#American Oaks

For most people, the name King Ranch brings to mind images of a sprawling western ranch filled with cattle and cowboys. But for fans of Thoroughbred racing, King Ranch brings to mind a different image - the image of one of the most influential and successful racing and breeding operations in the history of the sport. King Ranch had existed for many…

They could only scrape together a field of four for Saturday's GII Mother Goose S. at Belmont Park, run two weeks after they had a field of four in the GI Acorn S. Saturday's third race at Belmont fared no better. Only four went in the Wild Applause S., and three of them were trained by Chad Brown. And it isn't just a NYRA problem. The number of…

Buckpasser's unraced daughter, Sex Appeal, has made her mark on the breed in no uncertain terms and this year is to be found in the pedigrees of top thoroughbreds ranging from US Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) and Mecca's Angel (Dark Angel), winner of Friday's Gr1 Nunthorpe Stakes over 1000m. Sex Appeal's name is also…

This is "last call" weekend for Breeders' Cup hopefuls with more than a dozen "Win and You're In" races spread across three U.S. tracks. It's also Arc weekend in Paris and Winx seeks her 28th straight win in Australia. There's even more, with important 2-year-old races in Canada and the Group 1 Sun Chariot in England. Twenty-eight straight wins? It…

Three-year-old dirt fillies get one last chance to compete at the top level against their own age and sex in the $300000 La Brea Stakes (G1), which runs Monday, December 26 at Santa Anita! The race drew a field of eight, four of whom are already graded winners and four who seek those honors for the first time in their career. The field is led by…

Santa Anita Barn Notes: Friday's Card Gets 8.5 Starters Per Race From the Santa Anita Media Team: FRIDAY'S ALL-DIRT CARD ATTRACTS 8.5 STARTERS PER RACE With more rain in the forecast for Arcadia this week, the decision was made to run Friday's eight-race program exclusively on dirt. After entries were taken and the program finalized yesterday,…

The Fair Grounds hasn't had the easiest time of it thus far this season, what with its turf course having been shut down for repairs, but the New Orleans oval got back on track the day after Christmas with a 13-race extravaganza chock full of stakes races. James Graham and Brendan Walsh took their fair share of the spoils. Graham brought in the…

Editor's note: last summer, Ed Sehon (aka Mr. Ed) called this column "Saratoga on (about) $100 a Day," but sometimes had trouble finding plays on the mid-week cards, which put a drain on the bankroll. So, for this summer's meet at the Spa, Mr. Ed is saving his bankroll for the higher-quality cards (and horses) on the weekend and is posting his…

Stonestreet homebred Clairiere (Curlin) kicked home convincingly in Saturday's GI Cotillion S. at Parx to earn a first highest-level victory and snap a five-race winless streak while capping an exacta for her sire. A neck winner of the GII Rachel Alexandra S. in February, the Steve Asmussen pupil was second best to familiar foe Travel Column…

While opening day of the Santa Anita winter/spring meet is traditionally scheduled on the 26th of December, it is also considered the ceremonial start of the next year. If Monday's festivities are a harbinger of what is to come, 2023 should be a pretty good year. Under a perfect southern California winter sky, a massive, enthusiastic crowd of…

The ball drops at Times Square, fireworks explode around the globe and North American Thoroughbreds celebrate their birthdays at midnight on Jan. 1. A few of the newly turned 3-year-olds waste no time starting their once-in-a-lifetime quest for the Kentucky Derby starting gate as Aqueduct rings in 2018 with the $150000 Jerome Stakes. On New Year's…

ARCADIA - Taiba will be favored when a field of nine enters the starting gate for Monday's Malibu Stakes on opening day of Santa Anita's 47-day Classic Meet. The $300000 Malibu is one of three Grade I races, along with the La Brea and the American Oaks, on the 11-race card that begins at 11 a.m. There are also three Grade II events scheduled,…

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Trainer Bob Baffert celebrated Christmas a day late with five winners on Santa Anita's Opening Day program Monday, likely boosting one of those horses to an Eclipse Award and perhaps setting up another for a repeat raid on the rich races in the Middle East. It was a star-studded day in front of a big crowd at Santa Anita, as Juan…

Rhea Moon (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) was produced by the hot-riding Juan Hernandez approaching the final furlong and fought her way past pace-pressing stablemate School Dance (Animal Kingdom) in the final couple of jumps to win Monday's GI American Oaks at Santa Anita. A 6-1 gamble exiting a 1 1/4-length success in the GIII Autumn Miss S.…

Ramon Vazquez / 7 Edwin Maldonado / 5 TRAINERS / WINS Philip D'Amato / 8 Doug O'Neill / 7 Bob Baffert / 6 Peter Miller / 5 George Papaprodromou / 4 Friday • $175000 Real Good Deal Stakes, 3-year-olds bred in CA, 7 furlongs Saturday • $400000 Grade I Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles • $150000 California…

Bobby Flay's homebred Pizza Bianca (#4 outside) under Jose Ortiz on her way to winning the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico May 20, 2022, and earning Black Type. (Maryland Jockey Club photo) By Maribeth Kalinich There's a phenomenon happening in North America. Turf races are booming. That is in part thanks to more European horses coming across the pond to…

While much of the country is suffering through extreme cold and winter storms, officials at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., are preparing for their traditional day-after-Christmas opening on Monday, Dec. 26. Temperatures are expected in the upper 70s and there is no rain in the forecast for Monday, though a storm is expected to roll into…

The final chance for three-year-old dirt males to vie for Grade 1 glory before turning four and having to face older horses comes Monday, December 26, at Santa Anita. The race covers seven furlongs on the Santa Anita main track, and drew a field of nine horses. As usual for such a late-season three-year-old race, it drew a mix of classy locals and…

The headline for opening day of the Classic Meet at Santa Anita is the return of Taiba. Undoubtedly talented, the horse seems to be rebounding off of a rough Derby. Post: 11:00 AM PT; $200k Santa Anita Mathis Mile S. going 1 mile on turf; Entries: 7 #1 BALNIKHOV (2-1) gets the top selection. He goes out for the D'Amato barn and gets Gaffalione in…

For me one main attraction to superfectas is that a superfecta probable payout pool is not displayed making this bet an unknown endeavor relative to an exacta and even trifectas in some circumstances where the probable payouts are available. However, if you observe the pool results over a long period of time, you will come to realize the heavily…

This Inside Track to the Malibu Stakes wagering guide gives you an inside look at the six stakes races running at Santa Anita Park on December 26, 2022, including the $300000 RUNHAPPY Malibu Stakes (G1). With a win in the Malibu, the Bob Baffert trained Taiba could make his case for 3-year-old Male of the Year at the Eclipse Awards in January. Can…

Country Grammer: a fourth Dubai World Cup winner for Frankie Dettori in March Frankie Dettori will be reunited with Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita when the legendary rider kickstarts his US stint on December 26. Dettori, who announced on Saturday that 2023 will be his final year in the…

Horse racing fans get the holiday gift they really want - albeit a day late - when the SoCal winter racing season celebrates its traditional post-Christmas opening day on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park. That date marks the start of a new season in racing at the Arcadia, Calif., track and kicks off one of the country's premier annual winter/spring race…

Adare Manor was thought to be the West Coast's top Kentucky Oaks hopeful heading into Saturday's $400000 Grade II Santa Anita Oaks, but the connections for the overlooked Desert Dawn had other ideas. Ridden by Umberto Rispoli and trained by Philip D'Amato, Desert Dawn defeated Adare Manor, the 3-5 favorite, by a neck as the longest shot in the…

In addition to a full menu of world-class racing highlighted by six graded stakes, Santa Anita's Classic Meet opening day, Monday, Dec. 26, will offer fans a number of promotions, including the track's traditional wall calendar, a magnificent Flightline print giveaway and signing with jockey Flavien Prat and trainer John Sadler, a $1-million Single…

Mike Willman/Santa Anita Press Releae ARCADIA, Calif. - With an Eclipse Award for top 3-year-old male potentially at stake on opening day, Monday, Dec. 26, nominations for Santa Anita's prestigious Grade I, $300000 Runhappy Malibu Stakes and five other graded offerings closed Monday with a total of 104 horses nominated for the Malibu, Grade I La…

Last time out Society tangled with the likes of three-year-old filly division leaders Nest and Secret Oath in Saratoga''s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks. Those waters proved a little bit too deep for the daughter of Gun Runner, and she finished a well-beaten fourth. But in today's Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks, she found a field much more to her…

Mike Willman/Santa Anita Press Box ARCADIA, Calif.-Santa Anita Park's Classic Race Meeting, which opens on Monday, Dec. 26, will offer horsemen the largest purse structure in Santa Anita's storied 88-year history with significant increases in both allowance and stakes race monies. Additionally, Santa Anita will again offer fans and horsemen the…

By Andy Serling FOX Sports Horse Racing Analyst Just like that, the first two legs of the Triple Crown are in the record books. A sense of normalcy returned on Saturday, with Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables following the same path that worked successfully in 2017 with Cloud Computing, to annex the 147th Preakness Stakes with Early Voting. Early…

Flightline wins his third straight race in style in Sunday's Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita. Benoit photo, courtesy of Santa Anita Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Epicenter entered the Kentucky Derby picture with a handy win Sunday at Fair Grounds while a sparkling Opening Day program at Santa Anita featured a dazzling performance by budding superstar…

Malathaat, shown winning the 2021 Kentucky Oaks, faces old rival Clairiere in Saturday's Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs July 22 (UPI) -- The battle for year-end honors is hotter than the weather, as weekend horse racing has Clairiere versus Malathaat at Saratoga, top 3-year-olds in the Haskell at Monmouth and a rematch…

Epicenter, shown training before his second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, meets the winner of that race, Rich Strike, again Saturday in the Grade I Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The "Midsummer Derby" at Saratoga pits the first three finishers from the Kentucky Derby against one another again in…

Knicks Go warms up for Saturday's Pegasus World Cup. Photo by Lauren King, courtesy of Gulfstream Park Jan. 28 (UPI) -- It's only January, with lots of races yet to come, but it's possible the "race of the year" could be run Saturday in the $3 million Grade I Pegasus Stakes at Gulfstream Park as speedy Breeders' Cup champions Knicks Go and Life Is…

There's a reason we're the #1 trusted source for premium racing picks & info. Winngate Stables' dual graded stakes winner and Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks alumna Kathleen O. resumes serious business against a field of seven other sophomore fillies in Friday's 73rd running of the Grade 3, $175000 Comely going nine furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack. Trained by…

Aqueduct Barn Notes: Kathleen O Returns in G3 Comely Stakes (Kathleen O / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the NYRA Media Team: Winngate Stables' dual graded stakes winner and Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks alumna Kathleen O. resumes serious business against a field of seven other sophomore fillies in Friday's 73rd running of the Grade 3, $175000 Comely going…

Breeders' Cup Distaff Notes: Much Expected of Malathaat Since Early Age (Malathaat / Coady Photography) From the Breeders' Cup Media Team: Breeders' Cup World Championships Distaff Notes 11/2/2021 As Time Goes By/Private Mission - The once-beaten 3YO filly Private Mission and her older stakes-winning stablemate As Time Goes By, the 1-2 finishers in…

Kathleen O. gallops in preparation for the Kentucky Oaks, in which she finished fifth (Coady Photography) By Ryan Martin - NYRA Press Office OZONE PARK, N.Y.- Winngate Stables' dual graded stakes winner and Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks alumna Kathleen O. resumes serious business against a field of seven other sophomore fillies in Friday's 73rd running of…

Let me transport your mind back in time, almost 31 years to be precise, when a chestnut mare by the name of Red Slippers (by Nureyev) was breaking her maiden at Ascot by six lengths for her owner-breeder Robert Sangster and was subsequently bought by Sheikh Mohammed. Almost two years on from that date, another chestnut mare by the name of…

In the latest chapter of his widely acclaimed series recalling his personal favorites, Jay Hovdey tells the story of an unsung hero who ran in four different races in four years at the Breeders' Cup Let's hear it for the unsung heroes. The anonymous donor. The unnamed benefactor. The Good Samaritan who was first to help at the scene of the crash,…

The world's top-rated sprinter, Battaash, leads the Royal Ascot charge this week for Shadwell at the iconic meeting, headlining the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday, a race he won in 2020-one of a leading six victories for the powerhouse operation at last year's global spectacular. The famed blue and white silks of the late His Highness…

A Thoroughbred Experience. That's the pitch to potential renters of an historic breeding shed where three Kentucky Derby winners were conceived, which has been converted to a vacation rental cottage on Sherri and Ken McPeek's Magdalena Farm in Lexington. Trainer McPeek and owner Peter Callahan have had quite the experience with Swiss Skydiver in…

Malathaat will try to stay unbeaten in the Grade 1, $500000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on Saturday and at the same time notch her third Grade 1 victory of the year. Run at 1 1/8 miles, the CCA Oaks has been won by the future champion of the 3-year-old filly division for three years in a row with Monomoy Girl in 2018, Abel Tasman in…

It showed up like clockwork last week in my email. Remember email? About 240 of us voters for the Eclipse Awards received our annual packets of digital information, complete with the usual advice to tamp an eagerness we may have to cast an early ballot. "It is strongly encouraged," the instructions said, "that you consider waiting to vote until…

LEXINGTON, Ky. - First the dark of night lifted, then the thick mist of a dense fog, which reduced the racehorses to ghostlike silhouettes on Thursday morning, also lifted. All clear, we are set for takeoff. It's perhaps a measure of a horse's mystique when his rival connections are more effusive than his own trainer is. Or maybe John Sadler just…

Ce Ce, shown winning the Azeri Stakes on March 12 at Oaklawn Park, is among the favorites for Saturday's Grade I Apple Blossom over the same track. Coady photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park April 22 (UPI) -- As spring blossoms, horse racing stars including Letruska, Ce Ce, Pizza Bianca, Malathat and Channel Maker return from winter vacations this…

If Flightline had never been born, we might have seen Nest try to make history in Saturday's $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic rather than facing members of her own sex in the Distaff two races earlier. Zenyatta is the only female to win the Classic, turning the trick in 2009 at Santa Anita, but Nest, a 3-year-old daughter of two-time Horse of the…

Trainer Todd Pletcher holds a strong pair when he sends out Nest and Malathaat to top a field of eight set for Saturday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland. The younger of the two, Nest, figures to go favored. After running second to Secret Oath in a 14-horse field for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, the 3-year-old daughter of Curlin…

LEXINGTON, KY - Mike Repole is heading into Breeders' Cup weekend with' Uncle Mo' on his side. After fulfilling a lifelong dream by running one-two in the GI Belmont S. with the recently retired and Spendthrift-bound Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and Nest (Curlin)-one of Repole's seven Grade I victories on the year-the momentum has continued to build for…