#Met Mile

Knicks Go, seen winning the Grade I Pegasus World Cup in January, is favorite for Saturday's Grade I Whitney at Saratoga. Photo courtesy of Gulfstream Park Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Rich purses drew some top foreign talent for the Saratoga Derby and Oaks on Saturday and Sunday on the upstate New York turf to highlight a big weekend of Thoroughbred…

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…

I have to admit, I have no idea what the inaugural Pegasus World Cup Invitational was intended to be, what it actually is, how it is going to play out this year, and what the future holds. Although many have knocked its concept on social media, no one who cares about racing should be openly knocking anything that is innovative and might help the…

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,…

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…

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,…

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…

The oldest stakes race in the country for three-year-olds will have its 153rd running on Saturday when the 2022 Travers Stakes will take place at Saratoga Race Course. First held in 1864, this 1 1/4 miles race is nicknamed the Midsummer Derby and offers a $1.25 million prize to the winner. The 2022 Travers Stakes field is stacked with multiple…

Epicenter, shown training before his second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, meets the winner of that race, Rich Strike, again Saturday in the Grade I Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The "Midsummer Derby" at Saratoga pits the first three finishers from the Kentucky Derby against one another again in…

Longshot Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike will try to match the feat of his father, Keen Ice, when he leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Travers Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. In the 2015 Travers, Keen Ice, a 16-1 longshot, rallied past Triple Crown hero American Pharoah to post one of the most shocking upsets in the history of the…

Arguably the most exciting horse in training returns to the track on Saturday when Flightline leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Metropolitan Handicap, also known as the Met Mile, in Elmont, N.Y. A $1 million purchase three years ago, Flightline is undefeated in three career starts and has won by more than 37 combined lengths. He is the 3-5…

A spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic will be on the line when six of the best older horses in the country leave the starting gate in the 2022 Whitney Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The race has attracted five horses who have won at least $988000, topped by the $5.2 million earned by Hot Rod Charlie. However, the…

A strong contingent of European horses meets some of the best turf 3-year-olds from the United States when the starting gate opens in the 2022 Belmont Derby on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The European group is led by Stone Age and Nations Pride. Trained by Aidan O'Brien, Stone Age is the 9-2 morning-line favorite in the 2022 Belmont…

Trainer Todd Pletcher will try to set the all-time record for wins by a trainer in the Mother Goose Stakes when he sends out Shahama in the 2022 Mother Goose Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The 54-year-old Pletcher has won the race six times and is tied with his mentor, D. Wayne Lukas, for the most Mother Goose wins ever.…

The 153rd running of the Travers headlines the biggest day of the summer at Saratoga. Six graded stakes including five Grade 1 races highlight the 13 race card. The $1.25 million Travers drew a very competitive field of eight runners for the'Midsummer Derby', and post time for the 1 1/4 mile Travers is 5:44 p.m. ET and Race 11 on the card. The…

Trainer Aidan O'Brien can win the Belmont Oaks for the second straight year and the third time overall when he sends out the favored Concert Hall in the 2022 Belmont Oaks on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The 52-year-old O'Brien won the race last year with Santa Barbara and in 2018 with Athena. This year O'Brien goes for No. 3 with…

The Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets might be the highlight of the spectacular June 8 racecard at Belmont Park, but the Grade 1, $1.2 million Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap could arguably steal the show. The prestigious one-mile race is expected to attract a fantastic field of accomplished older horses, and sorting through the contenders to…

New York takes center stage of the racing world this weekend. Belmont Park hosts 14 graded stakes between its Friday and Saturday cards, including nine at the Grade 1 level, culminating in the 2022 Belmont Stakes on Saturday afternoon. Rougir (6-5) is morning-line favorite for the first of those Grade 1 affairs, the $750000 New York Stakes. Post…

The encore to the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic was Ghostzapper's 2004 performance. The 1998 Classic was said to be the greatest field ever assembled. Then the 2004 race was said to be the best. November 5, 2022, we saw Flightline win with a hand ride to an 8 1/2 victory and that race and Flightline were called the best. So, who is the BC Classic…

The 154 running of the Belmont Stakes will take place Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. While the Triple Crown won't be on the line, Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike will be part of the eight-horse field. Post time for the race is set for approximately 6:49 p.m. In last year's edition of the race, favorite Essential Quality came in…

Never televised in prime time and hardly known outside racing circles, the 4-year-old is favored for a grand opening, and grand finale, in Saturday's Breeders' Cup. Outlined against an orange-pink October sky, the horseman rode again. Juan Leyva, the only exercise rider for perhaps the greatest American racehorse of the 21st century, spurred his…

Outlined against an orange-pink October sky, the horseman rode again. Juan Leyva, the only exercise rider for perhaps the greatest American racehorse of the 21st century, spurred his mount from a trot into a gallop at the five-eighths pole on the Keeneland Race Course backstretch and was gone. The sunrise that was painting the eastern sky had not…

People have such an immense passion for horse racing, especially in the most anticipated Breeders' Cup, that they are eager to spend their hard-earned cash to participate in the sport and go to live races rather than watch them from their homes. This year, the world-famous Breeders' Cup will be held on November 4 and 5 at Keeneland in…

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…

Friday and Saturday's 14 championship races at the Breeders' Cup are among the most rewarding handicapping challenges on the horse racing calendar each year. The evaluation of these races, which match the best from America and the world, starts with the query: Can you beat the favorite? Let's look at the races in order from Friday to Saturday with…

Friday of the Breeders' Cup features the rising stars of racing. Saturday however, is a chance to see some the best of the best competing to be a world champion in their division. The two-day card from Del Mar can be a war of attrition for even the most experienced handicappers. Along with more races and larger fields foreign form makes the puzzle…

The horse racing world closes out a thrilling year with the 39th edition of the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland, with coverage exclusively across NBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and Peacock. The Breeders' Cup is horse racing's last hurrah of the year. Horses from around the globe will compete in 14 races over two days, with the…

The horse racing world closes out a thrilling year with the 39th edition of the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland, with coverage exclusively across NBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and Peacock. The Breeders' Cup is horse racing's last hurrah of the year. Horses from around the globe will compete in 14 races over two days, with the…

Lost in all the talk about Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta, and the Derby futures was the dominating performance by Quality Road in last Saturday's G1-Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. The Beyer figure came up 121 (revised down a point after an initial 122), and other performance ratings (Thoro-Graph, Ragozin, etc.) all came up with numbers that met or…

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…

He will be the favorite next week for the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. But is it too soon to declare Essential Quality the favorite for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic? Not in the dark recesses of offshore futures. After holding off Hot Rod Charlie in a signature stretch duel to win the Belmont Stakes, Essential Quality burnished his place in…

G2 Lukas Classic Preview: Rich Strike Could Hit It Big Again This Saturday (Rich Strike / Photo by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Saturday's G2, $500000 Lukas Classic is shaping up to be one of the more competitive races in North America this year. Grade I winners Happy Saver and Hot Rod Charlie are among the nominated…

Frosted turned in a record-breaking performance Saturday in the Metropolitan Handicap, blowing away the rest of the field to win the Met Mile at Belmont Park. The 2015 Belmont Stakes runner-up finished in an all-time-best one minute and 32.73 seconds, according to Daily Racing Form, despite coming from off the pace down the stretch. His winning…

A total of nine Grade 1 races highlight this weekend's Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in Elmont, N.Y., with one Friday and eight on Saturday's blockbuster card. Though the field sizes may leave something to be desired, there is no shortage of stars lined up to show off for horse racing fans. Among the top matchups is that of the Met Mile, featuring…

The first post Saturday is at 11:20 am EST, with stakes action getting going at 12:33 pm. The first big race is the Acorn Stakes for three-year-old fillies going a one-turn mile. Like a bunch of the card on Saturday, it features one or two really high-class horses, and that means a small field because not many challengers want to volunteer to get…

Last Saturday night a four-year-old colt named Flightline won the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar, a stately old seaside racetrack just north of San Diego, steeped in racing history, and where - like at Saratoga in upstate New York - for several weeks every summer racing is a vibrant and essential enterprise. Overflow crowds, A-list trainers…

SARATOGA SPRINGS - The obvious next big step for Americanrevolution, in the natural progression of stakes for which he's eligible, is the Empire Classic. Trainer Todd Pletcher may try to go even bigger than that. Ever upward, as they say in New York. On New York Showcase Day at Saratoga Race Course on Friday, WinStar Farm's chestnut son of…