Triple Crown

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - After a post-race visit for a beer and some hors d'oeuvres at the downtown Whitman Brewing Company, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott was home, conked out on the recliner. "I must have slept in the chair for an hour," Mott said. "I turned the TV on and, at the count of three, I was gone. I woke up at midnight and went to bed." And that is how Mott spent his night after his talented 3-year-old colt Sovereignty (Into Mischief) turned the 157th running of...

The 2025 Triple Crown season delivered something even more elusive than a sweep of the series by a single horse--a legitimately intriguing rivalry between two talented colts that could end up on par with the likes of Affirmed vs. Alydar or Sunday Silence vs. Easy Goer. The afterglow of the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga includes plenty of anticipation and speculation about when one-two finishers Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and Journalism (Curlin) might meet again. In the meantime, here are seven takeaways from Saturday's card at the Spa. 1) The Preakness...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- The party was just getting started in the cramped winner's circle at Saratoga Race Course. It almost seemed like half of the 46,243 that came out to Saratoga to watch the GI Belmont Stakes were in there. Well, let's not get carried away. But it was jammed, and everyone was singing the praises of Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the Most Valuable Player in the second annual Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga. Even those who were vanquished by Sovereignty had to give a congratulatory nod to the Godolphin-owned,...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There's absolutely no doubt who the ruler of the 3-year-old division is now. Just like he did in the GI Kentucky Derby, Godolphin homebred Sovereignty (Into Mischief) collared Journalism (Curlin) in the stretch, and powered on by to capture the 157th running of the GI Belmont Stakes with authority. It was the same first three finishers across the line on the first Saturday in May with the blue-blooded Baeza (McKinzie) up for third once again. The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was held at Saratoga Race Course...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There may not be a better person to talk to about the highly anticipated rematch between GI Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) in Saturday's GI Belmont Stakes than longtime Bridlewood Farm General Manager George Isaacs. Founded in 1976 by Arthur and Martha Appleton and currently owned by John and Leslie Malone, Bridlewood Farm (their legendary red-and-white silks were worn by Umberto Rispoli for that heart-stopping second leg of Triple Crown) campaigns Journalism in partnership with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners,...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- While the rematch between GI Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) has received top billing, the camp surrounding the blue-blooded Baeza (McKinzie) sees a slightly different storyline ahead of Saturday's GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. "They talk about the challenge of the two of them. I think it's more the challenge of the three of us," said Lee Searing of C R K Stable, who campaigns Baeza in partnership with the colt's breeder Robert Clay of Grandview Equine. "This...

The most important asset the horse industry has are the brands of the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown. Nothing else comes close in our dying business. Nothing in Major League Baseball, the Indy 500 or the Masters can match the number of TV viewers every year for the Derby. Outside of the Super Bowl (115 million viewers) and the NBA Finals (17.8 million), one couldn't spend enough money to get 16 million TV viewers for a sporting event today in America. When a horse wins the Preakness and the...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has rolled out post times for the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which will be held at Saratoga Race Course from Wednesday, June 4 through Sunday, June 8, the track said in a Friday release. Post time for the 10-race programs on Wednesday, June 4 and Thursday, June 5 as well as Sunday, June 8 is 12:40 p.m. (All times Eastern) with admission gates open to the public at 11 a.m. The 14-race program on Friday, June 6 will feature a post time...

The star attraction last Saturday at Pimlico was no doubt GI Preakness S. winner Journalism (Curlin). It's hard to top the winner of a Triple Crown race. But there was another 3-year-old colt on the card who turned in a huge race and will surely be heard from again. Owned by Bobby Flay and James Ventura, Crudo was an impressive winner of the Sir Barton S., a restricted race for 3-year-olds. He won by 7 1/2 lengths. A start in the GI Belmont S. is a possibility for this exciting...

Taken off the Triple Crown trail with an ankle chip, sensational GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star S. upsetter Magnitude (Not This Time) has begun to gear up for a return to action this summer. The Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer was a 9 3/4-length, front-running winner of the Risen Star at odds of 43-1 Feb. 15, good for a co-division leading 108 Beyer Speed Figure. He was credited with a four-furlong workout for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen in :53.40 (54/54) at Churchill Downs May 15, his first breeze since having an ankle...

It is a prerogative of journalism--on the basis that most people won't read what you write, and that those that do will remember only what you get wrong--that you're allowed to repeat yourself. But fear not, I won't be returning to last week's soapbox other than to offer a vote of thanks to Mike McCarthy and his patrons for their willingness to explore whether a modern Thoroughbred is actually more resilient than the timid horsemen of our time generally allow us to see. It would be nice if they could...

While no immediate plans for the GI Belmont Stakes have been made for Saturday's sensational Preakness 150 hero Journalism (Curlin), connections report that when their colt leaves the Pimlico grounds in a couple days, he will either go directly to Saratoga or to Michael McCarthy's Kentucky base at Churchill Downs. With the son of Curlin under consideration for the GI Belmont Stakes June 7 at Saratoga, McCarthy and Eclipse Thoroughbreds' Aron Wellman spoke to the press Sunday morning and said the decision will be made in the next day or...