Triple Crown

Sent off as the 12-5 second choice to his slightly more accomplished stable companion Ete Indien (Summer Front), Sole Volante (Karakontie {Jpn}) was dropped out the back early by Luca Panici, but came with a flying finish in the final furlong to defeat longshot Jesus' Team (Tapiture) by 3/4 of a length in what could be a prep for the GI Belmont S. in New York in 10 days' time. Drawn widest in a field scratched down to six, Sole Volante flopped out of the gates and was content to...

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins. DeRosa - Matt Winn Results - Ny Traffic was second best. Bankroll: $2765. GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby - I picked Honor A. P. in the San Felipe and see no reason to get off him here with...

King Guillermo (Uncle Mo), 'TDN Rising Star' Pneumatic (Uncle Mo) and two-time graded-stakes winning filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) are the marquee names among 22 3-year-olds that have been made eligible for the 2020 Triple Crown series at the late closing stage. The late additions to the three-race series, which this year begins with the GI Belmont S. June 20, take the total number of Triple Crown nominees to 369, pending late mail. Victoria's Ranch's King Guillermo entered the 3-year-old discussion with his 49-1 upset of Sole Volante (Karakontie {Jpn}) in...

So that's why they had to split the GI Arkansas Derby. One division apiece for Kipling's "twin imposters,"--Triumph and Disaster. Though we've all felt otherwise, from time to time, Lady Luck is as proportionate as she is indiscriminate in her dealings with Thoroughbreds. If Bob Baffert is better placed to absorb the loss of a servant as talented as Nadal (Blame), only a barn of such depth could have achieved the level of Triumph, in the first place, to have meanwhile registered a commensurate sequel of Disaster. It's not the...

Unbeaten superstar sophomore and 'TDN Rising Star' Nadal (Blame) exited a breeze Thursday morning with a condylar fracture and has been retired. The Bob Baffert trainee was credited with a four-furlong drill in :48.80 (7/45) (XBTV Video) at his Santa Anita home base before X-rays revealed the injury and he underwent surgery, requiring two screws. "I always say to get my trophies--and I have three Eclipse Awards and one Cartier--you have to get massive scars along the way," co-owner George Bolton told the TDN. "You have to understand days like...

The deadline for late nominations to the rescheduled 2020 Triple Crown will be Wednesday, June 3. Owners and trainers can make 3-year-old Thoroughbreds eligible for the three-race series with a payment of $3,000. Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional order and dates for the Triple Crown were revised: the GI Belmont S. will be run first June 20 at 1 1/8 miles, followed by the GI Kentucky Derby Sept. 5 and GI Preakness S. Oct. 3. A total of 347 horses were made eligible to the Triple Crown during...

To paraphrase the Rolling Stones, you can't always get what you want. But sometimes, you get what you need. That might end up being the case regarding the retooled GI Belmont S. announced last week by the New York Racing Association (NYRA). For its 2020 running, COVID-19 has transformed the $1.5-million, 12-furlong "Test of Champions" concluding leg of the Triple Crown into a one-turn, nine-furlong prep for the other two Classics with two-thirds its original purse. The revised Belmont S. will be run June 20 in a spectator-free Belmont Park...

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins. DeRosa - Arkansas Derby Results - Charlatan (+$270) scored at short odds, but Silver Prospector was seventh in the second division. Bankroll: $2545. GIII Matt Winn S. - Hoping the 10-1 price holds on Ny Traffic, who feels...

Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association President Tim Keefe said it may be "unrealistic" for the local purse account to pay for the $1.5-million Preakness and the several stakes that are held in support of the Preakness. In a statement issued Tuesday, Keefe said he has become increasingly concerned about the amount of purse money that is available for racing at Pimlico and Laurel. There has been no racing in Maryland since Mar. 15, but the bigger problem is that the state's casinos also shut down on that date. According to Keefe,...

Authentic has already carved one significant milestone for his sire, his debut success at Del Mar last November having qualified Into Mischief as the first North American stallion to accumulate 200 individual winners in a calendar year. If he can also become a Classic winner, however, he will need a chapter to himself in the Spendthrift phenomenon's epic tale. Because the rise of Into Mischief, sealed by a first general sires' championship in 2019, has primarily been powered by speed. As his books have gained in quality, the last big...

Belmont will reopen June 3 for a 25-day meet with a stakes schedule that includes a number of purse cuts and the cancellation of several stakes traditionally run in the spring at the NYRA tracks. Spectators will not be allowed to attend the races throughout the spring season at Belmont. Following the opening week, racing will be held Thursdays through Sundays with closing day scheduled for July 12. "The resumption of live racing at Belmont Park June 3, with all appropriate health and safety protocols in place, will support the...

What has traditionally been the final leg of the Triple Crown will now be the first. The GI Belmont Stakes will be run June 20 at the distance of a mile and an eighth, NYRA announced Tuesday. In a year where the coronavirus has caused tracks across the country to scramble and adjust their racing calendars and stakes schedules, the Triple Crown, in order, will now consist of the June 20 Belmont, the GI Kentucky Derby Sept. 5 and the GI Preakness Oct. 3. "The Belmont Stakes is a New...