#John Sadler

Largent, shown winning the 2020 Fort Lauderdale Stakes, returns from an 11-month layoff to contest Saturday's Tropical Turf at Gulfstream Park and could be considered for the Grade 1 Pegasus Turf with a good effort. Photo by Ryan Thompson, courtesy of Gulfstream Park Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A potential prep for the Pegasus World Cup Turf in Florida, a…

Trainer Bob Baffert holds a strong hand when he sends out the favored pair of Ganadora and Under the Stars in a field of six older females in the Grade 3 La Canada Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita. Ganadora is the more lightly raced of the duo, but will likely be the post-time choice. The $1 million yearling purchase pushed a strong pace before…

Three-year-old dirt fillies get one last chance to compete at the top level against their own age and sex in the $300000 La Brea Stakes (G1), which runs Monday, December 26 at Santa Anita! The race drew a field of eight, four of whom are already graded winners and four who seek those honors for the first time in their career. The field is led by…

It's full speed ahead this summer at the Del Mar racetrack. While the schedule of activities in 2021 was abbreviated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this season will have a calendar that is chock-full of events, which visitors are more accustomed to seeing. "We're raring to go," said Chris Bahr, Del Mar's director of events and promotions. "Not…

Speed Boat Beach winning the Cecil B. DeMille Dec. 4, 2022 at Del Mar. (Benoit Photo) Stable Notes By Victor Ryan ARCADIA, CALIF.- Speed Boat Beach, a two-time stakes winner on turf, was scratched from today's Grade III Sham Stakes going a mile on dirt by trainer Bob Baffert. Speed Boat Beach was the 5-2 co-second choice on the morning line Baffert…

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…

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…

As we close the curtain on another year, let's take a look back at the top five horse racing stories of 2022: Simply put, he's a generational horse. It's a shame we didn't have the opportunity to watch him race at 5, but there's really no words to describe what he accomplished during the time he did race. Consider: 6 for 6, four Grade I victories,…

Letruska edges Monomoy Girl in Saturday's $1 million Grade I Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park. Photo by Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park April 19 (UPI) -- Million-dollar races at Oaklawn Park produced a big upset and a potential star for the remainder of the year in highlights of horse racing this weekend. The Kentucky Derby field continued…

Sumter, LaJolla Handicap (Benoit Photo) Santa Anita Stable Notes By Victor Ryan ARCADIA, Calif.-Mandella also looks to have a big shot in the Grade II, $200000 Santa Anita Mathis Mile for 3-year-olds on grass. Sumter, twice a stakes winner this year at Santa Anita going the same trip, finished his major preparations Friday with a three-furlong…

The final chance for three-year-old dirt males to vie for Grade 1 glory before turning four and having to face older horses comes Monday, December 26, at Santa Anita. The race covers seven furlongs on the Santa Anita main track, and drew a field of nine horses. As usual for such a late-season three-year-old race, it drew a mix of classy locals and…

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…

Welcome to the 12 tips of Santa Anita. We're counting down to the meet at the Great Race Place with stats, facts and figures related to one of the nation's premiere meetings. 12. Jockeys Of the top 15 riders by starts at the winter-spring meeting this year, only Juan Hernandez, Flavien Prat and John Velazquez won more than 20 percent of their…

Horse racing fans get the holiday gift they really want - albeit a day late - when the SoCal winter racing season celebrates its traditional post-Christmas opening day on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park. That date marks the start of a new season in racing at the Arcadia, Calif., track and kicks off one of the country's premier annual winter/spring race…

Six double quick fillies and mares are set to do some high stepping Sunday at Del Mar in the 51st edition of the Rancho Bernardo Handicap. The distaff spin includes the defending champ in the 6 1/2-panel headliner; a multiple-stakes winner out of the Bob Baffert barn; a rocket ship in from New Mexico who ran the fastest six furlongs of the current…

A delicious confrontation between two of the aces from this year's Triple Crown events will unfold at Del Mar Sunday when Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit and Kentucky Derby/Belmont Stakes competitor Rock Your World match strides over a mile in the 47th running of the $100000 Shared Belief Stakes. Six in all have entered the headliner for…

The horse everyone will be watching and quite possibly betting next Saturday put in another eye-catching work Saturday morning at Del Mar, not so much for the speed at which he glided around the track, but at how effortless it appeared. Flightline set fractions of:12.80, :24.60, :36.40, and stopped the clock at:59.60 for the five furlongs. Not bad…

Keeneland Barn Notes: Basin Gets Final Prep for G2 Blue Grass Stakes (Trainer Steve Asmussen / Photo by Holly M. Smith) From the Keeneland Media Team: GRADE 1 WINNER BASIN WORKS FOR TOYOTA BLUE GRASS Toyota Blue Grass (G2) hopeful Basin, who races for Terry Green's Jackpot Farm, was the first horse to breeze over Keeneland's fast track Monday when…

In addition to a full menu of world-class racing highlighted by six graded stakes, Santa Anita's Classic Meet opening day, Monday, Dec. 26, will offer fans a number of promotions, including the track's traditional wall calendar, a magnificent Flightline print giveaway and signing with jockey Flavien Prat and trainer John Sadler, a $1-million Single…

There's a reason we're the #1 trusted source for premium racing picks & info. The gray filly Fun to Dream might have been licking her figurative chops down at trainer Bob Baffert's barn when they told her about her upcoming tilt this Sunday. They said we've got you a nice seven-panel sprint against California-bred fillies; kind of like the Fleet…

The top-rated racehorse on the planet has raced for the last time. John Sadler-trained Flightline has been retired to stud just hours after landing the Breeders' Cup Classic. It marked a sixth successive career victory for Flightline at Keeneland, with the $6m race helping to boost his total career earnings to well over $4.5m. Jockey Flavien Prat…

Abel Cedillo / 9 Tyler Baze / 7 TRAINERS / WINS Doug O'Neill / 16 Peter Miller / 9 Bob Baffert / 8 Richard Baltas / 7 John Sadler / 7 Saturday • $100000 Grade III Autumn Miss Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, 1 mile (turf) Sunday • $200000 Grade II Twilight Derby, 3-year-olds, 1-1/8 miles (turf) • It was difficult for David Abrams to see his older…

With the Road to the 2022 Kentucky Derby paused until Jan. 22, fillies take the spotlight Saturday. Under the Stars (8-5) leads a field of six lined up for the Grade 2, $200000 Santa Ynez Stakes. Post time from Santa Anita is 7:06 p.m. EST, with TVG showing the seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies. The Santa Ynez pays out Road to the 2022…

Trainer John Sadler thought the best place for Bran to start was far from his Southern California base, and in Saturday's $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint, a Grade 2, six-furlong test at Kentucky Downs. His decision worked out perfectly, as jockey Vincent Cheminaud guided the 4-year-old gelding to victory by a neck over pace-setter Artemus…

Clockers' Corner was not as crowded as it was two springs ago, but it still felt lively Thursday morning. Trainers Carla Gaines and Vlad Cerin brought around their dogs, who playfully breached whatever canine protocols there are for social distancing. Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux was the best-dressed gent in the joint, sporting a colorful…

Horse racing fans are gearing up for one of the most exciting races of 2022 with Flightline making his national debut on Saturday. Flightline is the fastest horse no one's ever heard of. The colt has posted an impeccable record, going 5-0 in his career and winning those races by a combined 62 ¾ lengths. It's rare to see a horse open with such short…

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…

Who can say no to some Sunday racing from where the surf meets the turf, especially when there is a graded stake on the turf? The Cecil B. DeMille Stakes will be taking place this Sunday from Del Mar Racecourse and is carded as Race 5 going to post at 5:30 pm (ET). This graded stakes affair will be on the turf course with the prize pool being a…

Horse racing has taken back its rightful place as king of the spring due to the strength of Sydney and Melbourne's competing carnivals, but the evolution must continue. For too long racing depended on Melbourne in the spring. While it will always have history on its side, competition has taken the sport to another level. In six years, The Everest…

News Corp form analyst Brad Waters looks at Friday's Mornington meeting. BEST BET TRUST BILL (Race 2 No. 8 - $3.80) Trust Bill boxed on well over 1000m on debut at Mornington last time out and will be better for the experience. The step to 1200m will suit him as well. NEXT BEST STARZ BARWON (Race 7 No. 5 - $4.60) Starz Barwon chased well behind the…

No matter how big the hype, no matter how high the expectations, Flightline exceeded every marker in his historic win Saturday in the $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course. Did he cement his place in horse racing history with his 8¼-length win in the country's most prestigious race? The 45973 in attendance appeared to think so…

Flightline wins his third straight race in style in Sunday's Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita. Benoit photo, courtesy of Santa Anita Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Epicenter entered the Kentucky Derby picture with a handy win Sunday at Fair Grounds while a sparkling Opening Day program at Santa Anita featured a dazzling performance by budding superstar…

Triple Crown veteran Todd Pletcher had simple advice Saturday for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. before the Belmont Stakes. "Be patient," Pletcher said. "I think you have the best last quarter of any horse in the race." Sometimes, less is Mo. Mo Donegal pulled away down the home stretch and held off filly Nest to win the Belmont Stakes, giving Pletcher a…

The horses for the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby are listed in order of post position, with comments by Joe Drape and Melissa Hoppert of The New York Times. The morning-line odds were set by Mike Battaglia of Churchill Downs. King Fury was scratched Friday with a fever. All horses to his outside will move in one spot the new 20-horse starting…

AN incredible week of Flat racing starts Down Under in the early hours of Tuesday and ends with a late night in the USA a week today. By the time the Melbourne Cup is run at 4am UK time I'll hopefully be at Keeneland to bring you all the news and build up for next weekend's Breeders' Cup on Sky. But that's not to say the'Race That'Stops A Nation'…

The 2021 Breeders' Cup organizers are doing their darn best, in the form of the stellar weekend's $31 million in purses, to bring both this series and the sport at large back to the fore, despite the rough-and-tumble of the second year of the pandemic. The Classic brings us quite the bright nosegay of favorites in Medina Spirit, whose hardy Derby…

In the crazy business model of thoroughbred racing, a horse is more valuable not racing then they are on the track. So, with that in mind, the sport's latest superstar, Flightline, was retired on Sunday, one day after a dominating record-setting win the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course. It was expected that Flightline would never race…

BUCKLE up and prepare for lift off as supersonic Flightline seeks equine immortality. The Breeders' Cup at Keeneland features Euro stars like Highfield Princess, Nashwa, Tuesday and Modern Games. But there is no doubt Flightline's date with destiny in the Classic is the talk of the town. I'm lucky enough to bring you all the interviews for the…

One of the most interesting races at the Breeders' Cup over recent years has been the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. A number of runners have become star contenders to win the following year's Classic, including the 2020 winner of the race, Knicks Go, who went on to win the most recent edition of the feature race. The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile 2022 could…

The feature race of the Breeders' Cup comes in the form of the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic. The race headlines a stunning second day of racing at Keeneland in 2022, as the world's best horses on the dirt compete over 1 ¼ miles for their share of the $6 million purse. When: Saturday, November 52022 Where: Keeneland, Lexington How To Watch: NBC…

LEXINGTON, Ky. - No one was coming for Flightline, and Flavien Prat knew it. He looked over his shoulder on the far turn. Six horses were struggling to keep up. Life is Good was ahead of him by a couple of lengths. So what? Prat and his colt looked like a couple of Secret Service agents jogging alongside "The Beast," as the presidential limousine…

The four-year-old son of Tapit, unbeaten in five starts after winning his races by a staggering combined margin of 62 and ¾ lengths, has been impressing US and worldwide handicappers alike, with Timeform's rating of 143 the highest awarded to an American dirt horse since they started recording those figures in 1993. Currently a 1/3 chance with Sky…

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…

A year ago at Del Mar it was World Approval coming from just off the pace to capture the Breeders' Cup Mile. When the $2 million turf event is run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3, it appears that a host of European invaders will be at or near the front throughout, with four Group I winners this year across the pond set to make the trip, with three…

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Running the biggest race of a brief career, Flightline left no doubt about this year's top thoroughbred. The unbeaten colt posted another dominant run, overtaking Life Is Good entering the top of the stretch and pulling away to an 8¼-length victory in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday at Keeneland, and all but…

Patrons at Omaha's Horsemen's Park will find the simulcast wagering area much smaller than in the past, but an official says it's all for the greater good. The main simulcast facility at 63rd & Q closed its doors two weeks ago following the busy Breeders Cup weekend. In its place is a temporary home - a trailer that seats about 130 - until the…

Abel Cedillo / 37 Diego Herrera / 33 TRAINERS / WINS Philip D'Amato / 47 Doug O'Neill / 36 John Sadler / 30 Bob Baffert / 27 Mark Glatt / 26 Saturday • $150000 Snow Chief Stakes, 3-year-olds bred in CA, 1 1/8 miles (turf) • $150000 Melair Stakes, 3-year-old fillies bred in CA, 1 1/16 miles • $100000 Crystal Water Stakes, 3-year-olds and up bred in…

Flavien Prat rides Flightline to victory during the Breeders' Cup Classic race at the Keenelend Race Course, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Running the biggest race of a brief career, Flightline left no doubt about this year's top thoroughbred. The unbeaten colt posted another dominant run,…

The Pacific Classic Stakes 2022 has a purse of just over $1m and all eyes will be on the John W. Sadler-trained FLIGHTLINE as his star 4 year-old puts his unbeaten record on the line in the Del Mar contest this Saturday. The Sadler barn will also be looking for their fourth Pacific Classic win since 2018, having landed the pot 12 months ago with…