Tracy and Carol Farmer have chosen Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Georgetown, Ky., as the permanent home for two-time Whitney Handicap (gr. I) winner Commentator, it was announced Oct. 2.
Friday, October 02, 2009
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) paid tribute to Commentator Sept. 6, at Saratoga Race Course. The 8-year-old chestnut gelding, owned by Tracy Farmer and trained by Hall of Famer Nick Zito, was retired from racing Aug. 9, a day after finishing third in the Whitney Handicap (gr. I). He was attempting to join Discovery and Kelso as the only three-time winners of the race in its 82-year history.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
The New York Racing Association will pay tribute to one of the most popular horses in racing when the recently-retired Commentator is honored on Sept. 6 at Saratoga.
Friday, August 14, 2009
MAHUBAH'S CORNER, by Avalyn Hunter
Stamina influence Tiznow again matches with a speed-oriented Turkoman-line mare. Whitney Handicap (gr. I) winner Bullsbay joins Colonel John as elite runners bred on the cross. Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tracy Farmer's two-time Whitney Handicap (gr. I) winner Commentator has been retired after finishing third in his quest for a record-tying third win in the Saratoga event, trainer Nick Zito announced on the morning of Aug. 9.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
The longest shot in a field of six, 18-1 Bullsbay pulled a shocking upset in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) Aug. 8 at Saratoga, splitting horses on the turn and pulling away for a 1 1/2-length score under Jeremy Rose.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin was forced to scratch Asiatic Boy from the Aug. 8 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) after the 6-year-old horse developed a fever the afternoon before the race.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Jason, Tom, and Les Instone from Brisnet/Twinspires.com preview the Arlington Million (gr. I). Plus picks for the Whitney (gr. I).
Thursday, August 06, 2009
The ageless Commentator will try to stand alongside the great Kelso as the oldest horse ever to win the prestigious Whitney Handicap (gr. I), a race he will also attempt to capture for a record-tying third time.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Commentator, the 8-year-old who Aug. 8 will attempt to become only the third horse in history to win the $750,000 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) three times, turned in another excellent work Aug. 1 at Saratoga, covering a half-mile in :47.85, handily.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Tracy Farmer's Commentator, the expected elder statesmen of the $750,000 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) on Aug. 8 at Saratoga, turned in a bullet work over the Oklahoma track at Saratoga July 23, breezing five furlongs in :59.12.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Commentator, a two-time grade I winner for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, leads a field of seven for the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap Sept. 20 at Suffolk Downs.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Millennium Farms' Student Council, second in the July 26 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga, is preparing to defend his title in the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) on Aug. 24 at Del Mar in California.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito gave every credit to Commentator after the 7-year-old gelding won his second Whitney Handicap (gr. I) by 4 ¾ lengths over Student Council and Grasshopper July 26 at Saratoga. Zito was thrilled that the New York-bred, owned by Tracy Farmer, can now be counted alongside multiple Whitney winner Kelso.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Three years after last winning the Whitney Handicap (gr. I), 7-year-old Commentator returned to the Saratoga winner's circle when he galloped to a surprisingly easy front-running victory in the $750,000 Spa fixture.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Hosted by Jason Shandler and Tom LaMarra, "That Handicapping Show" is a weekly video show dedicated to horse players. This week, Jason and special guest Evan Hammonds take a look at the Whitney Handicap. Plus, picks from John Pricci of Equiform.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Three years after winning the Whitney Handicap (gr. I), Tracy Farmer's Commentator returns to Saratoga's richest race for handicap horses as the most accomplished of the 11 entered in the July 26 fixture.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Stronach Stables' Giant Gizmo, winner of his last three starts, will be sidelined for the remainder of the year with a non-displaced condylar fracture in his right front leg, trainer Bobby Frankel said July 22.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Fans of Saratoga Race Course can't wait for the track to open its 140th season Wednesday, July 23 and they won't have to wait much longer for the high-quality stakes races that make the Spa one of Thoroughbred racing's top meetings.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tracy Farmer's Commentator proved to be back in the top form he was nearly three years ago when he won the 2005 Whitney Handicap (gr. I), this time trouncing five rivals to take the $200,000 Richter Scale Sprint Handicap (gr. II) by 13 3/4-lengths March 8 at Gulfstream Park.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Lawyer Ron made a successful case for himself as 2007's champion older male. Racing for the estate of his breeder and original owner, the late Ownesboro, Ky., businessman James T. Hines Jr., Lawyer Ron, for the second consecutive season, earned better than $1 million, and won a pair of grade I contests in impressive fashion.
Monday, January 21, 2008
The legal battle focused on Lawyer Ron has been jointly dismissed by the involved parties, and a decision on the racing future of the multiple grade I winner is expected shortly.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Despite his poor effort in the Whitney Handicap (gr. I), Brass Hat will make a return visit to Saratoga for the Woodward Stakes (gr. I) Sep. 1, trainer Buff Bradley said Sunday.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Lawyer Ron's victory in the July 28 Whitney Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga apparently has had no impact on the lawsuit between his owners, a legal dispute that one of the principal parties described as being "in limbo."
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Street Sense is back and so is Rags to Riches. All is once again right with the racing world. If Curlin emerges victorious from next week's Haskell Invitational Handicap (gr. I), then the Breeders' Cup World Championships will have the star power it so desperately needs.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
The winning time of 1:46.64 for Lawyer Ron in the July 28 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) has been confirmed as the nine-furlong, main-track record at Saratoga Race Course.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The winning time of 1:46.64 for Lawyer Ron in the July 28 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) has been confirmed as the nine-furlong, main-track record at Saratoga Race Course.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
In order to accommodate ABC's two-hour live coverage of the Breeders' Cup Challenge at Saratoga Race Course on Whitney Handicap (gr. I) day July 28, the schedule of races has been changed, the track announced Friday.
Friday, July 20, 2007
The 2007 New York Racing Association stakes schedule highlights the inaugural Breeders' Cup Challenge with Belmont and Saratoga each hosting challenge-day events. The powerhouse race days highlight NYRA's stakes schedule, which features 38 grade I races and nearly $33 million in stakes purses.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Invasor, winner of Saturday's Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga in a thrilling stretch drive over Sun King, is likely to make his next start in the $500,000 Woodward Stakes (gr. I) on Sept. 2.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Shadwell Stable's Invasor, nearly overtaken by the surging Sun King, dug in for the final furlong to emerge with a nose victory in $750,000 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course Saturday.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Trainer John Kimmel scored the 1,000th victory of his career on Friday afternoon at Belmont Park when he saddled Premium Tap to a win in the third race, the $65,000-added Albert the Great.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Roses in May, a top handicap horse over the past two seasons, has been retired by owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey due to a torn tendon in the horse's left front leg.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Grade I winner Commentator breezed a half mile over Saratoga's training track Friday morning in :51. It was the gelding's first recorded work since winning the Whitney Handica (gr. I) Aug. 6.
Friday, August 19, 2005
A field of eight older horses is set to line up for Saturday's 78th running of the prestigious Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga. Won by Roses in May in thrilling fashion over Perfect Drift in 2004, this year's edition includes division leader Saint Liam--with trainers Nick Zito and Todd Pletcher entering two starters each.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Trainer Rick Dutrow told a national teleconference Tuesday he is expecting a "huge" performance from Saint Liam in Saturday's Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga. Not that anyone needs Dutrow to tell them that, as the Stephen Foster (gr. I) winner likely will be an overwhelming favorite in the 1 1/8-mile race.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Saint Liam, arguably the nation's top older horse after 2005 victories in the grade I Donn and Stephen Foster handicaps, breezed five furlongs over Saratoga's Oklahoma training trackMonday morning in 1:02 1/5.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Roses in May and Perfect Drift, the first two finishers in the Cornhusker Breeders' Cup (gr. III) a month ago, produced the same result Saturday in the Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course.
Saturday, August 07, 2004
Five weeks after giving everything he had to win the Suburban Handicap (gr. I) by a neck over Newfoundland, Edmund Gann's Peace Rules will have his work cut out for him once again as he faces a field with quick speed horses in Saturday's 77th running of the $750,000 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga.
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Sackatoga Stable's Funny Cide put in an impressive workout Saturday morning over the Saratoga main track by breezing five furlongs in :59 1/5 with jockey Edgar Prado aboard for trainer Barclay Tagg.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
West Point Thoroughbreds' Seattle Fitz, who posted impressive back-to-back victories in the (gr. III) Schaefer at Pimlico and the (gr. II) Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont, will skip the Suburban Handicap (gr. I) on July 3 and make his next start in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) on Aug. 7 at Saratoga.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Lakeside Stable's Colonial Colony, the upset winner over an elite field in the Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) June 12 at Churchill Downs, will make his next start at Iowa's Prairie Meadows.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Edmund Gann's Medaglia d'Oro withstood a determined rally from his rival Volponi in the stretch and pulled away for a one-length victory in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga Saturday.
Saturday, August 02, 2003
There are so many possible scenarios in this weekend's big stakes, the Haskell, Whitney, and Jim Dandy, handicappers should be plenty busy over the next few days.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has a suggestion for people handicapping the Whitney Handicap (gr.I) on Saturday: don't overlook Proud Citizen.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Azeri, the reigning Horse of the Year who posted her 10th straight win in the Vanity Handicap (gr. I), worked a half-mile in :47 at San Luis Rey Downs on Monday.
Monday, July 14, 2003
Multiple graded stakes winner Left Bank survived emergency abdominal surgery Saturday, which may spell the end of his racing career.
Sunday, August 11, 2002
Trainer Todd Pletcher didn't have any trouble ranking Left Bank's victory in the 75th Whitney Handicap on 5-year-old horse's lengthy list of accomplishments.
Sunday, August 04, 2002
Versatile Left Bank wins his biggest race yet, taking the Whitney Handicap over a strong field.
Saturday, August 03, 2002
Pat Day gets Macho Uno mount for Whitney...Left Bank among the expected entrants...Street Cry and Unshaded have final preps.
Wednesday, July 31, 2002
