Joe Sharp grew up the son of a trainer just down the road from Pimlico in West Virginia. By his late teens, his racetrack wanderlust had kicked in, and within the last eight months, after taking out his trainer’s license, Sharp had experienced far more success than he had a right to expect when based primarily in Kentucky.
Woodwin W, who had demonstrated an affinity for the Pimlico turf in his most recent outing, used that to his advantage to remain unbeaten while winning his stakes debut in the $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes for 3-year-olds on the Pimlico grass Saturday.
Champions Father Patrick and JK She’salady both turned in stunning performances while winning their qualifiers on Saturday morning at the Meadowlands.
This is a very tough sequence. I considered narrowing opinions to a radical extent, trying something like a $20 play, but there are enough horses I actually like in the five races that I’ll take a swing with less of a lottery-style ticket. Only narrowing comes in race 11, The Very One, where I’ve got no backups behind three As, and in the Preakness, where – if this play is miraculously still alive – AMERICAN PHAROAH or FIRING LINE will have to get home.
After training in a shadow roll on Friday morning, Dortmund will wear one in the Preakness, trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday.
There may be many of us licking our wounds from Saturday’s heavy Preakness Day action and many who hit paydirt Saturday. Either way, Sunday’s another day and another opportunity to get good. An up-and-coming turf sprinter who might turn into a stakes horse for trainer Richard Mandella can prove your linchpin in a late pick three (races 6-8).
Heavily favored Bourbon County dusted his six Minnesota-bred rivals with relative ease in winning opening night's featured $60,000 10,000 Lakes by 7 1/2 lengths.
As he wakes up this morning in Baltimore, there's one thing Bob Baffert is glad of. "I'm just glad I'm not riding my horses," said the Hall of Fame trainer, who began his career in racing as a jockey, riding Quarter Horses but also “a few” Thoroughbreds. "I'd be a wreck. My horses were usually around 30-1, and 28 of it was me. I'd get really nervous."
Mission Brief returned to the races where we expect to see her, in the winner's circle. The fastest 2-year-old trotter of all time made short work of her Sire Stakes competition in the lone $25,000 division for the filly trotters, winning in 1:53 4/5.
Commissioner displayed enough precocity early in his 3-year-old year to be given a shot at the Triple Crown races, and he came awfully close to winning one of them. But trainer Todd Pletcher always thought he’d be better as he got older, and Commissioner is seemingly in the best form of his life right now at age 4, with consecutive stakes wins, including a dominant victory Friday in the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special at Pimlico.
