If a horse sweeps the Belmont Stakes, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes this year, will the horse be a Triple Crown winner who deserves an asterisk? That question is being pondered now that we know the Triple Crown is going to be radically different this year. The three-race series has been forced to undergo a […]
Read more
Saturday night, I received an e-mail with the following headline: Breaking News…Baffert Sweeps Oaklawn 3-year-old Stakes! What’s next? Just In…Sun Set in the West! Film at 11. It should be breaking news only when Bob Baffert doesn’t train the winner of a 3-year-old graded stakes race at Oaklawn Park. The Hall-of-Fame trainer has been treating […]
Read more
As a consequence of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, having fun these days has become quite a challenge. But trainer Bob Baffert is one person who did have some fun last Saturday. Watching on television at his Southern California home not far from Santa Anita, Baffert was understandably elated as to what happened in the two […]
Read more
Two…that’s two…for the price of one. To borrow a phrase, ‘Double your pleasure, double your fun.’ There’s no Kentucky Derby Saturday–COVID 19 saw to that–instead we’ve got two versions of the Arkansas Derby—where 22 original entries necessitated a ‘split’ of the race into two divisions. It’s a unique opportunity to see if, on the first […]
Read more
Bob Baffert no doubt hopes it goes better for him at Oaklawn Park this Saturday than it did in last year’s Rebel Stakes. When the 2019 Rebel attracted 19 entries, Oaklawn split the race into two divisions. Baffert sent out the odds-on favorite in each division. They both narrowly lost, causing their Hall of Fame […]
Read more
A pair of bullets were fired in morning workouts Wednesday (April 15) at Santa Anita. Nadal drilled five furlongs in :59.80, fastest of 65 works at the distance. Charlatan worked six furlongs in 1:12.20, fastest of 11 works at the distance. Two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert recently revealed plans for Charlatan and Nadal, plus […]
Read more
As a California resident, I have been one of the 39 million or so in the Golden State mandated to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic in an order issued last Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. As this health crisis wreaks more and more havoc on our lives, it’s becoming harder and harder […]
Read more
The Kentucky Derby, this country’s most famous horse race, has been held on the first Saturday in May for decades. It had been scheduled to be run this year on May 2. But as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s 146th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs has been shifted to […]
Read more
Mucho Gusto, Midnight Bisou, Maximum Security and McKinzie are ranked 1-2-3-4 in this week’s first National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll of 2020. And these four outstanding equine athletes are scheduled to clash on Feb. 29 in the richest race on the planet, the new $20 million Saudi Cup. The results for this […]
Read more
This past weekend felt like the start of something big—the journey toward horse racing’s premier annual event: The Kentucky Derby. Granted, as the thermometer on the wall reminds, we’re a couple of months away from the first Saturday in May. However, from now until the Arkansas Derby April 11, just about every winter weekend offers […]
Read more
“It reminded me of a lot of Winning Colors, to be honest with you.” Gary Stevens said that about Venetian Harbor during the America’s Day at the Races telecast on Fox Sports 2 last Saturday after the filly’s brilliant performance in Santa Anita’s Grade II Las Virgenes Stakes. Host Greg Wolf had a look of […]
Read more
Making amends for his defeat as a 3-5 favorite in his final start as a 2-year-old, Tiz the Law proved a punctual 13-10 favorite in Gulfstream Park’s Grade III Holy Bull Stakes last Saturday while making his 3-year-old debut. Off his sparkling Holy Bull victory, Tiz the Law moves all the way up to the […]
Read more
The first polls of 2020 conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) are not far away. The NTRA early each year begins disseminating a Top Thoroughbred Poll and a Top 3-Year-Old Poll. The Top Thoroughbred Poll ends on the Monday following the Breeders’ Cup. That means this year the final poll will be on […]
Read more