#Stilleto Boy

When a horse is purchased for $1.1 million, expectations are high. Baffert trains Shaaz, who has won two of four career starts but finished third going a mile against Grade 3 rivals last time out. His victory at Santa Anita in April was impressive. Cutting back to one turn may help Shaaz. That said, he is facing some veteran horses who know a thing…

ARCADIA, Calif. - It's proving time for 3-year-olds in the barn of trainer Bob Baffert. The next four months will weed out the best of the bunch as the calendar moves closer to May and the start of the Triple Crown series. "See what you have, see what they like to do," Baffert said. "You learn from the races and hope they stay healthy. That's the…

The Breeders' Cup Classic pits the top horses from around the world against each other in the ultimate showdown to finish out the year in horse racing. Here's everything you need to know about racing's grand finale this weekend at Santa Anita: What is the Breeders' Cup Classic? The $6 million Classic is a 1 1/4-mile race on the dirt with 14 spots…

The Kentucky Derby is one of the most iconic sporting events in the world. Every year, millions of fans tune into NBC to watch top race horses from around the globe compete in "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports." The 2021 Kentucky Derby will air on May 1 from 12 to 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage is also…

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…

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…

Country Grammer, reunited with Frankie Dettori for the first time since winning the G1 Dubai World Cup in March, strode home an easy winner of the GII San Antonio S. at Santa Anita Monday. Sent off the 3-5 favorite, Country Grammer was hustled from his outside post by Dettori, but was unable to match the speed of his inside rivals and was caught…

The headline for opening day of the Classic Meet at Santa Anita is the return of Taiba. Undoubtedly talented, the horse seems to be rebounding off of a rough Derby. Post: 11:00 AM PT; $200k Santa Anita Mathis Mile S. going 1 mile on turf; Entries: 7 #1 BALNIKHOV (2-1) gets the top selection. He goes out for the D'Amato barn and gets Gaffalione in…

A delicious confrontation between two of the aces from this year's Triple Crown events will unfold at Del Mar Sunday when Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit and Kentucky Derby/Belmont Stakes competitor Rock Your World match strides over a mile in the 47th running of the $100000 Shared Belief Stakes. Six in all have entered the headliner for…

The horse everyone will be watching and quite possibly betting next Saturday put in another eye-catching work Saturday morning at Del Mar, not so much for the speed at which he glided around the track, but at how effortless it appeared. Flightline set fractions of:12.80, :24.60, :36.40, and stopped the clock at:59.60 for the five furlongs. Not bad…

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…

One horse will become a Grade 1 winner for the first time when the starting gate opens in the 2022 Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday at Santa Anita Park. Also known as the Big'Cap, the storied event quickly became one of the country's top races after Seabiscuit made multiple attempts to win it in the late 1930s. This year, the John Shirreffs-trained…

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 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…

Sconsin, shown winning the 2021 Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs, tries for a repeat in the Memorial Day renewal. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs May 27 (UPI) -- The long Memorial Day weekend is not short on racing action with two "Win and You're In" events, one in California amid a flurry on Grade I races and the other in Chile. The…

The Richard Mandella-trained Royal Ship will try to win the Grade 1 race that barely eluded him last year when he leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Hollywood Gold Cup on Memorial Day at Santa Anita Park. A son of Midshipman, Royal Ship had the lead with one furlong to go in last year's Hollywood Gold Cup before losing by a head to Country…

The Pacific Classic Stakes 2022 has a purse of just over $1m and all eyes will be on the John W. Sadler-trained FLIGHTLINE as his star 4 year-old puts his unbeaten record on the line in the Del Mar contest this Saturday. The Sadler barn will also be looking for their fourth Pacific Classic win since 2018, having landed the pot 12 months ago with…

Going Global, who is 7-for-9 on U.S. soil, aims to make it 8-for-10 on Monday while adding a second-top level score to her ledger. The Phil D'Amato-trained Going Global (8-5) is morning-line favorite for the Grade 1, $400000 Gamely Stakes. Post time from Santa Anita is 9 p.m. EDT, with TVG showing the 1 1/8-mile turf event for fillies and…

BALNIKHOV TO WAIT UNTIL THE DEL MAR DERBY SEPTEMBER 3 Little Red Feather Racing, et al's Balnikhov brought a baggage full of promise with him when he arrived from Ireland at the first of the year. He finally met those expectations Friday afternoon on Opening Day at Del Mar when the 3-year old son of Adaay dropped down on the rail and surged to…

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) - The opposition knew Knicks Go would charge out of the starting gate. Yet, none of his rivals went after him. He had it all his own way in setting an uncontested lead and winning the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic by 2 3/4 lengths on Saturday at Del Mar. Knicks Go ran 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.57. He earned his fourth straight…

Friday of the Breeders' Cup features the rising stars of racing. Saturday however, is a chance to see some the best of the best competing to be a world champion in their division. The two-day card from Del Mar can be a war of attrition for even the most experienced handicappers. Along with more races and larger fields foreign form makes the puzzle…

MEET THE MAN WHO RIDES FLIGHTLINE FOR A LIVING You're a true horseman when every time you see a quality horse you wonder'What would it be like to ride him.' The man to answer that question about Flightline, this Saturday's TVG Pacific Classic favorite, is Juan Leyva, assistant trainer to John Sadler and exercise rider for Flightline. "He's not like…

The $3 million Pegasus World Cup, winter's richest and most important thoroughbred race, takes flight Saturday at Gulfstream Park in greater Miami. The mile and one-eighth test is contested at a middle distance that brings together elite horses at varying skill sets, and this year's event lured the winners of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (Life is…

DEL MAR - Flightline joined some exclusive company on Tuesday when he was installed as the 1-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's $1 million Grade I Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Cigar, who brought a 16-race winning streak into the 1996 Pacific Classic, is the only other horse to be 1-5 on the morning line in the race's history, which dates to…

Football fans, do you hunch over stats like a quarterback under center every Wednesday at the office, waiting for that snap count to reveal the perfect parlay bet? That is, the bundling of a handful of games into a wager, in an attempt to cash a big score. If the sting of sports betting battles beckons, then it is probably fair to say that horse…

Bet with the Racing Dudes TODAY using our friends at BetPTC and get a $200 new member bonus! Enter promo code DUDES! The track press release: Hronis Racing and partners' undefeated Flightline has been made the 1/5 favorite against five rivals in Saturday's 32nd running of the $1-million TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The 4-year-old son of Tapit,…

Join our channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage America's next big talking horse - FLIGHTLINE - will head a field of six runners ahead of Saturday's $1m Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The John W. Sadler colt is unbeaten from all four career starts and has remarkably won those races by an aggregate of 44 lengths! With the Pacific…