Paul Pompa Jr. has enjoyed a string of graded stakes winners over the past eight years, and Connect's victory in the Pennsylvania Derby over an all-star cast has him and trainer Chad Brown aiming high with the Curlin colt.
Blackjackcat switches from turf to dirt and could spring surprise on Shared Belief first- and second-place finishers Accelerate and Semper Fortis at nine furlongs
Coming off decent efforts at Saratoga, Noholdingback Bear and Mind Your Biscuits will tangle with the improving Threefiveindia and undefeated Klingon Warrior in Parx sprint at six furlongs
Rick Porter, who enjoys bringing special guests to the races, will host the family of singer/guitarist Eva Cassidy at Parx Racing Sept. 24 after he named his filly Songbird to honor the late Cassidy's rendition of the tune
Bob Gilpin, who had a hand in raising standouts such as Belong To Me, Classy Mirage, and Jersey Girl, died Sept. 14. A memorial service will be held in Ocala, Fla., Sept. 29.
Wake Forest, Big Blue Kitten, and The Pizza Man all have to prove they can regain past form when they square off against solid runners Danish Dynaformer and World Approval in 12-furlong turf test at Woodbine
Ahh Chocolate, winner of two graded stakes, looks to have a class edge in the Locust Grove, but will have to turn the tables on Innovative Idea, who outfinished her in the Groupie Doll Stakes last out.
New Jersey native John Dowd has called Florida home since training Fountain of Youth (gr. II) winner Songandaprayer, and after taking a break to help raise his family, he is back conditioning in the Sunshine State.
How Saratoga heals what ails you
A dozen 2-year-olds are scheduled to seven furlongs on the Arlington International Racecourse Polytrack Sept. 10 in the $100,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity (gr. III).
Martin Schwartz specializes in importing turf fillies from Europe who in turn specialize at winning Arlington's top race for distaffers on Arlington Million day
Auntie Joy, Noble Beauty, and Try Your Luck, the first three finishers in the Regret Stakes (gr. IIIT), do battle again over nine furlongs on the Arlington turf course, facing undefeated Nobody's Fault and promising Nawlins Kitty.
Clay Hancock, who helped her family's Claiborne Farm by bringing owner/breeder Adele Dilschneider into the operation, died of a heart attack Aug. 8.
Chad Brown is off to a quick start in his bid to unseat Todd Pletcher as the top trainer at the prestigious Saratoga meet
Fox Hill Farms' champion Songbird returned to the worktab for the first time since her victory in the Coaching Club American Oaks for what trainer Jerry Hollendorfer described as a "perfect work."
Off the Tracks will have to hold off fellow graded stakes winners Lewis Bay and Lightstream in a tough tussle in the seven-furlong Longines Test Stakes
Bradester, who won the grade I Stephen Foster Handicap last out, loves Monmouth Park and should be able to dictate the pace in the Monmouth Cup.
Lady Eli, idle for more than a year after contracting laminitis, will continue her brilliant career in the Ballston Spa at Saratoga Aug. 27.
Owners of Tepin, Songbird show true sportsmanship
King Kranz looks to hold a versatility edge in this field of sophomore sprinters at Saratoga. He comes in off a stakes win and should be the one to beat.
A trio of 6-year-olds that have been trending the wrong way will try to recall their glory days in the nine-furlong Nijinsky at Woodbine
Champion Nyquist will seek to get back on the winning track in the $1 million Betfair.com Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park July 31. He has won eight of nine starts and more than $5 million.
Grade I winner The Pizza Man towers over his field in the Stars and Stripes, but only if he can regain his form of a year ago when he won the Arlington Million. He is winless in two starts this season.
Lack of 3-year-old races force sophomores to hit the road
Lady Shipman is no stranger tackling the boys, having finished second in last year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, and she not only has the class in this field, but gets a weight allowance as well.
Full Mast will tangle with improving Smokem Kitten and defending King Edward winner Tower of Texas in the one-mile turf battle at Woodbine. Solemn Tribute should improve off his first 2016 start.
Mary Beth Woods of Shreveport, La., submitted the winning entry of Southern Phantom in a name-the-foal contest offered exclusively at BloodHorse.com.
Mike Moreno of Southern Equine Farm will donate $5,000 to the Racetrack Chaplaincy of Saratoga in the name of the person whose suggestion is picked as the name of Moreno's Bodemeister colt.
Multiple graded stakes winner Ahh Chocolate is the filly to beat in the Fleur de Lis; she will need to pass Untapable in the stretch and then hold off Brooklynsway.
Shaman Ghost bided his time down on the inside and then easily flew past frontrunners Doyouknowsomething and Waymond Boyd to take the Brooklyn Invitational June 11 at Belmont Park.
Lani will become the latest Belmont Stakes (gr. I) runner with ties to Japan after Sunday Break ran third in 2002 and Casino Drive loomed large before scratching in 2008.
The Jaipur (gr. IIIT) will feature a charge of the light brigade as 14 horses sprint over the Belmont Park turf going six furlongs.
Chuck Fipke has had great success hitting the board in classic races with longshot maiden winners Tale of Verve and Golden Soul, and will try that formula again in the June 11 Belmont Stakes (gr. I).
Big-name horses like Frosted, Calculator, Stanford, Upstart, and El Kabeir will mix it up with Noble Bird, Ami's Flatter, and Anchor Down in the June 11 Met Mile (gr. I).
At a mile and a half, the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) has always been considered the true test of stamina and ability among Thoroughbreds, according to leading horsemen from the 1960s.
Jim Weigel has just three broodmares, but has bred classic-placed Creative Cause and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) contender Destin out of his mare Dream of Summer.
An unusually marked white-headed foal was born June 5 at Mike Moreno's Southern Equine Farm near Midway. The colt is a son of Bodemeister out of Out for Revenge, by Bernardini.
Chad Brown dominates East Coast turf races, and he will have three of the seven entrants in the June 10 New York Stakes at Belmont Park.
With burners Toews On Ice, Limousine Liberal, and Union Jackson all drawn inside, the Aristides could set up for a closer like Alsvid or Barbados.
Nyquist, third in the Preakness Stakes after winning the Kentucky Derby, will be heading home to California to recuperate instead of to New York for the Belmont Stakes, said trainer Doug O'Neill May 24.
Fred Bradley, a former Kentucky state senator, attorney for the state's horse racing commission, and the owner/breeder of stars Groupie Doll and Brass Hat, died May 20 at age 85.
Mei Ling, Ahh Chocolate, and Savings Account will fight it out over Pimlico's main track in the Allaire DuPont, as none of the starters have asserted themselves this year to the point of obvious favoritism over the nine furlongs.
Wallenda, who won graded stakes in three consecutive seasons in the early 1990s, was put down May 9 at Old Friends near Georgetown, Ky.
Catalina Red outsprinted eight others in taking Churchill Downs Stakes with favorite Speightster finishing unplaced in seven-furlong test.
Rocket Heat led virtually the whole way and blasted to victory in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint on the Longines Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs May 6.
Grade I winner Force the Pass hooks up against multiple grade II winner Ironicus and multiple graded winner Red Rifle in nine-furlong grass race.
Turf specialists Dressed in Hermes and Shakhimat face off against versatile 3-year-olds in American Turf on Derby underdard.
Teaming with trainer Keith Desormeaux, who buys his horses at auction, Matt Bryan and his Big Chief Racing stable are riding high with Exaggerator in the Kentucky Derby.
After negotiating with a mystery partner to pay the supplemental entry fee to get Oscar Nominated into the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), Ken and Sarah Ramsey will run the son of Kitten's Joy themselves.
Catch a Glimpse has already won at Woodbine, Keeneland, and Gulfstream Park, and looks to add Churchill Downs to that list in the Edgewood Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.
Get the latest insider news, analysis, entries and results on your phone or sent to your email!
Sign up for our free weekly email newsletters and alerts, filled with race previews and results, news of the week, or breaking news.
Sign Up
