The snow and the brutally cold temperatures that forced raceday cancellations in the Northeast over the weekend have also impacted training, as Aqueduct, Parx, and Laurel have all had to cancel training several mornings.
The loss of training is weighing on the minds of several trainers as they decide whether to enter or run in Saturday’s $200,000 Withers Stakes for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct.
There are several reasons to believe Breslau could bounce back from his last-place finish in his most recent race when he runs in a six-furlong starter allowance with a $50,000 optional claiming tag Thursday at Aqueduct.
Thursday’s race will be a drop in class for Breslau, who faced the likes of seven-time winner Light the Way and stakes winner Signator in a conditioned allowance race at Aqueduct on Dec. 4. Also, trainer Mike Miceli said Breslau came out of that race with a respiratory issue.
ARCADIA, Calif. – An easy win by Nafisa in Saturday’s Grade 3 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita gives Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert an even deeper bench of older fillies and mares.
Nafisa, bought for $1.8 million as a yearling in 2022, is part of a group that includes Splendora, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar in November; Hope Road, who won the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga last summer; Seismic Beauty, winner of the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar last August; and Cavalieri, winner of the Grade 1 Beholder Mile last March.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Full Serrano, third in Saturday’s Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park, is under consideration for a trip to Dubai in late March. The race to target will be a discussion point in coming weeks.
Full Serrano, best known for winning the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar in 2024, has two options at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on March 28 – the Group 2 Godolphin Mile or the $12 million Dubai World Cup at 1 1/4 miles.
After a weekend of cancellations due to brutally cold temperatures on Saturday and more than 10 inches of snow on Sunday, it is hoped racing can resume at Aqueduct on Wednesday with an eight-race card.
Though typically a dark day, Wednesday was made a racing day this week after an early decision was made not to run Sunday and instead use the races scheduled for that day on Wednesday. There won’t be snow on Wednesday, but temperatures will struggle to get into the 20s with feel-like temperatures slightly lower.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will be well-represented in the next round of stakes for 3-year-olds at Tampa Bay Downs, as he plans to run Renegade in the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis for boys and undefeated Demoiselle Stakes winner Zany in the listed $125,000 Suncoast Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Both races are on Feb. 7.
Trainer Steve Klesaris doesn’t run very often at Tampa Bay Downs, but when he does, it usually is wise to pay attention.
Klesaris has two wins, a second, and a third from his last five starters at Tampa, dating back to December 2024. His lone starter at this winter’s meet, Play Free Bird, won a low-level claiming race last month.
On Wednesday, Klesaris, who is based at Gulfstream Park in the winter, ships in Authentic Wave for a starter allowance for 3-year-old fillies going 6 1/2 furlongs that serves as the feature on a nine-race card.
Incredibolt, winner of the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs on Oct. 26, worked five furlongs in 1:02.30 at Palm Meadows on Friday morning for a scheduled start in the Grade 3, $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 31.
Trainer Riley Mott, who actually caught Incredibolt slightly faster (1:01.80), said his horse tracked a stablemate, the unraced maiden Wine Country, and finished on even terms. It was Incredibolt’s sixth work since Mott brought him down here following a brief respite at Pin Oak Stud.
PALM BEACH, Fla. – Led by Sovereignty, the Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male, 10 of the 11 Eclipse Award- winning horses from 2025 are being pointed to campaigns in 2026.
The only champion not returning in 2026 is Thorpedo Anna, the older dirt female Eclipse winner and 2024 Horse of the Year, who has been retired. She will be bred to Gun Runner.
The Eclipse Awards were announced Thursday night at a rapidly moving ceremony held at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.
The connections of Touchuponastar, the standout Louisiana-bred, passed on the Pegasus World Cup and will focus instead on the $150,000 Premier Night Championship on Feb. 7 at Delta Downs.
Touchuponastar has won that race three years in a row, and the last two years moved on to contest the New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds, which he won last March. But hands-on owner Jake Delhomme this week did not commit to a schedule beyond the Delta start next month.
