Beating the favorite in the Virginia Derby

Going into Saturday's wiring of the GI Awesome Again S., Slow Down Andy (Nyquist) hadn't won a dirt race in 1 1/2 years, and he still has the same habit of swishing his tail in the stretch when lifelong riding partner Mario Gutierrez implores him for run. But this Reddam Racing homebred trained by Doug O'Neill had been finishing respectably behind…

For jockey Kendrick Carmouche, all he could do was smile. "I got a big one in Virginia," Carmouche said. "I'm a proud man. It's about time." Integration, in the 20th running of the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs in New Kent, entered with 6-1 odds, sitting him in the middle of the pack. But Integration got to the outside and took charge, winning…

Saturday's races from Colonial Downs feature several stakes races. The featured race is the grade 3 Virginia Derby on turf. The full field means great opportunities for bettors. Post: 1:30 PM ET; $75k Maiden Special Weight, 1 1/8 miles on turf; Entries: 6 #1 KRONE (7-2) gets the top selection, boasting races good enough to beat this group. She has…

Coming into the Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes held for the first time at Colonial Downs last month, no one expected Gigante to win the race with 22-1 odds. However, the Virginia-bred 3-year-old made history by winning the stakes in the state where he was born. Now Gigante is making his return to Colonial Downs for the second time this year to compete…

KY Downs' Barn Notes: Kitodan Returns in Tapit Stakes (Kitodan / Photos by Coady Photography & Courtesy of KY Downs) From the KY Downs Media Team / Jennie Rees: (Photo: Kitodan winning last year's Dueling Grounds Derby, when it was worth $750000 and sponsored by Big Ass Fans. Coady Photography) An overflow field that includes last year's…

The so-proclaimed "biggest day in Virginia horse race history" took place on Saturday at Colonial Downs, and spectators filled the grandstands as they watched their favorites thunder down the track. Gates opened at noon, but fans piled in throughout the day as they waited in anticipation for the three biggest races that were being held for the…

NEW KENT - Fast approaching the midpoint of its 2023 summer thoroughbred racing schedule, Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent is prepping for a big weekend - the inaugural Colonial Downs Festival of Racing on Saturday, Aug. 12. The event will feature two Grade 1 Stakes: the Arlington Million and Beverly D., and the Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes. By…

A trainer takes her horse on a practice run on the dirt track at Colonial Downs. From George Washington pitting his best breed of horses against Thomas Jefferson's to the spectacular Triple Crown victory of Doswell-born Secretariat in 1973, horse racing has a legendary history in Virginia. Now that legend is about to get a leg up. Colonial Downs,…

George Sharp's Front Run the Fed successfully defended his title Saturday in the $150000 Van Clief Stakes at Colonial Downs. The open sprint stakes - one of two on the card - was contested at 5½ furlongs over the Secretariat Turf Course. Front Run the Fed ran a similar race to his come-from-behind head-victory in the 2022 Van Clief. The 7-year-old…

The 2023 meet at Colonial Downs began July 13 and the New Kent, Va. racetrack traditionally offers some of the best turf racing in the country. The action heats up quickly as Colonial's Saturday card features four turf stakes races, each with a purse of $125000, for Virginia-bred or Virginia-sired runners. The Tyson Gilpin/Petty Stakes and the…

The relative quality of the offerings vary in both the overnight and stakes scheduled for Pimlico on Friday and Saturday, but Preakness weekend should nonetheless prove a highly popular product for bettors across the country. The following horses strike my fancy as win bet propositions on Friday's Black-Eyed Susan Day card, which begins at 11:30…

Colonial Downs will be the new home for three high-profile horse races, after the Virginia Racing Commission recently approved 27 live race dates at Colonial Downs during the 2023 meet. All three are run on turf and before 2022 were held at the now-shuttered Arlington Park track in suburban Chicago. The three include the Arlington Million Stakes,…

Racing concludes at Churchill Downs for the year on Sunday, meaning mandatory payouts in multi-race wagers. Going in to Saturday's card, the Pick 6 carryover was $14368.41. Typically the wager has a jackpot rule, though on closing day the entire pool pays out even if there is no unique winning ticket. This makes it ripe for an overlay. The sequence…

Quotes and other information from a Maryland Jockey Club release Respect the Valleys, Karmac Stable and Designated Hitters Racing's Roan Burgundy is entered in Saturday's $150000 Laurel Futurity two weeks following a professional 1 ¾-length debut victory going six furlongs Sept. 16 on the main track at Pimlico Race Course. The Futurity, one of five…

LAUREL, Md. - Given his breeding, Yurie Pascarella, Carl Pascarella and Herringswell Racing Club II's Hendrickson arrived at the races this year with great expectations. A son of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist and grandson of Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Birdstone, he is out of the stakes-winning mare Thank You Marylou, named in honor of Marylou…

Given his breeding, Yurie Pascarella, Carl Pascarella and Herringswell Racing Club II's Hendrickson arrived at the races this year with great expectations. A son of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist and grandson of Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Birdstone, he is out of the stakes-winning mare Thank You Marylou, named in honor of Marylou Whitney, the…

With racing in New York dark until Thursday, and California racing dealing with highly unusual September rains, we are turning to New Jersey and Kentucky for our plays on this late summer Saturday. We have selections in four races, all on turf, one at Monmouth Park, where the turf will be firm, and three at Kentucky Downs, where the turf should be…

A $1000000 purse and an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Turf are at stake Saturday, September 10 in the Kentucky Turf Cup (G2)! As with so many of Kentucky Downs's rich races, the Turf Cup drew an overflow field: 12 in the starting gate, plus one horse on the also-eligible list. Thanks to both the field size and the undulating, pear-shaped…

Dalaika, shown winning the Grade I Beverly D. at Churchill Downs, returns for the $1 million Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs Sept. 9 (UPI) -- It's all about the turf in weekend horse racing with Kentucky Downs staging an extravaganza unmatched anywhere in North America short of the Breeders' Cup World…

Favorites won 36.7 percent of the time for the week ended September 4, less frequently than the previous week where chalk had been successful at a 38.9 percent win rate. Although fewer total races were run this week at 778, average field size remained relatively the same at 7.1 runners. This decrease in total races contested was partly due to a…

Twin Creeks Racing Stable moved Law Professor from California because of the greater options offered with more racetracks in the East and Midwest. It proved a good move as the 4-year-old Constitution gelding won his first start for New York-based trainer Rob Atras, taking Thursday's $400000 FanDuel Tapit Stakes on opening day of the FanDuel Meet at…

Back after a one-year hiatus and relocated from suburban Chicago to Churchill Downs, Saturday's Grade 1 Arlington Million will have an eerie feel. It's like seeing Joe Namath in a Los Angeles Rams jersey or Hakeem Olajuwon playing for the Toronto Raptors at the end of their careers. This American turf icon moves in front of America's most iconic…

Trinity Farm's Red Knight returned from an 11-month layoff to score his ninth lifetime win Wednesday in the inaugural $150000 Colonial Cup turf test at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va. The stakes attracted a field of 11 that battled 1 1/2 miles over the Secretariat Turf Course and was the first stakes race in Colonial's history to ever be contested…

A Pick 5 carryover of $13386 awaits horseplayers Friday evening at Emerald Downs. For a 50-cent base wager, the action begins in Race 3 and the Horse Racing Nation Pro Reports offer insight on how to approach the sequence. HRN Power Picks is available for every track, every day and have shown a flat-bet profit during the current Emerald Downs…

As Colonial Downs prepares to change ownership, the new company has a message for Virginians: "We're bringing our checkbook." That's what Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said during a recent visit to Richmond, as his group prepares to take over Virginia's only Thoroughbred racing venue, as well as the six Rosie's locations around the…