#John Shirreffs

It is the great story of the understudy getting that one shot to step in for the star. One shot to step into the spotlight. And maybe even stay there. When Drew Bledsoe got hurt, in came Tom Brady. Wally Pipp was replaced by Lou Gehrig. Phil Fulmer less elegantly for Johnny Majors. On the other hand, sports are full of one-hit wonders like Jeremy…

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…

Fresh off a visually impressive win in an ungraded stakes Nov. 19, C R K Stable's Justique heads a field of six sophomore fillies going seven furlongs in Sunday's Grade III, $100000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita. Originally scheduled to be run on New Year's Day, the Santa Ynez was re-drawn Thursday due to this past Sunday's races being…

The first full weekend of live racing action in 2023 features a pair of Kentucky Derby prep races - the Jerome Stakes from Aqueduct on Saturday and the Sham Stakes from Santa Anita on Sunday. Both races offer 10-4-3-2-1 qualifying points towards the Kentucky Derby to the top five finishers. Saturday's $150000 Jerome Stakes has drawn a field of…

Santa Anita Barn Notes: The Chosen Vron Seeks 4th Straight Stakes Win (The Chosen Vron / Benoit Photo & Courtesy of Santa Anita) From the Santa Anita Media Team: THE CHOSEN VRON GOES FOR 4TH STRAIGHT STAKES WIN IN CAL CUP SPRINT The ultra-consistent and versatile California-bred The Chosen Vron, a winner of three-straight stakes for trainer Eric…

These four plays at Gulfstream and Santa Anita meet the criteria for good superfecta key betting opportunities on Saturday.Read on after the plays to learn more about those selection standards. At Gulfstream Race 7 The Suwannee River Stakes (G3) is a one mile turf race for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up and this year's rendition attracted a…

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…

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…

The horses for the 149th running of the Belmont Stakes 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 Eric Donovan of the New York Racing Association. Purse: $1.5 million guaranteed Distance: One and a half miles Track record: 2:24 (Secretariat,…

Last Saturday's Florida Derby, Arkansas Derby and Jeff Ruby produced as many as seven starters for the Kentucky Derby on May 7. A similar allotment may be known by the end of racing Saturday after the Santa Anita Derby, Blue Grass and Wood Memorial. The Santa Anita Derby in California features the brilliantly fast Forbidden Kingdom and Messier in…

ARCADIA - In one of the day's most thrilling finishes, Howbeit out-bobbed the old warrior, C Z Rocket, at the wire to win the $200000 Grade II Santa Anita Sprint Championship by a nose Saturday under Mike Smith. Smith and winning trainer Mark Glatt don't team up often, but when they do they've been a lethal combination. In the past two years, Smith…

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…

The Road to the Kentucky Derby is back to its more traditional format after the pandemic forced last year's iteration to be heavily modified. This time, 46 prep races spread out over North America, Europe, Dubai and Japan will award points to the top four finishers in each designated race. Three of those prep races arrive this weekend - the Wood…

One horse will become a Grade 1 winner for the first time when the starting gate opens in the 2022 Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday at Santa Anita Park. Also known as the Big'Cap, the storied event quickly became one of the country's top races after Seabiscuit made multiple attempts to win it in the late 1930s. This year, the John Shirreffs-trained…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The horses for the 143rd 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. Purse: $2 million guaranteed Distance: 1¼ miles Track record: 1:59 2/5 (Secretariat, 1973) Post…

The horses for the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby, which was moved to Saturday from May 2 and will have no spectators present because of the coronavirus pandemic, 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. Tiz…

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…

Havnameltdown wins Sunday's Bob Hope Stakes for 2-year-olds at Del Mar. Benoit photo, courtesy of Del Mar Turf Club Nov. 21 (UPI) -- One of the more interesting subplots of late-year racing is the emergence of late-blooming 2-year-olds and Del Mar's weekend program featured two of those -- Havnameltdown among the colts and Justique in the filly…

The only graded stakes on Saturday's racing schedule features distaffers battling under the twin spires. Coach is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for the Grade 3, $300000 Chilukki Stakes. Post time from Churchill Downs is 5:35 p.m. EST, with FS2 showing the one-mile race for 3-and-up fillies and mares. The Chilukki is part of a November Churchill…

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…

Sunday's 49th edition of the $250000 Eddie Read Stakes has proven a popular nine-furlong spin on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course, drawing the maximum number of runners with 11 and one more besides who sits and waits on the also-eligible list. The Grade II Read is named for Del Mar's first director of public relations, a role he filled exceptionally…

Chismosa winning the Generous Portion. Photo by Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire DMTC News DEL MAR, Calif. - The Stakes action at Del Mar's Bing Crosby meet continues next weekend with the possibility of all three races featuring winners from the summer meet. There are two stakes on tap for Saturday, the seven furlong $100000 Desi Arnaz Stakes for…

Going Global, who is 7-for-9 on U.S. soil, aims to make it 8-for-10 on Monday while adding a second-top level score to her ledger. The Phil D'Amato-trained Going Global (8-5) is morning-line favorite for the Grade 1, $400000 Gamely Stakes. Post time from Santa Anita is 9 p.m. EDT, with TVG showing the 1 1/8-mile turf event for fillies and…

LEXINGTON, Ky.- Bass Racing's Annapolis will attempt to become the 12 3yo to win the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) presented by PDJF on Friday. The 39 running of the race drew a full field of 14, including the most recent 3yo winner of the race in Order of Australia, a horse that Annapolis beat here last month in the Coolmore Turf Mile. "That's a…

For bettors who enjoy competitive fields with high quality, the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Saturday looks like a great race to study. This edition of the 1 1/4-mile dirt race for older horses features nine well-matched horses. The 3-1 morning line favorite Express Train is a capable horse, as well as a consistent one with 10…

At80-1, Rich Strike was not the longest shot ever to win the Kentucky Derby, buthe was the one whose shocking victory resonated the fastest. Theonly bigger betting surprise to win the race was Donerail, who carried odds of91-1 in 1913. Not only was that before the internet made communications fasterthan the blink of an eye, it was more than a…

ARMAGNAC MAKES SWITCH TO GRASS IN G3 LA JOLLA SUNDAY One of the things trainers love about Del Mar, aside from its great weather and being close to the beach, is the opportunity to train horses on the turf. Obviously that's a plus for those conditioners who have established turf horses, but it's especially handy for those trainers who have wondered…

These are the kinds of days that horseplayers live for: There are excellent stakes races from one end of this great continent to the other. There are so many, in fact, over three dozen by our count, that we cannot even begin to cover them all, so we've selected six of the most important, which are worth watching purely for entertainment, but which…

Did you know active subscribers receive our Inside Track wagering guides absolutely FREE? Subscribe today and be the first to receive our upcoming MONSTER wagering guide to the 2022 Breeders' Cup! C R K Stable's Justique, an impressive first-out winner that would appear to be much better suited routing, rates top billing among a talented field of…

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…

As the world continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the racing industry is piecing together a schedule to prepare horses for the delayed Triple Crown. One of the prep races that was postponed because of the pandemic was the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. Originally scheduled to be run on April 4th, the race is now scheduled to be run…

Join our channel to stay up to date on the latest in marketing See our Santa Anita free horse racing tips this Saturday as the California track stages a 10-race card with the Grade One Awesome Again Stakes the feature. You can also grab stack of free horse racing bets to use on the action at Santa Anita this weekend. Trainer Bob Baffert has 50% of…

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…

The most unusual Triple Crown horse racing season in history will finally continue Saturday, Sept. 5 (7:01 p.m. ET post time, NBC) with the 2020 Kentucky Derby. The first jewel was postponed from the first Saturday in May, which now makes it the second jewel. Tiz The Law, which cruised to victory at the Belmont Stakes on June 20 and followed that…

Two weeks removed from the Breeders' Cup, you're probably ready to tackle a fresh handicapping challenge. In this case, we'll steer you toward Saturday's $100000 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar, which has drawn a competitive and intriguing field. Eight horses were entered for the 1 1/8-mile, Grade 3 race, including one - #6 Eight Rings -who competed…

Join our channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage The Awesome Again Stakes 2022 is the big feature at Santa Anita this Saturday as a small but select field, that includes Country Grammer, do battle for the $300000 Grade One prize. It's also another'Win and You're In' Breeders' Cup contest, so the hero will get a free pass to Keeneland…

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…

Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law will break from the No. 17 post in the 146th Kentucky Derby as the strong favorite with 3-5 opening odds. The top three horses will all start next to each other on the far outside with 5-1 Honor A. P. starting to Tiz the Law's left and 8-1 Authentic on his right. The 2020 Kentucky Derby, which…

MEET THE MAN WHO RIDES FLIGHTLINE FOR A LIVING You're a true horseman when every time you see a quality horse you wonder'What would it be like to ride him.' The man to answer that question about Flightline, this Saturday's TVG Pacific Classic favorite, is Juan Leyva, assistant trainer to John Sadler and exercise rider for Flightline. "He's not like…

Join our channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage America's next big talking horse - FLIGHTLINE - will head a field of six runners ahead of Saturday's $1m Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The John W. Sadler colt is unbeaten from all four career starts and has remarkably won those races by an aggregate of 44 lengths! With the Pacific…