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Trainer Nick Zito's suspension by New York regulators for a positive drug test involving a race at Saratoga was upheld Thursday by a state appeals court.
Thursday, December 12, 2002Elmer Miller's What A Bad Day, third in the Iroquois (gr. III), has suffered a knee injury and will not run in the $200,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club (gr. II) on Nov. 30.
Saturday, November 23, 2002It's Our Time, a $735,000 Keeneland September 2001 yearling purchase, won her debut Wednesday at the track, circling the field from deep in the pack to tally a 1 1/2-length win over Romantic Comedy.
Wednesday, October 23, 2002After a two-year absence, jockey Shane Sellers returned to racing Wednesday when he piloted Marylou Whitney's Global Attraction to a fourth-place finish in the second race, a $50,000 maiden special weight contest, at Keeneland.
Wednesday, October 23, 2002Najran ran away from his field and easily captured the $75,000 Perryville Stakes at Keeneland today by eight lengths.
Friday, October 11, 2002Though jockey Jerry Bailey lost the riding battle at Saratoga this summer, he was a very big winner nonetheless. You could say he won the war.
Monday, September 02, 2002Get ready New York. Bob Baffert and War Emblem are coming.
Sunday, May 19, 2002Racing's Holy Grail--The Epic Quest for the Kentucky Derby--Chapter 4
Friday, March 29, 2002Racing's Holy Grail--The Epic Quest for the Kentucky Derby--Chapter 4
Friday, March 29, 2002You've heard it said many times: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Well, things certainly are changing each week on the road to the Kentucky Derby, but we seem to be just about where we were when we embarked on the journey almost three months ago.
Monday, March 25, 2002High Star, third in last year's Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, turned in a sharp 5-furlong work in 1:00 4/5 at Gulfstream Park Monday in preparation for the March 16 Florida Derby.
Monday, March 04, 2002Saarland, the colt in search of a race, indicated he is still sharp and ready for some action by breezing a sharp half in :48 at Gulfstream Monday morning.
Monday, February 25, 2002Kentucky Derby winning trainer Nick Zito is enthusiastic about 3-year-old High Star's future, but Zito says his plan is to go slow with the colt.
Saturday, February 02, 2002He's out there, somewhere. He may be in the back of his stall nibbling on a mound of alfalfa, or stretched out with his head nestled in a bed of straw. He may be nothing more than a shrouded figure galloping through an early morning fog or a mere silhouette against a golden sunrise. But one thing is certain: somewhere out there is the winner of the 2002 Kentucky Derby (gr. I).
Monday, January 21, 2002Tracy Farmer's Albert the Great, prepping for the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), breezed four furlongs over the main track in :50 1/5 at Belmont today. Afterwards, trainer Nick Zito was happy with the work. " It's been a long year," the New York-based conditioner said. "I don't have to do a lot with him. I'm going easy on him for this race. He doesn't need much."
Tuesday, October 16, 2001Albert the Great, a grade I winner of over $2.5 million, will make his final start in the Oct. 27 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), then retire to stud at Robert Clay's Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky. Owner Tracy Farmer will retain 100% interest in the 4-year-old Go For Gin colt. No stud fee was announced.
Friday, October 12, 2001Following his sixth-place finish in the seven-horse field in Saturday's Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I), Ol Memorial Stable's A P Valentine has been retired.
Saturday, October 06, 2001Both of trainer Nick Zito¹s starters for Saturday¹s grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup worked five-eighths in :59, breezing, over the good track this morning. A P Valentine went out about 20 minutes after Albert the Great.
Tuesday, October 02, 2001Multiple graded stakes winner Albert the Great is out to prove his greatness when he takes on seven rivals in Saturday's $750,000 Whitney Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course. The Nick Zito-trained Albert the Great will carry 124 pounds under jockey Jorge Chavez in the 1 1/8-mile event.
Thursday, July 26, 2001Trainer Nick Zito had his license suspended for 15 days and was fined $2,000 by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board Thursday for a positive test for the analgesic Lidocaine at Saratoga in August of 2000.
Thursday, June 21, 2001Belmont Stakes works concluded Tuesday morning when A P Valentine breezed a sharp five furlongs in :59 1/5 with regular work rider Jamie Sanders aboard. The son of A.P. Indy looked like he was ready for some serious action as he jogged past the stands with his neck bowed. Approaching the five-furlong pole, he was already leveled off and in high gear.
Tuesday, June 05, 2001Trainer Nick Zito announced this afternoon that Victor Espinoza, who was replaced on Congaree by Jerry Bailey, has been named to ride A P Valentine in this Saturday's Preakness Stakes.
Tuesday, May 15, 2001Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos galloped at Pimlico Racecourse Monday morning as he continues preparations for Saturday's Preakness Stakes, second leg of the Triple Crown. Also at Pimlico Monday, A P Valentine worked five furlongs. At Churchill Downs, trainer Bob Baffert worked his two Preakness candidates, Point Given and Congaree, and Dallas Stewart reported Dollar Bill is on track after his workout.
Monday, May 14, 2001Tracy Farmer's 4-year-old Albert the Great is the favorite for Saturday's $750,000 Pimlico Special (gr. I) at Pimlico Race Course. Jockey Jorge Chavez, who won last Saturday's Kentucky Derby aboard Monarchos, will be aboard for the 36th running of the1 3/16 miles event.
Thursday, May 10, 2001Hat hoopla started early Friday with Tony Offutt's mechanized table-sized hat. Offutt attracted the attention of the backside's most popular man this morning, Al Roker. Let's amend that...the most popular man besides trainer Bob Baffert.
Friday, May 04, 2001The Derby scene Thursday: Coach Rick Pitino cast as "owner" Pitino...NFL hopes Congaree goes long...Darby vs. Derby.
Thursday, May 03, 2001The setting was the same as past years: Bob Baffert standing in the Churchill Downs grandstand, his white hair glistening in the morning sun like a fresh mound of snow. A two-way radio is held close to his mouth, as he surveys the post-renovation break scene and offers his first set of instructions to exercise rider Dana Barnes. Several minutes later, after watching his two Derby horses work, Baffert takes a deep, relaxing breath and breaks out into a smile and selection of one-liners. His horses once again have left a long line of smoldering hoof prints in the Churchill Downs surface.
Monday, April 30, 2001Kentucky Derby favorite Point Given and stablemate Congaree had their last workouts before Saturday's race, each posting fast times for their five furlong efforts. Point Given was timed in :58.50 seconds, as clocked by trainer Bob Baffert, who caught Congaree in :58.75 for five furlongs. Also Monday, Churchill officials announced that Tincin, winless in seven starts, was no longer being considered for the Derby after developing a cough.
Monday, April 30, 2001A P Valentine, owned in part by University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, will arrive at Churchill Downs around 1 p.m. today, and be placed in barn 36.
Thursday, April 19, 2001Top trainers from New York to Kentucky to Arkansas are gearing up for this weekend's three big Kentucky Derby preps, after which we should have a good idea who will provide the main challenges to Santa Anita Derby winner Point Given. On the foreign front, the two Godolphin invaders, Street Cry and Express Tour, arrived safe and sound at Churchill Downs today at approximately 1 p.m. after clearing quarantine at Keeneland.
Tuesday, April 10, 2001A P Valentine, a Nick Zito trainee who is expected to start in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland April 14, was a narrow 5-1 favorite among the 24 wagering interests after the first day of wagering. In his last start, A P Valentine won a Hialeah Park allowance race in track-record time for 1 1/16 miles.
Friday, April 06, 2001A monster runaway victory in Kentucky, a track record in Florida, a stirring two-horse battle in the deserts of Dubai, and a four-horse blanket finish in Arkansas. After Saturday's fast and furious action on the Derby trail, racing fans all over the country will be craving a fix during next weekend's lull before the major stakes frenzies of Apr. 7 and 14.
Monday, March 26, 2001In a surprise move, trainer Nick Zito has entered A P Valentine in a 1 1/16-mile race at Hialeah Saturday. It was originally planned to run the son of A.P. Indy in the Flamingo Stakes on April 7, but Zito felt it was time to find out just where the colt stood on the Kentucky Derby trail. Iin Saturday's race, A P Valentine will carry 108 pounds as he faces older horses in the optional claiming test for non-winners of two other/than. A P Valentine is one of two starters in the six horse field not running for the claiming price of $150,000.
Thursday, March 22, 2001Tracy Farmer's Albert The Great will be an odds-on favorite against six rivals in Saturday's Widener Handicap (gr. III) at Hialeah Park. Eclipse champion Jorge Chavez will be aboard Albert the Great, with the 4-year-old son of Go For Gin shouldering top weight of 120 pounds in the 1 1/8-mile event.
Thursday, March 22, 2001Almost immediately after A P Valentine's third-place finish in an allowance race Feb. 17, trainer Nick Zito began having second thoughts about running him in the Florida Derby. Now that he's officially ruled it out, it's time for him to begin making alternate plans.
Sunday, February 25, 2001It's been 24 years since Seattle Slew became the 10th Triple Crown winner and 17 years since a son of his (Swale) won the Kentucky Derby (gr. I). The Derby arguably is the toughest of all races to win, and any horse who attempts to handle the 1 1/4 miles the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs against as many as 19 rivals needs a competent trainer and jockey, along with the proper blend of speed and stamina, and a good deal of racing luck. With all that in mind, it's time to take a look at one of Seattle Slew's grandsons, A P Valentine, and see how he fits into the Derby picture.
Tuesday, February 13, 2001Nick Zito announced Sunday that Pat Day will ride A P Valentine when the son of A. P. Indy makes his 2001 debut Feb. 17 in a 7-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream. Jorge Chavez had been the colt's regular rider.
Sunday, February 11, 2001A P Valentine, winner of the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) last fall, had his first test for speed at Hialeah Saturday, blazing 5 furlongs in a bullet :59 flat.
Saturday, February 10, 2001A P Valentine, winner of the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) last fall, had his first test for speed at Hialeah Saturday, blazing 5 furlongs in a bullet :59 flat.
Saturday, February 10, 2001A P Valentine, winner of the grade 1 Champagne and a prospect for the $1 million Florida Derby March 10, breezed a half-mile in :51 at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning at Hialeah Park. The Zito-trained Albert The Great, a leading candidate for the grade 1 Donn Handicap February 3, also worked Saturday morning at Hialeah, getting a half-mile in :47 3/5 in handy fashion.
Sunday, January 21, 2001Nick Zito, who has trained a pair of Kentucky Derby winners, was suspended for 15 days and fined $1,000 by the New York Racing Association on Thursday after a banned substance was found in one of his horses. Zito appealed the penalties, meaning they do not immediately take effect.
Thursday, January 11, 2001Jorge (Chop Chop) Chavez moved Celtic Pride Stable's A P Valentine through on the rail and gamely outdueled Point Given for a 1 3/4-length triumph in the $500,000 Champagne Stakes (gr. I).
Saturday, October 14, 2000Millionaire Stephen Got Even was retired to stand stud at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm near Versailles, KY.
Wednesday, August 30, 2000Likely Travers Stakes (gr. I) starters Albert the Great, Impeachment, and Milwaukee Brew were in action at Saratoga Sunday morning in workouts preparing for Saturday’s $1-million race.
Monday, August 21, 2000A field of seven 3-year-olds will go to post for the $400,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) Saturday at Saratoga, including Godolphin Racing's Curule.
Thursday, August 03, 2000Despite the muddy conditions at Saratoga, Tracy Farmer's Albert the Great zipped a half-mile in a quick :48.02 over the Oklahoma training track as he continued to progress toward Saturday's $400,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II).
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