Fri, 05/16/2025 - 12:55

May Day Ready to return in Wonder Again

Barbara D. Livingston

May Day Ready has gone on to great heights since winning a maiden race in her first career outing at Saratoga.

May Day Ready, the Grade 2 Jessamine winner who finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, will make her 3-year-old debut in the Grade 2, $300,000 Wonder Again Stakes at Saratoga on June 7, trainer Joe Lee said Friday.

Lee had been pointing May Day Ready to the Edgewood Stakes at Churchill on May 2, but the filly came into season and Lee could not prepare her for a race like he wanted.

May Day Ready spent the winter at Fair Grounds and then moved to Keeneland, where she remains.

Fri, 05/16/2025 - 12:54

Walden sending Bless the Broken to Acorn; Pipsy to Intercontinental

By David Grening

Barbara D. Livingston

Bless the Broken finished behind Good Cheer and Drexel Hill in the Kentucky Oaks.

Bless the Broken, third to Good Cheer in the Kentucky Oaks, is being pointed to a rematch with that undefeated filly in the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn on June 6 at Saratoga, trainer Will Walden said.

Bless the Broken, winner of the Bourbonette Oaks, had a bit of a wide trip in the Oaks. She finished 3 1/2 lengths behind Good Cheer and 1 1/4 lengths behind runner-up Drexel Hill, who rallied inside of Bless the Broken in the stretch.

Fri, 05/16/2025 - 12:46

Locked pointing to Suburban; Fierceness to Met Mile

By David Grening

Barbara D. Livingston

Locked finished fourth in the Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs two weeks ago.

Locked, the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap winner who finished fourth in the Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, will be pointed to the Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban Stakes on July 4 at Saratoga, owner Aron Wellman said Friday.

Thu, 05/15/2025 - 16:38

Jockey Herrera suspended for seven days

By Steve Andersen

Barbara D. Livingston

Herrera's punishment stems from two instances in which his mounts were disqualified.

Jockey Diego Herrera has been suspended seven racing days, from Friday through May 26, for two incidents in which his mounts were disqualified in races at Santa Anita in late April and early May, according to rules recently published by Santa Anita stewards.

Thu, 05/15/2025 - 16:30

Del Mar adds three new bet types for upcoming meet

By Steve Andersen

Barbara D. Livingston

Del Mar has received approval for a 31-day meeting from July 18 to Sept. 7.

Del Mar is adding three new bets to its extensive wagering menu this summer, all of which have been in place at times during the current Santa Anita meeting.

The track will offer a 50-cent middle pick four on the fourth through seventh races, a $3 pick three on the final three races, and a $5 double on the last two races, according to documents submitted to the California Horse Racing Board.

The track received approval from the racing board on Thursday for a 31-day meeting from July 18 to Sept. 7.

Wed, 05/14/2025 - 14:26

After slow start, Laurel sees surge in betting handle

By Matt Hegarty

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club

Handle skyrocketed once Laurel opened its turf course on April 18.

Under new management for the first time in decades, Laurel Park in Maryland started off slowly this year, according to a handle analysis conducted by Daily Racing Form, but wagering figures skyrocketed over the last three weeks of its meet.

Wed, 05/14/2025 - 14:04

Delaware Park cancels opening card due to inclement weather

By Patrick Moquin

Barbara D. Livingston

Delaware Park will now begin its meet Saturday after rain forced the cancellation of racing on Wednesday.

Delaware Park canceled its opening day card on Wednesday due to inclement weather. Though all eight races were scheduled for the dirt, consistent rain in the region was deemed a  hazard for horses and riders.

"Due to unsafe track conditions caused by the inclement weather, Delaware Park has cancelled the Opening Day live racing card scheduled for today," a press release from the track read.

Wed, 05/14/2025 - 12:38

McCarthy looks forward to rematch with Sovereignty

By David Grening

Barbara D. Livingston

Michael McCarthy isn't ruling out running Journalism in the Belmont.

While saying he wasn’t disappointed that Sovereignty was not running in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, Michael McCarthy, trainer of Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism, said he’d look forward to a rematch at some point in the future.

“Hopefully, Journalism stays healthy and Sovereignty stays healthy, and somewhere down the road, we get to hook up,” McCarthy said. “I think it’d be great for the fans, really great for the sport.”

McCarthy said it’s possible Journalism could run back June 7 at Saratoga in the Belmont Stakes, the race Sovereignty is targeting.

Wed, 05/14/2025 - 12:36

Preakness 2025: Wet conditions the norm this Triple Crown

By David Grening

Barbara D. Livingston

Trainer Michael McCarthy thinks muddy conditions might have played a small factor in Journalism's Derby loss.

BALTIMORE – Different venue, same surface.

The sloppy track that was in play for the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago at Churchill Downs has greeted horsemen this week at Pimlico as preparations continued Wednesday morning toward Saturday’s 150th Preakness.

Led by Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism, seven of the nine horses entered in the Preakness were on the main track Wednesday morning at Pimlico, most going at a controlled pace over an extremely wet surface.

Tue, 05/13/2025 - 18:53

Churchill Downs opposes number of dates awarded to Fair Grounds

By Matt Hegarty

Barbara D. Livingston

A Louisiana Supreme Court ruling has put Churchill Downs at odds with the state's racing commission.

On Tuesday, the Louisiana Racing Commission awarded traditional racing dates to Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans despite a warning from an official of the track’s parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., that the track was “unable and unwilling” to commit to a meet without legislative help.

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