The $3 million Kentucky Derby looms. Delayed from its traditional date on the first Saturday in May due to the coronavirus nightmare, this year’s 146th running of the 1 1/4-mile classic is scheduled to be held at Churchill Downs a week from Saturday on Sept. 5. This will be the first time in the storied […]

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Tiz the Law, who won the 1 1/8-mile Belmont Stakes with authority last time out, tiz the one to beat in the 1 1/4-mile Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday. There is no doubt about that. The Travers has attracted a field of eight. Tiz the Law drew post 6. Saratoga oddsmaker David Aragona […]

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The $100,000 Shared Belief, to be contested Saturday at Del Mar, has never been a prep for the Kentucky Derby. Makes sense. Del Mar’s meet normally extends from late-July through Labor Day and the Kentucky Derby is run on the first Saturday in May. However, in case you haven’t noticed, nothing’s ‘normal’ this year. Not […]

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In Seattle Slew’s career debut on Sept. 20, 1976, he won a six-furlong maiden race by five lengths at Saratoga, a major-league track. On July 28, 2020, David Peterson won his major-league debut when the left-hander led the New York Mets to an 8-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox. David’s father, Doug Peterson, trained […]

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Bob Baffert is probably best known for training two Triple Crown winners. He won the three races in 2015 with American Pharoah, who ended an excruciatingly long 37-year Triple Crown drought, and again in 2018 with Justify. The legendary “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons is the only other trainer to have won the Triple Crown twice. His […]

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As a result of Tiz the Law’s emphatic triumph in last Saturday’s 152nd running of the Grade I Belmont Stakes, he solidified his position atop this week’s NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Poll. It was nearly unanimous. I think it should have been unanimous. Tiz the Law received 28 first-place votes last week, while Honor A.P. garnered […]

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Saturday is Derby Day. Ok, not that one. This derby will be in Arcadia, Ca, at Santa Anita instead of at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, KY. We’ve got to wait a bit longer for that showdown. At this point, as bat-excrement crazy as 2020 has been, we’ll settle for handicapping and wagering on any derby […]

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Is this Saturday’s Grade I Santa Anita Derby a two-horse race between Authentic and Honor A.P.? Many no doubt are going to see it that way. But viewing a race that way sometimes can backfire. CAUTION: There are times when neither horse wins what many perceive to be a two-horse race. One need only go […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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