Atitlan finished a fast-closing third by a neck in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 31, just missing a win and an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
Atitlan has another chance to prove he belongs in the BC Turf in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita on Sept. 27.
The $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship is run at 1 1/4 miles. The Del Mar Handicap was run at 1 3/8 miles.
Baeza, second or third in four of the nation’s toughest races for 3-year-olds since early April, was declared on schedule for the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing on Sept. 20 after a quick six-furlong workout in 1:11.60 at Santa Anita on Friday.
Baeza was ridden by Hector Berrios, who has the mount in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at 1 1/8 miles.
“Hector said the track was really heavy this morning,” trainer John Shirreffs said. “I think it was a really good work.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Sovereignty, the leading 3-year-old in the country and a Horse of the Year contender, was expected to return to the work tab over the weekend as he prepares for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Bill Mott, the trainer of Sovereignty, said at Belmont Park on Friday morning that Sovereignty would likely work at Saratoga on Saturday morning. It would be his first work since his 10-length win in the Travers on Aug. 23. Sovereignty will enter the BC Classic having won the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Jim Dandy, and Travers in succession.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Book’em Danno, the leading male sprinter in the country, returned to the work tab on Thursday, going an easy half-mile in 50 seconds at Monmouth Park, but trainer Derek Ryan said no decision has been made on where the New Jersey-bred gelding will make his next start.
“We haven’t really figured it out, probably in another week or two,” Ryan said.
An influx of horses from Northern California pushed up field sizes at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Wash., helping the track post sizeable gains in handle during its recently concluded meet, according to an analysis by Daily Racing Form.
Counting only Thoroughbred races, total handle during the 50-day meet was $65.9 million, up 36 percent over total handle of $48.4 million during a 55-day meet last year, according to the analysis. The average handle per race soared 41.2 percent, to $160,000 per race, up from $113,000 per race last year.
Overnight purses at the Santa Anita autumn meeting will be higher than the corresponding meeting in 2024, equal to the recent spring meeting, but lower than the 2023 autumn meeting.
The track recently published its condition book, detailing the proposed races for the 16-day meeting that runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 26.
A maiden race will have a purse of $60,000, an increase of $6,000 from last fall, but down $1,000 from the 2023 autumn meeting.
DEL MAR, Calif. - The Grade 1 winner Tamara and possibly Kopion, a two-time Grade 1 winner since Christmas, are candidates for the Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 4.
The $100,000 Chillingworth could serve as a prep race for Kopion and Tamara for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 1, trainer Richard Mandella said.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The stakes schedule for the 2025-26 Gulfstream Park Championship meeting will have a familiar look to it with the program again highlighted by the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, and the $1 million Florida Derby.
The three Grade 1 events are the focal point of a stakes program that offers 68 races overall, 27 of them graded, and 38 of which are carded on turf. The stakes have a total value of $15.2 million.
Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., posted record handle and purse numbers for the seven-day meet that concluded on Wednesday, according to an analysis by Daily Racing Form, further solidifying its unique position on the U.S. racing landscape.
Southern California-based trainer George Papaprodromou has been suspended seven days after a filly he trained tested positive for the regulated substance capsaicin after winning a stakes race at Santa Anita in May, according to records of the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit.
