#ready to purrform

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Wit, who races for the Repole, St. Elias and Gainsway Stables, followed his usual racing pattern of coming from off the pace when he took the trophy in the Spa's $135000 Better Talk Now Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Race Course. With Jose Ortiz in the saddle for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, the colt by Practical Joke…

Colonel Liam, shown after winning the 2021 Fort Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park, returns to try for a repeat win Saturday. Photo by Lauren King, courtesy of Gulfstream Park Dec. 30 (UPI) - Eight horses celebrate their third birthday Sunday by lining up for the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park - the holiday weekend's way station on the "Road…

Saratoga will host 2 stakes races on Friday. The Troy will feature the ultra talented Wesley Ward trainee, Golden Pal. He was installed as the odds on favorite in the race. Post: 1:05 PM ET; $75k Starter Handicap going 7 furlongs on dirt; Entries: 6 #5 CUSTOMEREXPERIENCE (2-1) gets the top selection. This one has the top overall power rating in the…

There's more than just the Preakness Stakes horses to bet on for Saturday's races. The Late Pick 5 at Pimlico on Preakness Day includes a quintet of stakes races, beginning with the Chick Lang S. (G3) in Race 9 and concluding with the $1.65 million Preakness S. (G1) in Race 13. Below we examine the top contenders in races 9-13 and build a few Pick…

Multi-platinum entertainer Trace Adkins visited Kentucky Downs for the first time on Labor Day and gave the one-of-a-kind racetrack in Franklin a thumbs up. Adkins was on hand as the Official Music Ambassador for the 2022 FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs, with the award-winning, Grand Ole Opry member autographing the guitars that serve as trophies…

Kitodan, claimed for $80000 just four starts ago, flew home from out of the clouds to pull the 20-1 upset in the GIII Dueling Grounds Derby on Kentucky Downs's rescheduled card Monday. The bay colt settled near the back of the 12-horse field and was well off the pace as Double Clutch (Optimizer) bowled along on the front end through pedestrian…

A hoarse Eric Foster stood outside the winner's circle Monday at Kentucky Downs next to owner Doug Miller. The trainer tried to gather his thoughts and find the words to describe his first graded-stakes win. "I just knew we had him ready," Foster said of Kitodan, who pulled a 20-1 upset in the Grade 3, $750000 Dueling Grounds Derby. "Doug always…

Closing day at Saratoga features six 2-year-olds aiming to take a division lead on the road to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Gulfport (9-5) is the morning-line favorite for the Grade 1, $300000 Hopeful Stakes. Post time from Saratoga is 6:11 p.m. EDT, with FS2 showing the seven-furlong sprint for juveniles. The Hopeful is the first Grade 1 race of…