SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Chad Brown is a numbers guy. But he’s also a realist. He knows that just because he has a third of the field entered in Saturday’s $2 million Belmont Stakes at Saratoga doesn’t mean he’s going to be successful.
“The math checks out that I have a better chance to win, but that’s about it,” Brown, who is still seeking his first Belmont win, said Monday morning at Saratoga. “I don’t know if I have the right three.”
Imagine the Moon, who will start as the probable favorite in the $100,000 Shelby County Handicap on Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis, is a high-maintenance mare who demands lots of carats.
Make that carrots.
They’re trainer Tony Duran’s secret weapon when it comes to making Imagine the Moon happy. And it’s working. Big time.
Imagine the Moon won last year’s Shelby County as part of a multiple stakes-winning campaign that earned her the Indiana Thoroughbred Owner’s and Breeder’s Association’s “champion sired aged mare” title of 2025.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After proving competitive in a series of two-turn races on the Kentucky Derby trail, Bravaro will shorten up in distance and return to statebred company when topping a strong field of nine 3-year-old New York-breds, including the recently untouchable Sculcos Folly, on Wednesday at Saratoga in the $200,000 Mike Lee Stakes.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Gratefully will put her undefeated record on the line against the toughest group she’s met to date when she steps up in class in Thursday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Intercontinental Stakes at Saratoga.
Gratefully, a daughter of Laoban, has won all five of her career starts, including three on turf. She has mostly won racing on the lead, including a head victory in the Wishing Well Stakes at Santa Anita in February. However, trainer Robert Falcone Jr. believes “one of her better races” came in an allowance race when Gratefully had a target.
The iconic jewels in the Triple Crown endure, even alongside changes – such as the pandemic-shuffled series of 2020, and, in recent years, the temporary re-locations of the Belmont Stakes and Preakness Stakes due to construction at historic Belmont Park and Pimlico Race Course, respectively.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Vodka Vodka, a gelding who is a two-time stakes winner and older sibling to Grade 2 Santa Margarita winner Om N Joy, remains possible for the Bertrando Stakes on June 20 at Los Alamitos, trainer Aggie Ordonez said.
Vodka Vodka won the $250,000 Sunland Park Stakes on April 5, but a foot bruise prevented a start in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup on May 25 at Santa Anita. Ordonez still hopes to make the Bertrando, but Vodka Vodka will need to work soon.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The California summer filly and mare dirt division is gaining support from an unlikely origin – turf.
Om N Joy’s last-to-first victory in the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, seven days after she finished last in a turf stakes, earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure and a start in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes on Aug. 1 at Del Mar.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A change in tactics has led to a change in performance for Little Trilby. A winner of three of his last four starts, Little Trilby will seek a second consecutive Grade 1 victory in Wednesday’s $150,000 Beverly Steinman Hurdle Handicap at Saratoga.
Always a Runner’s story is still in its opening chapters, as the filly made just her third career start in winning the Kentucky Oaks. But the tale has been a long time in the making for breeder and co-owner Goncalo Torrealba’s Three Chimneys Farm and co-owner Douglas Scharbauer. Trainer Chad Brown, too, has a longer association with the roots for the filly, who looks to remain unbeaten in her next chapter in Friday’s Grade 1 Acorn Stakes at Saratoga.
An exhibit featuring photographs produced by six-time Eclipse Award winner Barbara Livingston and items in her extensive racing memorabilia collection opens on Wednesday at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Livingston, the chief photographer at Daily Racing Form who has been chronicling racing, breeding, and backstretch life through her camera since 1971, is widely considered the most accomplished racing photographer of her generation. She is also an avid collector who has digitized tens of thousands of old negatives and photos.
