As he prepares for the Belmont spring-summer meet – which begins Wednesday – David Jacobson has begun a relationship with a new client, James Costabile Jr., who is starting a claiming partnership that will race under the moniker Final Turn Stable.
The New York State Gaming Commission on Monday approved a proposed rule that would allow horses with common ownership to run uncoupled in any stakes race worth $50,000 or more, one of two steps it took at a meeting to modify state racing rules to address short fields.
The consensus is that the field for this Kentucky Derby, to be run on Saturday at Churchill Downs, is shaping up as the strongest in years. The consensus is that American Pharoah is the horse to beat, with many other worthy contenders meriting strong looks. And yet that won’t stop a full field – likely an overflow field – from being entered on Wednesday.
Ken Ramsey says he was approached recently by a biographer from New York who wanted to chronicle how Ramsey has become one of the most successful people in the modern era of American racing. “He said he wanted to call the book, ‘From the Outhouse to the Penthouse,’ ” Ramsey said with his familiar cackle. “I don’t believe he realizes how true to life that is.”
Darley Australia has revealed the advertised fees for its 21-horse stallion roster for the 2015 breeding season, led by U.S. shuttle sire Medaglia d’Oro.
The move from Aqueduct to Belmont Park usually signals that better times are ahead for the New York Racing Association. Hopefully, good things will come to those who wait.
Trainer Simon Callaghan’s journey to Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs with Sunland Park Derby winner Firing Line has been almost 20 years in the making, a circuitous route that began in his hometown of Newmarket, England, with stops on the East Coast and California.
Two trainers of Kentucky Derby hopefuls took a timeout from talking about the classic to offer brief updates on how the champion fillies under their care are doing.
There’s this myth that abounds suggesting that great things can occur once there is a level playing field. There does need to be a level playing field in this sport and that field should be of human ideas and the ability to advance our industry in a positive way.
Z Rockstar will be cutting back to one turn Tuesday to defend his title in the $55,000 TRAO Classic Sprint at Will Rogers Downs, and when last seen at the race’s six-furlong distance he defeated a field that included multiple stakes winners Unbridled’s Note and Gentlemen’s Bet.
