#Maximum Security

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,…

Headlined by classic winners Authentic, Swiss Skydiver and Tiz The Law, 184 horses were drawn Monday afternoon into 14 fields for the $28 million Breeders' Cup championships Friday and Saturday at Keeneland. The morning lines were determined by handicapper Mike Battaglia. [] Below are the fields and odds for the 14 Breeders' Cup races in reverse…

It is the great story of the understudy getting that one shot to step in for the star. One shot to step into the spotlight. And maybe even stay there. When Drew Bledsoe got hurt, in came Tom Brady. Wally Pipp was replaced by Lou Gehrig. Phil Fulmer less elegantly for Johnny Majors. On the other hand, sports are full of one-hit wonders like Jeremy…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On another first Saturday in May, the beauty of America's oldest sport battled neck and neck down the stretch with its unseemliness as a colt named Medina Spirit elegantly held off a determined challenge from Mandaloun. They moved in tandem like four-legged ballet dancers - effortlessly, beautifully. No one here who loved…

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…

Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law will try to win one of the signature races on the horse racing calendar when he leaves the starting gate on Saturday in the 2020 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Nicknamed the Mid-Summer Derby, the Travers ranks alongside the Triple Crown races as the most prestigious three-year-old events of the year.…

Country House won the 145th Kentucky Derby after Maximum Security - who crossed the finish line first - was disqualified for a race infraction, an unprecedented result in race history. Read full coverage of the race here. Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer of Triple Crown winners American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018, has three horses in…

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…

A historic 15 weeks after it began, the 2020 Triple Crown drew to a close as Swiss Skydiver crossed the line first in the 145th Preakness Stakes at a spectatorless Pimlico to become the sixth filly to win the race. She was the first filly to run in the Preakness since Ria Antonia in 2014, who finished last. Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra was the…

The 145th running of the Grade-1, Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 4, at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the only race in the U.S. with a 20-horse field and it can provide great wagering opportunities for bettors. The favorite has won the run for the roses the last several years, but even with the top choice…

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…

Country House, jockeyed by Flavien Prat and trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, was named the winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby after it was ruled that post time favorite Maximum Security made a move that significantly changed the outcome of the race. This is the first Derby win for both jockey and trainer. Maximum Security crossed the finish line…

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…

OCEANPORT - Jason Servis is confident he has Maximum Security fully cranked for the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Invitational Saturday at Monmouth Park. However, what Servis, Maximum Security's trainer, is not completely confident of is whether the horse likes the Monmouth Park racing surface. "I don't know if people have thought of this, but last…

Now that he's a 4-year-old colt, maybe, just maybe Bodexpress has learned how to behave at the start of a race. The unpredictable Bodexpress lost his first seven races, then finished 13 in the Kentucky Derby (G1) as a maiden. Two weeks later, he unseated Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez as the gates opened for the Preakness (G1) and ran with the…

Anyone anticipating a return to normalcy in the Kentucky Derby got a dose of crazy Saturday when an 80-1 shot came charging up the rail to win at Churchill Downs. With favourite Epicenter and Zandon engaged in a duel at the front, Rich Strike stole the show with the second-biggest upset in the Derby's 148-year history. The chestnut colt beat 4-1…

Get the best Kentucky Derby plays from the horse racing experts at TwinSpires, including exacta, trifecta and superfecta picks. The 148th running of the Kentucky Derby will feature a fierce field of 20 horses set to race 1 1/4 miles on Churchill Downs' historic race track on Saturday, May 7. One undefeated runner, a Japanese-bred starter, and a…

Three days ago, it did not seem as if Rich Strike would have any chance at winning the 2022 Kentucky Derby. All 20 posts had been filled, and Rich Strike was not among the horses in the field. But Ethereal Road was a late scratch Friday morning, and Rich Strike, who was claimed by trainer Eric Reed in September for just $30000, was announced as a…

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…

According to Churchill Downs' Mike Battaglia's opening odds, thoroughbred contender Cyberknife is a 20-1 shot for Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Even if he doesn't win, his owner deserves a bouquet of roses or at least a glass of champagne. You see, Al Gold had more important things on his mind when he named his Chestnut colt. The prostate cancer he…

The 2019 Kentucky Derby race day will be much like the one hundred and forty-four that preceded it: Rain or shine, the morning breaks at Churchill Downs, the horses may take an easy turn around the track, and the trainers and owners will begin to fidget and fuss in their losing battle to keep everything routine. The Derby is at bottom an unknowable…

After a two-week break, the Road to the Breeders' Cup resumes on Saturday with a significant prep at the Jersey Shore anchoring the weekend's stakes activity, which has been adjusted somewhat compared with previous years due to changing track schedules in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The $1 million, Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth…

The richest event on the horse racing calendar begins Saturday, when some of the finest thoroughbreds in the world compete in the Saudi Cup. Held at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the inaugural edition of the race carries the significant incentive of a $20 million dollar prize pool-which makes it the most lucrative event in…

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…

A points-based system determines which 20 horses will load into the Churchill Downs starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Generally, the prep races that offer the most points are the most impactful. A total of 37 races comprise the USA Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule. The first 21 of those races is considered the Kentucky Derby prep…

Defending race champion Mishriff will once again take on a strong group of American shippers when he tops a field of 14 entered for Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack. Mishriff is well proven on dirt, but has done all his recent running on the turf. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the 5-year-old son of Make Believe has…

As ever with year-in-review perspectives, personal criteria play the decisive role, and that's why I've ventured abroad for my 2019 race of the year. The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth (G1) at Ascot offers the most persuasive combination of world-class combatants, high stakes, some adversity, and a stretch-long duel that evoked a gladiatorial…

The Bob Baffert-trained Gamine will try to establish herself as the top three-year-old filly in the country on Friday when she leaves the starting gate in the nation's top race for three-year-old fillies, the 2020 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. This daughter of Into Mischief has never trailed in any of her four career starts. She is coming off a…

A TOP racehorse owner is said he is OK with losing £8MILLION - if it means no more doping in racing. Gary West says he will not object if his horse Maximum Security is stripped of his win in the 2020 Saudi Cup - the world's richest race. Maximum Security was trained by Jason Servis, the disgraced US trainer who last week pleaded guilty to doping…

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…

California Spangle holds off Golden Sixty in Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club HONG KONG, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A super day for Hong Kong highlighted weekend horse racing with action-starved fans emerging from pandemic lockdowns to cheer on some new heroes from the Sha Tin Racecourse grandstand. Two-year-old filly…

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…

The Breeders' Cup is the annual horse racing event that follows the Triple Crown races on the schedule. Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup was changed into a two-day event. In the history of the event, the Breeders' Cup has always taken place in the United States. This year's installment will take place at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington,…

By Andy Serling FOX Sports Horse Racing Analyst The 147th Preakness Stakes takes place in Baltimore on Saturday. Let's dive into the betting favorites, trainers, jockeys and the history of the race. The Preakness Stakes was first run in 1873, two years before the first Kentucky Derby. Named for the winner of the first Dinner Party Stakes - the…

We the People is shown heading heads for victory in the Peter Pan Stakes in May and favorite status for Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Photo by Dom Napolitano, courtesy of New York Racing Association June 10 (UPI) -- We the People is favored to win the Belmont Stakes Saturday in Elmont, N.Y. The final leg of the Triple Crown also will feature long-shot…

Experts handicap Saturday's 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Post time is approximately 6:57 p.m. The Post's lead horse racing handicapper 1. Midnight Bourbon: From the man who gave you Nyquist (2016), Maximum Security (make no mistake he won it in 2019) and Authentic (2020), comes Midnight Bourbon. Tiznow-bred colt has…

Editor's note: An earlier version of this report included Giacomo among the Kentucky Derby winners who never had another win. Giacomo won the San Diego Handicap in 2006. The Kentucky Derby is the Holy Grail of racing, and this is the time of year when the frenzy peaks. The preps are over, the future bets are down, and the obsessive overanalyzing is…

Horse of the Year honors could be on the line Saturday when the country's top dirt horses square off in North America's richest race, the 2020 Breeders' Cup Classic. Saturday's race features three of the top four horses in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Top Thoroughbred Poll: No. 1 Improbable, No. 2 Maximum Security and No. 4 Tom's…

So now that the Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has failed a drug test, I can cash my bet on the second-place finisher, Mandaloun. And my buddy who bet Medina Spirit will have to return his winnings, right? Well, no. Betting rules at horse racing tracks, off-site wagering venues and internet sites are very clear in cases like this. Once a race…

All 13 of the Triple Crown winners in horse racing history earned that signature victory at Belmont Park, which hosts the 2021 Belmont Stakes on Saturday evening. But none was greater than Secretariat's run in 1973, as the Triple Crown winner smoked the field by 31 lengths and set both the Belmont Stakes and world record for a 1 1/2-mile race in a…

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…

By Andy Serling FOX Sports Horse Racing Analyst Every year, people shift their attention to Louisville on the first Saturday in May for the Kentucky Derby. Whether you are a horse racing expert or betting for fun, there is plenty of action to go around in the first leg of the Triple Crown. In my role as a public handicapper, I make thousands of…

Trainer Todd Pletcher will try to win the Haskell Stakes for the fourth time when he sends out the up-and-coming Following Sea in the 2021 Haskell Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. The 54-year-old Pletcher, who will be inducted into racing's Hall of Fame next month, won the race in 2006 (Bluegrass Cat), '07 (Any Given Saturday)…

The 95th running of the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) is set to go this Saturday at Aqueduct. A field of 11 will contest this year's running that features several horses looking to continue to make a big impact on the Kentucky Derby trail. Offering 100-40-20-10 Derby points to the top four finishers, the Wood is slated for an approximate post time of 6…

Eight days after the Triple Crown ended, the horse that was officially "17th" in the Kentucky Derby emerged from his Monmouth Park stall and ran for the first time since that bizarre first Saturday in May. On paper, Maximum Security did not look as if he could lose the Pegasus Stakes. His odds were 1-20 (bet $20 to win $1). The colt that crossed…

Welcome to 2023 Kentucky Derby Prospect Snapshots, where we'll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule from which the racehorses earn points toward qualifying. The 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 6, 2023, at Churchill Downs. This…

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,…

Authentic is one step closer to the Kentucky Derby with a tight victory at the 2020 Haskell Invitational on Saturday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. The Bob Baffert-trained colt entered as the favorite in the seven-horse field at -120 (bet $120 to win $100), with Dr Post (+185) and Ny Traffic (+700) serving as the biggest challengers to…

An inside look at how the 145th Kentucky Derby will shape up: Trainer: Mark Casse Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione Current form: Won the Rebel by a measured two lengths to make it three straight. But gate issues and a wide trip resulted in his first loss on dirt in the Louisiana. Worth a wager? Willed his way to impressive streak. Does best running early…

After almost four months of waiting, the 2020 Kentucky Derby is finally ready to go off Saturday from historic Churchill Downs. When the 16-horse 2020 Kentucky Derby field is called to the post at 7:01 p.m. ET, a normally raucous Churchill Downs will be eerily quiet due to no spectators in the grandstands or infield. Favorites have lost 12 of the…