#Eclipse Award

It is sometimes called the most important turf meeting in the U.S. this side of the Breeders' Cup. But is the Arlington Million card really all that? The ingredients are certainly there. Impressive purses for three Grade 1 races that have endured for more than three decades. Horses from around the world representing the sport's biggest powerhouse…

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…

January is always a good time of year to search maiden special weight entries for promising 3-year-olds making their debuts. Often there are well-bred youngsters to be found. Such is the case this week. A half-sister to Dortmund and a colt produced by Dame Dorothy are two of the half-dozen notable names we're highlighting in Prospect…

Headlined by classic winners Authentic, Swiss Skydiver and Tiz The Law, 184 horses were drawn Monday afternoon into 14 fields for the $28 million Breeders' Cup championships Friday and Saturday at Keeneland. The morning lines were determined by handicapper Mike Battaglia. [] Below are the fields and odds for the 14 Breeders' Cup races in reverse…

Lovely Ride wins Saturday's Pippin Stakes at Oaklawn Park Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Trainer Bob Baffert saddled the first three finishers in Sunday's $100000 Grade III Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, a "Road to the Kentucky Derby" race, while the other weekend qualifier went to a colt who might find the Derby distance…

Now we are talking Kentucky Derby preps. This time we mean it. Life Is Good can race across, up and down or diagonally through the San Felipe. Greatest Honour can close on pedestrian fractions in the Fountain of Youth. Concert Tour can be anointed prince of the Bob Baffert Invi … er … Rebel Stakes. Essential Quality can be forgotten with his…

Hubaldo Solis' talented HS Paul Walker rallied in the final yards to get his eighth lifetime win, earning a victory in Saturday's 25th running of the $100000 Red or Green Stakes at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino. Ridden by Hector Aldrete for trainer Alfredo Gomez, HS Paul Walker broke alertly from the gate and was prominent throughout the 400-yard…

Country House won the 145th Kentucky Derby after Maximum Security - who crossed the finish line first - was disqualified for a race infraction, an unprecedented result in race history. Read full coverage of the race here. Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer of Triple Crown winners American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018, has three horses in…

Making the Grade, which will run through the 2019 Belmont Stakes, focuses on the winners or top performers of the key races, usually from the previous weekend, who could impact the Triple Crown. We'll be taking a close look at impressive winners and evaluating their chances to win classic races based upon ability, running style, connections (owner,…

Always Dreaming need dream no longer after the horse won the 143rd Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs on a soggy track. Jockey John Velazquez rode Always Dreaming during the annual event that was attended by more than 158070 people - the seventh-largest crowd in the race's 143-year history. The win for Always Dreaming marks the second…

In the United States there were stables such as Calumet Farm that dominated horse racing for decades. In Canada, the gold standard begins and ends with Sam-Son Farm. Founded in 1972 by Ernie Samuel, Sam-Son has left an imprint on racing and breeding in Canada that has been second to none. It all started when trainer Art Warner claimed Takaring…

Welcome to Noel Michaels' Weekend Winners, the place to go for weekend best bets and spot plays from veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer Noel Michaels. Check back every week for a couple of highlighted selections designed to help you cash a few bets and make some money. Noel's selections have been featured just about everywhere horse…

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Wit, who races for the Repole, St. Elias and Gainsway Stables, followed his usual racing pattern of coming from off the pace when he took the trophy in the Spa's $135000 Better Talk Now Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Race Course. With Jose Ortiz in the saddle for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, the colt by Practical Joke…

Saturday's Grade 3, $150000 Harlan's Holiday at Gulfstream Park isn't the richest or most prestigious of the eight graded stakes to be run on the last day of 2022, but it grabs the marquee spot on Horse Racing Nation's stakes roundup by virtue of its possible impact on next month's Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The key local…

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…

Knicks Go capped a Horse of the Year season late Saturday afternoon, winning the $6 million Breeders Cup Classic by 2¾ lengths over provisional Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit in the finale of the two-day event at Del Mar. Former Del Mar riding champion Joel Rosario guided the third choice in the field of eight to his third Grade I win of the…

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 first day of 2023 kicks off with a bang on the horse racing front. The $250000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park serves as a Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve qualifier, awarding points for entry to the 2023 Derby on a 10-4-3-2-1 basis to the top five finishers. Held over one mile on dirt, the Smarty Jones has yet to…

For the first time since 2015, there will be no rain falling on the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs for a Kentucky Derby held on its traditional date in Louisville, Ky., on the first Saturday in May. The 2020 Run for the Roses was contested under clear skies and a fast track on Sept. 5, with no fans in the grandstand due to the coronavirus pandemic…

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…

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 annual Dec. 26 start of the Santa Anita season has a natural, anticipatory, turn-the-page vibe to it. But this mark-your-calendar Opening Day mainstay hasn't always been a post-holiday tradition. Although Santa Anita has kicked off its winter/spring meet on the day after Christmas every year since 1977, the track originally opened in 1934 on…

There is money to be made in the Kentucky Derby every year. Figuring out the best path to that goal is the challenge. If only we could somehow convince ourselves that we've found the next Mind That Bird in this year's field. Churchill Downs again hosts this year's Run for the Roses on May 7. Mind That Bird was an impossible-to-predict winner of the…

Last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go is the early favorite at 5-2 for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, Jan. 23 (NBC, 4:30-6 p.m. ET). He is trained by Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer finalist Brad Cox and will be ridden by Joel Rosario, a finalist for the Eclipse Award for Outstanding…

Jockey John Velazquez, riding Authentic, celebrates winning the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The Breeders' Cup World Championships, just as they were designed to do, nicely wrapped up some issues for the 2020 racing season, including the "Horse of the…

Defending race champion Mishriff will once again take on a strong group of American shippers when he tops a field of 14 entered for Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack. Mishriff is well proven on dirt, but has done all his recent running on the turf. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the 5-year-old son of Make Believe has…

In the United States, it took 37 years for American Pharoah to follow up Affirmed's 1978 Triple Crown sweep. In Canada, the sport's iconic achievement has taken place on a far more regular basis. Since 1983, five horses have swept Canada's Triple Crown of the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales and Breeders' Stakes, and one of them was an amazing…

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…

Race 9: 1 1/16th (Dirt), Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3), Purse $400k, 3 (Saturday) The Grade III Lexington Stakes is the last gasp for the Kentucky Derby Prep Trail. Up for the taking are Points that include, 20 for the "Winner," 8 for the "Place" horse, 4 for the "Show" runner, and a measly 2 for the entry who rounds out the "Super." In the…

From Florence, Kentucky to Hallandale Beach, Florida to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, a blockbuster day of racing is on tap Saturday, allowing fans and handicappers to tune in and show off their wagering acumen. The $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) is the richest race of the day, featuring an international 14-horse field with four U.S.-based…

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…

Even if you are successful in the sport of horse racing in North America and around the world, you are not guaranteed to win one of the famous and well-known races. So if you haven't entered the winner's circle for the feature race on the first Saturday in May, the pursuit is not likely to waver until you get there or until the day comes that…

Irad Ortiz: jockey set a stakes record in America on Saturday night Jockey Irad Ortiz landed a record 77th stakes win in a single season in North America when he guided Dr B to an easy victory in the Go for Wand Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday evening. The win, which surpassed the record of 76 set in 2007 by late Hall of Fame jockey Garrett Gomez,…

Welcome to 2023 Kentucky Derby Prospect Snapshots, where we'll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from a race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule. That schedule consists of prep races offering qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, running from September 2022 through mid-April 2023. The 1…

Regal Glory winds up her career with a victory in Sunday's Grade I Matriarch at Del Mar. Benoit photo, courtesy of Del Mar Turf Club Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Mind Control and Regal Glory wound up their careers with Grade I victories a continent apart in weekend racing, while the another name popped up on the "Road to the Roses" Kentucky Derby 2023…

Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard Letruska after their victory in the Juddmonte Spinister G1 at Keeneland October 10, 2021 (Coady Photography) Mac McBride/DMTC News DEL MAR, Calif.-Two of the nation's top jockeys will make cameo appearances at Del Mar this weekend. Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Joel Rosario both plan to ride Sunday's card. The two future Hall of Famers…

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…

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…

Mind Control after the 2021 G2 John A. Nerud, his most recent win on the NYRA circuit (Susie Raisher) By Ryan Martin - NYRA Press Office OZONE PARK, N.Y.- Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' dual Grade 1-winner Mind Control will attempt to go out on top when he takes on a field consisting of three other Grade 1 winners in Saturday's Grade 1,…

Regal Glory, shown winning the 2021 Matriarch at Del Mar, takes on male rivals in Saturday's Grade I Fourstardave at Saratoga. Benoit photo, courtesy of Del Mar Turf Club Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Turf racing at Saratoga, Del Mar and Churchill Downs tops the weekend agenda, with a pair of Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" slots up for grabs. A third…

Reigning 2-year-old champion Echo Zulu will try to take a step toward another Eclipse Award when she leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Kentucky Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Echo Zulu is a perfect 5-for-5 in her career. Last year, she won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies en route to earning…

The Chad Brown-trained Shantisara begins what her trainer hopes will be an Eclipse Award-winning season when she leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Jenny Wiley Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. A winner of five races in nine career starts, Shantisara makes the first start of her 4-year-old year. Brown says she's…

Rich Strike, seen posing the morning after his Kentucky Derby win, returns in Saturday's Grade I Clark Stakes with a chance to stake a claim for year-end honors. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs Nov. 25 (UPI) -- It's getting to be crunch time for horses who seek year-end honors, and this weekend's Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs provides one of…

The post-Triple Crown season gets started in earnest on Saturday when the starting gate opens in the 2022 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. The $1 million Haskell Stakes 2022 is the first major race for three-year-olds since the Belmont Stakes and traditionally serves as a prep race for the Travers Stakes next month in Saratoga. With the…

The dark bay was by Cape Cross and was both bred and owned by Lord Derby having been foaled in March 2001 at his Stanley House Stud in Newmarket. Her two-year-old season included a novice win and a placed Listed run, but it was as a three-year-old that she really came to the fore when taking Newmarket's Pretty Polly Stakes before going on to an…

Trainer Chad Brown won four consecutive graded stakes on the Haskell Stakes undercard to tie a record set by Todd Pletcher when Adhamo defeated stablemate Tribhuvan and eight other top turf runners in the Grade 1, $600000 United Nations Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park. Pletcher won five races on the 2016 Haskell card but not four straight…

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…

Itis going to be one long Saturday for Ron Winchell. After flying from Las Vegas to Dubai early in the week, he will test his endurance by staying up until 3 a.m. on Sunday.That is what happens to an owner of three horses who are competing 8000 miles apart inraces worth more than $13 million. "I'mnot sure you can get me to fall asleep on this one,"…

Welcome to 2023 Kentucky Derby Prospect Snapshots, where we'll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule from which the racehorses earn points toward qualifying. The 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 6, 2023, at Churchill Downs. This…