Mon, 10/17/2022 - 11:16

Asmussen amping up his top Breeders' Cup hopefuls

Barbara Livingston
Jackie's Warrior, training this summer at Saratoga, was one of several top Breeders' Cup prospects to work over the past few days for trainer Steve Asmussen.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jackie’s Warrior, the favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, went an easy half-mile in 49.53 seconds early Monday, capping a busy stretch for Breeders’ Cup workers at Keeneland.

Jackie’s Warrior was one of a handful of BC hopefuls trained by Steve Asmussen to work during that recent span. In five-furlong works Sunday, Epicenter (BC Classic) went in 1:00.20; Echo Zulu (Filly and Mare Sprint) went in 1:02.80 in company; Grand Love (Juvenile Fillies) went in 1:00.60 in company; and Clariere and Society breezed alongside each other in 59.80 toward the Distaff.

Mon, 10/17/2022 - 10:56

Pletcher, Brown dominated Grade 1 racing at Keeneland

Coady Photography
Julia Shining, a full sister to Malathaat, rallies to win her maiden from far back on Sunday for trainer Todd Pletcher.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The fall meet at Keeneland doesn’t reach its midpoint until Wednesday, but already two of the most successful stables on the continent have satisfied their primary goals for the meet.

Between them, Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown have accounted for all but one of the meet’s six Grade 1 races – all of them run during the first seven cards at a front-loaded 17-day meet – with Pletcher winning three and Brown two.

Sun, 10/16/2022 - 18:53

Jockey Desormeaux completes 60-day suspension, but return unclear

Barbara D. Livingston
Kent Desormeaux has won 6,116 races in North America.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, who has not ridden since January, recently completed a 60-day suspension issued by Del Mar stewards in August related to an altercation at an RV park at Del Mar last fall.

While Desormeaux’s short-term plans regarding a potential return to riding are unclear, he has been suspended eight racing days in coming weeks after losing appeals of two penalties issued at Del Mar for causing interference in summer 2021.

Sun, 10/16/2022 - 18:44

Laurel River drills five furlongs for Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

Benoit Photo
Laurel River, the 3 3/4-length winner of the Pat O'Brien, was one of a handful of Awesome Again nominees to work in recent days.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Laurel River continues to blaze through morning workouts in the buildup to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland on Nov. 5.

An easy winner of the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 27, Laurel River worked five furlongs in 1:00 at Santa Anita on Sunday, the second-fastest time at the distance.

In recent weeks, Laurel River worked five furlongs in 59.20 seconds on Sept. 30 and six furlongs in 1:12.40 on Oct. 10, the fastest times of the mornings at those distances.

Sun, 10/16/2022 - 17:48

You're My Girl works five furlongs for BC Juvenile Fillies

Barbara D. Livingston
You're My Girl won her debut by 14 1/2 lengths at Saratoga in September.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - You’re My Girl, runner-up to Chocolate Gelato in the Grade 1 Frizette, worked five furlongs in 1:00.07 Sunday morning over the Belmont Park training track as she prepares for a start in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland on Nov. 4.

Her connections previously said they would pay the $100,000 supplemental fee to make You’re My Girl eligible for the Breeders’ Cup. A New York-bred daughter of Overanalyze, You’re My Girl won her debut by 14 1/2 lengths against statebreds on Sept. 2 at Saratoga.

Sun, 10/16/2022 - 17:29

McGaughey takes aim at a busy three weeks in N.Y. and Kentucky

Barbara D. Livingston
First Captain, shown working in August, did a half-mile at Belmont on Saturday in preparation for the Fayette Stakes.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Shug McGaughey can only hope the victory by Skims in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Sands Point Stakes at Aqueduct is the start of a successful three-week run for the Hall of Fame trainer, who figures to be quite active in stakes both in New York and Kentucky.

On Sunday, at Belmont Park, McGaughey worked a bevy of horses pointing to important stakes in the coming weeks.

Fri, 10/14/2022 - 15:53

Breeders' Cup Classic post time set for 5:40 p.m. Eastern

Coady Photography
Keeneland opens Friday and runs through Oct. 29. The track will then reopen to host the Breeders' Cup on Nov. 4-5.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 5 at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky., will have a post time of 5:40 p.m. Eastern time, the Breeders’ Cup announced on Friday.

The Classic will be the final Breeders’ Cup race on a 12-race card at Keeneland that will start at 10:30 a.m. The first Breeders’ Cup race on the Saturday card will have a post time of 11:50 a.m. Two non-Breeders’ Cup races will precede the first Breeders’ Cup race, and one non-Breeders’ Cup race will close the card after the Classic.

Fri, 10/14/2022 - 13:10

Schosberg planning to retire but will remain a presence

Barbara Livingston
Richard Schosberg is vice president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and deeply involved with several aftercare programs.

Though he will retire from training horses at the end of the year, Richard Schosberg still plans to be a fixture on the backstretch of New York Racing Association tracks in his many behind-the-scenes roles helping horsemen and with Thoroughbred aftercare.

“I’m going to be on the backstretch. I’m not disappearing,” Schosberg, whose retirement from training at year’s end was first reported Thursday by Blood Horse, said Friday morning at his barn.

Fri, 10/14/2022 - 11:06

Brown pointing Raging Sea to Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

Coady Photography
In Italian asegurando la victoria en el First Lady Stakes G1

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Chad Brown has confirmed Raging Sea for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, the Nov. 4 race that will be just the third start for the Curlin filly.

“I left her there at Keeneland after the Alcibiades,” Brown said this week from New York. “We’ll train her along as if she’s going to run. I do want to see how she works before making a final decision.”

Thu, 10/13/2022 - 13:20

Glass Ceiling will probably get one more chance to run before being sold

Barbara D. Livingston
Glass Ceiling wins the Grade 3 Distaff Handicap by five lengths on Saturday at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Glass Ceiling, winner of a pair of Grade 3 stakes earlier this year, will likely have one more race before she is to be sold at the Fasig-Tipton auction on Nov. 6, trainer and part-owner Charlton Baker said.

Glass Ceiling is pointing to the $120,000 Pumpkin Pie Stakes on Oct. 29 at Aqueduct, Baker said.