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Sunday’s Saratoga picks – July 5

The first weekend of the 2026 Saratoga Race Course meeting comes to a close Sunday with a nine-race card – remember nine race cards? – topped by the inaugural running of the Grade 1 Leo O’Brien Handicap over jumps and the Grade 3 Kelso and Harvey Pack for older horses on the grass. Back to … Read more

Saturday’s Saratoga picks – July 4

Happy Birthday America. Saratoga Race Course celebrates the 250th with a stacked 11-race Independence Day card featuring the Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks and the Suburban Stakes. Toss in the Sanford – and $1 hot dogs – and it’s an extravaganza of red, white and blue proportions. The Saturday card starts at 12:35 p.m., which … Read more

Friday’s Saratoga picks – July 3

And so it begins. The 2026 Saratoga Race Course meeting – the longest in history at 46 days, and we’re not counting the five dates for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival – kicks into gear Friday. A steam bath awaits the Opening Day card, which features three stakes with the Schuylerville, Saranac and Wild Applause. … Read more

Jaipur Stakes Recap: Direct Route

Alex Lieblong hung a left, around some plastic chain link fencing, through a hallway under the clubhouse box seat stairs toward the late afternoon diners noshing their desserts at tables on the porch. He hadn’t made the walk in more than a decade and didn’t need a map. “Been there,” Lieblong said, walking through a … Read more

Manhattan Recap: Making a Point

One year, an emotional win. The next year, a statement win. Deterministic delivered both in back-to-back renewals of the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes in 2025 and 2026 at Saratoga Race Course – the first a day later than expected thanks to a weather-related rescheduling and the second in its proper place on Saturday’s Belmont Stakes … Read more

Ogden Phipps Recap: Validated

Mark Casse and Jon Green heard and read the comments. They tried to ignore the knocks and notions, sentiments from the wannabes and hopeful sharps that Nitrogen not only preferred the grass but probably was better on the stuff. Ignoring only goes so far, especially when it comes to digs at a champion filly. Nitrogen … Read more

Curtain Callers: Star Power Arrives for Third Spa Classic

A historic Triple Crown ends today and brings the curtain down on a historic run at the most historic of places. The 158th renewal of the Belmont Stakes makes its final run at Saratoga Race Course today, concluding a three-year run in upstate New York while construction of a new Belmont Park on Long Island … Read more

Wednesday’s Saratoga picks – June 3

The third and final installment of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course opens Wednesday with a 10-race card featuring a Grade 1 hurdle stakes and six New York-bred stakes. The New York Showcase Day card starts at 12:35 p.m. with the Grade 1, $150,000 Beverly R. Steinman Hurdle Handicap, which attracted a … Read more

The one: Napoleon Solo takes the 151st Preakness

Chad Summers never lost faith or belief in Napoleon Solo. Summers stuck by his decision to eschew the big money and prestige – along with a chance for a championship – in last year’s Breeders’ Cup. He stayed true this winter in South Florida and again back home in New York even while the gray … Read more

Preakness Day stakes picks

Maryland’s day in the spotlight, with a twist of course. The Preakness Stakes goes down for the 151st time Saturday, for this edition down the interstate a bit to Laurel Park while the newly imagined Pimlico Race Course undergoes a rebuild.  The day looks very familiar to recent Preakness Days, thanks to a stakes-heavy card … Read more