Yankee Bravo preps for Preakness
California Derby winner YANKEE BRAVO (Yankee Gentleman) worked seven furlongs in 1:24 1/5 under jockey Alex Solis at Hollywood Park on Thursday. The Paddy Gallagher trainee is one of nine three-year-olds who are confirmed for the $1 million Preakness S. (G1) on May 17 at Pimlico. more...

 Recapturetheglory, Racecar Rhapsody added to Preakness mix
The connections of RECAPTURETHEGLORY (Cherokee Run) and RACECAR RHAPSODY (Tale of the Cat) said on Wednesday that both horses would run in the $1 million Preakness S. (G1) on May 17 at Pimlico. In other news on Wednesday, BIG BROWN (Boundary), the undefeated Kentucky Derby (G1) winner, returned to the track at Churchill Downs, and TRES BORRACHOS (Ecton Park) and GIANT MOON (Giant's Moon) worked in preparation for the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. more...

 Preakness field in flux; El Gato Malo to Lone Star Derby
The field set to test undefeated Kentucky Derby (G1) winner BIG BROWN (Boundary) continues to change as the connections of some three-year-olds weigh a start in the $1 million Preakness S. (G1) on May 17 at Pimlico. more...

 Big Brown doing well; Stevil preps for Preakness bid
BIG BROWN (Boundary) could become the first Kentucky Derby (G1) winner since Citation 60 years ago not to face any of the horses who ran against him in the 1 1/4-mile classic when he makes his next start in the $1 million Preakness S. (G1) on May 17 at Pimlico. The middle jewel of racing's Triple Crown is likely to include eight new shooters. more...

 Big Brown likely only Derby runner to go on to Preakness
The eyes of the racing word will shift to Pimlico Race Course as the Triple Crown players set their sights on Baltimore for the 133rd running of the Preakness S. (G1) on May 17. One morning after BIG BROWN (Boundary) dominated his 19 rivals in the Kentucky Derby (G1) by 4 3/4 lengths, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. informed Maryland Jockey Club officials that the bay colt is Baltimore-bound for the middle jewel. more...

 Eight Belles connections persevering; other Derby runners doing well
They remain heartbroken over the loss of Fox Hill Farms' EIGHT BELLES (Unbridled's Song), their star filly and runner-up in Saturday's Kentucky Derby (G1), but trainer Larry Jones and his wife, Cindy, were at Barn 43 at Churchill Downs at 6 a.m. (EDT) Sunday morning after the emotional rollercoaster of Kentucky Derby 134. more...

 Big Brown wears the roses in tragic Kentucky Derby
IEAH Stables & Paul Pompa Jr.'s BIG BROWN (Boundary) entered the 134th Kentucky Derby (G1) with only three starts under his girth, one of which came as a juvenile, and exited the prestigious event as only the seventh undefeated winner of the Run for the Roses. With a jubilant Richard Dutrow, who had hyped his horse all week long, cheering him on, Big Brown and jockey Kent Desormeaux pulled away from his rivals to finish 1 1/4 miles in 2:01 4/5 on the fast track. more...

 Second largest Derby crowd gathers for 134th running
The largest Kentucky Derby crowd of the 21st century gathered under the historic Twin Spires to watch undefeated favorite BIG BROWN (Boundary) power through the stretch and dominate a full field of 20 horses in Saturday's Kentucky Derby (G1). more...

 Derby They Said It
"I don't know if we've seen his best... more...

 New tax provision in Farm Bill to benefit horse owners
On Thursday, House and Senate Conferees for the 2007 Farm Bill announced they had approved a final version of the bill, which includes legislative language to amend the depreciation schedule for racehorses. more...

 Churchill Downs to cut purses 20 percent
Churchill Downs has been forced to cut purses by 20 percent, effective Wednesday, because the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (KHBPA) and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA) have blocked the distribution of Churchill Downs' simulcast signal to national advance-deposit wagering (ADW) sites, including TwinSpires.com., the official ADW site for Churchill Downs Inc. more...

 Monmouth commences 99-day stand
In a sure sign of the approach of summer, Monmouth Park will launch its 63rd season of Thoroughbred racing on Friday. The 99-day meeting at the Oceanport, New Jersey, oval runs through September 28. more...

 Good Night Shirt seeks second straight Iroquois
Sonny Via's GOOD NIGHT SHIRT (Concern) entered the 2007 Iroquois Hurdle S. (NSA-G1) against the star power of McDynamo and Sur La Tete. After a flag-to-wire, 5 1/4-length win in Nashville, Tennessee, Good Night Shirt leapt into the spotlight -- and he hasn't left it. more...

 The Jockey Club forms Thoroughbred Safety Committee
The Jockey Club Chairman Ogden Mills Phipps announced on Thursday that the officers of The Jockey Club have commissioned a seven-member Thoroughbred Safety Committee. more...

 Attendance, wagering increase at recently concluded Aqueduct meet
Aqueduct closed the doors on its 2008 winter and spring season with increases in attendance, wagering and purses. more...

 Tampa Bay Downs sets records during its 82nd meet
Tampa Bay Downs set records during its recently concluded winter/spring meet. During the Oldsmar, Florida, track's 82nd season, a new record of $321,963,460 was set for out-of-state handle, marking the seventh consecutive meet in which the out-of state handle has increased. more...

 Evans issues statement on the loss of Eight Belles
Statement from Churchill Downs Inc. President and CEO Bob Evans on the loss of EIGHT BELLES (Unbridled's Song): "The entire Churchill Downs Incorporated family -- as well as the horse racing industry -- has been devastated by Eight Belles' tragic accident following her courageous performance in Kentucky Derby 134. more...

 Saez 'heartbroken' over loss of Eight Belles
Jockey Gabriel Saez, who guided the ill-fated Eight Belles during her gallant runner-up effort in Saturday's Kentucky Derby (G1), issued a statement on Monday from his home base of Delaware Park. more...

 Cowboy filly casts a Spell on Oaks rivals
Brereton C. Jones' homebred PROUD SPELL (Proud Citizen) started trainer Larry "Cowboy" Jones' weekend in style with an easy score in Friday's Kentucky Oaks (G1) over the sloppy track at Churchill Downs. more...

 Natagora strikes a blow for France in Guineas
Stefan Friborg's NATAGORA (Divine Light) struck the front early on in Sunday's One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and bravely hurled back a two-pronged challenge from Cheveley Park colorbearers, becoming the first French-trained winner of the Newmarket fillies' classic since Hatoof in 1992. more...

 Casino Drive and companions settle in at Belmont
After a 12-hour trans-Pacific journey, including a one-hour lay-over in Anchorage, Alaska, and a brief stint at Aqueduct to clear quarantine, Japanese-based sophomores CASINO DRIVE (Mineshaft), CHAMPAGNE SQUALL (Ire) (Daylami [Ire]) and SPARK CANDLE (A.P. Indy) have begun to settle into Barn 17 at Belmont Park. more...

 Henrythenavigator wins Guineas grapple with New Approach
In Saturday's 200th running of the Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1), Mrs. John Magnier's HENRYTHENAVIGATOR (Kingmambo) collared 11-8 favorite New Approach (Galileo [Ire]) with about one furlong to go, and after a royal tussle, just subdued the hitherto unbeaten champion by a nose. more...

 Chelokee's attitude good one day after suspensory injury
Grade 3 winner CHELOKEE (Cherokee Run) was feeling playful Saturday morning, one day after suffering torn suspensory ligaments in his right front leg during the stretch run of Friday's Alysheba S. (G3). more...

 Proud Spell could go for Acorn after Oaks win
Brereton Jones' homebred Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner PROUD SPELL (Proud Citizen) came out of the race in fine order and will head to Fair Hill in Maryland on Monday, according to trainer Larry Jones. The conditioner's celebration was marred when his other filly, EIGHT BELLES (Unbridled's Song), broke down in the gallop out after running second in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Jones had earlier talked about possibly running the two against each other. more...

 Wagering down on Kentucky Oaks
A crowd of 100,046 looked on Friday as PROUD SPELL (Proud Citizen) schooled her nine rivals in the 134th running of the Kentucky Oaks (G1) by five lengths. It was the ninth largest on-track gathering in Kentucky Oaks history, but the dreary weather, which forced fans from their seats during repeated downpours, did take its toll on wagering. more...

 Preakness Celebration events announced
Maryland Preakness Celebration Inc. announced the calendar of events for Preakness Week 2008 at a news conference Friday morning at Pimlico Race Course. more...

 Curlin to visit paddock on Kentucky Derby Day
Fresh off his impressive 7 3/4-length romp in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) on March 29, Horse of the Year CURLIN (Smart Strike) will make a special appearance on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs. Fans will have a chance to view Curlin parade on the track and head into the paddock area prior to Saturday's 5TH race, the Churchill Downs S. (G2). more...

 Hall of Famer Whiteley, trainer of Ruffian, dies
Hall of Fame trainer Frank Yewell Whiteley Jr., the hard-nosed "Fox of Laurel" and conditioner of superstars Ruffian and Forego, died Friday in Camden, South Carolina, at the age of 93. more...

 Track Bandit Previews
Lone Star Derby (G3)... more...

 'Tiz's Sis too Tough in Hawthorne
TOUGH TIZ'S SIS (Tiznow) lived up to her name at Hollywood Park on Sunday, wearing down Dawn After Dawn (Successful Appeal) inside the final furlong and prevailing by three-quarters of a length over the late-charging Santa Teresita (Lemon Drop Kid) in the $108,500 Hawthorne H. (G3). more...

 Einstein solves Woodford Reserve puzzle
Entering Saturday's $548,300 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic S. (G1), multiple Grade 1 star EINSTEIN (Brz) (Spend a Buck) had failed to hit the board in three prior starts over the Churchill Downs turf course, most notably in the past two editions of this 1 1/8-mile contest on Kentucky Derby Day. This time around, however, the Helen Pitts charge arrived at the winning formula and drove to a tidy one-length score. In the process, Patricia Cunningham et al's Einstein joined millionaires' row with a bankroll of $1,107,931 from an 18-8-0-1 lifetime line. more...

 Zaftig rallies for strong Nassau County score
Capitalizing on an early duel between odds-on favorite Carolyn's Cat (Forestry) and 4-1 second choice Irish Smoke (Smoke Glacken), ZAFTIG (Gone West) swept to the front with a furlong to go and extended her lead to 5 1/4 lengths at the wire in Saturday's $208,400 Nassau County S. (G3) at Belmont Park. more...

 Intangaroo gets up late in Humana Distaff
Tom Grether Farms' INTANGAROO (Orientate) ran near the rear of Saturday's $334,800 Humana Distaff (G1), circled three wide rounding the turn and rallied down the stretch to just get her head on the line to score her second Grade 1 victory. more...

 Bayou's Lassie repels Anna in Distaff Turf Mile
Jacks or Better Farm's homebred BAYOU'S LASSIE (Outflanker) beat champion Dreaming of Anna (Rahy) at her own game on Saturday, dishing out a front-running score in the $169,050 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. (G3). more...

 Giant Gizmo wins Alysheba; Chelokee suffers condylar fracture
Stronach Stables' homebred GIANT GIZMO (Giant's Causeway) raced wide throughout Friday's $166,050 Alysheba S. (G3) at Churchill Downs, grabbed the lead in the stretch and pulled off to score a 3 3/4-length victory as the 5-1 third choice. more...

 Game Face determinedly takes the La Troienne
Zabeel Racing International's GAME FACE (Menifee) got the right pace setup in the $168,450 La Troienne S. (G3), but the 9-5 favorite had a fight on her hands through the lane with 4-1 chance Keep the Peace (Touch Gold) before prevailing by a neck under jockey John Velazquez, who also won the Churchill Downs S. (G2) earlier in the card. more...

 El Roblar hangs tough to take Inglewood
Stonestreet Stables' EL ROBLAR (War Chant) reeled in the free-running speedster Ghosttrapper (Notebook) at the head of the stretch, then gamely turned back a challenge from Heroi Do Bafra (Brz) (Royal Academy) to win the $109,500 Inglewood H. (G3) at Hollywood Park by a half-length on Saturday. The 8-5 favorite, El Roblar returned $5.20, $3.40 and $2.60 while covering 1 1/16 miles over firm turf in 1:40 1/5. more...

 Elite Squadron wires Churchill Downs field
Tom R. Walters' ELITE SQUADRON (Officer) took the lead from his rail post soon after the start of Saturday's $282,000 Churchill Downs S. (G2) and easily drew off in the stretch to post a 4 1/2-length score under John Velazquez. Trained by James Baker, the four-year-old chestnut set fractions of :21 4/5, :43 3/5 and 1:08 before finishing seven furlongs on the drying out, fast dirt in 1:21 2/5. more...

 Tizdejavu springs front-running upset in Crown Royal
Michael Cooper and Pamela Ziebarth's homebred TIZDEJAVU (Tiznow) had never raced on the grass prior to Friday's $181,950 Crown Royal American Turf S. (G3), and with only a Polytrack maiden win to his credit, it was no surprise that he was dismissed in the wagering at 21-1. more...

 Ginger Punch lands winning blow in Louisville
Regaining the form that saw her win the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) and the Eclipse Award as champion older mare last year, Stronach Stables' homebred GINGER PUNCH (Awesome Again) turned back a challenge from Leah's Secret (Tiger Ridge) at the top of the stretch and drew off for a convincing 3 3/4-length score in the $268,200 Louisville S. (G2) at Churchill Downs on Friday. more...

 Mr. Nightlinger wires Aegon Turf Sprint
Martin Racing Stable and Carl Moore Management's MR. NIGHTLINGER (Indian Charlie) took the lead out of the gate despite bobbling at the start in Churchill Down's $126,400 Aegon Turf Sprint S. (G3), the opening stakes on Friday's Kentucky Oaks (G1) undercard, and was never headed en route to a length victory under jockey James Theriot. more...

 Run Away and Hide lives up to his name in Kentucky
Living up to his name, RUN AWAY AND HIDE (City Zip) blew past the pacesetting Merkel (Forest Wildcat) en route to an authoritative 2 1/2-length victory in Thursday's $163,000 Kentucky S. (G3) for juveniles. more...

 A walk in the Park in the Westchester
James Barry's DIVINE PARK (Chester House) settled off the early pace in Wednesday's Belmont Park opening day feature, the $109,100 Westchester H. (G3), came wide into the stretch and powered home an easy five-length winner under jockey Alan Garcia as the near 3-1 second pick. more...

 Handicapping Insights
I thought by the time I wrote this column I would have calmed down some regarding Saturday's events. But, alas, more steam than ever is coming from out of my ears. more...

 Pedigree Handicapping
With two-year-old racing taking place for more than a month, the New Mexico-based stallion Roll Hennessy Roll is atop the standings in the Leading First Crop Sires By Earnings list through the exploits of his son Bewild Hennessy, who captured the lucrative Copper Top Futurity at Sunland Park. However, the most impressive start made by a freshman sire belongs to the Ashford Stud-based Lion Heart, who is in second place by earnings. more...

 Preakness Report
BIG BROWN (Boundary) lived up to the hype -- and then some -- but his spectacular Kentucky Derby (G1) victory was overshadowed by the unfortunate breakdown of Eight Belles. That's not going to be the focus of this column, but I will offer a couple of thoughts on the matter before concentrating on the Derby winner. more...

 Commentary
One can't help but be impressed with the emphatic victory put forth by IEAH Stables' BIG BROWN (Boundary) in Saturday's 134th Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, but the strapping colt still has a few obstacles to overcome before being enshrined into Thoroughbred lore as the 12th Triple Crown winner, the first in three decades. Trained by Richard Dutrow, the Kentucky-bred has been simply untouchable in four career starts and appears to be in a different area code from a talent standpoint than his foes at this juncture, but this road has been traveled often before and it seems inevitable that an unexpected roadblock will appear at the most inopportune time. Here's a look at what could possibly stand in the way of Brown and the Crown. more...

 Pedigree Handicapping
The immediate reaction by many after last Saturday's upset in the Blue Grass S. (G1), and especially the poor showing of the heavy favorite Pyro (Pulpit), was, similar to the aftermath of last year's event, to label the race as meaningless and to blame the track surface for causing the confusion. However, while it must be said that handicapping on strict form has indeed been difficult through the current Keeneland meet -- leading to the low success-rate of favorites -- it has become apparent that pedigrees are playing a more important role in the outcome of races over the Polytrack surface. more...

 Thoroughbred Beat
Okie-bred standout -- Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner KIP DEVILLE (Kipling) returned to the races off a six-month hiatus with a sharp one-length score in the Maker's Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland last Friday, and the five-year-old gray horse is probably the best U.S.-based turf horse in training. more...

 Feature Stallion
Perhaps it's the water that they give their stallions at Lane's End. Maybe it's the grain that allows their stallions to have such great success. Either way, SMART STRIKE (Mr. Prospector) claimed an extraordinary year in 2007 with two presumptive champions and a probable Horse of the Year title -- more than enough to label him as the best sire of 2007. more...

 2007 Turf Awards
With the turning of the calendar page to a brand new year, it's time to look back on the highlights, and lowlights, of the 2007 turf scene. Rather than serving up a dry as dust rehash, a la the typical "Year in Review" piece, I'll hand out awards -- a few dubious, but most genuine expressions of appreciation -- to hail the season's noteworthy gladiators. more...

 Handicapping Feature
Your Personal Year-End Review more...

 Remembering John Henry
A trio of fine stakes-winning performances headlined the past week at Hollywood. more...

 Hollywood Notebook
Inglewood H. (G3): Stonestreet Stables' EL ROBLAR (War Chant) gained the lead in upper stretch and gamely held late under Victor Espinoza to take this event. The Richard Mandella charge was a half-length clear on the line in completing the 1 1/16-mile firm turf test in 1:40 1/5. more...

 Arlington Notebook
Arlington Park opened its doors this past weekend to what promises to be another exciting and productive summer of racing. Racing will be held from May 2 through September 21, with dark days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday through June 15. more...

 Belmont Notebook
Reverting to rating tactics for Belmont Park's opening day feature, the Westchester H. (G3) on Wednesday, DIVINE PARK (Chester House) was able to roll to the lead in the stretch, and then ran clear en route to an authoritative victory. more...

 Churchill Downs Notebook
More than 157,000 were in attendance on Saturday, the second-largest crowd ever to witness the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, and the stars were out both on and off the track in Louisville over the weekend. The biggest question surrounding the Run for the Roses was if favorite BIG BROWN (Boundary) would be able to overcome a lack of seasoning and the wicked 20 post position, in hopes of delivering an historic win and cement himself as a more-than-viable Triple Crown contender. All we could come up with is, Wow! more...

 Aqueduct Notebook
The 2008 Belmont Park spring-summer begins Wednesday, serving to awaken many horseplayers who fancy New York racing from their extended winter doldrums. As usual, racing will be held on a Wednesday through Sunday basis, with the final day of racing scheduled for July 20. more...