Fri, 11/20/2020 - 15:40

Comely among 10 stakes scheduled for next week

Elsa Lorieul/NYRA
Ice Princess earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 78 for her win in the Maddie May Stakes.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though there will be no racing on Thanksgiving Day, Aqueduct will stuff 10 stakes races into three days next week.

Friday’s card includes the Grade 3 Comely for 3-year-old fillies, the Forever Together for fillies and mares on turf, and the Gio Ponti for 3-year-olds on turf.

:: Start earning weekly cashback on your wagering today. Click to learn more.

Fri, 11/20/2020 - 14:50

Churchill turf refugees could end up in Seabiscuit

Coady Photography
Flavius, with Javier Castellano riding, wins the Grade 3, $645,700 Tourist Mile by three-quarters of a length.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The abandonment of grass racing at Churchill Downs next week could result in Imperador and In Love, who were slated for the Grade 3 River City on Friday, instead coming to Del Mar for the Grade 2, $200,000 Seabiscuit at 1 1/16 miles on turf Nov. 28. Both Imperador – a two-time Group 1 winner in his native Argentina – and In Love are South American imports trained by Paulo Lobo.

Chad Brown could run Flavius, fifth most recently in the Grade 1 Shadwell Mile.

Fri, 11/20/2020 - 14:40

Sharing will be taking on tough older runners in Matriarch

Debra A. Roma
Sharing wins the Edgewood Stakes Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs, her first start since an solid runner-up finish in the Group 1 Coronation at Royal Ascot.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Sharing, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for trainer Graham Motion, is expected to face as many as three runners from Chad Brown’s barn in the Grade 1, $300,000 Matriarch Stakes for older females at one mile on turf Nov. 29.

Fri, 11/20/2020 - 14:36

Eastern invaders will be in force for final weekend at Del Mar

Barbara D. Livingston
Decorated Invader came up a little short and finished a close fifth in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby. Freshened by Christophe Clement, he returns Sunday in the one-mile Hill Prince.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Led by Grade 1 winners Decorated Invader, Gufo, and Sharing, a strong group of horses from prominent Eastern barns such as Christophe Clement, Graham Motion, Chad Brown, Brad Cox, and Mike Maker are all expected for the final week of racing at Del Mar, which includes seven graded grass stakes over the final four days of the meet, which closes Nov. 29.

Fri, 11/20/2020 - 12:30

Admiral Lynch tries to make amends in Sunday sprint

Emily Shields
Admiral Lynch is a leading contender in the Thursday feature, which is part of a Rainbow 6 that offers a guaranteed jackpot of $900,000.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With shorter fields in evidence because of the track’s decision to close the turf course for the meet, a pair of allowances will anchor a nine-race Sunday card at Churchill Downs likely to be run over sloppy going.

:: Click to learn about our DRF's Free Past Performance program.

Race 4 is an $87,000 first-level route in which four of the six 2-year-olds entered were last-out maiden winners – Joe Frazier, El Sobreviviente, Angkor, and Starrininmydreams.

Fri, 11/20/2020 - 12:26

As per state order, Churchill to close dining rooms and bars

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Effective Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern, the state of Kentucky began barring all but take-out orders and outdoor dining at bars and restaurants, owing to a recent surge in COVID-19 positives.

Fri, 11/20/2020 - 12:20

By My Standards completes major preparation for Clark

Debra A. Roma
By My Standards finished eighth in the Breeders' Cup Classic in his last start.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – By My Standards had his final pre-race work toward the Grade 1 Clark when breezing a half-mile in 49.40 seconds before dawn Friday at Churchill Downs.

By My Standards, a winner of three Grade 2 stakes earlier this year, can be expected to vie for favoritism with New York shipper Code of Honor next Friday, Nov. 27, in the $500,000 Clark. They’re expected to be part of a sizable field of 3-year-olds and up in the 1 1/8-mile race that highlights the final week of the Churchill fall meet.

Fri, 11/20/2020 - 11:23

King Guillermo puts in strong breeze for Cigar Mile

Tom Keyser
If King Guillermo recovers quickly, the Oct. 3 Preakness is a possible next start.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – With the disappointment of having to scratch King Guillermo out of the Kentucky Derby less than 72 hours before the race in the rearview mirror, trainer Juan Avila continues preparations for the final chapter of his star-crossed 3-year-old’s 2020 campaign, which will come on Dec. 5 at Aqueduct in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile.

Thu, 11/19/2020 - 18:29

Rice testifies that she didn't pay for race information

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Linda Rice called the move to five-day race weeks at Saratoga "a welcome change."

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice on Thursday concluded two days of testimony under direct examination, downplaying the significance of information sent to her by New York Racing Association employees about races she was considering entering horses in that had yet to be drawn and denying that she paid money to get that information.

Thu, 11/19/2020 - 14:58

Woodbine jockey tests positive for COVID-19

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Woodbine Entertainment COVID-19 Health and Safety Committee confirmed in a press release Thursday that an active jockey at Woodbine has tested positive for COVID-19. The jockey is believed to be Sunny Singh, who was off his mounts Thursday.