#Stay Thirsty

Knicks Go, seen winning the Grade I Pegasus World Cup in January, is favorite for Saturday's Grade I Whitney at Saratoga. Photo courtesy of Gulfstream Park Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Rich purses drew some top foreign talent for the Saratoga Derby and Oaks on Saturday and Sunday on the upstate New York turf to highlight a big weekend of Thoroughbred…

Lovely Ride wins Saturday's Pippin Stakes at Oaklawn Park Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Trainer Bob Baffert saddled the first three finishers in Sunday's $100000 Grade III Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, a "Road to the Kentucky Derby" race, while the other weekend qualifier went to a colt who might find the Derby distance…

Trainer Peter Miller was worried he might not have Thirsty John fit enough for Saturday's Cal Cup Derby at Santa Anita off an eight-month layoff, but his plan worked out just fine on a racing day devoted to Cal-breds. Miller had Thirsty John fit enough to go gate to wire and hold off stablemate Giver Not a Taker by a half length in the $200000 race…

Jockey John Velazquez, riding Authentic, celebrates winning the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The Breeders' Cup World Championships, just as they were designed to do, nicely wrapped up some issues for the 2020 racing season, including the "Horse of the…

Mike from Queens got to see his two horses finish first and second in New York's biggest race. Mike Repole, who owns Mo Donegal and filly Nest, watched as Mo Donegal passed We the People and Skippylongstocking on the outside in the stretch of the 2022 Belmont Stakes. Once clear, Mo Donegal powered ahead, leaving the rest of the field well behind.…

Hot Peppers after her win in the Jersey Girl June 12 (NYRA/Coglianese) By Keith McCalmont - NYRA Press Office OZONE PARK, N.Y.- Michael Dubb and Michael J. Caruso's graded-stakes winner Hot Peppers returns from a three-month layoff in Saturday's $120000 Garland of Roses, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct…

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…

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' multiple Grade 1-winner Mind Control will retire on top of his game after securing a trademark gutsy score in Saturday's Grade 1, $750000 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by NYRA Bets, at Aqueduct Racetrack. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and piloted by fellow Hall of Famer John Velazquez, the 6-year-old son…

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,…

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…

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…

Oaklawn Park rolls into Friday with another great card! Turfwriter and resident picker, J.N. Campbell has you covered with all of his free picks... and of course, some specific analysis. Enjoy! Race 1: 7-2-4-8 Race 2: 6-7-1/1A-3 Race 3: 1-8-3-7 Race 4: 1-3-7-4 Race 5: 7-4-1-3 Race 6: 5-3-7-9 Race 7: 1-4-7-5 Race 8: 2-8-4-3 Race 9: 8-10-3-2 **Most…

When it was revealed that jockey Mychel Sanchez had gone on a betting spree that included wagers where he bet against the horses he was riding, his attorney Alan Pincus argued that this was not a matter of race fixing. Rather, Pincus said, Sanchez had turned to gambling as an outlet to combat his depression, let things spin out of control and in…

Classic Causeway, shown winning the Sam F. Davis Stakes earlier in the meeting, is morning-line favorite for Saturday's Tampa Bay. SV Photography photo, courtesy of Tampa Bay Downs March 11 (UPI) -- With the Kentucky Derby picture still very much uncertain, Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby looms as a golden opportunity for one or more of the 3-year-olds…

ELMONT, NY - The kid from Queens got his GI Belmont Stakes. Carrying the royal blue-and-orange, New York Mets-inspired silks of Middle Village native Mike Repole, Donegal Racing and Repole Stable's Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) delivered an authoritative, three-length victory as the 5-2 favorite before an announced crowd of 46103 in Saturday's GI Belmont…

Mo Donegal is the winner of the 154th Belmont Stakes in an official time of 2:28.28. This is Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher's fourth time winning the Belmont. Pletcher's previous victories at Belmont Stakes were with Rags to Riches in 2007, Palace Malice in 2013 and Tapwrit in 2017. Saturday was a terrific day at the racetrack for him, as his…

The 152nd Travers Stakes, the Mid-Summer Derby, is Saturday, Aug. 28, at Saratoga Race Course. The top race of the summer for 3-year-olds is contested at 1¼ miles with a purse of $1.25 million. In the days leading up to the race, usracing.com will publish profiles of the contenders. Profiles will be updated with post position, odds, and jockey…

With undefeated phenom Flightline (Tapit) and sophomore star Epicenter (Not This Time) headlining a respectably deep GI Breeders' Cup Classic, one oft-repeated quip is that 2022 is turning out to be "a tough year to have a good horse" aiming for a divisional championship. Yet a few rungs farther down the class ladder-more than a few, in truth-a…

Cyberknife, shown winning the Arkansas Derby, runs in Saturday's $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing. Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Saturday's Pennsylvania Derby brings together many of the top U.S. 3-year-olds just hours after a few of the top prospects for next year's European Classics kick off the…