Fri, 01/10/2025 - 13:25

Eclipse finalist Johannes sidelined with bone bruising

Benoit Photo
Johannes wins the San Gabriel Stakes in his 2024 finale on Dec. 26. He likely won't race again until the summer.

Johannes, a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding turf horse of 2024, has been sidelined with a minor injury, trainer Tim Yakteen said on Friday.

“We’ve run into some bone bruising,” Yakteen said. “We’ve always put the horse first, as we do all our horses.

“We’ll give him a little bit of a break and set him up for his summer campaign.”

Yakteen said he received the diagnosis from veterinarians on Friday. The setback ends plans to take Johannes to Gulfstream Park for the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational on Jan. 25.

Fri, 01/10/2025 - 11:18

Turfway cancels Friday card; late pick five carryover moved to Saturday

Coady Photography
Due to an ongoing winter storm, Turfway Park has canceled their Friday card and moved the late pick five carryover to Saturday.

Turfway Park has had to scrap a third consecutive scheduled day of racing this week following lingering effects from a major winter storm early in the week in Kentucky, and with more snow expected in the coming hours.

Thu, 01/09/2025 - 15:34

The Chosen Vron among those absent from the California Cup

Benoit Photo
Eclipse Award finalist The Chosen Vron is undergoing therapy on one of his ankles. The hope is he will race at Del Mar this summer.

The Chosen Vron, the 2023 California-bred Horse of the Year, and the Cal-bred fillies and mares Chancery Way, Chismosa, and Grand Slam Smile, all five-time stakes winners who raced as recently as November, are notable absentees from Saturday’s California Cup program at Santa Anita.

All are expected to resume racing later this year.

Thu, 01/09/2025 - 13:36

Santa Anita moves Friday card to next Thursday due to air quality concerns

Kelly Brinkerhoff
Several barns on the Santa Anita backstretch suffered wind damage Tuesday and Wednesday. Air quality was the primary concern on Thursday morning.

Santa Anita has postponed Friday’s program to Thursday,  Jan. 16 because of concern over air quality caused by massive wildfires in Los Angeles County, the track announced on Thursday.

The 10-race program scheduled for Friday will be conducted without being redrawn, according to track general manager Nate Newby.

“The [California Horse Racing Board] has given us approval to move the card as is,” Newby said in an interview. “It’s going to be a 10-race program starting at noon.”

Wed, 01/08/2025 - 18:06

Aqueduct cancels Thursday card due to strong winds

Barbara D. Livingston
Aqueduct has canceled their Thursday card due to forecasted strong winds, with racing scheduled to resume Friday.

Aqueduct’s eight-race Thursday card has been canceled due to a forecast that calls for strong winds, the New York Racing Association announced early Wednesday night.

According to the National Weather Service, Thursday’s forecast calls for sunny skies with a high near 34 degrees but winds between 21 and 25 miles per hour with gusts as high as 39 mph. This is the first cancellation of the winter meet.

Aqueduct will be open for simulcasting on Thursday.

Racing is expected to resume Friday with an eight-race card that begins at 12:40 p.m.

Wed, 01/08/2025 - 17:06

Oaklawn cancels weekend racing due to weather, impending storm

Oaklawn.scenic,starting gate April 23 2022
Coady Photography
The Hot Springs, Ark., area is expected to get between four and eight inches of snow on Thursday and Friday.

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has canceled racing for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday due to continued freezing temperatures and impending severe weather, said Jason Milligan, the track’s vice president of racing operations. The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon.

Milligan said the Pippin Stakes that was to have been run Saturday will now be held next Sunday. It will be redrawn and is open to original nominees.

Wed, 01/08/2025 - 11:15

Fires break out in hillside towns near Santa Anita

SA mountain fire Jan 8 2025
Melissa Saldana
Fires were visible from the Santa Anita backstretch on Wednesday morning.

Santa Anita canceled training on Wednesday because of gusty winds that caused damage to the roof of at least one barn and fueled a terrifying wildfire in the adjacent cities of Altadena and Pasadena, Calif., that was visible from the track.

The fire, which was not an immediate threat to the racetrack property, officials said, had zero containment as of late Wednesday morning and had spread to more than 10,600 acres, damaging scores of homes and businesses in the Altadena and Pasadena areas, according to Los Angeles media.

Mon, 01/06/2025 - 13:26

Owen Almighty expected for 3-year-old debut in Pasco

Coady Media
Off a second-place finish in the Iroquois at Churchill Downs, Owen Almighty is entered to make his 3-year-old debut in Saturday's Pasco at Tampa Bay Downs.

Owen Almighty, one of the more impressive 2-year-olds of midsummer 2024, will make his 3-year-old debut in Saturday’s Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The purse of the seven-furlong Pasco is $150,000, though only Florida-breds or progeny of Florida stallions run for the entire purse.

Mon, 01/06/2025 - 12:39

Reddam confident he has an Oaks runner in Look Forward

Benoit Photo
After a win in the Santa Ynez, Look Forward will likely point toward the Kentucky Oaks trail.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Paul Reddam, one of the most prominent owners in California, has two Kentucky Derby trophies courtesy of I’ll Have Another in 2012 and Nyquist four years later.

Reddam, who operates the stable with his wife, Zillah, has never won a Kentucky Oaks. Land Over Sea was second to Cathryn Sophia for the Reddams in 2016. Their most recent runner in the Oaks was the longshot Mopotism, who finished 10th in 2017.

Mon, 01/06/2025 - 12:32

Five jockeys named as finalists for Woolf Award

Debra A. Roma
Brian Hernandez Jr., who won last year's Kentucky Oaks and Derby, is one of five finalists for the Woolf Award.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Kendrick Carmouche, James Graham, Brian Hernandez Jr., Juan Hernandez, and Alfredo Juarez Jr. are finalists for the 2025 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, Santa Anita announced on Monday.

The Woolf Award honors riders for achievements on the racetrack as well as personal character. The winner will be determined by a ballot of riders nationwide.

The five finalists represent jockeys currently riding throughout the nation.

Carmouche, 40, is based at Aqueduct. Through Sunday, the Louisiana native had 3,950 career wins, including 163 races in 2024.