Magic vs. 76ers Play-In: High-Stakes Showdown at 7:30 p.m. ET

A playoff atmosphere arrives early

A playoff atmosphere arrives early as the NBA Play-In Tournament brings its usual sense of urgency to Wednesday night’s clash between the No. 8 Orlando Magic and No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers. This matchup feels bigger than a standard postseason opener because both sides fully understand the stakes: the winner locks up the No.

Hornets vs. Heat Play-In Showdown: Spectrum Center Spotlight Meets BetMGM’s Up to $1,500 First Bet Offer

The Play‑In showdown between the Hornets and Heat is intense enough on its own, but pairing it with BetMGM’s “Up to $1,500 in Bonus Bets if Your First Bet Doesn’t Win” first‑bet offer makes it an especially interesting night for new bettors.

Mon, 04/13/2026 - 14:30

Bluebonnet kicks off meet featuring strong group of jockeys, trainers

Coady Media
Modo, now trained by Kinnon LaRose, takes on 2025 Texas-bred of the Year Too Much Kiki in Thursday's Bluebonnet at Lone Star.

Lone Star Park opens Thursday night with a strong roster of jockeys and trainers signed on for the 41-date meet that is highlighted by the Lone Star Million Day card and the Summer Turf Festival.

“Those would be our two big open stakes days,” said Bart Lang, director of racing operations for Lone Star.

Mon, 04/13/2026 - 14:16

One Last Knock, Long Legged Queen rematched as turf racing returns

Barbara D. Livingston
After scratching from the Maker's Mark Mile, Deterministic will look to repeat in the Fort Marcy on May 2 at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y – Temperatures reaching the 80s in the New York City area this week aren’t the only sign that spring has finally arrived. The return of turf racing to Aqueduct is another. And just in the nick of time.

Filling all-dirt racecard programs all winter into the early part of the spring became increasingly challenging for the New York Racing Association as evidenced by the fact there were only seven races last Friday and eight on Saturday. Short fields had become the norm.

Mon, 04/13/2026 - 13:55

Cox still searching for answers with mercurial Just a Touch

Barbara D. Livingston
After a promising start, Just a Touch's "career hasn’t gone the way we expected,” said trainer Brad Cox.

So many horses were entered in a third-level turf allowance carded for 1 1/16 miles on Thursday that the Keeneland racing office split it into two 10-runner fields in races 5 and 9, each with a $140,000 purse.

The first thing you might notice in the first division is the presence of Kentucky Derby runner and graded stakes regular Just a Touch.

Mon, 04/13/2026 - 13:27

Cybertown using race as stakes springboard

Coady Media
Cybertown is stakes-placed at the current meet, having run second in the Nodouble Breeders’ over six furlongs Feb. 21.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Shea Stuart’s stable has been geared to Arkansas-bred opportunities this meet at Oaklawn Park, and Cybertown, one of his two candidates for the track’s richest offering for statebreds, will be in action Thursday.

Cybertown goes in the sixth race, a first-level allowance route that serves as his final stepping-stone for the $200,000 Arkansas Breeders’ Championship on May 2. Stuart’s other candidate for that stakes race is recent allowance winner Triple Up.

Stuart said about 60 percent of his current stable is made up of Arkansas-breds.

Mon, 04/13/2026 - 13:22

Rothko looks to sustain momentum on tighter-than-usual turnaround

Barbara D. Livingston
In her second start off a layoff of more than a year, Child of the Moon was beaten less than a length in a strong edition of the Grade 2 Hillsborough.

Covfefe was a pure sprinter who won an Eclipse Award in that division. But so far, the mare’s two foals to race seem like very different types.

From the beginning, first foal, Ellen Jay, looked like her mother’s daughter and is a stakes-winning sprinter – albeit on the turf, tapping into the versatility of her sire, Constitution. A runner with a refined, feminine build, she found a rhythm quickly and seemed to steadily improve with each start.

Mon, 04/13/2026 - 13:11

Raging Fury has learned to relax and finish off his races

Ryan Thompson / Coglianese Photo
Trainer Nolan Ramsey has opted to start Raging Fury in Wednesday's feature at Tampa Bay Downs over a Florida-bred stakes at Gulfstream.

With the option of a Florida-bred stakes at Gulfstream Park on April 25 or an open second-level allowance Wednesday at Tampa Bay Downs, trainer Nolan Ramsey opted for the latter with Raging Fury, who looks for his second straight win at Tampa in the first race on a nine-race card.

A 5-year-old gelding by Ami’s Flatter, Raging Fury has run twice in this second-level allowance/optional $32,000 condition and it’s hard not to concur with Ramsey’s assessment that his effort in defeat on Feb. 28 may have been stronger than the one in victory on March 20.

Mon, 04/13/2026 - 12:57

Kentucky Derby: Chief Wallabee works, likely to add blinkers

Chief Wallabee at GP on March 28 2026
Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Bill Mott thought lightly raced Chief Wallabee was slightly distracted while finishing third in the Florida Derby on March 28 at Gulfstream Park.

Chief Wallabee, beaten a half-length when third behind Commandment and The Puma in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28, will most likely be equipped with blinkers when he runs in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Bill Mott said Monday.

“To me, he seemed slightly distracted in his last run,” Mott said Monday. “Something to keep him a little more focused. He’s still a little green.”

Mon, 04/13/2026 - 12:18

Arindel has pair in first local 2-year-old race of season

Mythical NOT WINNER in Spinaway at SAR Aug 30 2025
Debra A. Roma
Arindel’s Mythical, winner of the Tremont and Adirondack at Saratoga last year, is being pointed to this year’s Spa meet.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Like trainer Wesley Ward during the spring meet at Keeneland, Arindel Farm has become the dominant force in 2-year-old races this time of year at Gulfstream Park.

Arindel will send out a pair of juvenile fillies, Dorothy and Boots, as key contenders in the first “baby” race of the local season on Thursday. They have also entered a pair, including likely favorite Strike, in the open division of the same 4 1/2-furlong maiden dash here Sunday.