Steve Asmussen

In a mad dash to the wire, it was How Did He Do That (c, 3, Good Magic--Stormin Maggy, by Storm Cat) who got his nose in front on the line just ahead of late-rallying Red Route One (Gun Runner) and Tumbarumba (Oscar Performance) to win the GIII Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park Sunday night. The 44-1 outsider pressed pacesetting Ghost Hero (Shaman Ghost) through fractions of :23.57 and :48.05 with Tumbarumba just to his inside, while Red Route One was well back in the 12-horse field. How Did He...

5th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 2:45 p.m. Currently in fifth place on TDN's first-crop sire tally behind fellow Spendthrift Farm leader Maximus Mischief, Vino Rosso will look to add to his haul when MASMAK hits the track for the first time Friday afternoon. Originally purchased for $70,000 by Tom McCrocklin at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the chestnut colt went to FMQ Stables at the OBS Spring Sale earlier this year for $475,000. Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, Masmak's dam GSP Nite in Rome is also...

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will look for a record fifth victory when he sends out 3-1 morning-line favorite Reincarnate (Good Magic) in Saturday's GI betPARX Pennsylvania Derby. "This race is going to be a good step up for him," Baffert said. "He ran really well at Los Alamitos. He is going to have to break well and show up. That's the main thing. If he shows up, I don't see why he wouldn't run well." The field of 11 also includes 7-2 second choice Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming)...

Racing roads converge this Saturday. With a little over a month left before horses and their connections officially point to Santa Anita, the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series returns to Woodbine Racetrack. Featured are three 'Win and You're In' chances, including the GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile. Meanwhile, at Churchill Downs, the prep seasons officially open for 2-year-old colts and fillies, who are seeking to bank points for next May's 150th editions of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks. There is much to get to with Belmont at the Big...

Edited Press Release Tyler Gaffalione capped off his third Kentucky Downs riding title in style, winning three races on Wednesday's closing-day card to finish with 12 victories for the FanDuel Meet, five more than 2021 riding champion and second-finisher Joel Rosario. Brendan Walsh earned his second training title, and first outright, at the track with eight wins, three more than Kentucky Downs' all-time win leader Mike Maker, who had a meet-high 10 seconds and nine thirds. Ken Ramsey, the winningest owner in Kentucky Downs history as well as Kentucky, won...

KENTUCKY DOWNS JUVENILE MILE S., $499,286, Kentucky Downs, 9-10, 2yo, 1mT, 1:38.17, fm. 1--ASPENITE, 118, c, 2, by Constitution 1st Dam: Aspening, by Candy Ride (Arg) 2nd Dam: Motokiks, by Storm Cat 3rd Dam: Matoki, by Hail to Reason ($375,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Glen Hill Farm (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Cristian A. Torres. $294,150. Lifetime Record: 3-1-1-0, $350,450. 2--Tough Little Nut, 118, c, 2, Palace Malice--Celestial Kitten, by Kitten's Joy. ($20,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Town and Country Racing, LLC; B-Austin...

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX - A colt by Practical Joke brought $110,000 to top Monday's single-session Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) Summer Yearling Sale at Lone Star Park. By the numbers, a total of 175 yearlings sold for $3,240,000. The figures represented a decrease from 2022 when 161 sold for a record $3,416,000 in gross receipts. This term, the average was $18,542, while the median was $11,000 and 77 horses reported not sold. Foster Bridewell, Director of Horse Sales for the TTA, said of the auction, "Three of our top five offerings were...

6th-ELP, $70K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 3:18 p.m. A trio of colts make their much-anticipated debuts Monday beginning with Stonestreet homebred BENVOLIO (Tapit). Out of GI La Troienne S. winner Molly Morgan (Ghostzapper) who was purchased by Stonestreet for $1.35m out of the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale, the bay is a half to $1.8m yearling Vintage Print (Curlin). He'll face a pair of expensive yearlings including a stablemate in Army Officer (Not This Time), picked up for $475,000 out of last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale by Qatar Racing....

L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds's Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), second to Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) when that one solidified her champion female sprinter honors in last year's GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint, asserted her position atop that division this year with a convincing tally over that same rival in Saturday's GI Ballerina H. at Saratoga. She was also the second Grade I winner for her connections sired by Gun Runner on the card. An Eclipse winner herself in 2021 with a perfect four-for-four 2-year-old season that included romping victories...

Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred Gunite (Gun Runner), winner of the track-and-trip GI Hopeful S. as a juvenile and runner-up in the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. 12 months ago, parlayed a tactical advantage Saturday into a vengeful victory in Saratoga's GI Forego S. The Steve Asmussen pupil had come up a head short of 2022 champion sprinter Elite Power (Curlin) in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. going a furlong shorter in the slop here July 29, and was 6-5 to get the better of that formidable foe this go around....

It's a bit of Christmas in August Saturday at venerable Saratoga Race Course, which plays host to no fewer than five Grade I events for horses of all ages--on dirt and on turf--topped by the main event on the summer calendar, the $1.25-million GI Travers S. While the fields are short on numbers, they are long on quality, as three of the races have attracted reigning Eclipse Award winners, none of whom are anything close to a cinch in their respective heats. Champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) has...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. California Track: Del Mar Date: 08/17/2023 Licensee: Tiago Pereira, jockey Penalty: Three-day...