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Week two. At Aiken, Stephen Mulqueen doubled, steering St James The Great for Keri Brion to win the Imperial Cup and guiding first-time starter Claramente for Todd McKenna to win the filly/mare maiden hurdle. Mulqueen finished in a three-way tie for second in last year’s standings. Bernie Dalton and Freddie Procter, tied with Mulqueen in … Read more

Did you clean out the attic? Go on that vacation? Read those books?   Well, it’s too late now. The 2026 spring steeplechase season is upon us yet again. Time flies. Frenetic race season. Fast off season. Doesn’t seem that long ago when Fil Dor galloped off into the fading sunset with an upset score … Read more

Once more unto the breach. I’m sure I wrote that last year as well. Certainly, feels that way as several members of the Big Brother house have fallen to the vagaries of Cheltenham. Sore throats and empty wallets make bad bedfellows. But we carry on, we power through. Once more. One more day and it … Read more

Halftime. Two down. Two to go. Wind and rain moving in to drape proper chasing weather on top of proper racing. The Willie Mullins train chugs along with three Grade 1 scores, including the small but mighty Il Etait Temps picking up where favorite Majborough left off, birch splintering, frame rocking, in the BetMGM Queen … Read more

The reception. That’s what it is about, always been about. In all places, at all times during the sport’s biggest week. The first, for me, was when Istabraq pulled up early in his final Champion Hurdle. Standing at the top of the hill, favorite out, money gone, as the new generation disappeared in the distance, … Read more

And here we are. Yet again. The day of days. The week of weeks. The show of shows. Cheltenham. A place that began to seer into my racing soul way back in 2002. Sharing two bunk beds in the Hunter’s Lodge, breakfast, lunch and dinner in the stable canteen, a pile of Racing Posts to … Read more

Got a Travers horse yet? OK, OK, we get it, the Kentucky Derby is still two months away but it’s never too early to start thinking about Saratoga Race Course’s summer classic – the $1.25 million Travers Stakes Aug. 29. Like the 1 1/4-mile race’s potential entrants, everyone has time but it’s never too early … Read more

Don’t be fooled by the headline – it’s not even close to April Fool’s Day – but there are facts with the words Saratoga Special and Santa Anita in the same sentence. Last summer in The Saratoga Special (the publication), we introduced you to Saratoga Special (the filly) around Whitney weekend and sales week. The … Read more

The Saratoga Special will honor the legacy of one of its most unique and beloved team members by naming its renowned editorial internship program the Terry Hill Internship starting with the 2026 summer season at Saratoga Race Course. The summer internship, offered since the publication’s launch in 2001 but refined ever since, has produced dozens … Read more

Sovereignty and his connections dominated the 55th annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards ceremony Thursday night at The Breakers Palm Beach in South Florida. Godolphin’s homebred Into Mischief colt took home Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male honors by wide margins. Sovereignty also paved the way for Godolphin to collect its ninth outstanding owner … Read more