#Phil D'Amato

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…

Two weeks after a Grade 1 win at Saratoga, trainer Christophe Clement is putting the star of his barn back in the starting gates. Gufo (7-5) is morning-line favorite Saturday for the Grade 2, $1 million Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes. Post time from Kentucky Downs is 5:45 p.m., with the race broadcast on both CNBC and FanDuel TV, the network formerly…

Starting at 4:00 p.m. EST, we have 10 races at Santa Anita. Using numberFire's projections as a guide, here are some of the best bets on FanDuel Racing. As always, check the program for racing information and scratches and changes. Also, watch the weather and track conditions. (I will reference Equibase's Speed Figure in selected races, which tells…

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…

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Trainer Bob Baffert celebrated Christmas a day late with five winners on Santa Anita's Opening Day program Monday, likely boosting one of those horses to an Eclipse Award and perhaps setting up another for a repeat raid on the rich races in the Middle East. It was a star-studded day in front of a big crowd at Santa Anita, as Juan…

Rhea Moon (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) was produced by the hot-riding Juan Hernandez approaching the final furlong and fought her way past pace-pressing stablemate School Dance (Animal Kingdom) in the final couple of jumps to win Monday's GI American Oaks at Santa Anita. A 6-1 gamble exiting a 1 1/4-length success in the GIII Autumn Miss S.…

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…

The principal action for Kentucky Derby 148 occurred more than 2000 miles west of Churchill Downs Thursday morning as Santa Anita Derby (GI) winner Taiba worked six furlongs in 1:12.80. "It was very straight forward," trainer Tim Yakteen said. "He worked three-quarters from the five-eighth pole. It was a typical Taiba work and we accomplished what…

On the final Saturday of its Bing Crosby Season, Del Mar will offer a stakes tripleheader topped by the Grade 1, $400000 Hollywood Derby, a turf battle deluxe that has drawn an overflow field to the seaside track north of San Diego, Calif. Also on tap for the big afternoon will be the Grade 2, $250000 Seabiscuit Handicap for 3-year-olds and up on…

While much of the country is suffering through extreme cold and winter storms, officials at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., are preparing for their traditional day-after-Christmas opening on Monday, Dec. 26. Temperatures are expected in the upper 70s and there is no rain in the forecast for Monday, though a storm is expected to roll into…

Happy Holidays to all, and a happy Boxing Day of racing will be coming to us live as the Santa Anita winter meet begins with a bang with numerous graded stakes. One of the graded stakes will be run on the turf early in the card, with the San Gabriel Stakes being a Grade 2 going 1 ⅛ miles. This stakes will take place as Race 3, going to post at 3:03…

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…

Prince Abama was the victor in the Hollywood Turf Cup Nov. 26 at Del Mar. (Benoit Photos) ARCADIA, Calif-Trainer Phil D'Amato, who has become a dominant force on turf while relying heavily on Irish-bred imports, will send out likely post time favorite Prince Abama, a 4-year-old Irish-bred gelding in Monday's Grade II San Gabriel stakes at Santa…

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…

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…

Opening weekend at Del Mar ended with a bang when two long shots came home in the final two turf races, and horseplayer Caitlin Oishi was all over it, hitting the Pick 4 for $7620 and placing win bets behind her best opinions to bring her total over $8000. This isn't her first Del Mar big score; she hit a Pick 5 at Fair Grounds bigger than this…

Mike Willman/Santa Anita Press Releae ARCADIA, Calif. - With an Eclipse Award for top 3-year-old male potentially at stake on opening day, Monday, Dec. 26, nominations for Santa Anita's prestigious Grade I, $300000 Runhappy Malibu Stakes and five other graded offerings closed Monday with a total of 104 horses nominated for the Malibu, Grade I La…

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…

PIZZA BIANCA RETURNS TO THE SCENE OF HER GREATEST TRIUMPH Pizza Bianca was a little known 2-year-old filly when she first arrived at Del Mar at the beginning of November last year. She left a celebrity with a Breeders' Cup victory to her credit. She's 3 now and back at the seaside oval to compete in the G1 Matriarch Sunday, contested at a mile on…

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…

Notes & Quotes From G1 Hollywood Derby: Speaking Scout (Speaking Scout wins the G1 Hollywood Derby / Benoit Photo & Courtesy of the Del Mar Turf Club) From the Del Mar Media Team: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Speaking Scout fired a big shot in the lane and came away a Grade I stakes winner for the first time when he clicked by three-quarters of a…

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…

Coast-to-coast Grade 1 stakes races are in the offing this weekend as Aqueduct and Del Mar start the month of December with a bang. Saturday's Grade 1 Cigar Mile in New York and Hollywood Derby in California will set the weekend table for Sunday's Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes on the west coast. It's a month on the racing calendar that will build to a…

Regal Glory, shown winning the 2021 Matriarch at Del Mar, takes on male rivals in Saturday's Grade I Fourstardave at Saratoga. Benoit photo, courtesy of Del Mar Turf Club Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Turf racing at Saratoga, Del Mar and Churchill Downs tops the weekend agenda, with a pair of Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" slots up for grabs. A third…

Dalaika, shown winning the Grade I Beverly D. at Churchill Downs, returns for the $1 million Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs Sept. 9 (UPI) -- It's all about the turf in weekend horse racing with Kentucky Downs staging an extravaganza unmatched anywhere in North America short of the Breeders' Cup World…

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…

The 2022 Kentucky Oaks horse race is in the books. Did you place a bet that hit it big? At 4-1 odds, Secret Oath won the 148th running of the Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Secret Oath and jockey Luis Saez held off Nest and Desert Dawn, your second- and third-place finishers, respectfully. Trained by Todd Pletcher,…

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…

Fair Grounds opens its racing season Friday, while Tampa Bay Downs will follow suit the following week. Those may not sound like the first signs of winter to many, but they are for horseplayers. And a reduction in takeout at Fair Grounds for the 80-day meeting in New Orleans will be music to bettors' ears. The pick 5 takeout has been reduced to…

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…

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…

Two very different, but very interesting, stakes races will highlight the Sunday Labor Day Weekend card at Del Mar. The first test brings out 3-year-old fillies, seven of them in fact, for the 45th edition of the Torrey Pines Stakes, a Grade III offering that carries a purse of $125000 and goes at a mile on the main track. The second is for…

Four stakes races are included in the late Pick 5 wager at Santa Anita on Saturday. Here is how I view the California-bred races, followed by my affordable ticket. A tough turf endeavor at 1 1/8 miles for the boys kicks off the sequence, and if I can move past the opening leg, then my confidence level will skyrocket. #8 Indian Peak (3-1) ran a few…

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…

Back to defend her title in Saturday's Grade I, $300000 Rodeo Drive Stakes and stamp her ticket to the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff, the Phil D'Amato-trained Going to Vegas was flawless on the front end today at Santa Anita as she waltzed gate to wire under Umberto Rispoli, getting a mile and one quarter on turf in 1:59.41 while never being…

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 his regular gambling blog, John Piassek presents his top picks for the upcoming weekend in horse racing, offering betting options at different budget levels. Piassek's Plays is brought to you by Horseplayers.com, the official online qualifying site of the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) and National Horseplayers Championship (NHC).…

The Breeders' Cup prep season begins to draw to a close beginning this weekend, with major domestic stakes at Aqueduct, Churchill Downs, and Santa Anita on Saturday. There's also significant racing on both Saturday and Sunday at Longchamp in Paris, site of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1). The TwinSpires Jury of James Scully, Kellie Reilly, and…

A busy weekend of Breeders' Cup challenge series races already is underway as Santa Anita Park kicked off its fall meet Friday with three "Win and You're In'' races. Hopefully, your handicapping is about complete for Santa Anita's opening day, which features the $300000 American Pharoah Stakes (G1) for 2-year-olds. Post time for this one is 8 p.m.…

It showed up like clockwork last week in my email. Remember email? About 240 of us voters for the Eclipse Awards received our annual packets of digital information, complete with the usual advice to tamp an eagerness we may have to cast an early ballot. "It is strongly encouraged," the instructions said, "that you consider waiting to vote until…

Off mounts last weekend due to being kicked in a paddock mishap on May 20, Jessica Pyfer, the 2021 Eclipse Award winner as outstanding apprentice jockey, notched her first stakes win Saturday at Santa Anita as she put Bally's Charm on the lead and never looked back en route to a 5 ¾ length win in the $150000 Snow Chief Stakes. The Snow Chief was…

Editor's note: This is the Thursday, Nov. 3 edition of the "Game Day with Kevin Modesti" newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, . Today's Q&A with horse racing writer Art Wilson and handicapper Bob Mieszerski about this week's Breeders' Cup should interest readers who already follow racing and others who wonder what the fuss is…

Last week, Belmont Park was the focus of the racing world with the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, preceded by a host of stakes for other Thoroughbred divisions. Earlier this week, the action shifted across the pond to England's Ascot racecourse for the Royal meet. On Saturday, the Jersey Shore will be the place to be as Monmouth…

Wondering which jockeys were hot at the Keeneland fall meet? You should be. The turf and dirt courses were idiosyncratic, and the riders who figured it out in October will have an advantage this weekend in the Breeders' Cup The Keeneland jockey title went to Luis Saez with 21 wins. Tyler Gaffalione was close behind with 20. They both won with 18%…

Bob Baffert has dominated Santa Anita's Grade 1, $300000 American Pharoah Stakes, winning it nine times. The trainer enters the race's 2021 edition with three of the seven entrants. Yet, this running comes with the caveat that none of Baffert's runners can earn qualifying points Friday toward the first Saturday in May. Baffert trains Corniche, 6-5…

The eyes of thoroughbred racing are on the final preparations for the more than 150 equine stars set to shine at Keeneland on Nov. 4-5 in the Breeders' Cup. Morning workouts are abuzz with horses across all 14 divisions as handicappers try to get one last edge and piece of knowledge for the betting bonanza. The free Breeders' Cup portal at XBTV…

Keeneland Barn Notes: Twilight Gleaming Headlines Field for Sunday's Franklin Stakes (Twilight Gleaming / Coady Photography) From the Keeneland Media Team: TWILIGHT GLEAMING (IRE) HEADS OVERFLOW FIELD FOR SUNDAY'S FRANKLIN Stonestreet Stables' Twilight Gleaming (IRE), winner of last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) at Del Mar,…

Led by Grade 1 winner McKulick, trainer Chad Brown brings a formidable pair to Keeneland for Saturday's $600000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, a Grade 1 affair on the turf for 3-year-old fillies. Never out of the money in seven career starts, the English-bred daughter of Frankel has proven to be one of the best young turf females in the nation,…

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) - Trainer John Sadler woke up feeling confident on Pacific Classic day, believing he had the best horse in the field. "The toughest thing all day was getting into the parking lot," he said. Accelerate never gave Sadler reason for concern, living up to his name with a record 12 1/2-length victory in the $1 million race at Del…

Cave Rock wins the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita, on to the Breeders' Cup. Benoit Photo, courtesy of Santa Anita The final weekend of prep races for the Breeders' Cup World Championships produced some impressive efforts and identified some likely favorites for the big weekend just a month down the road. War Like Goddess earned a spot against…