All News

May 03, 2012
Tuley: Union Rags remains top choice at Vegas books
By Dave Tuley
Bodemeister opened as the morning-line favorite for Saturday’s 138th running of the Kentucky Derby, and a check of early betting on offshore websites shows that might end up being the case, but Nevada race books still consider Union Rags as the betting ...
Hovdey: Derby-winning riders recognize luck plays a part
By Jay Hovdey
To a man, the 32 living riders who have won a Kentucky Derby understand the remorseless formula required to win the Derby. It takes the right horse and the right trip, each ingredient in perfect proportion.
May 02, 2012
Hovdey: Shah has sights on Kentucky Oaks with Eden's Moon
By Jay Hovdey
Winning an American classic would fit neatly with owner Kaleem Shah’s personal history.
2013 Arlington Park Stakes Schedule
Track information and stakes schedule for the 2013 Arlington Park meet, which starts on Friday, May 3, highlighted by G1 Arlington Million XXXI during the Arlington International Festival of Racing on Saturday, August 17.
May 01, 2012
Hovdey: Hunter Thompson's bizarre Kentucky Derby experience reborn via new CD
By Jay Hovdey
Hunter Thompson's story of the 1970 Kentucky Derby, entitled “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved,” now has been released in a rousing CD version, unabridged, with the role of Thompson – narrator and star – read by Oscar winner Tim Robbins.
April 27, 2012
Hovdey: Stevens takes zero-tolerance stance on race-day medication
By Jay Hovdey
Among the many things a jockey might consider as an activity in retirement, testifying before a Congressional committee is well down the list. Golf, yes. Mountain climbing, maybe. Sitting at the witness table under oath, not hardly.
Crist: Here's why picking Kentucky Derby winner is so hard
By Steven Crist
The 21st century horseplayer trying to handicap the Kentucky Derby is equipped with tools that were almost unimaginable 25 years ago – unlimited replays, lifetime past performances with sophisticated speed figures, comprehensive coverage of workouts, ...
April 26, 2012
Hovdey: Paying back those responsible for big scores
By Jay Hovdey
Whether life imitates art or the other way around really does not matter, not when the story hits home as a tale imbued with the assuring touch of truth.
April 25, 2012
Hovdey: Southern California tracks aim to hike fun factor
By Jay Hovdey
Have you heard? Horse racing is no longer fun, or at least that’s how the story goes these days, and therefore horse racing must be made fun again if it is to survive in a climate rife with entertainment alternatives that are unimaginably fun. As a ...
April 20, 2012
Hovdey: Good luck making sense of this year's Kentucky Derby preps
By Jay Hovdey
As of Friday, 30 of the graded stakes races leading up to the Kentucky Derby listed on Daily Racing Form’s 2012 Road to the Kentucky Derby had been run. Those 30 were won by 26 different 3-year-olds.
Crist: On Lasix, practice what you preach
By Steven Crist
If some people really believe that furosemide is bad for horses and racing, why don’t they just stop racing their horses on it? By failing to do so, the small but vocal group of owners and breeders who are crusading against the use of furosemide come ...
April 19, 2012
Race to post NFL opening-game odds goes to offshore book BetOnline
By Dave Tuley
Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, the traditional first sports book to put up betting lines for the NFL's Week 1 games, was beaten to the punch by BetOnline.ag, an offshore book.
Hovdey: San Juan Capistrano is in Clancy's blood
By Jay Hovdey
It is difficult to convey the high esteem in which the San Juan Capistrano Handicap was once held. Might as well wax rhapsodic over the Rainbow Room, and wonder if it ever will be churning out those New York memories again.
April 18, 2012
Hovdey: Straight family keeping the faith
By Jay Hovdey
The Straight family was already having a bad day last Sunday at Keeneland when Big Flirt, their family jewel, was claimed out of the second race.
April 13, 2012
Hovdey: Crockett stays positive at Emerald Downs
By Jay Hovdey
As the man synonymous with Emerald Downs, Ron Crockett may not be the absolute last of the independent racetrack operators, but he is the only one doing business at a track of regional significance without an onsite revenue stream from a room full of ...
April 12, 2012
Hovdey: Oaklawn Handicap shares spotlight, but refuses to play second fiddle
By Jay Hovdey
On the face of it, the signals coming from Oaklawn Park were decidedly mixed. Tradition, a hallowed concept in Hot Springs, was looking like a slippery concept.
April 11, 2012
Hovdey: Kentucky Derby rookies have no fixed course
By Jay Hovdey
It is no big deal to win the Kentucky Derby with your first mount. Check that – it’s a very big deal. It just won’t get you a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.
April 05, 2012
Tuley: Union Rags remains future book Derby favorite in Vegas
By Dave Tuley
Even after losing last weekend in the Florida Derby, Union Rags is the 7-2 favorite in the future book for the Kentucky Derby at Wynn Las Vegas.
Hovdey: Winning team seeks Santa Anita Derby payday
By Jay Hovdey
It is not necessary to be in the Hall of Fame, or at least well on your way, for a trainer or jockey to win the Santa Anita Derby. It only seems like it.
Crist: Wood, Santa Anita Derby overdue to produce something positive in Kentucky Derby
By Steven Crist
In the 23 years since Santa Anita Derby winner Sunday Silence and Wood winner Easy Goer ran one-two in the Derby, the winners of those two races have combined to go 1 for 34 in the Kentucky Derby.Here's a tepid vote that this is a run of bad luck and a ...