Fri, 06/26/2020 - 14:36

Mandella has busy month ahead in stakes

Vassar Photography
Kanderel holds off Ajourneytofreedom to win the Alcatraz.

Tizamagician, fourth in the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita in February, is a candidate for the $100,000 Runhappy Oceanside Stakes on July 10 at Del Mar.

Friday at Santa Anita, Tizamagician worked five furlongs in 1:00 in a tune-up for the Oceanside, which is run at a mile on turf for 3-year-olds.

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 14:30

Two-time champion sprinter Roy H retired

Barbara D. Livingston
Roy H was the champion male sprinter in both 2017 and 2018.

Roy H, the champion sprinter of 2017 and 2018, has been retired and will have a second career as a stable pony, trainer Peter Miller said in a statement issued Thursday.

Roy H, 8, was in training in recent weeks when the decision was made to end his racing career. A gelding best known for winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar in 2017 and at Churchill Downs in 2018, Roy H won 10 of 23 starts and earned $3,139,765.

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 13:40

Celtic Striker pointing for Peter Pan Stakes

Chelsea Durand/NYRA
Celtic Striker wins the Easy Goer Stakes by 19 3/4 lengths.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Celtic Striker, who won a match race in Thursday’s Easy Goer Stakes by 19 3/4 lengths over Sonneman, will target the Grade 3, $100,000 Peter Pan Stakes on July 16, opening day of the Saratoga meet.

The Peter Pan has typically been run in early May for 3-year-olds to use as a prep for the Belmont Stakes on the first Saturday in June. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Belmont was run June 20 and the Peter Pan could now be used as a prep for the Grade 1 Travers on Aug. 8.

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 13:36

Suburban has a Belmont Stakes feel to it

Chelsea Durand/NYRA
Sir Winston trailed early, was involved in a bumping incident in upper stretch, and then pulled away to win by 2 1/4 lengths.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Sir Winston, Tacitus, and Joevia, the top three-finishers from the 2019 Belmont Stakes, are all targeting next Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park.

On Friday, Sir Winston worked an easy half-mile in 50.90 seconds over the Belmont Park main track. Sir Winston is coming off a second-place finish behind Moretti in the Flat Out Stakes here on June 11.

:: Start earning weekly cashback on your wagering today. Click to learn more.

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 13:36

Vekoma gets green light to run in Met Mile

Barbara D. Livingston
Vekoma is 2 for 2 this year, winning the Sir Shackleton and the Grade 1 Carter.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Vekoma, the dominant winner of the Grade 1 Carter Handicap here on June 6, will run back in next Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap, trainer George Weaver said Friday.

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 11:01

Keeneland to allow horse owners to attend upcoming meet

Coady Photography
Keeneland will not allow spectators when its spring meet begins on April 2.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington will allow a limited number of owners and their associates to attend the races during the track’s five-day July meet, the track announced on Friday.

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 10:36

Ellis Park meet kicks off mid-summer racing in Kentucky

Coady Photography
A 29-day meet begins Sunday at 97-year-old Ellis Park, which locals refer to as 'The Pea Patch.'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The stop-and-start summer meet at Ellis Park in western Kentucky will begin Thursday with a limited number of spectators on hand and with purses sufficiently high to retain most of the circuit’s top horsemen.

Ellis will open with a four-day week (next Thursday through Sunday), after which Keeneland will run a five-day meet (July 8-12). Action then resumes July 17 at Ellis with Friday-Sunday weeks through Aug. 30.

:: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more.

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 10:30

Allowance races help bring spectator-free meet to close

Barbara D. Livingston
Talk Veuve to Me was found to have aminocaproic acid, an adjunct bleeder medication, in her system after winning at Keeneland.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Arguably the most unusual race meet in the 145-year history of Churchill Downs will come to a quiet end Sunday with a nine-race card featuring three straight allowances.

The 27-day meet began May 16 with the Kentucky Derby having been postponed from its original May 2 date to Sept. 5 and has been run without fans in the stands. That’s been perhaps the most notable aspect to six weeks of Churchill during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 10:06

Attard has ambitious campaign planned for Starship Jubilee

Tom Keyser
Starship Jubilee could run in both the E.P. Taylor and Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf this fall.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Kevin Attard has some big plans for Starship Jubilee, who won the 2019 Sovereign Award voting for Canadian Horse of the Year in a photo finish over the equally popular Pink Lloyd.

Owned by Blue Heaven Farm, Starship Jubilee could complete her campaign in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland, which is three weeks after the $600,000 E.P. Taylor on Oct. 18 at Woodbine. The 7-year-old won last year’s Grade 1 E.P. Taylor over a strong European contingent.

Wed, 06/24/2020 - 15:56

Just a Game features Breeders' Cup Mile rematch

Barbara D. Livingston
Uni, on the outside in a June 14 work with Sistercharlie, defeated Got Stormy in the Breeders' Cup Mile. Saturday will be her first race since.

ELMONT, N.Y. – There are four stakes Saturday at Belmont Park, topped by the Grade 1, $250,000 Just a Game Stakes, featuring a rematch between 2019 Breeders’ Cup Mile one-two finishers Uni and Got Stormy.

Uni beat Got Stormy by 1 1/2 lengths in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile to clinch the Eclipse Award as female turf champion. Uni has not run since, while Got Stormy won the Grade 1 Matriarch to end her 2019 campaign. However, Got Stormy is 0 for 3 this year.