Sun, 06/14/2026 - 18:46

Kennyten, who did the unexpected, will start next in Best Pal Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Vladimir Cerin said Kennyten is scheduled to have his second start in the Best Pal Stakes, a six-furlong race for 2-year-olds at Del Mar on Aug. 8.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The 2-year-old colt Kennyten was not expected to win his first start in a maiden race at five furlongs by 7 1/2 lengths at Santa Anita last Friday, not expected to finish in 56.99 seconds, or to earn a lofty Beyer Speed Figure of 91.

Kennyten, in the mind of trainer Vladimir Cerin, was not expected to do anything out of the ordinary.

“I thought we’d need a race,” Cerin reflected on Sunday.

“I knew he was fast, but I didn’t know he’d be fast at the end of the race.”

Sun, 06/14/2026 - 18:25

Mizumi, with Summertime Oaks triumph, will hit the road

Benoit
Mizumi won the Summertime Oaks at 1 1/16 miles by 3 3/4 lengths on Saturday as the 3-5 favorite.

ARCADIA, Calif. - It did not take long for the 3-year-old filly Mizumi to outgrow California.

Mizumi won her debut in a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on May 2, and her first start in a stakes with an eye-catching stretch run in Saturday’s Grade 3 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita.

Trained by Bob Baffert for Charles and Susan Chu’s Baoma Corp., Mizumi is expected to race outside of California in coming months.

“She’ll go to Kentucky,” Baffert said on Sunday morning.

Sun, 06/14/2026 - 18:19

Sculcos Folly eyes New York Derby or Amsterdam Stakes

Debra A. Roma
Sculcos Folly has won his last four starts by a combined 29 1/2 lengths.

Sculcos Folly, who ran his winning streak to four straight with a decisive victory in the Mike Lee Stakes at Saratoga on June 3, will be considered for either the New York Derby at Finger Lakes on July 13 or the Grade 2, $250,000 Amsterdam at Saratoga on July 21, trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said. 

Sun, 06/14/2026 - 16:45

Trainer Motion targets Breeders' Cup for his group of stakes winners

Equi-Photo
Gimme a Nother was given a 95 Beyer Speed Figure for Saturday's win in the Eatontown Stakes.

Trainer Graham Motion is making plans for a bushel of stakes winners and stakes-placed runners, with some heading to Virginia and others to New York with the goal of getting several to the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland in October. 

Sun, 06/14/2026 - 12:06

Sovereignty works five furlongs in Stephen Foster prep

Barbara D. Livingston
Exercise rider Neil Poznansky takes Sovereignty through a five-furlong work at Saratoga on Sunday.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - On Sunday in Saratoga, Sovereignty turned in his penultimate work for the $2 million Stephen Foster on June 27 at Churchill Downs, breezing an easy five furlongs in 1:02.61 over a fast but rather cuppy Oklahoma training track.

Thu, 06/11/2026 - 14:37

Court of Appeals strikes a blow to HISA

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has once again ruled that the relationship between the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and its federal overseer violates a provision of the Constitution called the non-delegation doctrine, setting up a potential showdown in the Supreme Court sometime in the future. 

Thu, 06/11/2026 - 11:32

Jack-of-all-trades Frank Pagano Sr. passes at 95

Frank Pagano Sr. who served in many capacities in the racing industry, died on May 1. He was 95. 

Pagano was a trainer, owner, jockey agent, stable manager, and was appointed by Gov. Mario Cuomo to the New York Thoroughbred Racing and Wagering Committee, serving as a chairman on the subcommittee on breeding. 

Pagano worked as a stable manager for Bill Levin’s Gold Mills Farm, which, among other horses, campaigned Bold Reason, who in 1971 won the Travers Stakes after finishing third in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. 

Thu, 06/11/2026 - 11:18

Owner-trainer Jimmy Iselin dies at age 84

Jimmy Iselin Aug 19 2013
Barbara D. Livingston
Jimmy Iselin trained Crafty Prospector, a winner of seven of 10 starts who went on to be a successful stallion, and the New York-bred mare Willet, who earned more than $850,000.

Jimmy Iselin, a veteran horseman who trained and owned horses that ran mostly in New York for more than four decades, died at his home in New York City on June 8 after a brief illness, according to his son Jamie. He was 84. 

Iselin was described as an “old-school horseman” by his son and “conscientious” by fellow trainer and longtime friend Eddie Barker. Though Jimmy Iselin won the 1976 Bold Ruler Handicap, Equibase shows Iselin having won 343 races from 2,286 starters from 1977-2017. 

Barker said he spoke with Iselin Monday night, less than an hour before he passed. 

Wed, 06/10/2026 - 09:30

Belmont viewership down slightly

Barbara D. Livingston
FOX holds the broadcast rights to the Belmont Stakes through 2030.

Viewership for the Belmont Stakes broadcast on FOX’s flagship network peaked at 4.7 million viewers, according to FOX, down 6 percent compared to the peak viewership figure for last year’s broadcast.

Combined broadcasts on FOX and its FS1 network averaged 3.73 million viewers, according to FOX, down 2.6 percent. The broadcast on FOX ran from 4 p.m. Eastern until 7:30 p.m., with the race going off at 7:01 p.m. FOX ran a competing broadcast on FS1 from 4:00 to 6:30 that featured more in-depth coverage of handicapping and betting strategies.

Tue, 06/09/2026 - 17:25

Kentucky to allow horses to work back from vet's list sooner

Horses in Kentucky will be able to perform a workout to determine their soundness seven days after being placed on the veterinarian's list, rather than 14 days, under a rule adopted by a committee of the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation at a meeting on Tuesday.