#D. Wayne Lukas

I led last week's column with this, but … "There seems to be more distractions than ever before for gamblers' attention with MLB starting to join NBA and NHL on the daily calendar" … and now we have football, too, with the second coming of the USFL. But, hey, there's always time to slip in some horse racing plays on our busy Saturdays. Last…

They will all dream on Saturday. Owners and trainers and jockeys of 20 thoroughbred horses will be hoping their prayers will be answered when the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby is done at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. One thing learned from the prior 144 editions of America's greatest horse race is that any horse entered has a shot to win…

As times change, even a two-time Triple Crown-winning, Hall of Fame trainer has to adjust. In an era when horses are racing less and less, Bob Baffert looks like he is not only ahead of the curve, but he is leading the vanguard. This goes way beyond what he did with Justify in a gaudy, 112-day dash from apprenticeship to retirement. Very quietly,…

Kentucky Derby 147 champ Medina Spirit will run from the No. 3 spot in the gate at Pimlico in the 146th Preakness Stakes on May 15 with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert agreeing to a special set of conditions after the colt failed his post-Derby drug test. He opens as the 9-5 favorite. The 2021 Preakness Stakes will air on Saturday, May 15 from 2…

ARCADIA, Calif. - It's proving time for 3-year-olds in the barn of trainer Bob Baffert. The next four months will weed out the best of the bunch as the calendar moves closer to May and the start of the Triple Crown series. "See what you have, see what they like to do," Baffert said. "You learn from the races and hope they stay healthy. That's the…

The Breeders' Cup Classic pits the top horses from around the world against each other in the ultimate showdown to finish out the year in horse racing. Here's everything you need to know about racing's grand finale this weekend at Santa Anita: What is the Breeders' Cup Classic? The $6 million Classic is a 1 1/4-mile race on the dirt with 14 spots…

The Queens County Stakes is a 1 1/8-mile dirt stakes for 4-year-olds and up and this year a nearly full field of 11 has been entered including two trained by Norman Cash. The runners exit dirt races in 10 cases including five at Aqueduct, three at Laurel Park and one each at Parx and Keeneland with the final runner coming out of a synthetic race at…

The Kentucky Derby is one of the most iconic sporting events in the world. Every year, millions of fans tune into NBC to watch top race horses from around the globe compete in "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports." The 2021 Kentucky Derby will air on May 1 from 12 to 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage is also…

Brad Cox's Essential Quality opens as the 2-1 favorite for the 2021 Belmont Stakes ahead of Preakness winner Rombauer (3-1). Essential Quality and Rombauer will break side-by-side from the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. The 153rd Belmont Stakes airs on Saturday, June 5 from 3-5 p.m. ET on NBCSN and from 5-7 p.m. on NBC. Coverage is also…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Latest on the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby (all times local): 5:15 p.m. Thousands of spectators are gathered in the infield at Churchill Downs, many not wearing face masks required amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds stood in lines that were not spaced out to use ATMs or buy food. Unlike some Derby tickets this year…

Colonel Liam, shown after winning the 2021 Fort Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park, returns to try for a repeat win Saturday. Photo by Lauren King, courtesy of Gulfstream Park Dec. 30 (UPI) - Eight horses celebrate their third birthday Sunday by lining up for the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park - the holiday weekend's way station on the "Road…

The 2021 Preakness Stakes gets underway this evening, putting the second jewel of the horse racing Triple Crown up for grabs. Here is everything you need to know to enjoy the thrilling race that was preceded by the Kentucky Derby and leads into the Belmont Stakes. The Preakness Stakes 2021 is set to run on Saturday, May 15 with an approximate post…

And now we wait. Post positions are drawn and morning line odds set for all 14 Breeders' Cup races to be run Friday and Saturday at Churchill Downs, which will host the championships for the first time since 2011. Get a look at the fields below. Friday, Nov. 2 • 10 races total carded; first post time 12:55 p.m. It's an overflow field, as expected…

Rich Strike schools in the Keeneland paddock in preparation for the Breeders' Cup (Coady Photography) Churchill Downs Press Release LOUISVILLE, Ky.- It's been eight years since both the winners of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) and Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) have run in the Breeders' Cup Classic (GI) and Distaff (GI),…

Sunday's $250000 Smarty Jones is the first of four stops on Oaklawn Park's road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby. The one-mile stakes race drew a field of eight which celebrate their racetrack birthdays on this day and will make their first start as 3-year-olds. As an official Derby prep race, points are available to the top five eligible finishers…

Anyone anticipating a return to normalcy in the Kentucky Derby got a dose of crazy Saturday when an 80-1 shot came charging up the rail to win at Churchill Downs. With favourite Epicenter and Zandon engaged in a duel at the front, Rich Strike stole the show with the second-biggest upset in the Derby's 148-year history. The chestnut colt beat 4-1…

Esteemed horse racing expert Steve Kornacki made his 2022 Preakness picks and predictions. Find out which Preakness horses Steve Kornacki is betting on at Pimlico Race Course in 2022. The Preakness may not have as much excitement this year because of the absence of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike. However, there are some interesting storylines…

Who wins the Preakness Stakes? And what huge long shot hits the board hard? Visit SportsLine now to get Jody Demling's Preakness winner, see which huge long shot contends, and get the finish positions for every single horse, all from the man who's nailed 8 recent Preakness winners. Will it be lucky No. 7 again for Justify? The Kentucky Derby…

According to Churchill Downs' Mike Battaglia's opening odds, thoroughbred contender Cyberknife is a 20-1 shot for Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Even if he doesn't win, his owner deserves a bouquet of roses or at least a glass of champagne. You see, Al Gold had more important things on his mind when he named his Chestnut colt. The prostate cancer he…

BALTIMORE (AP) - Secret Oath made another impressive move from the back of the pack, but couldn't close the gap. The filly who won the Kentucky Oaks a couple of weeks ago finished fourth in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday in a tough field featuring eight colts. The pace was not nearly as fast as the Kentucky Derby, and Secret Oath charged ahead…

Saturday's 147th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course lost a bit of luster with the defection of upset Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike. But the middle jewel of the Triple Crown series offers plenty of other compelling storylines and a solid mix of intriguing newcomers to face off against a couple proven in the Derby…

The 2022 Preakness Stakes is set for Saturday, May 21. Hank Goldberg's picks, best bets and predictions for Preakness 2022 are available below. The 147th running of the Preakness Stakes is taking place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday. This race is the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. Also, the track distance is 9.5…

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike was bought for just $30000 - but landed the big cheque of $1.8m when he beat 80-1 odds to win the Kentucky Derby after his trainer almost gave up five years ago when a barn fire killed 23 of his horses. Now a two-time winner, Rich Strike wasn't even in the Derby field until Friday when Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne…

The anticipation ahead of the Preakness Stakes has been replaced by apprehension. The scandal swirling around Medina Spirit and Bob Baffert after a failed drug test following the Kentucky Derby has taken a bite out of the second jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown. "The whole atmosphere here has changed," said trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a friend of…

A former film student, Mary Dixon Reynolds, lists her top-rated horse racing films and documentaries. 1983 Before there were Winx and Black Caviar, Australians were transfixed by a big chestnut horse named Phar Lap. The horse reigned during the 1930s depression and gave the nation something its pride. Trainer Harry Telford, played beautifully by…

A strong second to Rich Strike, the surprising winner of the Kentucky Derby, Epicenter is the headliner of a field of nine set for Saturday's 147th edition of the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes. A brave runner-up in the Derby, the son of Not This Time is a three-time stakes winner for trainer Steve Asmussen. The biggest of his wins was the 1…

Who wins the Preakness Stakes? And what huge long shot hits the board hard? Visit SportsLine now to get Jody Demling's Preakness winner, see which huge long shot contends, and get the finish positions for every single horse, all from the man who's nailed 8 recent Preakness winners. It's a mudfest at the Preakness, but is that good or bad news for…

Aboutthe only thing missing in Steve Asmussen's Hall of Fame career is a KentuckyDerby victory. That does not mean Las Vegas is shying away from him in 2022. With26 of his 3-year-olds among the betting choices at Circa Sports and CaesarsSportsbook at William Hill Nevada, Asmussen has nine more horses in the Derby futuresthan any other…

As a yearling, he lost his left eye in a stall accident, so, they named him Un Ojo or One Eye - not the best way to launch a racing career, but he showed he wanted to run, so they let him. He won the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn at odds of 75-1 and then ran second in the Arkansas Derby. But he hurt a shoulder and they took him back to Louisiana to…

As the dust settled on Rich Strike's improbable 81-1 victory in the 148th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, the question of who would challenge him in the Preakness Stakes on May 21 in Baltimore, Maryland began to make the rounds across the country. Rich Strike, a last-minute Derby entrant who got a dream trip under jockey Sonny Leon for trainer Eric…

Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports Breeders' Cup Juvenile offers a first look at potential runners for the Kentucky Derby 2023 Bob Baffert's Cave Rock looks like a solid favorite in the betting The Breeders' Cup is nearly upon us, as the world's very best racehorses descend on Keeneland for two days of high-quality Grade 1 action. The competitive races…

Aaron Sones' Ethereal Road became a stakes winner in grand style Saturday at historic Pimlico Race Course, making a bold sweeping move on the far outside to circle the field and capture the $100000 Sir Barton by 4 3/4 lengths. The 24th running of the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton for 3-year-olds was the seventh of 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75…

Rich Strike, the 80-1 shot ridden by Sonny Leon and trained by Eric Reed, mounted a furious and improbable rally to capture the 148th Kentucky Derby on May 7. He was not even in the field until another horse was scratched the day before the race. But after initially pointing the colt toward the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, Rich Strike's owner said…

By Andy Serling FOX Sports Horse Racing Analyst The 147th Preakness Stakes takes place in Baltimore on Saturday. Let's dive into the betting favorites, trainers, jockeys and the history of the race. The Preakness Stakes was first run in 1873, two years before the first Kentucky Derby. Named for the winner of the first Dinner Party Stakes - the…

Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports First look at some potential runners that could target the Kentucky Oaks in 2023 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies offers a purse of $2 million There is a competitive Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies set for Keeneland this year, as the winning runner will pick up points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. Below, you can find…

Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby on May 1 to give the trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the race, was installed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in Saturday's Preakness Stakes, despite nearly not running at all after it was disclosed that he had tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid, after the Derby. While…

Jockey Joel Rosario will try to break his own Preakness Stakes curse when he hops aboard the favored Epicenter in the 2022 Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course. The 37-year-old Rosario, who last year won the Eclipse Award as the country's most outstanding jockey, is 0-for-7 in the Preakness Stakes. Rosario's mount, Epicenter, is the…

Two Hall of Fame trainers -- D. Wayne Lukas and Todd Pletcher -- can tie the record for most Kentucky Oaks wins by a trainer when the starting gate opens in the 2022 Kentucky Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Both Lukas and Pletcher have won the Run for the Lilies four times, one shy of the record held by the great Woody…

Despite qualifying for the Kentucky Derby, trainer Chad Brown opted to hold Early Voting out of the first leg of the Triple Crown with designs on keeping him fresh for a run in the 2022 Preakness Stakes. It's a strategy that paid dividends for Brown in 2017, when he did the same with Cloud Computing, who went on to beat Classic Empire by a head.…

Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas will extend his record number of starters by a trainer when he saddles Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath in the 2022 Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course. Secret Oath will be the 46th starter for the 86-year-old Lukas, who has won the race six times. Bob Baffert is second among all trainers in Preakness…

Trainer Todd Pletcher will try to set the all-time record for wins by a trainer in the Mother Goose Stakes when he sends out Shahama in the 2022 Mother Goose Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The 54-year-old Pletcher has won the race six times and is tied with his mentor, D. Wayne Lukas, for the most Mother Goose wins ever.…

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…

Stats, works, videos and more! A field of eight super talented 3-year-old colts will compete Saturday, June 25, in the 2022 G3 Ohio Derby held at JackThistledown for a purse of $500000. The marquee event is the closer on an 11-race card. With a first post of 12 PM ET, the Ohio Derby will post at 5:35 PM ET. With G3 Stonestreet Lexington winner…

Olympiad with Junior Alvarado aboard wins the New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds. This Saturday's Grade 2, $750000 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs brings together a field of seven horses in the Breeders' Cup Classic division trying to earn a "Win and You're In" spot into the big race in November. Leading the field in terms of career…

The 2022 Kentucky Oaks horse race is in the books. Did you place a bet that hit it big? At 4-1 odds, Secret Oath won the 148th running of the Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Secret Oath and jockey Luis Saez held off Nest and Desert Dawn, your second- and third-place finishers, respectfully. Trained by Todd Pletcher,…

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…

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…

Rich Strike gave us another exciting and unexpected Kentucky Derby chapter Saturday, outrunning race favorites Messier and Epicenter down the stretch to pull off the second-biggest upset in the Race for the Roses. Rich Strike, an 80-1 long shot who only entered the field Friday as a last-minute replacement for Ethereal Road, paid off big-$163.60,…

Michael McLaughlin's $300000 Iroquois Stakes (Grade 3) winner Curly Jack headlines a field of nine 2-year-old colts that were entered in Saturday's 96th running of the $400000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), a "Prep Season" race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Jockey Club, run at 1 1/16 miles, will award the Top 5 finishers points on a…

Churchill Downs' Barn Notes: Curly Jack May Set Them Straight In G2 KY Jockey Club (Curly Jack / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Michael McLaughlin's $300000 Iroquois Stakes (Grade III) winner Curly Jack headlines a field of nine 2-year-old colts that were entered in Saturday's 96 running of the $400000 Kentucky…