratoga for the start of the 2024 meet. Guiding the ship will be NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke, who will be hoping for sunny skies, no breakdowns and record attendance and handle numbers. That's a lot to ask, but it is Saratoga, where magical things happen. To talk about the meet, O'Rourke joined this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland. He was the Green Group Guest of...