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Joe Clancy 
It’s sales time. The yearling auction kicks off tonight at Fasig-Tipton where people look for future stars on the track. We preview it all kinds of ways including a check in with some Saratoga yearlings whose dams shined on the track here. On the racing front, the “other Ortiz brothers” win the Adirondack with Brightwork, … Read more
On a sad day at Saratoga Race Course, White Abarrio thrives at the 1 1/8-mile trip and upsets the Whitney as Cody’s Wish settles for third. Tragedy mars the Test, which went to Pretty Mischievous even though everyone wishes it didn’t. Smokin’ T wins the Lure for Lure’s trainer Shug McGaughey. Cogburn shows how much … Read more
Major dude Cody’s Wish rides a six-race winning streak into today’s Grade 1 Whitney, the meet’s key stop for older horses. Can the Godolphin star stretch his speed to 1 1/8 miles and beat five rivals? The morning-line oddsmaker thinks he can as he’s 1-2 for trainer Bill Mott and jockey Junior Alvarado. Super fan, … Read more
Hall of Fame Day is here and The Special has you covered with the first of six daily – yes daily – editions in a row. Arrogate, California Chrome and Songbird lead the way for the Class of 2023 along with Corey Nakatani, Fernando Toro and three Pillars of the Turf. We’ve got a feature … Read more
This was first published in the Opening Day edition of The Saratoga Special, so Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour is one of The Special’s most popular features, where we sit down (or stand up) with a trainer at Saratoga and go through the stall list. As always you can read the full … Read more
Nobody takes being a jockey more seriously than John Velazquez. He’s 34 years into a Hall of Fame career, a winner of 6,507 races, a leader in every jockeys’ room he hangs his saddles. So when he says watching another jockey fall is ”a knife to your heart” you believe him. When Havnameltdown was fatally … Read more
Hi Ho Pimlico. It’s Preakness Day and the second jewel of the Triple Crown, with all eyes on Kentucky Derby Mage to see if he can add a second classic and make a run at history in three weeks. The son of Good Magic scored a 15-1 upset two weeks ago in Louisville and won’t … Read more
And then it was over. The National Steeplechase Association’s spring season winds to a close with a five-race card at the 92nd renewal of the Radnor Steeplechase in Malvern, Pa. The jumpers tackle the W. Burling Cocks Memorial Racecourse, a demanding right-handed oval (rectangle?) with a testing uphill climb to the finish. Thirty-six horses compete … Read more
The Triple Crown makes its way to the Mid-Atlantic for one of racing’s great traditions, Preakness Stakes Week. Black-Eyed Susan Day kicks off the weekend, with full fields for most of the day’s stakes including the headliner. All eyes on the undefeated Faiza in the $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan as she ships in from Southern California … Read more
And there it was, not three minutes into a nine-minute phone conversation with Sean McDermott late Friday afternoon. “I don’t really have time for pressure,” the steeplechase jockey said while finishing up his evening stables in Maryland. “I haven’t thought about it. I know the horse well. I know the track pretty well. He’s straightforward.” … Read more
