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A race around a mere two turns is not enough to start the Racing Festival of the South stakes action on Saturday at Oaklawn Park. Racing secretary Pat Pope went for three. And so the $200,000 Temperence Hill, a 1 1/2-mile marathon sure to thrill the infield crowd, will be the first stakes on Arkansas Derby Day.
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Cadenza and Hen Party each make their stakes debut in the six-furlong, $125,000 Serena's Song Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, the closing-night feature Saturday at Turfway.
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Far Bridge has raced for three seasons, each one beginning with a narrow victory at Gulfstream Park. His fourth season begins with a start at Gulfstream Park in the Grade 3, $225,000 Pan American Stakes, the same race he won last year by a neck.
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Full Serrano established himself as a world-class miler in 2024, and he will be returning to the distance Saturday when he leads a deep and diverse cast of eight older horses in the Grade 3, $500,000 Oaklawn Mile.
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The points plot thickens Saturday in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/8-mile race led by Derby Watch members Renegade, Silent Tactic, and Litmus Test will reward its first five finishers valuable Kentucky Derby points on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10.
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Behind the scenes at the Santa Anita stable of trainer Jonathan Thomas, an internal conflict unfolds. This is not a bad thing.
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Several trainers are loading up for the Winter Starter Championships card on Saturday at Aqueduct, but no one will come close to outgunning Ilkay Kantarmaci. Across seven starter allowances, the prolific claiming trainer entered 10 horses, an all-out blitz in which he was only limited by a cap on entries.
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There are very few races left on Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's bucket list. One of those is the Grade 1 Florida Derby, a prize he'll hope to add to his résumé Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
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Undefeated at Gulfstream Park and coming off an unwavering performance in his return to the races last month, Grande looks for his first stakes victory in Saturday's $175,000 Ghostzapper Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
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The last two horses to beat Ombudsman are not involved Saturday's Group 1 Dubai Turf Stakes at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
