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The spring/summer Belmont at the Big A meet, the final meet run at historic Aqueduct Racetrack, will begin Thursday with a quiet eight-race card, highlighted by a pair of open-company maiden special weights. In the shadow of great fanfare at Churchill Downs, several trainers still have promising runners with strong chances in New York.
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Balnikhov hasn't raced at a mile in two years and has only won two of his last 22 starts over the past three years. Still, there are some things to like about the 7-year-old gelding in Thursday's $350,000 Opening Verse Stakes at Churchill Downs.
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The first 2-year-old race of the spring meet will be run Thursday at Santa Anita, and trainer Steve Knapp is in the middle of it as usual.
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Great White is running on Saturday at Churchill Downs. Trainer John Ennis just doesn't know yet in what race, or crucially, at what distance.
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As opening night approaches, Jessica Otten is joining the Eldorado Scioto Downs team for the 2026 racing season.
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Jockey Cristian Torres won arguably the two most important races of his career the afternoon of Feb. 6 at Oaklawn Park. He captured the Grade 3, $1 million Southwest Stakes aboard Silent Tactic for John Oxley, and the $300,000 Martha Washington with Search Party for Tracy Farmer. Fast forward to this weekend, and the 3-year-olds trained by Hall of Fame horseman Mark Casse will be Torres's first mounts in the respective Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks.
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Spendthrift Farm's orange and purple silks will be carried by just one horse in the Kentucky Derby. But, in addition to focusing on dominant Blue Grass winner Further Ado, the farm's principals could be forgiven if their eyes stray elsewhere in the big field on Saturday.
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Four Kentucky Derby entrants are from the first crops of their respective sires, which could give a big leg up to young stallions still building their résumés.
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Built had a stellar winter at Fair Grounds, capped by a glittering victory in track-record time last out. He will need to use that heart and, perhaps, that early hoof in a competitive field of older sprinters for Thursday's $200,000 St. Matthews Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs.
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Luke Middlebrook's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Happy Valley.
