Sun, 02/11/2024 - 13:14

No More Time possible for either Tampa Bay Derby or Florida Derby

Tom Keyser
No More Time earned 20 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby with Saturday's win in the Sam F. Davis.

The connections of Sam F. Davis Stakes winner No More Time will have plenty of time to figure out their path to try and get to the Kentucky Derby. While nothing is definite on where No More Time will make his next start, trainer Jose D’Angelo said Sunday he would prefer to run the horse just one more time between now and the first Saturday in May.

Sat, 02/10/2024 - 16:05

Track Phantom draws post 11 for Risen Star

Coady Photography
Track Phantom drew post 11 for next Saturday's Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds.

The Risen Star Stakes, drawn a week in advance Saturday at Fair Grounds, attracted a field of 12, more than befitting the year’s first 105-point qualifying race toward the 150th Kentucky Derby. 

Sat, 02/10/2024 - 13:47

Oaklawn adds two Sunday dates to make up for cards lost due to weather

Coady photo
Oaklawn Park lost four dates due to a winter storm in January.

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has added two Sunday race dates to its calendar - April 7 and May 5 - to make up for some cards lost to severe winter weather. Oaklawn's meet was originally scheduled to end on Kentucky Derby Day, May 4, but will now end on May 5.

Oaklawn lost four dates to a winter storm in January. The track also had to cancel after the first race in an additional weather-related loss this meet. The situation led to the Southwest Stakes Day card being run a week later than scheduled, on Feb. 3.

Sat, 02/10/2024 - 13:00

Vallelujah, 5-year-old N.Y.-bred mare, found dead in Belmont Park barn

Barbara D. Livingston
Vallelujah's last race was a ninth-place finish in an allowance at Aqueduct on Dec. 31.

The 5-year-old New York-bred mare Vallelujah was found dead in her stall at Belmont Park on Friday, according to a listing on the New York State Gaming Commission website. A necropsy is being performed at Cornell University to try and determine the cause of death.

This death is not believed to be associated with the equine herpesvirus that forced the euthanasia of a horse stabled on Feb. 3. That horse was based in Barn 15. Vallelujah was stabled in barn 62, on the other side of the track.

Sat, 02/10/2024 - 12:14

White Abarrio tops 14-horse field expected for Saudi Cup

Barbara D. Livingston
White Abarrio was given a 106 Beyer Speed Figure for his victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 4.

Breeders’ Cup Classic winner White Abarrio heads the 14 horses expected to start Feb. 24 in the $20 million Saudi Cup, though he is just one leading light in a dazzling lineup. 

Sat, 02/10/2024 - 11:50

Nancy C. Kelly, longtime fundraiser for The Jockey Club, dies at 71

The Jockey Club
Nancy C. Kelly had a 32-year career at The Jockey Club organizing countless fundraising events.

Nancy C. Kelly, who wore many hats in the racing industry and was instrumental in raising significant funds for equine research and individuals in need over a 32-year career at The Jockey Club, died Friday in Garden City Park, N.Y., after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer. She was 71.

Fri, 02/09/2024 - 11:24

Santa Anita mistakenly applied carryover to two separate pick five pools  

A bet-processing error at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., resulted in a pick five carryover on Jan. 6 to be added to two separate pick five pools the following day, according to a memorandum available on the California Horse Racing Board website.

The Jan. 6 carryover from the Coast to Coast Pick 5 of $186,880.67 was added to both the early pick five held on Jan. 7 at Santa Anita and the Coast to Coast Pick 5 held the same day, according to the memo. The Coast to Coast Pick 5 combines five races from Gulfstream Park in Florida and Santa Anita into one betting series.

Thu, 02/08/2024 - 13:10

National Treasure to go in Saudi Cup

National Treasure, the brilliant winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park, is scheduled to have his next start in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia.

Tom Ryan, racing manager of co-owner SF Racing, confirmed the plans Thursday.

Wed, 02/07/2024 - 15:00

Kentucky Derby: Who's hot, who's not for Feb. 7, 2024

Coady Photography
Mystik Dan splashes up the rail to win the Southwest, earning a 101 Beyer Figure and vaulting into the group of early Kentucky Derby contenders.

WHO’S HOT

Locked spiked a fever, which delays his comeback, but the Grade 1 winner opens as the 8-1 Derby Watch favorite by Daily Racing Form linemaker David Aragona. Locked, who won the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland prior to finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, was aiming to the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs. The postponement is believed minor.

Wed, 02/07/2024 - 14:30

Kentucky Derby 2024: Pletcher has yet another case of prep hiccups

Barbara D. Livingston
Todd Pletcher has numerous Derby contenders among his 54 Triple Crown nominees, including the 8-1 Derby Watch choice Locked, who will miss an intended start in Saturday’s Sam F. Davis.

Having started more horses in the Kentucky Derby than any other trainer, and attempted to get even more to the race who didn’t make it, Todd Pletcher knows the pitfalls of the Triple Crown trail as well, if not better, than most.

A year ago, things appeared to going perfectly for Forte, right up until 72 hours before the race when a foot bruise developed. It would lead to three days of drama and ultimately a scratch of the Derby favorite the morning of the race.

“It was a trainer’s worst nightmare,” Pletcher, a two-time Derby winner, recalled recently.