Wed, 09/24/2025 - 11:59

Fresu suspended, will keep stakes mounts

Benoit Photo
At Santa Anita in the spring, Fresu led all riders with 34 wins.

Jockey Antonio Fresu, who led the standings at the Santa Anita spring meeting and was second at the Del Mar summer meeting, will be limited to graded stakes mounts this weekend at Santa Anita while serving the first three days of a four-day suspension.

Wed, 09/24/2025 - 11:57

Rastaman Vibe steps up to stakes company in John Henry Turf Championship

Benoit Photo
Gold Phoenix will be favored on the strength of a fourth consecutive win in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap.

He is on a two-race winning streak, will be ridden by the circuit’s leading rider, and is proven in distance races on turf. If there is a time to try the claimer Rastaman Vibe in a stakes, it’s in Saturday’s Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at 1 1/4 miles, according to trainer Steve Knapp.

“Why wouldn’t you give him a chance?” Knapp said. “It’s a short field. We have nothing to lose.”

Tue, 09/23/2025 - 16:16

Local favorites Buccherino, Repo Rocks injured in respective stakes at Parx on Saturday

Buccherino wins Parx Sprint at Parx Sept 20 2025
Barbara D. Livingston
Buccherino wins the Parx Sprint on Saturday. He was bleeding from his left front hoof after the race.

Buccherino, the winner of the $150,000 Parx Sprint on Saturday, suffered an injury to his left front hoof during the race and will likely have to miss time. Injuries to the hoof have been a recurring issue for the four-time stakes winner throughout, and trainer Alfredo Velazquez said that this case does not appear to be as severe as past setbacks.

Tue, 09/23/2025 - 12:38

Jockeys' Guild disciplines Remington riders who defied walkout

Dustin Orona Photography
A total of 10 riders accepted mounts for the Sept. 4 and Sept. 5 cards at Remington.

The Jockeys’ Guild has expelled members of its organization that rode at Remington Park in Oklahoma City in defiance of a walkout in early September while the guild was in the midst of negotiations over a new fee schedule for riders, the organization said on Tuesday.

Mon, 09/22/2025 - 14:49

Total handle on live races up 41 percent as field size grows

Barbara D. Livingston
Field size at the six-day Los Alamitos meet averaged 7.72 horses per race. A year ago, the average was 6.38.

CYPRESS, Calif. – The two-week Los Alamitos September meeting that ended on Sunday showed sharp increases in handle on the track’s races, and in number of starters, according to figures compiled by Daily Racing Form.

For the brief six-day season, handle on Los Alamitos races alone grew 41.8 percent from $11,831,737 in 2024 to $16,779,092. Fields averaged 7.72 runners per race compared to 6.38 runners per race at the 2024 September meeting.

Los Alamitos ran 55 races this September compared to 50 last year. The track races only on dirt.

Mon, 09/22/2025 - 13:41

Carter winner Crazy Mason one of nine in Vosburgh

Barbara D. Livingston
Crazy Mason scored the biggest victory of his career in the Grade 2 Carter in April. He'll be doing his best running late in Saturday's Vosburgh.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Crazy Mason, who won the Grade 2 Carter in April, heads a field of nine entered in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Vosburgh Stakes at seven furlongs.

The Carter was one of three straight wins Crazy Mason put together at Aqueduct during the winter and spring. Since the Carter, Crazy Mason has finished third in both the Grade 3 True North and Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga and made a trip to Del Mar where he finished sixth in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby in July.

Mon, 09/22/2025 - 13:38

Godolphin's Rebel's Romance, El Cordobes tune up for Joe Hirsch Classic

Rebel's Romance wins the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot June 21 2025
Megan Coggin
Rebel's Romance is 4 for 6 this year including a win in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot in June (above). The two-time Breeders' Cup Turf winner runs Saturday in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Two-time Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Rebel’s Romance, his Grade 1-winning Godolphin stablemate El Cordobes, and multiple Grade 1 winner Far Bridge head a field of five entered in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

Rebel’s Romance, a winner of 19 of 28 races, including the Group 1 Preis von Berlin in Germany in his last start, and El Cordobes, winner of the Grade 1 Sword Dancer last month, both stretched their legs Monday morning over the Oklahoma turf course in Saratoga.

Mon, 09/22/2025 - 13:29

His 1,000th win behind him, riding title is Kimura's next goal

Barbara D. Livingston
In his quest for a Santa Anita riding title, will attempt to surpass Juan Hernandez.

CYPRESS, Calif. – Kazushi Kimura won the 1,000th race of his career in North America at Los Alamitos on Saturday and immediately declared a goal for his next milestone – winning the riding title at the upcoming Santa Anita autumn meeting.

Kimura, a former champion jockey in Canada, faces a tough task of winning the most races at the 16-day Santa Anita autumn meeting. He will attempt to surpass Juan Hernandez, who has been the dominant rider on the circuit in the last three years.

Mon, 09/22/2025 - 13:24

Atitlan out of training with injury, will miss John Henry Turf Championship

Benoit Photo
Trainer John Shirreffs said Atitlan could be sidelined for up to two months.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Atitlan, a two-time graded stakes winner on turf earlier this year, is out of training because of an injury. The setback takes the 4-year-old colt out of consideration for Saturday’s Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita.

“He has a little injury and it will prevent him from racing,” trainer John Shirreffs said. “He’ll go to Kentucky and he’ll get a little rest. It could be four-week thing or it could be two months."

Mon, 09/22/2025 - 13:19

Phileas Fogg runs back in Woodward after Jockey Club Gold Cup DQ

Phileas Fogg works at SAR JUly 23 2025
Barbara D. Livingston
Phileas Fogg crossed the wire third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup but was disqualified for coming inward at the start and causing a chain-reaction collision.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When it comes to Phileas Fogg, trainer Gustavo Rodriguez has decided there’s no place like home.

Thus, instead of waiting for a race out of town next month, Rodriguez and owner Steve Shapiro have opted to supplement Phileas Fogg in Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Woodward Stakes at Aqueduct for a fee of $1,500.