Mon, 11/17/2025 - 10:36

Cox ponders next moves for stakes-winning quartet

Barbara D. Livingston
Fionn's Jockey Club Oaks win may have earned her a start in the Grade 1, $300,000 American Oaks at Santa Anita on Dec. 26.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When Fionn won Saturday’s Grade 3 Jockey Club Oaks, it gave trainer Brad Cox his sixth win and fourth stakes victory at Aqueduct in the first two weeks of November.

Fionn won the Jockey Club Oaks for 3-year-old fillies by a half-length over Laurelin, her sixth victory from eight starts in 2025. It may have earned her a start in the Grade 1, $300,000 American Oaks at Santa Anita on Dec. 26. A victory in the American Oaks could put Fionn in the conversation for the Eclipse Award in the female turf division.

Fri, 11/14/2025 - 16:54

Davis hospitalized after hard spill

Barbara D. Livingston
Jockey Dylan Davis, who was involved in a spill Friday at Aqueduct, ranks 12th so far this year in earnings.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jockey Dylan Davis suffered a broken right collarbone, multiple fractured ribs, and a collapsed lung as a result of a spill in Friday's seventh race at Aqueduct according to agent Mike Migliore.

Migliore said it was unclear if or when Davis would undergo surgery or how much time he will miss. Migliore said Davis was coughing up blood and had pain in his chest and his side. He was undergoing more tests at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

Fri, 11/14/2025 - 14:12

Civaci injures back, out at least a month

Michael Burns
Woodbine's leading jockey in 2024, Sahin Civaci has been trying to move his tack permanently to New York.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jockey Sahin Civaci suffered another setback in his bid to start his New York riding career.

Civaci suffered a hairline fracture of the T4 and T5 vertebrae in his back as the result of being unseated by his mount, Despo’s Dream, who stumbled at the break of Thursday’s seventh race at Aqueduct. Initially, it was believed that Civaci suffered broken ribs, according to his agent Mike Sellitto, but an MRI performed Friday morning showed something different.

Fri, 11/14/2025 - 14:04

Rated by Merit works toward Cigar Mile

Barbara D. Livingston
Rated by Merit is also under consideration for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 24 at Gulfstream.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Rated by Merit missed a little time due to a fever following his victory in the Discovery Stakes on Oct. 4, but on Friday he worked a half-mile in 48.14 seconds over the Belmont Park training track and remains on schedule for the Grade 2, $500,000 Cigar Mile on Dec. 6.

Rated by Merit, working by himself over a track that was not yielding quick times, got his last quarter in 23.81. It was his second work since the Discovery.

Fri, 11/14/2025 - 14:02

Fully Subscribed under consideration for Comely Stakes

Susie Raisher/NYRA
Fully Subscribed, who won the Mother Goose on Nov. 8, missed most of her 3-year-old season due to a tibial fracture.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Fully Subscribed, winner of the Grade 2 Mother Goose Stakes on Nov. 8, may not be done racing this year.

Trainer Chad Brown said Friday that he will talk to owner Seth Klarman about possibly running her back in the Grade 3, $200,000 Comely Stakes here Dec. 7. Last year, Brown won the Comely with Pretty Ana after that filly was narrowly defeated in the Mother Goose. Pretty Ana was retired earlier this year after developing ankle issues.

Fri, 11/14/2025 - 13:20

Walsh not done yet as career-best year continues

Coady Media
Lush Lips was sold for $3.7 million after winning the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.

This already has been a banner year for the trainer Brendan Walsh, and it is not over yet.

With about six weeks still left in 2025, Walsh has hit career bests in all the major categories. He has won 116 races, more than any previous year, and has stable earnings greater than $13.8 million, about $2.4 million more than his previous top. Walsh has won 21 stakes, surpassing his previous high of 16, and has 15 graded stakes wins, six more than his best.

Thu, 11/13/2025 - 12:49

Scholl aiming at another title with Miss Code West

Barbara D. Livingston
Miss Code West will look to lock down meet honors in Saturday's eighth race at Remington Park.

Trainer Kevin Scholl said last month his goal for Miss Code West this season is a third consecutive horse of the meet title at Remington Park. He will be looking to strengthen her case in Saturday night’s eighth race, a 6 1/2-furlong, no-conditions allowance race for fillies and mares bred in Oklahoma.

Miss Code West enters off back-to-back stakes wins at Remington. She won the Bob Barry Memorial on Sept. 12 and the Oklahoma Classics Night Distaff Turf on Oct. 17. In her other start this season at Remington, Miss Code West was second in an allowance sprint Aug. 16.

Thu, 11/13/2025 - 12:46

Immediate plans uncertain for Free Like a Girl after buyback

Barbara D. Livingston
Free Like a Girl has earned $2.5 million, the most of any Louisiana-bred.

Free Like a Girl, who was a $500,000 buyback at a recent auction in Kentucky, is scheduled to return to Louisiana next week, according to co-owner and trainer Chasey Deville Pomier.

She said Free Like a Girl would likely ship into Delta Downs, but the stable also has a division at Fair Grounds.

“She’s coming home,” Deville Pomier said Tuesday. “We’re just taking it day by day and will see what we’re going to do with her.”

Thu, 11/13/2025 - 09:43

Explora still possible to run back in Starlet

Barbara D. Livingston
Explora finished second in the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Explora, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up, is among the 10 fillies that trainer Bob Baffert nominated to the Starlet at Los Alamitos. Baffert stopped short of committing Explora to the race but said “She came out of [the Breeders’ Cup] very well. I have a bunch nominated” to the Starlet.

Baffert has won the last eight editions of the Starlet. In addition to Explora, his top nominees include Himika, who will be the odds-on favorite Sunday at Del Mar in the seven-furlong Desi Arnaz, and Bottle of Rouge, winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante.

Thu, 11/13/2025 - 09:40

Some of McCarthy's Breeders' Cup starters getting a rest

Barbara D. Livingston
Formidable Man finished a solid second in the Breeders' Cup Mile. He will get a break before returning in 2026.

Trainer Michael McCarthy did not win a Breeders’ Cup race this year, but his horses all fired. Journalism finished fourth in the Classic; Formidable Man finished second in the Mile; Stark Contrast finished second in the Juvenile Turf; and second-time starter Meaning finished fourth in the Juvenile Fillies.

Journalism was still stabled at Santa Anita as of midweek, but he will ship out soon for a winter vacation. McCarthy said the Metropolitan Handicap is his first main objective for 2026. Formidable Man also is getting a break.