The three top-ranked Thoroughbreds in the land are headed for a dramatic showdown in this year’s $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 4. No wonder racing enthusiasts are eagerly looking forward to that particular Grade I event, which will be decided at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt. Gun Runner, Arrogate […]
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Will Arrogate regain his top form and crush his foes, just as he did in the Travers, Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup? Is Arrogate going to get the victory, but have to battle for it? Will Arrogate get beat again, but at least run decently in defeat this time? Is Arrogate going to […]
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Annually, during the first few months of the year, there is no shortage of Kentucky Derby lists. Indeed, for the past several years, this column has participated in the exercise by offering a Kentucky Derby Top 10 list in the weeks leading up to the first Saturday in May. Of course, following the Run for […]
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The wait is almost over. To the delight of a great many racing enthusiasts, Arrogate gets back to business this Saturday at Del Mar in the Grade II San Diego Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile affair that has drawn a field of six. This will be Arrogate’s first start since a sensational last-to-first victory in the […]
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West Coast, a convincing winner of Belmont Park’s Easy Goer Stakes for Hall of Fame horseman Bob Baffert, and Klimt, a Grade I winner for Baffert last year who now is being trained by Art Sherman, head this Saturday’s Grade III Los Alamitos Derby. Eight are entered in the 1 1/8-miles affair. West Coast is […]
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Now that it is July, it’s time for this column’s ranking of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during the first half of the year. A Thoroughbred’s performance can make my list for a variety of reasons, such as: –A win by a big margin while showing brilliance. –Recording a […]
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We are almost halfway through 2017. With that in mind, if there were such a thing as Eclipse Awards for the first half of the year, these would be my votes, excluding the 2-year-old, human and steeplechase categories: MID-YEAR THREE-YEAR-OLD MALE: 1. Always Dreaming, 2. Tapwrit, 3. Classic Empire. I think Mastery was best 3-year-old […]
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Now that the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes have come and gone, the race for which 3-year-old eventually will be voted a 2017 Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male is wide open. This is in stark contrast to two years ago. Midway through 2015, American Pharoah already had essentially clinched both the Horse […]
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The Belmont Stakes is, of course, a lot more fun when someone is going for a Triple Crown sweep after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. But not only is there no Triple Crown on the line this Saturday, neither Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming nor Preakness hero Cloud Computing is entered in this […]
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Santa Anita Park is called the Great Race Place. And one of the greatest performances by a first-time starter ever seen there occurred in the eighth race on March 19, 2011, when Maclean’s Music was so fast that he seemed to make the palm trees sway. Yes, that’s the same Maclean’s Music whose son Cloud […]
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I think it’s fair to say most racing fans are always dreaming to see a Triple Crown sweep. It is a dream that has come true only 12 times, most recently in 2015 with American Pharoah. But any chance for a 2017 Triple Crown sweep came to an end last Saturday in the 142nd running […]
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I was not a believer in Always Dreaming before the Kentucky Derby. But I am now. After what I saw in the Run for the Roses, I am expecting Always Dreaming to win the Preakness Stakes this Saturday. Here are my selections for the Preakness: Always Dreaming Classic Empire Lookin At Lee Conquest Mo Money […]
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Hitting the lottery is hard. We all know that. But picking the winner of the Kentucky Derby? Heck, that’s easy. All one has to do these days is go with the favorite. It does not take hours and hours and hours of studying or work. Nope. Just go with the favorite. It’s as simple as […]
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Classic Empire, the Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male champion of 2016 and recent winner of the Arkansas Derby in a statement of redemption after being upset in his 2017 debut, heads a competitive field assembled for this Saturday’s 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby. Also regarded as contenders in the 1 1/4-mile classic are Always Dreaming, […]
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I, like many others, was saddened by the news that trainer Lynn Whiting had died a week ago at his home in Louisville following a long illness and a recent stroke. He was 77. I first met Whiting in 1980 when I was working as a columnist and reporter for the Daily Racing Form at […]
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