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Tom Law 
ST Publishing co-founder and co-editor Joe Clancy is one of the winners of the New York Racing Association’s seventh annual Joe Hirsch Memorial Writing Award that recognize the best print and internet coverage of the 2015 Belmont Stakes.
A spectacular showdown at Santa Anita Park in the newly configured Vanity Mile, the Epsom Derby across the Atlantic, a strong renewal of the Penn Mile and supporting stakes at Penn National Race Course and a boatload of stakes at Gulfstream Park highlight this week’s Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud, home of Alternation, Broken Vow and Cowboy Cal.
Al Pike is riding high these days, not surprising considering he scored a significant pinhooking coup for one of his longtime clients at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-year-olds in training sale.
The expansive castle-like grandstands of the Club Hípico de Santiago racetrack cast shade over the crowds as the early evening sun began to lower in the west, in turn illuminating the snow-capped Andes Mountains jutting from the horizon farther to the east. Murmurs of “el clásico” floated among the masses of racing fans. They were gathered along the track to watch the field of 15 sleek Chilean-bred Thoroughbreds stride towards the paddock to be saddled for the 113th running of the Group 1 Clásico Club Hípico de Santiago-Falabella.
Rain, rain go away. That will undoubtedly be the sentiment overnight Friday into Saturday as a significant amount of the wet stuff is expected in the Baltimore area for the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes and its supporting stakes program.
The biggest weekend on the Maryland circuit gets underway Friday with a blockbuster card highlighted by a loaded renewal of the Grade 3 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on what could be the best weather day of the spring to date. The forecast calls for 70-degree temperatures and plenty of sunshine – a far cry from what’s expected Saturday for the 141st Preakness Stakes at Old Hilltop.
One may never confuse Eric Guillot with being an overly religious man. The quick-quipping Cajun is frequently crass, ever ebullient and unapologetically irreverent, but get to know him a bit and one will occasionally uncover a man of unique substance, intelligence and even a touch of humility.
The formal portion of the post-position draw just wrapped Wednesday night and a massive crowd gathered a little more than an arm’s length from the table of Gary Sherlock. The group swarmed to the connections of Nyquist – trainer Doug O’Neill, owner Paul Reddam and jockey Mario Gutierrez – and with good reason, he’s the Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness Stakes favorite after all.
Champion and Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist will face 10 foes in his quest to stay undefeated and take the next step toward a possible Triple Crown bid in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
Wednesday was jog day at Pimlico Race Course for Reddam Racing’s Nyquist, who has been on a somewhat unusual training schedule of alternating days of jogging and galloping throughout the Kentucky Derby winner’s unblemished eight-race career.
