#Ricardo Santana Jr

As the 2023 Kentucky Derby trail takes a one-weekend pause, the 2023 Kentucky Oaks path continues Saturday in New York. Occult is the 7-5 morning-line favorite for the $100000 Busanda Stakes. Post time from Aqueduct is 3:47 p.m. EST, with FS2 showing the 1 1/8-mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies. The Busanda is the first prep race to pay points on a…

Even if a race does not carry qualifying points, if there are 3-year-olds running, it could end up being a prep for Kentucky Derby 2023. In addition to the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, there are six other races Saturday that include 15 horses who already are in the Derby futures market in Las Vegas or are on the verge of being there. Maiden…

In this biweekly series, racing analyst J. Keeler Johnson shares promising horses from his handicapping watch list, reviewing runners who have recently caught his eye and previewing horses scheduled to run back in the near future. New to the Watch List Gun Pilot You know Saturday's fourth race at Oaklawn, an $80000 allowance optional claimer (post…

January is always a good time of year to search maiden special weight entries for promising 3-year-olds making their debuts. Often there are well-bred youngsters to be found. Such is the case this week. A half-sister to Dortmund and a colt produced by Dame Dorothy are two of the half-dozen notable names we're highlighting in Prospect…

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…

Kentucky Derby second-place finisher Mandaloun (pink cap) wins Sunday's Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park. Photo courtesy of Monmouth Park June 14 (UPI) -- Maybe it's a little early to crown Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality as best 3-year-old in the nation, especially after Mandaloun's impressive victory in Sunday's Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth…

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…

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…

Country House won the 145th Kentucky Derby after Maximum Security - who crossed the finish line first - was disqualified for a race infraction, an unprecedented result in race history. Read full coverage of the race here. Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer of Triple Crown winners American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018, has three horses in…

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…

Titleholder wins Sunday's Takarazuka Kinen, now targeting the Arc d'Triomphe. Photo courtesy of Japan Racing Association June 27 (UPI) -- Tawny Port's victory in Saturday's Ohio Derby serves notice the scramble among U.S. 3-year-olds is far from over while Westover's dominance of the Irish Derby indicates he's not out of the frame, either, despite…

The 145th running of the Grade-1, Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 4, at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the only race in the U.S. with a 20-horse field and it can provide great wagering opportunities for bettors. The favorite has won the run for the roses the last several years, but even with the top choice…

Stonestreet homebred Clairiere (Curlin) kicked home convincingly in Saturday's GI Cotillion S. at Parx to earn a first highest-level victory and snap a five-race winless streak while capping an exacta for her sire. A neck winner of the GII Rachel Alexandra S. in February, the Steve Asmussen pupil was second best to familiar foe Travel Column…

Tiz the Law is the 6-5 morning line favorite for Saturday's 152nd running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. The Barclay Tagg-trained multiple Grade 1 winner will break from the eight post against nine competitors in the 1-1/8 mile test around one turn. Posts were drawn Wednesday. "It could have been worse. I was hoping to get five…

Sunday's $250000 Smarty Jones is the first of four stops on Oaklawn Park's road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby. The one-mile stakes race drew a field of eight which celebrate their racetrack birthdays on this day and will make their first start as 3-year-olds. As an official Derby prep race, points are available to the top five eligible finishers…

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…

A Triple Crown sweep lies silent this year with Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike side-stepping Saturday's Preakness Stakes. But a trio of big-time talents make this year's middle jewel a fabulous, triple-threat race. Kentucky Derby runner-up and beaten favorite Epicenter was installed as the 6-5 morning-line favorite by Pimlico oddsmaker Keith…

Letruska edges Monomoy Girl in Saturday's $1 million Grade I Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park. Photo by Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park April 19 (UPI) -- Million-dollar races at Oaklawn Park produced a big upset and a potential star for the remainder of the year in highlights of horse racing this weekend. The Kentucky Derby field continued…

According to Churchill Downs' Mike Battaglia's opening odds, thoroughbred contender Cyberknife is a 20-1 shot for Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Even if he doesn't win, his owner deserves a bouquet of roses or at least a glass of champagne. You see, Al Gold had more important things on his mind when he named his Chestnut colt. The prostate cancer he…

Winning connections celebrate after the inaugural running of the Royal Saint Lucia Turf Club's $150000 Pitons Cup on Friday. Photo courtesy of Royal Saint Lucia Turf Club Dec. 16 (UPI) -- On a horse racing weekend when "new" was the watchword from Japan all the way to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, Instilled Regard and War Story provided a hint of…

The Prestigious Kentucky Derby Prep that no one talks about: The $400000 Springboard Mile. This one is for the two-year-olds going one Mile on the dirt at Remington Park. Carded as Race 12, and going to post at 11:19 p.m. (ET), we can possibly see some of these horses the first Saturday in May. This one debuted at Saratoga and blew the doors off…

Saturday's $400000 Remington Springboard Mile features a match-up between Giant Mischief and Echo Again who are ranked in eighth and ninth position in the latest Kentucky Derby futures released by Circa Sports in Las Vegas. Interestingly, the Remington Park morning line has Echo Again as the 2-1 favorite and Giant Mischief as the 3-1 second choice,…

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…

Controversy enveloped the final Breeders' Cup race at Del Mar on Friday when a horse that had been removed from the wagering was allowed to run and crossed the finish line first in the $1 million Juvenile Turf. The bizarre incident on one of horse racing's biggest days occurred after Modern Games, the inside horse in the field of 13, reared back in…

Lys Gracieux cruises to victory in Sunday's Grade 1 Arima Kinen in Japan. Photo courtesy of Kasumi Saito Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Lys Gracieux roared to victory over a loaded field in the Arima Kinen in Japan in the marquee event of weekend horse racing while Diamond Oops upset the apple cart in a key Florida sprint with international implications. Firenze…

Arkansas' iconic Oaklawn Park, literally situated within a National Park, kicks off its biggest season ever Friday and runs 68 dates through Kentucky Derby Day on May 6. A track record 45 stakes races will be offered and total nearly $14 million purses alone. Friday's opening day feature will be the $150000 Advent Stakes, a 5-1/2 furlong dash for…

The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown and it will take place Saturday evening at Churchill Downs in Louisville. The year's derby will be one of the more interesting ones in recent memory since legendary trainer Bob Baffert will not be allowed at the track as he's serving a 90-day suspension. The ban was given to him by…

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…

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…

Two Emmys wins Saturday's Grade I Mr. D. Stakes at Arlington Park, the final gasp of what once was the Arlington Million. Photo by Coach Photography, courtesy of Arlington Park Aug. 16 (UPI) -- There was something for everyone in Saturday's presumed final run of "Million Day" at Arlington Park with a victory for top international raiders and…

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…

Olympiad with Junior Alvarado aboard wins the New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds. This Saturday's Grade 2, $750000 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs brings together a field of seven horses in the Breeders' Cup Classic division trying to earn a "Win and You're In" spot into the big race in November. Leading the field in terms of career…

When a heavy favorite enters any athletic contest, the best strategy can sometimes be to never let the underdog get into the game. Echo Zulu employed that exact game plan to perfection in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on Friday at Del Mar, and all but guaranteed herself an Eclipse Award at the end of the year. The 2-year-old Gun Runner filly…

Churchill Downs' Barn Notes: Curly Jack May Set Them Straight In G2 KY Jockey Club (Curly Jack / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Michael McLaughlin's $300000 Iroquois Stakes (Grade III) winner Curly Jack headlines a field of nine 2-year-old colts that were entered in Saturday's 96 running of the $400000 Kentucky…

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen's Jackie's Warrior is the 6-5 morning-line favorite to win today's Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs.(AP/Charlie Riedel) HOT SPRINGS -- Another champion has emerged as this racetrack's sprint favorite. Jackie's Warrior, the 2021 Eclipse Award champion male sprinter, is the…

Gary Barber's Perfect Flight rallied from last under Ricardo Santana Jr. to upset Apprehend and Ramon Vazquez and give trainer Peter Miller a one-two finish in Tuesday's $250000 Zia Park Derby at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M. The Derby was one of seven stakes on the Land of Enchantment Day program with purses totaling $900000 and came one race after…

An inside look at how the 145th Kentucky Derby will shape up: Trainer: Mark Casse Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione Current form: Won the Rebel by a measured two lengths to make it three straight. But gate issues and a wide trip resulted in his first loss on dirt in the Louisiana. Worth a wager? Willed his way to impressive streak. Does best running early…

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 mile-and-a-half Test of the Champion at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday is all that awaits the Triple Crown season for 2022. In reality, it will be more of a test to see if 80-1 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike is more akin to the Beatles or Chumbawamba. Do we have a superstar or one-hit wonder in our midst? The answer comes against a field…

The co-feature of "Future Stars Friday" on Breeders' Cup weekend is the $2 million NetJets Juvenile Fillies. The country's top 2-year-old fillies will travel 1 1/16 miles on the dirt main track at Del Mar for the right to be called a Breeders' Cup champion. The Grade 1 race is scheduled as the seventh race on the card with a listed post time of…

World Series Winner Now a Winner at Churchill Downs, Too (Alex Bregman, of the Houston Astros, gets a win at Churchill Downs / Coady Photography) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Two-time World Series-winning third basemen Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros became a winning horse owner Wednesday at Churchill Downs when his family's 2-year-old…

Kueber Racing's two-time stakes-winning filly Coach will attempt to collect her first victory in graded stakes company as the headliner in Saturday's $300000 Chilukki Stakes (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs. The one-mile Chilukki Stakes for fillies and mares will go as Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 5:35 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 1…

A pair of undefeated colts trained by Bob Baffert are the morning-line favorites for Saturday's Arkansas Derby, which has been split into two divisions. A total of 22 3-year-olds were entered for the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, leading to the race being split into two divisions. Both races will include 170 qualifying points toward the…

Tools & Tips to Win Big on Kentucky Derby 2021! All Derby handicapping Free Derby PPs Expert sets Derby Odds Derby Odds & Analysis Fastest Derby speed figs Get expert Derby picks! 90% of Derby winners... Derby pedigree analysis 10 Derby Secrets (FREE) (VIDEO) 30-1 Longshots Louisville,Ky. Itwill come as no surprise that Essential Quality is the…

Big money and Breeders' Cup berths will be on the line on both turf and dirt this weekend all over North America. We'll start at beautiful Belmont Park where a pair of rich turf races for 3-year-olds will lead the way. The $1 million Jockey Club Derby offers a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Turf, while the $700000 Jockey Club Oaks closes…

Despite a five-racing losing streak - not even a finish better than fourth during the past eight months - Tenfold was invited to run in Saturday's $3 million Pegasus World Cup. Even though he is one of the five 30-1 longest shots in the 12-horse field, the connections of the 5-year-old son of champion Curlin figured why not head to Gulfstream…

Churchill Downs' Barn Notes: Sconsin Returns in Sunday's Dream Supreme Stakes (Sconsin / Photos by Coady Photography) From the Churhcill Downs Media Team: Lloyd Madison Farm's growing broodmare band will add another member to their roster with their homebred Sconsin, who has a date with 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner in a few months. The…

Set Piece Is Set to Return to Churchill Downs in Sunday's G3 River City (Set Piece / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Juddmonte's multiple graded stakes winner Set Piece (GB) leads an oversubscribed cast of 14 horses that were entered in Sunday's $300000 River City (Grade III) at Churchill Downs. Sunday's featured…

Malathaat will try to stay unbeaten in the Grade 1, $500000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on Saturday and at the same time notch her third Grade 1 victory of the year. Run at 1 1/8 miles, the CCA Oaks has been won by the future champion of the 3-year-old filly division for three years in a row with Monomoy Girl in 2018, Abel Tasman in…