#Smarty Jones

In what will go down as the most surreal week in sports since 9/11, racing got a double spoonful of distasteful medicine. As the sports world - and the real world - come to grips with the spreading coronavirus, the horse world must also sort out the impact of the criminal bombshell that dropped Monday. Rival trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro,…

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…

Each week, this important article will provide the standings, power rankings, and recent transactions for every league member. Not only will you see the latest claims in the league (which will show you what horses might be up-and-coming), but you will also get updates on the runners as they prepare for their next starts along the Kentucky Derby…

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…

The Road to the Kentucky Derby continues on both coasts this weekend with the Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday, Jan. 7, and the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita the following day. Both are one-mile, but over different track configurations. The Jerome is run around one turn, the Sham over two turns. Both award the same number of Kentucky Derby…

The Road to the Kentucky Derby series opened in late September, but the prep season doesn't get into full swing until the New Year. And the first qualifier of 2023 took place at Oaklawn Park on New Year's Day, the Smarty Jones. Twenty-six additional point races will be offered for the May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1) over the next 3 1/2 months. Let's…

For bettors who think the expected favorite Arctic Arrogance can lose the $150000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday, there are other viable options in this Kentucky Derby trail points race. Eight 3-year-olds are entered and set to travel the one-turn mile. Here is a Daily Double linking an alternative choice in the Jerome to two deep closers in…

Eight horses are entered in the $150000 Jerome Stakes Saturday at Aqueduct, in which the top five finishers earn points to qualify for the Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. In terms of recent efforts at the highest level, we start with Arctic Arrogance, who finished second last month in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes after…

Each week, this important article will provide the standings, power rankings, and recent transactions for every league member. Not only will you see the latest claims in the league (which will show you what horses might be up-and-coming), but you will also get updates on the runners as they prepare for their next starts along the Kentucky Derby…

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…

The Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., is one of more than three dozen prep on the road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby. The 1-mile race on Sunday, Jan. 1, is the first Derby prep of the calendar year, offers a $250000 purse, and is a prelude to three other Derby preps at the Arkansas track: the Southwest, Rebel and Arkansas…

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…

The first day of 2023 kicks off with a bang on the horse racing front. The $250000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park serves as a Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve qualifier, awarding points for entry to the 2023 Derby on a 10-4-3-2-1 basis to the top five finishers. Held over one mile on dirt, the Smarty Jones has yet to…

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…

No less than 10 stakes races, including the first step toward the 2023 Florida Derby, will be held New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at Gulfstream Park this Saturday and Sunday. The New Year's Eve card includes 6 stakes, 5 of them graded, with a strong dose of grass action slated. New Year's Day features the one-mile Mucho Macho Man Stakes for…

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…

The Saratoga Race Course meet has a deeply ingrained reputation as one of North America's major proving grounds for the mettle of a freshman sire, offering some of the deepest 2-year-old competition for both maidens and graded stakes horses. As one of the meets on the calendar that has the full attention of breeders and stallion operations alike,…

The post positions for the 2020 Kentucky Derby are set, and the entry list includes 18 horses for what's now the second leg of horse racing's annual Triple Crown. Yes, the Triple Crown races are being run out of their traditional order for the first time since the early 1930s, but the Kentucky Derby specifically is experiencing significant change…

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Practical Move upset three of trainer Bob Baffert's 2-year-olds in the weekend's feature race, the Grade II Los Alamitos Futurity, adding his name into the mix of candidates for the 2023 Kentucky Derby. Things went a bit more to expectations among the Japanese 2-year-olds as the three favorites reported 1-2-3 in Sunday's Grade 1…

Kentucky Derby Past Performances and statistical view at the Run for the Roses. Since 1940, a lot of talk has been placed on a Kentucky Derby hopeful's final start and where they will prep and how well the past performances were. The interest in this annual right of passage for the owners of each horses and for Kentucky Derby handicappers as well…

Race 9: 1 1/16th (Dirt), Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3), Purse $400k, 3 (Saturday) The Grade III Lexington Stakes is the last gasp for the Kentucky Derby Prep Trail. Up for the taking are Points that include, 20 for the "Winner," 8 for the "Place" horse, 4 for the "Show" runner, and a measly 2 for the entry who rounds out the "Super." In the…

The 2022 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series comes to Gulfstream Park on Saturday, Jan. 29 (4:30-6 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock). Both winners of last year's marquee events return to Florida in the hopes of defending their titles. Knicks Go leads the 2022 Pegasus World Cup (G1) field with 6-5 odds despite drawing the far inside post position. The likely…

The Road to the Kentucky Derby winds down on Saturday with the running of the $1 million, Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Held over 1 1/8 miles, the historic race boasts an impressive roster of winners highlight by champions and/or classic winners American Pharoah, Creator, Curlin, Lawyer Ron, Afleet Alex, Smarty Jones, Victory Gallop, and…

Racing on the 2023 Kentucky Derby trail in New York resumes on Saturday at Aqueduct with the Grade 2, $250000 Remsen Stakes. The 1 1/8-mile contest, which is the second official Derby qualifying race of the year at the Big A, attracted a field of seven 2-year-olds and offers points to the top five finishers (10-4-3-2-1). Last year the Remsen…

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…

By Andy Serling FOX Sports Horse Racing Analyst When the field, projected at eight, breaks from the gate early Saturday evening for the 154th Belmont Stakes, the biggest question will be whether Rich Strike is a genuine player on the biggest stages or a one-hit-wonder. The race was drawn Tuesday morning. Eight horses are entered (Preakness winner…

Grab your favorite hat and a refreshing mint julep, because it's almost time for the 2022 Kentucky Derby. And if you're the gambling type, it's just about time to head toward the ticket window to place some bets on this year's field of horses. Per usual, 20 horses will be competing in the 2022 Kentucky Derby. Seasoned gamblers know that the race…

For the first time since 1926, the 2020 Belmont Stakes was run at a shorter distance than its traditional mile-and-a-half length. COVID-19 not only led to the temporary shuttering of numerous tracks, but it also created disruptions in horses' training schedules and support staff's ability to work around each other. The decision was made to run the…

Knicks Go warms up for Saturday's Pegasus World Cup. Photo by Lauren King, courtesy of Gulfstream Park Jan. 28 (UPI) -- It's only January, with lots of races yet to come, but it's possible the "race of the year" could be run Saturday in the $3 million Grade I Pegasus Stakes at Gulfstream Park as speedy Breeders' Cup champions Knicks Go and Life Is…

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…

Rich Strike gave us another exciting and unexpected Kentucky Derby chapter Saturday, outrunning race favorites Messier and Epicenter down the stretch to pull off the second-biggest upset in the Race for the Roses. Rich Strike, an 80-1 long shot who only entered the field Friday as a last-minute replacement for Ethereal Road, paid off big-$163.60,…

Patrons at Omaha's Horsemen's Park will find the simulcast wagering area much smaller than in the past, but an official says it's all for the greater good. The main simulcast facility at 63rd & Q closed its doors two weeks ago following the busy Breeders Cup weekend. In its place is a temporary home - a trailer that seats about 130 - until the…

Quinoa Tifah wins her career debut Thursday at Gulfstream Park. Photo by Lauren King, courtesy of Gulfstream Park April 17 (UPI) -- There's quality in lieu of quantity in this weekend's horse racing action with two "Grade A Prime" events at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas and the belated start of 2-year-old action in Florida. In Japan, 3-year-olds are the…

For many years, the $1 million Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park has been contested three weeks prior to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. It's been a productive time slot; over the last 25 years, the 1 1/8-mile race has produced champions and/or classic winners American Pharoah, Creator, Curlin, Lawyer Ron, Afleet…

The encore to the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic was Ghostzapper's 2004 performance. The 1998 Classic was said to be the greatest field ever assembled. Then the 2004 race was said to be the best. November 5, 2022, we saw Flightline win with a hand ride to an 8 1/2 victory and that race and Flightline were called the best. So, who is the BC Classic…

A trio of Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve prep races will take place Saturday, Jan. 1, across the country to kick off 2022. By far the most competitive on paper is the $250000 Smarty Jones Stake s at Oaklawn Park, which drew a full field of 14 newly turned 3-year-olds. From top to bottom, the Smarty Jones is stuffed with…

DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello, formerly of Wynn Las Vegas, handicaps the 20-horse field in Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Post position, horse, jockey, morning-line odds: They tried him on turf early in his career and he didn't adhere to that surface. But he has excelled on dirt. His last outing, in the Louisiana Derby, was a horrible…

Oaklawn Park has become a favorite meet for horsemen and horseplayers alike. The all dirt meet includes massive purses and Kentucky Derby prep races. Oaklawn Park will host 4 Kentucky Derby points races. Early in the meet the Smarty Jones Stakes and the Southwest Stakes will offer points on a 10-4-2-1 scale. Very rarely do these races have…

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…

A dominating winner in three starts this winter against fillies, the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Secret Oath will be out to prove she is ready for a new challenge when she takes on the boys in the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn Park. In trying to become the first filly to win a Kentucky Derby qualifier since the adoption of the…

Over the course of 2020 and into 2021, our Senior Gambling Analyst and Vegas Insider- Frankie Taddeo - has shared his horse racing handicapping formula which has correctly predicted the following winners at SI Gambling: Travers Stakes - Exacta (8/1), Trifecta (36/1) Blue Grass Stakes - Exacta (12/1), Trifecta (60/1) and Superfecta (443/1) Ontario…

At80-1, Rich Strike was not the longest shot ever to win the Kentucky Derby, buthe was the one whose shocking victory resonated the fastest. Theonly bigger betting surprise to win the race was Donerail, who carried odds of91-1 in 1913. Not only was that before the internet made communications fasterthan the blink of an eye, it was more than a…

After a dramatic edition of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, all eyes now turn to the second jewel of the Triple Crown: the Preakness Stakes. First run in 1873, the 144 edition of the race is this Saturday at Pimlico in Baltimore, and though it doesn't feature the Derby winner it will have no shortage of excitement with 12 horses…

The $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds on the road to the Kentucky Derby and the return of champions Swiss Skydiver and Whitmore top the racing action around the country on Saturday. The Rebel features Derby prospects Caddo River, Concert Tour and Keepmeinmind and offers Derby qualifying points of 50-20-10-5 to the first four finishers. A…

Carryingtwo Grade 1 wins this year, Cyberknife probably will line up in the Breeders' Cup Classic, right? Notso fast, his trainer Brad Cox said Saturday after his Gun Runner colt lost toanother Gun Runner colt. Cyberknife finished third to Taiba in the Grade 1, $1million Pennsylvania Derby. SinceFebruary, Cyberknife has won four times, twice at 1…

With the Sunday stakes races on the major racing circuits as unappetizing as a plate of regurgitated gruel, we're going off the beaten for today's action, to Remington Park in Oklahoma City, where the Oklahoma Derby headlines a terrific 12-race card. We have plays in three of those races, all stakes, and we expect fast dirt and firm turf in all…

Bet with the Racing Dudes TODAY using our friends at BetPTC and get a $200 new member bonus! Enter promo code DUDES! The Grade 3, $400000 Oklahoma Derby headlines a 12-race program on Sunday, Sept. 25 at Remington Park. The headliner drew a field of eight this morning with Best Actor tabbed the morning-line favorite at 9-5 odds. Owned by Gary and…