News

Welcome back to The Saturday Special. It’s been a while. Far-too-long a while. We’re back with a look at all the action Saturday and hopefully we’ll be back each Saturday with handicapping, features, recaps, previews, quotes numbers, columns…Joe just nudged me something about under-promising and over-delivering. Enjoy a stellar card at Fair Grounds, a gaggle … Read more

Cody’s Wish dominated the headlines most of the year and came away Thursday with North American racing’s ultimate prize as 2023 Horse of the Year. Godolphin Racing’s homebred cruised to victory in Horse of the Year voting, conducted by members of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, Daily Racing Form and National Thoroughbred Racing Association, … Read more

Sean Clancy, co-editor/publisher of ST Publishing Inc. (parent company of The Saratoga Special newspaper and thisishorsracing.com), will receive an Eclipse Award for his coverage of the 2023 Test Stakes in The Saratoga Special. Clancy’s story about Maple Leaf Mel’s tragic breakdown and Pretty Mischievous’ subsequent victory was recognized in the News/Enterprise category of the annual … Read more

Happy Thanksgiving. Before we get to the turkey and the stuffing, put a bow on the 2023 National Steeplechase Association season. The circuit wrapped up its year with five races at Aiken Saturday, and the traditional South Carolina finale showcased a few fresh faces with promising futures. The featured Holiday Cup – a $35,000 hurdle … Read more

And it comes down to this. The final meet on the final weekend of the steeplechase season. The Aiken Steeplechase pulls the curtain with a five-race card worth $130,000, including the featured $35,000 Holiday Cup for 3- and 4-year-olds. Most of the titles are done and dusted. Irv Naylor secured the owner’s title a month … Read more

This isn’t the end of the steeplechase season, but you can see it from here. After carding 17 races last weekend, the circuit goes to South Carolina for the Steeplechase at Charleston Sunday afternoon. The five-race card starts at 1 p.m. and is the second-to-last meet of the season as Aiken finishes things up next … Read more

Cody Dorman woke up at 2:32 a.m. Saturday and asked for the tablet he uses to communicate. He had something to say to his parents, Kelly and Leslie. “He said ‘Thank you for taking me out here,’ ” Kelly Dorman said, standing outside the paddock at Santa Anita Park about an hour before the horse … Read more

The stars came out, and delivered, during Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships card at Santa Anita Park. White Abarrio won the Classic, probably locking up Horse of the Year honors. Irad Ortiz Jr. rode three winners, picking up his fifth Bill Shoemaker Award for the weekend’s leading rider and likely solidifying his fifth Eclipse Award. … Read more

The weather certainly felt like Southern California for early November, but the flavor of the day trended East Coast and European as the Breeders’ Cup World Championships kicked off with Future Stars Friday at Santa Anita Park. New York-based runners swept the main track Breeders Cup races – Just F Y I in the Juvenile … Read more

The main event, Championship Saturday caps a turbulent North American racing season with nine marquee Breeders’ Cup events on tap at Santa Anita Park. Several divisions, including Horse of the Year, hang in the balance before a Breeders’ Cup marked with plenty of defections and withdrawals. Strong fields remain, with Cody’s Wish, White Abarrio, Goodnight … Read more