+10000000)+'&millis='+new Date().getTime()+'&zid=472&referrer='+encodeURIComponent(document.location)+')
Favored Scat Daddy put away his rival Stormello soon after they reached the stretch and finished strongly to hold off the grinding Notional, capturing the $1 million Florida Derby (gr. I) at Gulfstream Park in an impressive effort Saturday.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007Well, we've got our first big horse heading to Churchill Downs following Scat Daddy's victory in the Florida Derby (gr. I), and judging from the other cards trainer Todd Pletcher is holding, he's going to have a full house come May 5. But who knows if runner-up Notional will be the first of four aces held by Doug O'Neill.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007Post positions have been drawn for the next Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) stepping stone race, the March 31 Florida Derby (gr. I) at Gulfstream Park. Grade I winner Scat Daddy currently heads the field at morning line odds of 5-2.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007There is no escaping the fact that Hard Spun proved he is a brilliant, classy horse with his bounce back performance in the Lane's End Stakes (gr. II), but there is a question that pops up, that will be echoed after the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I): how legitimate was this race, or any race for that matter, run over a synthetic surface?
Tuesday, March 27, 2007Street Sense and Any Given Saturday, the respective 1-2 finishers in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III), made the largest moves in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's weekly 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007The second of three pools of Churchill Downs' 2007 Kentucky Derby Future Wager ended on Sunday with 'all others' a narrow favorite in a scramble with reigning 2-year-old champion Street Sense, Remsen (gr. II) and Holy Bull (gr. III) winner Nobiz Like Shobiz, and Louisiana Derby (gr. II) winner Circular Quay.
Sunday, March 11, 2007James Tafel's reigning 2-year-old champion Street Sense, winner of the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), and Elizabeth Valando's Nobiz Like Shobiz, winner of the Remsen (gr. II) and the Holy Bull (gr. III), continued to share the role of favorite as pool 2 of Churchill Downs' Kentucky Derby Future Wager reached its midway point.
Saturday, March 10, 2007Champion Street Sense and Nobiz Like Shobiz each closed at odds of 9-2 during the first of four days of betting in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2. The mutuel field, the betting interest that includes all 3-year-olds other than the 23 individual horses in Pool 2 and the 4-1 morning line favorite for the pool, stood as the 10-1 third choice at the end of the first day of betting.
Friday, March 09, 2007The "all others" bet remains the morning line favorite for the second of three pools of Churchill Downs' 2007 Kentucky Derby Future Wager ("KDFW"), which launches its four-day run March 8.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007The strangest thing happened while in Florida this past week. I came upon a crystal ball that amazingly revealed the winners of all the major Derby preps this year, although some images were clearer than others. To obtain this privileged information, just continue reading.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007Scat Daddy, somewhat overlooked in trainer Todd Pletcher's rich stable for this year's Triple Crown trail, stormed from far back to tag the tough-luck loser Stormello by a nose in the final stride of Saturday's $350,000 Fountain of Youth (gr. II) for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park.
Saturday, March 03, 2007It will be a rematch of sorts in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II) when the top three finishers of the Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III)-- Nobiz Like Shobiz, Drums of Thunder, and Scat Daddy-- return to the starting gate March 3 for the $350,000 race going 1 1/8 mile at Gulfstream Park.
Thursday, March 01, 2007James Tafel's Street Sense, winner of the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) and champion 2-year-old colt, and Elizabeth Valando's Nobiz Like Shobiz, who captured the Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III) in his season debut, lead a list of 179 3-year-olds nominated to Keeneland's $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I).
Wednesday, February 28, 2007The $500,000 Lane's End Stakes (gr. II), a key Triple Crown prep at Turfway Park on March 24, has drawn 166 nominations.
Saturday, February 24, 2007Elizabeth Valando's Nobiz Like Shobiz showed his readiness for the March 3 Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II) by working six furlongs in 1:11 1/5 at Gulfstream Park Friday.
Friday, February 23, 2007With 2006 Eclipse Award and Breeders' Cup winners Street Sense and Dreaming of Anna headlining the list, a record 450 horses have been nominated early to Thoroughbred racing's 2007 Triple Crown.
Sunday, February 04, 2007Elizabeth J. Valando's homebred Nobiz Like Shobiz, highly regarded among this year's Triple Crown hopefuls, got his campaign off to a strong start with a smart win as the odds-on choice in Saturday's $150,000 Holy Bull (gr. III) for 3-year-olds at Gulstream Park.
Saturday, February 03, 2007Elizabeth Valando's homebred 3-year-old Nobiz Like Shobiz, high among early favorites for the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. 1), makes his season debut as the 8-to-5 morning line favorite in the $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park.
Thursday, February 01, 2007Many times when looking back on the career of a Kentucky Derby winner, you can find one defining race or defining moment within a race that stamps the horse as a legitimate classic contender. This is the first of several attempts this winter to find such moments.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007Street Sense, 10-length winner of the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), received the high weight assignment of 127 pounds on the 2006 Experimental Free Handicap, released today by The Jockey Club.
Thursday, January 25, 2007It comes as no surprise that trainer Todd Pletcher, a multiple record setter in 2006, will collect a third well-deserved Eclipse Award for his efforts.
Monday, January 22, 2007Hold on to your hats. The Todd Pletcher and Doug O'Neill express trains are about to start rolling toward Louisville and should reach breakneck speed by early to mid-February. With Pletcher expanding to California this winter, and both trainers expected to make stops in New Orleans, we can expect some early collisions on the Derby trail.
Monday, January 22, 2007Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Street Sense tops Steve Haskin's first list of leading contenders for this year's May 5 Kentucky Derby.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007Ten graded or group stakes winners are among 107 "early bird" nominations for the 94th running of the $600,000 Louisiana Derby (gr. II) March 10 at Fair Grounds Race Course.
Thursday, December 21, 2006Tracking a hotly contested pace early, Street Sense came up the rail and ran away with the $1,832,000 Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) by 10 lengths at Churchill Downs Nov. 4.
Saturday, November 04, 2006At a Nov. 2 press conference next to the Churchill Downs paddock, trainer Todd Pletcher tried to explain the logistics of starting 17 horses on Breeders' Cup World Championship day Saturday.
Thursday, November 02, 2006Everyone had been saying the field for the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) was evenly matched. Obviously Mike Battaglia, who makes the morning line at Churchill Downs, agreed.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006Following Sunday's deluge of Todd Pletcher works, and a pair by Kiaran McLaughlin's two stars, there still was enough activity at Belmont Park on a glorious fall morning Oct. 30 to keep one entertained.
Monday, October 30, 2006Trainer Todd Pletcher is taking his record-breaking role of pre-entering 18 Breeders' Cup World Championship starters all in stride. Pletcher is expected to have at least one starter in seven of the eight championship day races, with the lone exception the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT).
Wednesday, October 25, 2006Scat Daddy gave trainer Todd Pletcher his record 93rd stakes victory in 2006 with a smart win over favored Nobiz Like Shobiz in the 135th running of the $400,000 Champagne (gr. I) for 2-year-olds at Belmont Park Saturday.
Saturday, October 14, 2006Saturday's stakes races at Belmont Park are the final key East Coast preps for horses targeting the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs Nov 4. One of the highlights of the card is the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) for 2-year-olds at a mile.
Thursday, October 12, 2006Todd Pletcher, the nation's reigning champion trainer, worked a number of his horses Sunday in preparation for grade I stakes appearances at Belmont Park Oct. 7.
Sunday, October 01, 2006The formidable two-ply entry from Todd Pletcher lived up to its favorite status Monday as Michael and Dorean Tabor's homebred Circular Quay defeated stablemate Scat Daddy by 4 1/4 lengths in the grade I, $250,000 Hopeful for 2-year-olds at Saratoga.
Monday, September 04, 2006Trainer Todd Pletcher has claimed his fifth consecutive Saratoga training title in 2006 and his sixth over the last eight years. But even with a wealth of top juveniles, he has yet to win the Hopeful (gr. I). Pletcher is hoping to end that streak Monday with Michael Tabor's Circular Quay or James Scatuorchio's Scat Daddy.
Saturday, September 02, 2006Scat Daddy and Circular Quay, a pair of trainer Todd Pletcher's "Toddlers," slated to run in Monday's $250,000 Hopeful (gr. I) for 2-year-olds at seven furlongs, both worked on the main track at Saratoga Thursday morning.
Thursday, August 31, 2006Trainer Todd Pletcher reported that all three of his fillies came out of Sunday's grade I, $250,000 Go for Wand Handicap in good order, including Spun Sugar, who won the race under jockey Mike Luzzi.
Monday, July 31, 2006In the time that it took to walk four blocks from Saratoga Race Course to a computer after the races on Thursday, twenty-nine Todd Pletcher bobblehead dolls were listed on eBay and two more had already been sold for a "Buy Now" price that was four times the $3 cost of grandstand admission that qualified you for one.
Friday, July 28, 2006Scat Daddy pushed his backers to the brink but delivered an impressive performance late to run down Teuflesberg in the final strides of the $147,000 Sanford Stakes (gr. II) at Saratoga July 27. Scat Daddy was the 3-10 favorite in the five-horse field of 2-year-olds while Teuflesberg went off at 13-1 odds.
Thursday, July 27, 2006After being a Thoroughbred trainer for 10 years, Todd Pletcher should be used to the racing spotlight. This is especially true at Saratoga Race Course, where he has been the leading trainer for the past four years and also holds the single-season win record.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006Jockey John Velazquez, originally planning a return to racing aboard the Todd Pletcher-trained Scat Daddy at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, will make his comeback Friday at Belmont Park instead. According to Velazquez's agent, Angel Cordero, the jockey's original mount scratched at Monmouth and will run Saturday at Belmont.
Friday, June 02, 2006+10000000)+'&millis='+new Date().getTime()+'&zid=473&referrer='+encodeURIComponent(document.location)+')
+10000000)+'&millis='+new Date().getTime()+'&zid=476&referrer='+encodeURIComponent(document.location)+')
+10000000)+'&millis='+new Date().getTime()+'&zid=441&referrer='+encodeURIComponent(document.location)+')
+10000000)+'&millis='+new Date().getTime()+'&zid=366&referrer='+encodeURIComponent(document.location)+')
+10000000)+'&millis='+new Date().getTime()+'&zid=466&referrer='+encodeURIComponent(document.location)+')
Copyright © 2012 Blood-Horse Publications. All rights reserved internationally.
+10000000)+'&millis='+new Date().getTime()+'&zid=601&referrer='+encodeURIComponent(document.location)+')