#Rod Charlie

Item: Malathaat, the undefeated winner of the Kentucky Oaks, will not race next month in the Belmont Stakes. So much for the battle of the sexes. Item: Because of his ongoing medication contretemps, Bob Baffert and anyone associated with his stable have been ordered to stay away from New York Racing Association tracks. That means Kentucky Derby…

Essential Quality, shown winning the Grade I Travers, is among the favorites in a Breeders' Cup Classic field announced this week. Photo courtesy of New York Racing Association Oct. 29 (UPI) -- It's a week for looking forward as horse racing around the globe nears its annual champion-making events and youngsters get in final licks to make a case…

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…

By the time the Grade 1, $1017500 Haskell Stakes was about to start Saturday evening, trainer Brad Cox was under extra pressure. He had been on a private plane from Saratoga only a few hours earlier with rival trainer Chad Brown, Brown's girlfriend and three jockeys. By the time the Haskell rolled around, Brown had won five races, including four…

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…

Now we are talking Kentucky Derby preps. This time we mean it. Life Is Good can race across, up and down or diagonally through the San Felipe. Greatest Honour can close on pedestrian fractions in the Fountain of Youth. Concert Tour can be anointed prince of the Bob Baffert Invi … er … Rebel Stakes. Essential Quality can be forgotten with his…

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…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Latest on the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby (all times local): 5:15 p.m. Thousands of spectators are gathered in the infield at Churchill Downs, many not wearing face masks required amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds stood in lines that were not spaced out to use ATMs or buy food. Unlike some Derby tickets this year…

Brad Cox's favorite Essential Quality ran down a furious pacesetting Hot Rod Charlie down the stretch to win the 153rd Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. New York regular Luis Saez was in the irons. United Arab Emirates ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum owns Essential Quality. The victory by Essential Quality could bring extra scrutiny of…

Breeders' Cup Classic hero Knicks Go has been named the Longines World's Best Racehorse at an online ceremony hosted from the National Racing Museum in Newmarket. The International Federation of Horseracing Authority's panel of handicappers awarded Knicks Go an end-of-season rating of 129, 2lb clear of a three-way tie featuring European Horse of…

Knicks Go capped a Horse of the Year season late Saturday afternoon, winning the $6 million Breeders Cup Classic by 2¾ lengths over provisional Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit in the finale of the two-day event at Del Mar. Former Del Mar riding champion Joel Rosario guided the third choice in the field of eight to his third Grade I win of the…

May 9, 2021 update: Medina Spirit has reportedly failed a drug test. Should those result be confirmed, the horse will be retroactively disqualified from the Kentucky Derby, forfeiting its first-place finish and winnings. Medina Spirit is the winner of the 147th Kentucky Derby at famed Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse entered the…

For the first time since 2015, there will be no rain falling on the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs for a Kentucky Derby held on its traditional date in Louisville, Ky., on the first Saturday in May. The 2020 Run for the Roses was contested under clear skies and a fast track on Sept. 5, with no fans in the grandstand due to the coronavirus pandemic…

Don Alberto Stable's Forza Di Oro gets the honors of morning line favorite at 7-2 in the $100000 Tenacious Stakes Monday at Fair Grounds, but last year's Tenacious exacta returns in the form of Estate of James J. Coleman Jr.'s Chess Chief and Lothenbach's Happy American, who is cross-entered in the $100000 Buddy Diliberto three races earlier on the…

Ramon Vazquez / 7 Edwin Maldonado / 5 TRAINERS / WINS Philip D'Amato / 8 Doug O'Neill / 7 Bob Baffert / 6 Peter Miller / 5 George Papaprodromou / 4 Friday • $175000 Real Good Deal Stakes, 3-year-olds bred in CA, 7 furlongs Saturday • $400000 Grade I Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles • $150000 California…

The 147th running of the Kentucky Derby is set to take place this afternoon, and sports bettors are jumping on the opportunity to buy into the most exciting two minutes in gambling. This year's Kentucky Derby betting odds list Essential Quality as the+275 favorite in this year's Run for the Roses, as the undefeated horse boasts a pair of Grade 1…

The colt who appears likely to be named the official 2021 Kentucky Derby winner returns to the races Sunday afternoon. Mandaloun headlines a five-horse field going 1 1/16 miles in the $150000 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park. Post time is 4:50 p.m. EDT, with TVG to broadcast the local prep for next month's Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Stakes. When…

The history of horse racing is filled with rags-to-riches stories of jockeys, trainers, and horses that rise from humble beginnings to achieve success at the highest levels of the sport. Few such stories can compare with that of the remarkable gelding Lava Man, who went from claimer to Hall of Famer to dominate California horse racing for much of…

Derma Sotogake (4) wins the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun on Wednesday -- the second leg of the "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby." Photo courtesy of Katsumi Saito Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Candidates for next year's Kentucky Derby take center stage again in a weekend horse racing schedule that also includes the first "Win and You're In" race for the 2023…

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic is the marquee race for the upcoming World Championships for US Racing. Since it started in 1984, the 1¼m race has ascended to one of the most important races on the global racing calendar. The Classic regularly draws the best horses from across the world that love the dirt track. The race has seen numerous…

There will be stakes action on the agenda at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, as the Tinsel Stakes is due off at 5:14 p.m ET. This race will be run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles on the dirt, and horses aged three and over will be involved. There are a number of runners involved this weekend that has shown glimpses of excellent form, but all are…

One of horse racing's biggest events runs this weekend - the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar Racetrack. Our ponies ace has you covered with a full breakdown of the field and her trifecta in our Breeder's Cup picks and predictions. Breeders' Cup weekend is upon us with a stacked card kicking things off Friday, featuring the top fillies and mares,…

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…

It's been a while since we checked in with the Answer Man, so let's clean out the mailbag and address some of your questions: Q: What's up with Del Mar limiting attendance on opening day? I can remember when they had 40000 in past years and it was a marvelous experience. I'm of the opinion that the more the merrier. A: Del Mar began capping its…

The richest two days in horse racing take place Friday and Saturday, November 4-5, with the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Saturday's $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday is the highlight of the 14 races totaling $31 million in prize money. The field features 80-1 longshot…

As the private planes of horse owners started to stack up at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in advance of the Kentucky Derby, five members of the Hot Rod Charlie ownership group took a Sunday morning Southwest Airlines flight from Raleigh, N.C., connected through Atlanta, before landing some four miles from Churchill Downs. Only two…

Coming in off huge victories in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), Life Is Good will look to conquer new worlds when he headlines a field of 11 older males set for Saturday's $12 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse. A son of Into Mischief, trained by Todd Pletcher, Life Is Good will not only be making his first…

The 2022 TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) has drawn a field of eight, including some of the best three-year-olds in training right now. Taiba, the dazzling winner of the Santa Anita Derby (G1), has been named the 7-5 morning line favorite. Jack Christopher, undefeated in four starts, stretches out to two turns for the first time in the Haskell. Arkansas…

Frankie Dettori believes favourite Life Is Good will be a "very tough nut to crack" in the Dubai World Cup. The top jockey has f our rides on the Meydan card, including one of market leader's opponents Country Grammer. Dettori has won the $12 million race on Dubai Millennium (2000), Moon Ballad (2003) and Electrocutionist (2006). "The favourite,…

One horse won the Kentucky Derby and now faces disqualification (maybe) and banishment (definitely). That would make a second horse the new winner. A third horse won the Preakness. Then there is last year's 2-year-old champion, who lost as the Derby favorite this month, and a filly who has been beating every challenger among her gender and now may…

Hot Rod Charlie gives the Grade 3, $150000 Salvator Mile on Saturday at Monmouth Park a nice star attraction for racing fans to watch. Unfortunately, his class advantage also makes this race hard to approach as a bettor. Last year, Hot Rod Charlie crossed the wire first in the Haskell Stakes (G1) on this course, before a disqualification knocked…

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…

No matter how big the hype, no matter how high the expectations, Flightline exceeded every marker in his historic win Saturday in the $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course. Did he cement his place in horse racing history with his 8¼-length win in the country's most prestigious race? The 45973 in attendance appeared to think so…

Nine of the top horses in the world are set to enter the starting gate at the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. The Breeders' Cup Classic 2021 field includes a pair of 2021 Triple Crown winners. Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality will break from the No. 4 post. Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit,…

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…

The 153rd Run for the Carnations is getting set to go as eight horses will load in the gates at 6:49 p.m. ET on Saturday for the 2021 Belmont Stakes. Essential Quality is the 2-1 favorite in the latest Belmont Stakes 2021 odds, but being the favorite hasn't always translated to success in recent races. From 2010-19 -- as last year's postponed race…

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,…

Olympiad isn't a born homewrecker, but if there is one sleeper in the 2022 Breeders' Cup Classic field, it's he. William Mott's training style is careful, as evidenced by the extremely judicious campaign that has brought the four-year-old grandson of Medaglia d'Oro to Keeneland this Saturday. Mott has not often let this athlete race outside…

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…

The 2000-meter Dubai World Cup concluded the day's festivities at Meydan Racecourse, with American trainer Bob Baffert's Country Grammer, ridden by Italian Frankie Dettori, securing a 1¾-length victory over Hot Rod Charlie in 2 minutes, 4.97 seconds. Country Grammer returned to competition after a nine-month layoff following the Saudi Cup in…

Life Is Good, shown winning the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in January, is favored in Saturday's Grade I Whitney at Saratoga. Photo courtesy of Katsumi Saito Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Life is Good and Olympiad square off in the heavyweight match that is Saturday's Whitney Stakes at Saratoga, just one race after an international Group I rematch on…

BUCKLE up and prepare for lift off as supersonic Flightline seeks equine immortality. The Breeders' Cup at Keeneland features Euro stars like Highfield Princess, Nashwa, Tuesday and Modern Games. But there is no doubt Flightline's date with destiny in the Classic is the talk of the town. I'm lucky enough to bring you all the interviews for the…

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…

With such a dominant favorite as Flightline in this year's Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland, it's perhaps a little too easy to accept his amazing talents as the be-all-and-end-all of the 2022 field. Or, arguably worse, it's perhaps a little too easy to allow Flightline's superior abilities to blur your vision of his competitors. But his main…

Churchill Downs has hosted the Kentucky Derby continuously since 1875, making it the longest-running major American sporting event, but last year it faced one of its most serious challenges because of the coronavirus pandemic. The race was postponed to September and no fans were allowed in attendance, but the Kentucky Derby 2021 brings back…

The horses are nearing the starting gate for the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby. The post position draw and morning line oddswere released today, and the countdown to "the most exciting two minutes in sports" and America's most popular horse race is set. Post time for the Kentucky Derby from Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY is 6:57 p.m. ET on…

Rich Strike, seen posing the morning after his Kentucky Derby win, returns in Saturday's Grade I Clark Stakes with a chance to stake a claim for year-end honors. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs Nov. 25 (UPI) -- It's getting to be crunch time for horses who seek year-end honors, and this weekend's Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs provides one of…

There are several horses with Triple Crown experience taking part in the 2022 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, but an inexperienced horse is the favorite. We the People, who has only raced four times in his career, is the 2-1 favorite in the 2022 Belmont Stakes odds. He is joined by Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (7-2) along with Churchill Downs…

Despite qualifying for the Kentucky Derby, trainer Chad Brown opted to hold Early Voting out of the first leg of the Triple Crown with designs on keeping him fresh for a run in the 2022 Preakness Stakes. It's a strategy that paid dividends for Brown in 2017, when he did the same with Cloud Computing, who went on to beat Classic Empire by a head.…