Hawthorne Race Course near Chicago, IL. opened its 2012 live race meet with optimism in the air. Horsemen this season will be competing for higher purses, which is largely the result of an “impact fee” being paid out by the state's two riverboat casinos. The additional prize money has led to a ... Views: 791
With the New Year upon us, the road to the Triple Crown takes center in the world of horse racing. This year's crop of 3-year-old prospects looks to be shaping up as one of the strongest in the last few years.
Many know its been since Affirmed in 1978 that horse racing saw its last Triple ... Views: 786
Horse racing is one of the most traditional sports, very much like archery. With technological evolution, both the sports have received their share of face-lifts and modestly accepted it too.
While archery ‘metamorphosized’ with the traditional wooden bow and arrow transformed into a ... Views: 781
The list of would-be Kentucky Derby contenders is constantly evolving on the way to the first Saturday in May and this year has been no different. Based on recent strong performances, a slate of six new Kentucky Derby contenders were put in place as part of Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future ... Views: 781
When “The Great Recession” hit the United States economy in 2008, horse racing certainly was not immune. As Americans tightened their entertainment budgets, wagering on horse races plummeted. However, like the domestic economy as a whole, horse racing is beginning to show some signs of ... Views: 778
Her racing career was as tumultuously lined with rivalries with a deserving contender as was Sham’s with Secretariat’s. Despite the fact that her prime contention made it almost impossible to win a championship, Blind Luck pulled off an ‘in-time’ feat of winning some major stakes races against ... Views: 775
Kentucky Derby winners have always held a special place in the hearts and minds of American sports fans. The combination of speed, stamina and competitive spirit that is required to win the Kentucky Derby are all much admired attributes in any athlete. Given this connection, we thought it would ... Views: 772
Kentucky receives its next Triple Crown probable. Zenyatta, the wonder filly of 2010, now a mom delivered Bernardini foal on Thursday 8th March late evening at around 10 at the Lane’s End Farm in Lexinton. The dam and foal are doing just fine, owners Jerry and Ann Moss confirmed.
After a ... Views: 768
The Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland Race Course is run just two weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby, which makes it one of the last opportunities for a Kentucky Derby hopeful to earn the necessary cash to reach the starting gate at Churchill Downs.
The Grade 3, 1 1/16-mile Coolmore ... Views: 766
2012 Kentucky Derby Future Odds – May Be the Bet of a Lifetime
Wynn Las Vegas has updated its 2012 Kentucky Derby future odds and, probably not surprisingly, Union Rags is the 10-to-1 favorite. He is followed by Hansen at 18-to-1 and Creative Cause at 20-to-1.
Below is a look at the top ... Views: 764
When Sam Houston Race Park opened for business in 1994, it became the first pari-mutuel horse racing facility in the state of Texas. That may surprise many people, as images of horses and cattle often come to mind when thinking of the Lone Star State.
However, it wasn't until Sam Houston Park ... Views: 762
The Australian sprinter, Black Caviar has consistently challenged the world class sprinter Hay List and won it with a racing record of 19 wins from 19 races. Her recent feat at the Lightening Stakes witnessed Black Caviar holding onto her pace in a conveniently stalking position right behind the ... Views: 761
Hurt again in the same leg that previously hampered Animal Kingdom’s possible rally in the Belmont Stakes, the colt’s contention from Dubai World Cup, slated for 31st March, was withdrawn due to lameness in the left hind leg.
Even though Animal Kingdom may not have showcased his best racing ... Views: 760
It’s rare when the pedigree inherited supersedes any other factor needed for a perfect recipe of a victory laden career. When Bernardini set foot on the racing track, his maiden race saw him finishing a disappointed out of the money but that may be contributed to the lack of experience and a ... Views: 757
Perhaps behind every great racing horse is a great owner, trainer and also an incredible jockey who knows the horse as good as itself. The horse racing arena has been laced with jockeys from all walks of life, some who started from scratch, being a lumberjack and ended up riding the greatest ... Views: 756
When Frank Stronach launched his Adena Springs Thoroughbred breeding operation with a farm in central Kentucky in 1989, few knew it would be the groundwork for one of the more remarkable runs by a breeder in the history of the Thoroughbred industry.
On Monday, Adena Springs was once again ... Views: 750
Nicknamed the “Queen of the Fillies”, Ruffian was out of the Reviewer, the Bold Ruler stallion and Shenanigans, a Native Dancer mare. Almost as famous for her racing career as a champion filly, Ruffian was equally remembered for his tragic death contributed as a eventuality to his soft boned ... Views: 750
The Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland Race Course is run just two weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby, which makes it one of the last opportunities for a Kentucky Derby hopeful to earn the necessary cash to reach the starting gate at Churchill Downs.
The Grade 3, 1 1/16-mile Coolmore ... Views: 747
Algorithms, who handily defeated champion 2-year-old Hansen while making his Stakes debut in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park, has moved to the head of the class of 2012 Kentucky Derby contenders, according to the latest future odds provided by Wynn Las Vegas.
Algorithms easily ... Views: 745
6:24 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on 5/5/12. That’s what you want to know, and that’s what we give you. That’s right, the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, May 5, 2012, with a post time of 6:24 pm ET. Not 6:23. Not 6:25. And certainly not 6:30. And don’t even ... Views: 742
Apple Blossom will be another premier event waiting to cast all top four year and older fillies and mares while the season is already preoccupied showcasing the top three year olds in the Triple Crown prep races. To take some time off from the inevitable Triple Crown noise, let’s have a look at ... Views: 740
The Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park has historically been one of the country's top prep races for the Kentucky Derby. The 2012 edition of the Grade 2 event is shaping up to be one of the best in years as three of this season's top Kentucky Derby contenders—Union Rags, Algorithms and ... Views: 740
Kentucky Derby had witnessed him close a third place finish just two weeks back. With his tempestuous running style, Afleet Alex stayed right where he was meant to be, with his fans blazing through the field with all that he had, for that one victory that kept him from winning in his last race. ... Views: 737
The Belmont Stakes is a $1 million Grade 1 race for three year old thoroughbred horses run at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY each June and is the third jewel of the “Triple Crown of Horse Racing”. The Belmont is run just three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky ... Views: 735
The Count Fleet Stakes is traditionally the first stakes race for 3-year-olds in New York. The 2012 Count Fleet Stakes will be held Jan. 7 and features the 3-year-old debut of the highly-regarded Alpha for Godolphin Racing.
A field of seven is slated for this year's running of the Count Fleet ... Views: 732
The Immensely popular Smarty Jones! - Smarty Jones had royal blood flowing through his veins, the kind of royalty that almost made you want to check to see if his blood were dark blue instead of red. What kind of royalty? You want names? Okay, you got names. How’s Foolish Pleasure, Northern ... Views: 726
John Madden Football is great, but some people prefer watching the more awesome athlete called the thoroughbred horse. What's the latest in horse racing games online?
The first racetrack in America was constructed on Long Island in 1665. The American Stud Book was started in 1868, launching ... Views: 713
When the Breeders' Cup wraps each fall, the eyes of the racing world begin to focus on the lead-up to the next year's Kentucky Derby, a six-month odyssey better known as the Triple Crown Trail.
Horses with aspirations in reaching Churchill Downs that first Saturday in May must first prove ... Views: 711
The Santa Anita Handicap marks a potentially large stepping up platform for the four year olds and up in the first half of the season. Barring the Triple Crowns as a one time opportunity, this race is the crème de la crème of the entire range of older thoroughbred racing events save for the ... Views: 711
Hailing from the lineage of Northern Dancer, Dance Smartly well of course lived up to her name. The filly was a Champion Canadian thoroughbred who also became the first ever Canadian horse to win a Breeder’s Cup. Dance Smartly won the Breeder’s Cup Distaff in 1991 with legendary jockey Pat Day ... Views: 711
Where there’s a champion thoroughbred, there’s the story of the owner of that horse, which often are full of the kinds of heartwarming tales and twists no screenwriter could get a Hollywood studio to buy. Here is a small sampling of the Top Owners in Thoroughbred Horse Racing today.
Frank ... Views: 710
Though the list of top 20 expected contenders, if all goes well and the horses remain in shape the entire season, Bob Baffert will once again make a solid attempt at the Triple Crown, as Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes are individual races he has already won and has made a major ... Views: 708
Winning a Kentucky Derby is the dream of every man or woman that's ever put a saddle on a Thoroughbred race horse. To have success in the American classic restricted to 3-year-olds, a trainer must find that one horse with the talent and determination to step to the forefront of a yearly foal ... Views: 708
The Pacific Classic was run first in 1991, so compared to historic races such as the Travers Stakes, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont, it has a relatively short history. Nonetheless, it has quickly become one of the premier races, and is the centerpiece of the summer Del Mar ... Views: 704
The promise to horsemen in New York was the newly-opened casino at Aqueduct would help to boost purses to unprecedented heights. The New York Racing Association affirmed that promise Thursday.
According to a track press release, Aqueduct's upcoming 79-day winter-spring meet will feature 13 ... Views: 699
Thoroughbred horse training and care takes a lot of money, time, and love on the part of the human beings employed to try to make him/her a champion. In general, primary care for a racing thoroughbred is the responsibility of the veterinarian, the trainer, the groom, and the stable hands. ... Views: 692
It was anticipated that the thirty year old draught will see an end when Real Quiet raced the three legs of the Triple Crown convincingly making way for an invincible victory with every leg. His defeat in the Belmont Stakes is still considered s one of the worst jockeying by a rider on such a ... Views: 691
A grade 3 event, the Tom Fool Handicap race came into existence as an honour paid to one of the finest thoroughbreds from the world racing history, Tom Fool, who was ranked 11 by the Blood-Horse magazine for his amazing performance as a potential thoroughbred highly renowned for his supremacy ... Views: 691
Well that didn't take long. Just one day after we wrote about the potential abuses of betting exchanges, 11 people in Great Britain were found guilty of a race-fixing scandal that was the direct result of exchange wagering.
Among those convicted were four jockeys and two horse owners, who the ... Views: 690
Golden Gate Fields, located near Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay area, has been a Northern California racing institution since 1941. The track has been the lone host of major Thoroughbred racing in the area since the closing of Bay Meadows in 2008.
Golden Gate Fields, which opened its ... Views: 683
Michael Pegram and his pair with the reputed trainer, Bob Baffert, became a legendary association after their joint effort, Silverbulletday, scaled new heights in thoroughbred racing. The Hall of Fame filly retired with more than $3million in career earnings and led the championship for two ... Views: 682
A new form of gambling on horse races called “exchange wagering” could soon be coming to America. While its proven popular in Europe, exchange wagering has a slew of inherent problems that could prove troublesome to U.S. horsemen and racetrack officials.
In exchange wagering, which is ... Views: 676
When “racinos,” a combination racetrack and casino, began to crop up across the country more than a decade ago, a byproduct of that change was new paths to the Kentucky Derby were forged. One example of this can be found in New Mexico, where the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Park Derby is now ... Views: 673
When Secretariat was gauging the fields and trying to find some foot on the racing tracks, a stronger and more experienced contender from a similar ancestry awaited him at the gates; Sham was sired by Pretense, to Seqoia by Princequillo; the grad sire to Secretariat as well. The genetic traits ... Views: 666
The world of Thoroughbred racing is rich and multifaceted. From the owners and breeders searching for that once in a lifetime horse, to the trainers and stable workers that make it all go; from die-hard handicappers on the prowl for their next major score, to the $2 bettor enjoying an afternoon ... Views: 664
Tampa Bay Downs, one of Thoroughbred racing's bigger success stories over the last several years, kicks off its road to the Kentucky Derby with the Grade 3, $225,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes.
The rise in prominence of the Tampa Bay Downs' 3-year-old series has coincided with that of the track in ... Views: 662
The leading contenders for the 2012 Kentucky Derby came into better focus over the weekend via Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. In three days of wagering that concluded Feb. 12, bettors poured in $631,304 to the pool, which is an all-time record for the future wager, which began in ... Views: 661
The 2012 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 5, 2012 will be the 138th running of what is referred to as the Run for the Roses and The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports. Along with it’s female counterpart the Kentucky Oaks, run the day before the Derby, the Run for the Roses is the oldest continuously ... Views: 654
Addressed with the business and fashion hub of the world, New York city’s mythical name, the Gotham Stakes is season’s prep to the more important and a million dollar race, the Wood Memorial and it also serves as an official prep race to none other than the Kentucky Derby. Slated for March 3rd, ... Views: 654
War Horse, the newest feature film from acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, opens at theaters nationwide Dec. 25. The war drama, which features an ex-Thoroughbred racehorse in the title role, chronicles the exploits of a horse sold into the British army that would go on to serve on both sides ... Views: 650