#Beyond Brilliant

On the final Saturday of its Bing Crosby Season, Del Mar will offer a stakes tripleheader topped by the Grade 1, $400000 Hollywood Derby, a turf battle deluxe that has drawn an overflow field to the seaside track north of San Diego, Calif. Also on tap for the big afternoon will be the Grade 2, $250000 Seabiscuit Handicap for 3-year-olds and up on…

ARCADIA - In one of the day's most thrilling finishes, Howbeit out-bobbed the old warrior, C Z Rocket, at the wire to win the $200000 Grade II Santa Anita Sprint Championship by a nose Saturday under Mike Smith. Smith and winning trainer Mark Glatt don't team up often, but when they do they've been a lethal combination. In the past two years, Smith…

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…

Sconsin, shown winning the 2021 Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs, tries for a repeat in the Memorial Day renewal. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs May 27 (UPI) -- The long Memorial Day weekend is not short on racing action with two "Win and You're In" events, one in California amid a flurry on Grade I races and the other in Chile. The…

Nine juvenile colts whose connections harbor Kentucky Derby dreams are expected to go to post Saturday in an intriguing edition of the Grade 2, $400000 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs. Instant Coffee, a lightly raced son of Bolt d'Oro trained by Brad Cox, is the 5-2 morning line favorite in the 1 1/6-mile race for 2-year-olds, a Derby…

Sunday's 49th edition of the $250000 Eddie Read Stakes has proven a popular nine-furlong spin on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course, drawing the maximum number of runners with 11 and one more besides who sits and waits on the also-eligible list. The Grade II Read is named for Del Mar's first director of public relations, a role he filled exceptionally…

Yibir, shown winning the 2022 Breeders' Cup Turf, preps for another American invasion with a start Friday at Newmarket in England. Photo by Carolyn Simancik/Eclipsesportswire, courtesy of Breeders' Cup April 29 (UPI) -- With a week to go before the Kentucky Derby, there's plenty of racing action to keep fan interest alive with Breeders' Cup runners…

BALNIKHOV TO WAIT UNTIL THE DEL MAR DERBY SEPTEMBER 3 Little Red Feather Racing, et al's Balnikhov brought a baggage full of promise with him when he arrived from Ireland at the first of the year. He finally met those expectations Friday afternoon on Opening Day at Del Mar when the 3-year old son of Adaay dropped down on the rail and surged to…

LEXINGTON, Ky.- Bass Racing's Annapolis will attempt to become the 12 3yo to win the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) presented by PDJF on Friday. The 39 running of the race drew a full field of 14, including the most recent 3yo winner of the race in Order of Australia, a horse that Annapolis beat here last month in the Coolmore Turf Mile. "That's a…

The Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ultimate handicapping challenge for horseplayers, heads to Keeneland this year, with Saturday's schedule featuring nine championship races, including the $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf and the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic. Flightline, unbeaten in five starts and the favorite in the Breeders' Cup…

Over the past several years there has been a concerning trend of small fields at Santa Anita. Opening weekend suggest the problem persists. Post: 12:30 PM PT; $61k Maiden Special Weight going 1 mile on turf; Entries: 8 #4 DANCING RINCA (5-1) makes sense on speed figures and has proven to be able to handle these conditions in previous starts. #3 ONE…

Life Is Good warms up for Breeders' Cup with a win in Saturday's Grade I Woodward at Aqueduct. Photo by Dom Napolitano, courtesy of New York Racing Association Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Some monumental showdowns loom in next month's Breeders' Cup World Championships after impressive weekend performances by the likes of Life Is Good, Hot Rod Charlie, Ce Ce…

Life Is Good, seen winning the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in January, warms up for the Breeders' Cup Classic in Saturday's Grade I Woodward at Aqueduct. Photo courtesy of Katsumi Saito Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Seven Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" races, from New York through Kentucky and on to California highlight the weekend U.S.…

Nest Could Be A Star In The Making; Undefeated Sy Dog Might Head To Royal Ascot; Brinkman Has Big Plans Old Homestead LESINGTON, Ky.-Lucky Seven Stable's Smile Happy is the 9-5 morning-line choice in a field of 12 3-year-olds entered in today's 98th running of the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass (G1) going 1 1/8 miles on the main track. $1 million…