#Golden Rod

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…

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…

In the Untapable, Pretty Mischievous settled nicely in the pocket then split foes to take over and win the $100000 event by 3 1/4 lengths and earn 10 points towards qualifying for the Longines Kentucky Oaks. Pretty Mischievous, a Godolphin homebred, clocked 1 mile 70 yards over a fast track in 1:41.98 under Brian Hernandez Jr., who rode the winner…

This week's TwinSpires Jury - James Scully and Kellie Reilly - convenes to discuss opinions for the New Year's Eve stakes action at Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park, and Oaklawn Park. James Scully: #5 Anacapa (4-1) in the Las Flores (G3) at Santa Anita. The progressing three-year-old filly won't face an imposing group in her stakes debut, and she…

Maximum Security, the colt disqualified from victory in the Kentucky Derby, returns to the winner's circle Saturday at Belmont Park. Photo courtesy of New York Racing Association Oct. 28 (UPI) -- It was a very good weekend of horse racing for Japan as Lys Gracieux landed the Group 1 Cox Plate in Australia and Almond Eye returned to her dominant…

Notes & Quotes From Gun Runner Stakes & Untappable Stakes: Jace's Road & Pretty Mischievous (Jace's Road / Hughes Photo & Courtesy of the Fairgrounds) From the Fairgrounds Media Team: Trainers have a lot of customary language to go to when describing their horses on a regular basis. One line that is thrown around a lot is - "the horse will tell us…

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…

Fair Grounds' Barn Notes: Jace's Road Will Return in Dec. 26 Gun Runner Stakes (The Alys Look will run in the Untappable Stakes / Hodges Photo & Courtesy of the Fair Grounds) From the Fair Grounds Media Team: West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables' Jace's Road, who finished a good third in the Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs two…

Witha second Las Vegas sportsbook getting into the futures mix last week for Kentucky Derby 2023, it did not take long for a new, best-priced favorite tostep forward. Attractingearly action Thursday when Circa Sports launched its Derby futures, Breeders'Cup Juvenile winner Forte was cut right away from an 18-1 opener to 16-1 and then eventually…

Commanche Falls: winner of the Stewards' Cup once again It is well known that trainers tend to be creatures of habit, so having been more than 200 miles away from Goodwood last year when Commanche Falls landed the £250000 Stewards' Cup, Michael Dods saw no reason to change his plans this time around. There was one minor amendment as he swapped…

Sekie and Tsunebumi Yoshihara's Yuugiri (Shackleford) looked in all sorts of bother as she was besieged from either side with time ticking away in Saturday's GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn Park, but she refused to lay down and battled her way to a neck defeat of Beguine (Gun Runner). Second choice Bubble Rock () was third in her first try on a…

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…

Notes, Quotes & Photos From G2 Golden Rod Stakes: Hoosier Philly (Hoosier Philly / All Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: The promising 2-year-old filly Hoosier Philly stamped herself as a divisional leader and tantalizing prospect for the Longines Kentucky Oaks as she easily won Saturday's 79 running of the $400000…

Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) ran to her billing and kept her perfect record in tact Saturday, scoring her third straight win at Churchill Downs in the GII Golden Rod S. A debut winner going 5 1/2urlongs at this oval Sept. 25, the $510000 KEESEP acquisition showed two turns was no problem, charging home to a 7 1/2-length victory in a sloppy…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The promising 2-year-old filly Hoosier Philly stamped herself as a divisional leader and tantalizing prospect for the Longines Kentucky Oaks as she easily won Saturday's 79 running of the $400000 Golden Rod (Grade II) at Churchill Downs with overwhelming authority by five lengths. Hoosier Philly, who ran 1 1/16 miles over a fast…

The promising 2-year-old filly Hoosier Philly stamped herself as a divisional leader and tantalizing prospect for the Longines Kentucky Oaks as she easily won Saturday's 79th running of the $400000 Golden Rod (Grade II) at Churchill Downs with overwhelming authority by five lengths. Hoosier Philly, who ran 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:43.94…

The Breeders' Cup is behind us, but Team Tuley continues to look for value at tracks from coast to coast. I'm joined by regular contributors Ed Sehon (aka Mr. Ed from his Saratoga and Keeneland columns here at VSiN.com/horse-racing) and Rampart race and sports manager Duane Colucci. We live up to the coast to coast claim with plays at Aqueduct in…

A weekend six-pack is on tap for the last Saturday in November: we have plays in six races, in New York, Kentucky, and California. We expect fast dirt and firm turf in all six; let's go. Aqueduct, Race 8, 3:14 pm ET Grade 3 Fall Highweight Stakes, 6 furlongs, Dirt, 3 & Up A field of seven is assembled for the Fall Highweight. We…

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…

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…

World Series Winner Now a Winner at Churchill Downs, Too (Alex Bregman, of the Houston Astros, gets a win at Churchill Downs / Coady Photography) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Two-time World Series-winning third basemen Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros became a winning horse owner Wednesday at Churchill Downs when his family's 2-year-old…

America's Best Racing and handicapper (and avid gambler) Monique Vág team up to provide horseplayers with their best bets of the weekend. Vág will identify her top picks as well as at least one longshot play of the weekend, a nice opportunity to swing for the fences on a win bet or to take a shot with a show bet. She also will occasionally look for…

Kueber Racing's two-time stakes-winning filly Coach will attempt to collect her first victory in graded stakes company as the headliner in Saturday's $300000 Chilukki Stakes (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs. The one-mile Chilukki Stakes for fillies and mares will go as Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 5:35 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 1…

The Anaheim Ducks will travel to the Bay Area for the second time in one week as they face the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. It's time to continue our NHL odds series with a Ducks-Sharks prediction and pick. The Ducks lost 8-5 to the Vancouver Canucks. Initially, it was 1-1 after a period. The Ducks trailed 3-2 after two periods and still had a…

Led by the unbeaten and highly regarded La Crete, a field of eleven 3-year-old fillies will look to prove worthy to remain on the Kentucky Oaks trail in Saturday's Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds. A very impressive debut winner at Churchill Downs, La Crete lived up to expectations last time in her stakes debut when she battled back…

Pappacap (green silks), shown finishing second to Corniche in the Breeders' Cup Classic, is among the favorites for Saturday's Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds, a 50-point qualifier for the Kentucky Derby. Photo by John Voorhees, Eclipse Sportswire, courtesy of Breeders' Cup Feb. 18 (UPI) -- This is the weekend when we find out if a few highly…

After bumping with a rival into the first turn, Two Phil's tracked a contested early pace down the backstretch and then rolled home to a 5 1/4-length win over Hayes Strike in Sunday's Grade 3, $199800 Street Sense Stakes, the feature on opening day of Churchill Downs' fall meet. Jareth Loveberry rode the winner for trainer Larry Rivelli and owners…

Live Racing Returns to Churchill Downs on Sunday for 19-Day Fall Meet (Churchill Downs / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Thoroughbred racing in Kentucky shifts from Keeneland to Churchill Downs on Sunday as the home of the Kentucky Derby readies to open its 133 Fall Meet with an 11-race program - all for promising…

The Race to the KY Derby Is On: A Look at the Various Roadtrips (Secret Oath / Photo by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Kentucky Derby fans across the world will be eyeing Hot Springs, Ark. on Saturday as outstanding 3-year-old filly Secret Oath, trained by 86-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, will take on the boys…

Lexington, KY - On Sunday (Sep. 18) The Red Mile will host eight Kentucky Championship finals worth $3.2 million for freshman and sophomore male and female harness racing trotters and pacers and two $100000 Kentucky Commonwealth series finals for 3-year-old filly trotters and 2-year-old male pacers. The total purse value of $3.4 million on the…

Lexington, KY - On Sunday (Sept. 18) The Red Mile will host eight Kentucky Championship finals worth $3.2 million for freshman and sophomore male and female harness racing trotters and pacers and two $100000 Kentucky Commonwealth series finals for 3-year-old filly trotters and 2-year-old male pacers. The total purse value of $3.4 million on the…

The Road to the Kentucky Derby resumes Saturday from Churchill Downs where Albaugh Family Stables' undefeated colt Howling Time, the winner of the $200000 Street Sense four weeks ago, tops an ultra-competitive cast of 14 colts and geldings that entered the $400000 Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade 2). The 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club will award…