#Michael McCarthy

Potential Breeders' Cup Horses Work Lexus Raven Run Winner Caramel Swirl Returns To Churchill Downs Conditioner Cox's "Cool Little Horse" Perryville Winner He'smyhoneybadger LEXINGTON, Ky. - Charles Fipke's undefeated Lady Speightspeare, scratched at the gate for the Oct. 16 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) Presented by Dixiana, at Keeneland…

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…

Kentucky Derby 147 champ Medina Spirit will run from the No. 3 spot in the gate at Pimlico in the 146th Preakness Stakes on May 15 with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert agreeing to a special set of conditions after the colt failed his post-Derby drug test. He opens as the 9-5 favorite. The 2021 Preakness Stakes will air on Saturday, May 15 from 2…

Santa Anita Barn Notes: Friday's Card Gets 8.5 Starters Per Race From the Santa Anita Media Team: FRIDAY'S ALL-DIRT CARD ATTRACTS 8.5 STARTERS PER RACE With more rain in the forecast for Arcadia this week, the decision was made to run Friday's eight-race program exclusively on dirt. After entries were taken and the program finalized yesterday,…

Lugan Knight (inside) holds off Arctic Arrogance to win the Jerome (Chelsea Durand) By Mary Eddy - NYRA Press Office OZONE PARK, N.Y.- BG Stables' Kentucky homebred Lugan Knight came out on the winning end of a thrilling stretch duel with New York-bred Arctic Arrogance in Saturday's $150000 Jerome, a one-turn mile for sophomores, at Aqueduct…

BG Stables' Kentucky homebred Lugan Knight came out on the winning end of a thrilling stretch duel with New York-bred Arctic Arrogance in Saturday's $150000 Jerome, a one-turn mile for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Lugan Knight earned 10 qualifying points towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill…

The trail toward the first Saturday in May reaches its next step on the first Saturday in January. Arctic Arrogance is the 8-5 morning-line favorite for the $150000 Jerome Stakes. Post time from Aqueduct is 3:16 p.m., with FS2 showing the one-mile event for 3-year-olds. The Jerome awards its top five finishers Kentucky Derby qualifying points on a…

Horse racing gamblers are you looking for 2023 Jerome Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping Odds…plus some predictions? Need some advice on who to take? The 2023 Jerome Stakes is set for January 7 at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. Here's a preview of our top contenders. Race: Jerome Stakes Purse: $150000 Track: Aqueduct Race Track Date: January…

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…

A game second in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes last month, Arctic Arrogance headlines a field of eight Kentucky Derby hopefuls entered in Saturday's $150000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct. Trained by Linda Rice, who also has Valenzan Day in the race, this son of Frosted has not finished worse than second in four career starts. After breaking his maiden…

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…

Aqueduct Barn Notes: Ridin With Biden Headlines Saturday's Queens County Stakes From the NYRA Media Team / Mary Eddy: Cash is King and LC Racing's graded stakes-winner Ridin With Biden will look to double up on stakes scores as he wraps up his 4-year-old campaign in Saturday's $150000 Queens County, a nine-furlong main track route for 3-year-olds…

From the Turfway Park Media Team: Lucrative purse money and Kentucky Derby qualifying points will be on the line during Turfway Park's annual Winter/Spring Meet, which will begin Sunday, Jan. 1 and feature the Grade III, $700000 Jeff Ruby Steaks on Saturday, March 25. Led by the Jeff Ruby Steaks on the Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by…

Bobby Flay's homebred Pizza Bianca (#4 outside) under Jose Ortiz on her way to winning the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico May 20, 2022, and earning Black Type. (Maryland Jockey Club photo) By Maribeth Kalinich There's a phenomenon happening in North America. Turf races are booming. That is in part thanks to more European horses coming across the pond to…

Like many front-runners, Knicks Go is an all-or-nothing proposition. As a 2-year-old, he wired the Breeders' Futurity by 5 1/2 lengths at odds of 70-1 and ran second at 40-1 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Then the potential star turned into a nobody, losing his next nine races. Out of desperation, owner Korea Racing Authority replaced Ben Colebrook…

The Triple Crown season resumes following the Kentucky Derby when The Preakness Stakes returns to its traditional position. This legendary race, also known as "The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans" will once again blanket the winning colt or filly in Maryland's state flower. When is the Preakness Stakes 2022? On Saturday, May 21, 2022, the 147 annual…

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…

Lucrative purse money and Kentucky Derby qualifying points will be on the line during Turfway Park's annual Winter/Spring Meet, which will begin Sunday, Jan. 1 and feature the Grade 3, $700000 Jeff Ruby Steaks on Saturday, March 25. Led by the Jeff Ruby Steaks on the Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, Turfway Park will offer…

Trainer Bob Baffert will be in search of his sixth straight win in this race and ninth overall when he sends out a trio of juvenile fillies in Saturday's Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos. Leading the way will be Faiza. A daughter of Girvin, she was supplemented for $10000 to the $300000 feature. In her only career start, she was an impressive…

There's a reason we're the #1 trusted source for premium racing picks & info. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will have three opportunities to win the $300000-guaranteed Starlet - the final Grade I of 2022 for 2-year-old fillies - for a sixth consecutive year Saturday at Los Alamitos. The race at 1 1/16 miles is being offered locally for the ninth…

Flip a coin when deciding which was more surprising Saturday at Del Mar - Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi winning two Breeders' Cup races or his 5-year-old mare, Marche Lorraine, scoring a shocking 49-1 upset in the $2 million Distaff. The Distaff, traditionally one of the most formful of the Breeders' Cup races, was hardly that on this day as…

Horsemen show a lot of support for Del Mar; Tizamagician to do the trick in Cougar II; Osunitas, Wickerr enhance weekend program DEL MAR, Calif.- Flavien Prat, the riding champion four of the last five years, has mounts booked for all 10 races as Del Mar opens its 82 summer season today. Soon after the last one he'll catch a plane for New Jersey…

There may not be as much fanfare for the 2021 Belmont Stakes with no Triple Crown up for grabs, but there will be a crowd, which will be a welcomed sight for race officials. Last year's event was held behind closed doors, but roughly 11000 spectators will be inside Belmont Park for the 6:49 p.m. ET post time on Saturday evening. The Belmont Stakes…

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…

Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports Ballerina Handicap takes place at Saratoga on Sunday, August 28 Ce Ce returns to action, but faces fierce competition in the forms of Bella Sofia and Obligatory After an enthralling day of racing action at Saratoga on Saturday, which includes the Travers Stakes, the attention turns to the feature at the track on Sunday.…

Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby on May 1 to give the trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the race, was installed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in Saturday's Preakness Stakes, despite nearly not running at all after it was disclosed that he had tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid, after the Derby. While…

The Michael McCarthy-trained Smooth Like Strait will try to end a five-race losing streak when he leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Shoemaker Mile on Memorial Day at Santa Anita Park. A son of Midnight Lute, Smooth Like Strait has not won since going gate-to-wire to win last year's Shoemaker Mile over Say the Word. In five races since, he has…

Keeneland Barn Notes: Blue Grass Winner Zandon Zooms in Pre-Derby Work (Zandon in his work at Keeneland / Coady Photography) From the Keeneland Media Team: TOYOTA BLUE GRASS WINNER ZANDON TUNES UP FOR KENTUCKY DERBY WITH KEENELAND WORK Jeff Drown's Zandon, winner of Keeneland's $1 million Toyota Blue Grass (G1) on April 9, worked 4 furlongs…

Churchill Downs' Barn Notes: Proxy Gets Big Speed Figure After G1 Clark Win (Proxy / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs' Media Team: Godolphin's talented 4-year-old colt Proxy earned his first career stakes victory Friday with his determined three-quarters of a length win in the $750000 Clark presented by Norton Healthcare (Grade…

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…

Tezzaray winning last year's Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes by a nose was a headline writer's dream - but somehow we all missed it. Durante may be best known to racing fans as the namesake for this race and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's grass course (the street that fronts the racetrack is also named for him), but those who remember his days in…

Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports Fastest fillies and mares on the dirt will compete in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint 2022 at Keeneland Last year's winner was Ce Ce for trainer Michael McCarthy, who held off Gamine The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint 2022 will pit the fastest female horses on the dirt against each other once again. This year's…

Churchill Downs' Barn Notes: Played Hard Could Be "Played Hard" in G3 Falls City (Played Hard / Coady Photography) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Rigney Racing's Played Hard, winner of the $400000 Locust Grove (Grade III), will headline a field of six fillies and mares that were entered in Thanksgiving Day's 107 running of the $500000 Falls…

FUN TO DREAM LOOKS TO DISTANCE THE FIELD IN THE BETTY GRABLE There has been no need for a photo finish camera when Fun to Dream races. When she wins, she wins big and she'll try for another laugher in Sunday's $100000 Betty Grable Stakes at Del Mar. It's the last of the opening weekend's stakes races featuring a compact field of five Cal-bred…

Cal-bred champ doing'Super' for Santa Ana; Mandella says United up to speed in training ARCADIA, Calif.- Doug O'Neill hopes The Great One rebounds from his disappointing fifth-place finish behind recently sidelined Life Is Good in the Grade II San Felipe Stakes on March 6 when he runs in the Grade I Runhappy Santa Anita Derby next Saturday, April…

Hazelbrook wins the G3 Ontario Fashion Oct. 15 (Michael Burns) Woodbine Press Release TORONTO- Hazelbrook, a 4-year-old daughter of Bayern, goes for another graded stakes crown, this time in Saturday's Grade 2 $175000 Bessarabian Stakes, at Woodbine. The 7-furlong main track feature for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and upward, has drawn nine…

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…

Flightline taking the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Photo by Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire DMTC News/From the Wire DEL MAR, Calif.-It was a Breeders' Cup to remember for many of the connections who participated in racing's biggest event after spending all or part of their summer at Del Mar this year. In addition to the 23 horses who raced or trained…

Art Collector came through with a masterpiece in the $600000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland on Saturday, rolling past the filly Swiss Skydiver near the eighth-pole and cruising to a 3 ½-length victory. Sent off as the second choice just behind slight favorite Swiss Skydiver, Art Collector stamped himself as a Kentucky…

BALNIKHOV TO WAIT UNTIL THE DEL MAR DERBY SEPTEMBER 3 Little Red Feather Racing, et al's Balnikhov brought a baggage full of promise with him when he arrived from Ireland at the first of the year. He finally met those expectations Friday afternoon on Opening Day at Del Mar when the 3-year old son of Adaay dropped down on the rail and surged to…

In the days leading up to the 146th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1), usracing.com is publishing profiles of the contenders. The 1 3/16-mile second leg of the Triple Crown is May 15 at Pimlico Race Course. Profiles will be updated with post positions and odds following the draw early next week. By Richard Rosenblatt By winning the El…

For the second straight Triple Crown race, the winner came as a result of an upset. Rombauer, who had 11/1 odds entering Saturday's race, won the Preakness Stakes, edging out favorite Medina Spirit and Midnight Bourbon to take the victory down the final stretch. The win was a pair of firsts for the people behind the horse. First, Flavien Prat, the…

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…

The brilliantly fast Gamine, a dual Grade 1 winner owned by Michael Lund Petersen and trained by three-time Oaks-winning trainer Bob Baffert, has been installed as the even-money favorite for Friday's $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. The 3-year-old daughter of Into Mischief drew post position 5 for the 1 1/8-mile race with Hall of…

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…

In March 2021, the NFL signed an 11-year deal with Amazon Prime Video to give the company exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football. Is the NBA next? This mega deal with television networks is worth more than $100 billion. Of course, the multi-year deal includes Amazon, ESPN/ABC, Fox, CBS, and NBC. After the 2024-25 NBA season, the league's U.S.…

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Turns out Monomoy Girl and Swiss Skydiver have more in common than excellent racing records. Consider the recent conversation between Monomoy Girl trainer Brad Cox and Swiss Skydiver conditioner Kenny McPeek. "Brad said to me that physically they look a lot alike," McPeek said. "If you stood them up next to each other - other than…

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! Godolphin's Santin and Cannon Thoroughbreds' Smooth Like Strait, the 1-2 finishers in the Arlington Million (G1) at Churchill Downs in August, head a…

ARCADIA, Calif.-Santa Anita's 18-day Autumn meet which begins Friday will be highlighted by 26 stakes, 15 of them graded. Overnight purses remain the same as last year. Most all stakes purses are the same as in 2021, with the following exceptions: both the Golden State Juvenile and the Golden State Juvenile Fillies have had purses increased from…