#Coaching Club

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…

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…

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…

The 2022 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series comes to Gulfstream Park on Saturday, Jan. 29 (4:30-6 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock). Both winners of last year's marquee events return to Florida in the hopes of defending their titles. Knicks Go leads the 2022 Pegasus World Cup (G1) field with 6-5 odds despite drawing the far inside post position. The likely…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

Future Plans for other Preakness Starters BALTIMORE, Md. - Fern Circle Stables, Back Racing LLC and trainer Kenny McPeek's Creative Minister, who finished third in Saturday's Preakness (G1) at Pimlico Race Course, will be pointed toward the Belmont Stakes (G1) June 11 at Belmont Park. McPeek said the colt will likely have a couple of half-mile…

For Nest (Curlin), the easy route to the Breeders' Cup includes a stop in the GI Alabama Aug 20. It's a prestigious race, has a $600000 purse and Nest would be an odds-on favorite against many of the same horses she thrashed Saturday in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks. But what fun is that? Owners Mike Repole, Michael House and Eclipse…

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Damon's Mound, who logged his first career win five weeks ago at Churchill Downs, stepped up the racing ladder to Grade II company and pulled off a handy win in Saturday's co-feature, the $200000 Saratoga Special. The race was a rare visit to Saratoga for jockey Gabriel Saez and the first for the colt's trainer, Michelle Lovell.…

Nest tuned up for her engagement in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland next month with an effortless victory in the GII Beldame S. at Aqueduct Sunday. Making her first start against her elders, the 1-9 favorite broke well from her inside post and was on the lead in the early strides before allowing Travel Column (Frosted) to take over…

He will be the favorite next week for the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. But is it too soon to declare Essential Quality the favorite for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic? Not in the dark recesses of offshore futures. After holding off Hot Rod Charlie in a signature stretch duel to win the Belmont Stakes, Essential Quality burnished his place in…

In this week's Racing Roundtable, Kellie Reilly, Vance Hanson, and Alastair Bull talk about the championship aspirations of the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and Cotillion (G1) winners, as well as Echo Zulu and other topics. Kellie Reilly: Taiba has one possible path to supplant division leader Epicenter, but it would require an incredible performance in…

When a heavy favorite starts at a lower price than the horse that beat him in their previous meeting, the latter is usually a value play. This pattern often happens in big stakes races where bettors favor fan favorites, even if they do not earn their role as favorite. In the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Saturday, Taiba starts as the…

Trainer Steve Asmussen has won the Cotillion a record four times, including twice in the last three years. He sends out Society on Saturday. In what seemed at the time, and to a large degree continues to look like a very strong Kentucky Oaks field, Secret Oath was the belle of the ball. Though she has not won since that magical day at Churchill…

The Saturday card at Parx Racing is absolutely stuffed with stakes, including the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and $1 million Cotillion S. (G1). It also features a mandatory-payout Pick 5 carryover. The prize pool for the 50-cent "Philly Big 5" has climbed into the six-figure range-$102129, to be exact. This lucrative carryover will be…

Saturday features a massive afternoon of racing at Parx Racing in Philadelphia with no less than 10 stakes races. A strong field of nine 3-year-old fillies, led by Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath, have been entered in Saturday's Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing with seven of the nine listed at 8-1 or lower in the morning line odds coming in at the…

Cyberknife, shown winning the Arkansas Derby, runs in Saturday's $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing. Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Saturday's Pennsylvania Derby brings together many of the top U.S. 3-year-olds just hours after a few of the top prospects for next year's European Classics kick off the…

Seventy years ago this week, 50000 fans congregated at Hollywood Park to witness what must be considered among the finest assemblages of Thoroughbred accomplishment for any race of that era, and to this day certainly one of the best of all time. That a race of such caliber would be held in December is unusual by today's standards and was even more…

The top of the North American trainer earnings list in 2021 looked much as it did in 2020. Of the 10 trainers who led their peers in 2020 earnings, only the federally indicted Jason Servis did not also crack the top 10 in 2021. Brad Cox led the list, followed by Steve Asmussen and Chad Brown. There was movement further down the trainer earnings…

Led by Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath, a strong field of nine 3-year-old fillies have been entered in Saturday's $1 million Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing. A daughter of Arrogate, the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Secret Oath has not found an easy spot in the Grade 1 test, but it could still offer a bit of class relief after having faced either top…

BENSALEM, Pa.- A field of nine is entered for Saturday's 53rd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Parx Racing. The 1 1/16 miles is the co-feature along with the betPARX Pennsylvania Derby on the card that includes two other graded stakes among the 10 total stakes. Atop the Cotillion field is Briland Farm's…

BENSALEM, PA - A field of nine is entered for Saturday's 53rd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Parx Racing. The 1 1/16 miles is the co-feature along with the betPARX Pennsylvania Derby on the card that includes two other graded stakes among the 10 total stakes. Atop the Cotillion field is Briland Farm's…

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte made the grade with a decisive three-length score in Monday's Grade 1, $300000 Hopeful, a seven-furlong main track sprint for juveniles, on Closing Day of the 40-day summer meet at Saratoga Race Course. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and piloted by the Spa's leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr., Forte…

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Until a young horse races in muddy conditions, you're never sure if he'll like it. It rained all day on closing day of the 154th Saratoga Race Course meet on Monday, and when Forte finally got his chance to run, in the penultimate race of the meet, he was like a kid who had been waiting all day to be let out of the house. It…

Churchill Downs' News: Santin, Smooth Like Strait May Be Showdown in Saturday's G1 Arlington Million (Santin / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Godolphin's Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (Grade I) winner Santin will face six fellow turf specialists, including Cannon Thoroughbreds' 2021 Shoemaker Mile (GI)…

Godolphin's Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (Grade 1) winner Santin will face six fellow turf specialists, including Cannon Thoroughbreds' 2021 Shoemaker Mile (GI) hero Smooth Like Strait, in Saturday's 39th running of the $1 million Arlington Million (Grade 1) at Churchill Downs. Thanks to cooperation from Ellis Park, the Kentucky Horse Racing…

The Belmont Stakes 2022 results saw some of the finest horses on the dirt in the U.S. in action, and the form of many of the rivals that were in contention has held up extremely strong since. But, how have the jockeys fared since their runs in the Belmont Stakes this year? It has been a stunning year in the saddle for Irad Ortiz Jr. He rode Mo…