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The second week of the extended 2026 Saratoga Race Course meetings kicks off Thursday with a another nine-race card and a rare day without a stakes race here in upstate New York. How’s your bankroll faring after opening weekend? Fear not if it’s not up to par, there’s plenty of time to make up for … Read more
Steeplechase action heads to Virginia this week for a three-race card at Old Dominion. Kate and Bernie Dalton aren’t going anywhere. And why would they? The Camden-based trainer/jockey duo won their second consecutive Carolina Cup Saturday. The home team won the novice stakes with Abaan last year. This year, China Beach upset the $75,000 stakes … Read more
Week one is in the books. Stephen Mulqueen burst back on the scene after breaking his hand in the fall to win two races on opening day at Aiken last weekend. He guided Porte Jaune to win the filly and mare maiden for Leipers Fork, Madaket and Layton Register and took the Imperial Cup aboard … Read more
Twenty-five years. Sounds like a long time. It’s been a flash. The Saratoga Special newspaper, little more than a tabletop/around-the-fire/long-drive discussion point for years, dives into its 25th season this summer at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. We hope you’ll come along for the ride, as a reader, an advertiser, a member of … Read more
Whoa, where did the time go? Seems like yesterday, the sport was celebrating the return of the Colonial Cup and crowning champions on the final day. It’s been 119 days, to be exact, between the final National Steeplechase Association stop of 2024 and the first of 2025. Thank you, Aiken Steeplechase, for both. The 58th … Read more
At last. The March edition of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred magazine hit shelves, mailboxes and device screens last week. The 180-pager is packed with features, news, updates and statistics on the Thoroughbred industries in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia plus a regional auction section. Steeplechaser Snap Decision graces the … Read more
Once more. Golden Miller…Arkle…Best Mate…Kauto Star. Today, Galopin Des Champs tries to cross into the ethereal. The French-bred, Irish-trained 9-year-old seeks his third consecutive win in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. Trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, Galopin Des Champs is the 4/7 favorite to achieve jump racing’s ultimate hat trick. Hats … Read more
Michael O’Sullivan guided Marine Nationale and Jazzy Matty to wins at the Cheltenham Festival in 2023. A rising phenom, a respected young man, at the cusp of a burgeoning career, a beautiful life. Two years later, those two horses won again at Cheltenham and all we could do is look at the sky and wonder … Read more
The first gasp. The 2023 Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill finally did what he had been threatening to do and stepped long and low at the fourth hurdle, crashing to the ground. His first fall. His first loss. The second gasp. The 2024 Champion Hurdle winner State Man grinding toward the last hurdle, the race … Read more
It’s Cheltenham. Day 1. The beginning of the best week of jump racing. Anytime. Anywhere. Our week kicked off early with a win at Taunton. Hey, who said they didn’t like a five-day Festival… Race 1. 9:20 a.m. ET. The Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The Michael O’Sullivan Memorial. Grade 1. 2 miles, 87 yards. … Read more
The National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame Nominating Committee unveiled a sizable ballot of finalists for induction in 2025 Thursday. Eight racehorses, seven trainers and one jockey account for the 16 finalists on the 2025 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the Nominating Committee. The finalists are racehorses Blind Luck, Game On Dude, … Read more
