#Good Magic

This is trainer Bob Baffert's really fun time of the year, running his stable full of talented 3-year-olds and learning which ones are ready for the big time and which are maybe a cut below. Cave Rock, Arabian Knight and Faustin might be at the head of the class right now, but Baffert unveiled three others Sunday at Santa Anita that he hopes could…

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…

Topping a Bob Baffert trifecta, REINCARNATE (Good Magic), the co-longest shot on the board at 16-1, held off Newgate (Into Mischief) and favored National Treasure (Quality Road) to steal the GIII Sham S. Fresh off his maiden-breaking score in just his second start on the dirt following a pair of turf efforts in the fall, Reincarnate, a $775000…

The Road to the Kentucky Derby series opened in late September, but the prep season doesn't get into full swing until the New Year. And the first qualifier of 2023 took place at Oaklawn Park on New Year's Day, the Smarty Jones. Twenty-six additional point races will be offered for the May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1) over the next 3 1/2 months. Let's…

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…

LAS VEGAS - It was sure to happen, wasn't it? With the rising popularity of handicapping contests in horse racing, there had to be growing pains. And you had better believe the news that broke late this week from the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge is a pain. "I have full confidence that there was nothing amiss there," said Nisan Gabbay, 40, the…

The Grade 1, $500000 Champagne produced another unlikely winner on Saturday at Belmont at the Big A, with trainer Chad Brown's Blazing Sevens closing down the center of a sloppy and sealed main track to prevail by 3 1/4 lengths en route to a potential start in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The 151st running of the Champagne, run at one mile…

With Arrogate and Gun Runner taking center stage in the $6 million Classic, Day 2 of the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California, was a highly anticipated affair. However, drama wasn't limited to Saturday's final race, considering $21.5 million in total purse money was up for grabs over the course of nine races. Below,…

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…

After a two-week break, the Road to the Breeders' Cup resumes on Saturday with a significant prep at the Jersey Shore anchoring the weekend's stakes activity, which has been adjusted somewhat compared with previous years due to changing track schedules in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The $1 million, Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Since 1882, when the Standard Oil Trust was formed, Franklin D. Roosevelt was born and the electrical age began with the flip of a switch that lit up one square mile of Lower Manhattan, no horse has won the Kentucky Derby without racing at the age of 2. The horse that did it way back then was the chestnut gelding Apollo, named…

The rains stopped at Pimlico Thursday morning just as Kentucky Derby winner Justify (pictured) stepped out to test the track in preparation for Saturday's Preakness. Photo courtesy of Maryland Jockey Club The sun didn't shine on My Old Kentucky Home on Derby Day this year and it's unlikely to shine on Saturday's Preakness, either. But for Derby…

Curlin is known as "The Classic Sire." A talented race horse in his own right, he has been an en vouge sire for Classic distance winners. Saratoga honors him on Friday. Curlin was born in 2004. The Chestnut horse was sired by Smart Strike and was out of a Deputy Minister Mare. The 11 time winner was Steve Asmussen who stands as the all-time…

The 2022 TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) has drawn a field of eight, including some of the best three-year-olds in training right now. Taiba, the dazzling winner of the Santa Anita Derby (G1), has been named the 7-5 morning line favorite. Jack Christopher, undefeated in four starts, stretches out to two turns for the first time in the Haskell. Arkansas…

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…

West Paces Racing and Stonestreet Stables' Dubyuhnell dug in gamely down the lane to out finish the pacesetting Arctic Arrogance and win Saturday's Grade 2, $250000 Remsen, a nine-furlong test for juveniles, at Aqueduct Racetrack. Trained by Danny Gargan and piloted by Jose Ortiz, the chestnut son of Good Magic was a determined winner of the…

Racing on the 2023 Kentucky Derby trail in New York resumes on Saturday at Aqueduct with the Grade 2, $250000 Remsen Stakes. The 1 1/8-mile contest, which is the second official Derby qualifying race of the year at the Big A, attracted a field of seven 2-year-olds and offers points to the top five finishers (10-4-3-2-1). Last year the Remsen…

Past Kentucky Derby winners Pleasant Colony, Go for Gin, and Thunder Gulch … Preakness Stakes winners Pleasant Colony and Pine Bluff … Belmont Stakes victors Thunder Gulch and Mo Donegal … Since 1980, the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct has been won by a bevy of top-class horses, including the above-mentioned American classic winners. Other…

By Andy Serling FOX Sports Horse Racing Analyst Every year, people shift their attention to Louisville on the first Saturday in May for the Kentucky Derby. Whether you are a horse racing expert or betting for fun, there is plenty of action to go around in the first leg of the Triple Crown. In my role as a public handicapper, I make thousands of…

Last week, Churchill Downs offered the only opportunity to wager on the winning 2023 Derby sire through the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager pool, which closed on Sunday with interesting results. As with any other race, the pool ended with notable underlaid and overlaid sire options. Surprisingly, the underlaid sire is arguably the popular Gun…

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…

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…

General Jim takes command in an allowance at Keeneland Oct. 29 (Coady Photography) By Mary Eddy - NYRA Press Office OZONE PARK, N.Y.- Courtlandt Farms' talented juvenile General Jim will test his abilities against stakes company for the first time in Saturday's $120000 Central Park for 2-year-olds traveling one mile over Aqueduct Racetrack's outer…

KY Derby Advance Wager #2 To Be Offered This Week (Forte / Coady Photography) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Fans will have their second of six opportunities to bet on the 149 running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) Thursday-Sunday where Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI)…

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…

Gary Barber's Perfect Flight rallied from last under Ricardo Santana Jr. to upset Apprehend and Ramon Vazquez and give trainer Peter Miller a one-two finish in Tuesday's $250000 Zia Park Derby at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M. The Derby was one of seven stakes on the Land of Enchantment Day program with purses totaling $900000 and came one race after…

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The 2-year-old champion is back to form, and trainer Chad Brown can exhale a bit before the Kentucky Derby buildup reaches its peak. Good Magic took the lead in the stretch and posted a redeeming 1½-length victory in Saturday's Grade 2, $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes in front of 14269 fans on a chilly day at Keeneland. Good…

It's been 39 years since a filly competed in the Travers Stakes, but trainer Mark Casse believes the time is right for Wonder Gadot. "We think she's special," Casse said, "and we're going to try and prove it." Wonder Gadot will face 10 male 3-year-olds in Saturday's Travers, also known as the "Mid-Summer Derby." Post time for the $1.25 million,…

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Bob Baffert knows a thing or two about getting 2-year-old racehorses to perform at an elite level on the biggest stages. The Hall of Fame trainer has conditioned six Eclipse Award winners for Champion 2-Year-Old Male and a record-tying five winners of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Baffert appears primed to add to both of those…

Curly Jack out on the track before sunrise. Coady Photography Breeders' Cup Notes/Edited LEXINGTON, Ky.-The son of 2017 Sentient Jets Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Good Magic, Curly Jack, had a 2m gallop followed by a gate schooling session Wednesday. He had his final timed workout on Oct. 28 going 4f in 49 4/5 a few days after shipping from…

Chop Chop out of the track Wednesday morning. Coady Photography Breeders' Cup Notes/Edited LEXINGTON, Ky.- Trainer Brad Cox will attempt to win his second Juvenile Fillies when he saddles Selective's Chop Chop as the 4-1 favorite. The City of Light filly is going off a very narrow loss to Wonder Wheel in the Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland. "It was…

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…

Santa Anita Derby winner Justify was a solid 3-1 favorite in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager that closed Sunday night. Trained by Bob Baffert, Justify improved to 3 for 3 in his career after holding off Bolt d'Oro in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby. UAE Derby winner Mendelssohn closed as the 5-1 second choice in the Future Wager, which…

Take your horse racing betting to the next level with BOVADA and receive a 75% matched deposit welcome bonus (up to $750) to use on the 2022 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The exciting Bob Baffert-trained CAVE ROCK further enhanced his growing reputation with a comfortable win in the 2022 American Pharoah Stakes (watch below) and the Sportsbooks reacted…

If you think that Johnny Avello at the Wynn Las Vegas would feel threatened by the competition of the Breeders' Cup Future Wager being put together by the Breeders' Cup itself, you don't know how Johnny Avello got to be this town's best bookmaker for horse racing. "I think it's a good idea," he said. "I like it. I'm glad they've started…

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…

Gulfport, second in the Grade 1 Hopeful last out, headlines a field of six 2-year-olds set to battle it out in Saturday's Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at the Belmont fall meet being held at Aqueduct. After a pair of very impressive wins at Churchill Downs to begin his career, including the Bashford Manor Stakes, the Steve Asmussen charge was a troubled…

Sometimes, in assessing stakes races, it is best to look at the history of the race and see if there is a dominant factor in that history. This weekend's racing features both the Champagne Stakes and the Miss Grillo Stakes, two Win and You're In races for the Breeders' Cup (coverage begins Saturday at 4 pm ET on NBC). For both races, you need to…

Todd Pletcher's favorite Mo Donegal ran down a furious pacesetting We the People at the start of the stretch to win the 154th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. Irad Ortiz Jr. was in the irons for the winning ride. This is the fourth Belmont Stakes win for Pletcher and was his debut in the final leg of the Triple Crown. This is Donegal Racing's first…

Last year, Gun Runner became the hot new sire quickly when his progeny broke their maidens early and won many of the 2-year-old stakes races. One year later, the number of successful new sires has been a longer one, although none of the names stand out in the same way as Gun Runner did in 2021. According to Blood-Horse, the list of leading…

OZONE PARK, N.Y.- Jonathan Poulin, Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael B. Tabor's regally-bred Verifying, a half-brother to 2019 Champion Older Dirt Female Midnight Bisou, will make his stakes debut in Saturday's Grade 1, $500000 Champagne, a one-turn mile for 2-year-olds, at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

The post positions are set for all the races at the 2018 Breeders' Cup, and while many horse racing fans are looking forward to Saturday's Classic, there are five key races that will start the event on Friday. The races include the Juvenile Turf Sprint, Juvenile Fillies Turf, Tito's Handmade Vodka Juvenile Fillies, Juvenile Turf Mile, and the…

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…

Two-year-olds. Juveniles. Youngsters. Babies. You get to call them what you want. And you also get to attach your label to eight of them at Del Mar Friday who will match strides at six furlongs in the featured attraction on the eight-race program that has a first post of 3 p.m. The test carries a $50000 purse and is run under starter optional…

Swiss Skydiver takes on a talented field of 12 colts in Saturday's $600000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes; Six fillies vie for Kentucky Oaks points in the $400000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) LEXINGTON, Ky. - Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver will try to put herself on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail Saturday when she takes on males in a field of 13 horses…

Michael McLouglin's Curly Jack is the early points leader on the 2023 "Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve" after the Good Magic colt won Saturday's 41 running of the $299250 Iroquois (Grade III) for 2-year-olds by one length over Honed at Churchill Downs. Jace's Road was another half-length back in third and betting…

Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One will meet her rival Sconsin for the eighth time Saturday in the $300000 Open Mind Stakes at Churchill Downs, and trainer Neil Pessin hopes she can avenge her defeat from last year's race. Bell's the One got the better of Sconsin by 2 1/2 lengths in the Lady Tak one month ago. In last year's Open Mind, Bell's the…

Trainerswho have been there and done that before in the winner's circle at the Kentucky Derby are a precious commodity this year. Withtwo victories each, Todd Pletcher and Doug O'Neill make up the entire list. OK,Brad Cox got one, but he did not get to celebrate in the winner's circle.Mandaloun was not awarded the 2021 victory until the Kentucky…