A stretch battle between 3-year-old stars Barney Roy (GB) and Churchill (IRE) in the Aug. 23 Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) was eclipsed in the closing yards as Ulysses (IRE) swept by on their outside to left that duo well in his wake.
The Bob Baffert-trained stablemates went at it on the front end, but it was Zatter who got the best of St Patrick's Day Aug. 20 at Del Mar.
A day after he ran 1-2 in the TVG Pacific Classic (G1), trainer Bob Baffert was still unsure about the path his two top Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) contenders will take back to Del Mar in early November.
Jerry Hollendorfer's most talented fillies both put in important workouts Aug. 20 at Del Mar, but at very different stages in their training cycles.
St Patrick's Day, a 2-year-old Pioneerof the Nile colt out of the Yankee Gentleman mare Littleprincessemma, has already gone by a number of names early in his life.
Hours after La Coronel finished fourth in the Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course, Dream Dancing got the best of a blanket finish in the 1 1/8-mile Del Mar Oaks (G1T).
Michael House's Irish-bred Hunt, victorious in the 1 1/8-mile Eddie Read Stakes (G2T) a month ago, confirmed his quality Aug. 19 in the $250,000 Del Mar Handicap Presented by The Japan Racing Association (G2T) at Del Mar.
The final furlong of the 10-furlong Classic was a battle of Bob Baffert stablemates. Arrogate kicked in late, as he's done plenty in the past, but he could not get past the determined Collected
There will be plenty of quality on the track in the afternoon Aug. 19 at Del Mar, the biggest day of racing during the summer at the seaside racetrack every year, but the runners in the morning weren't too shabby, either.
Tribalist didn't exactly take a conventional path to his first stakes win—both on the racetrack Aug. 18 at Del Mar and throughout his career.
"Saturdays at Saratoga" series, presented by VisitBarbados.org, will continue Saturday, August 19.
Trainer John Sadler wasn't present when Accelerate was purchased for $380,000 at the Keeneland September sale in 2014 for his major client, Hronis Racing. But he had an idea that it might prove to be a good buy.
There's a common thread in three of Phil D'Amato's older grass horses running in stakes on TVG Pacific Classic (G1) weekend at Del Mar. All three have dabbled, with varying degrees of success, on the dirt.
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Aug. 17 an "All-Stakes Pick 4" with a partnership between Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar Racetrack on both Saturday, August 19 and Saturday, September 2.
Hollywood Wildcat, the filly who stretch her winning streak to three races in the Aug. 22 Del Mar Invitational Oaks (G2T), seems to be the kind trainers and riders love most. She's mistake-proof.
If Arrogate can put himself back on form in the Aug. 19 TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar less than a month after the worst race of his life, hindsight could view his stunning setback as a blip that exposed him as mortal, but not lesser.
Juddmonte Farms' Arrogate put in his final bit of major exercise for the Aug. 19 $1 million TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) when he drilled four furlongs in :47 3/5 on a cool morning at Del Mar Aug. 14.
A $40,000 claim by trainer Bill Spawr back in August 2016, Skye Diamonds found the winner's circle for the sixth time since with her second straight graded score in the $100,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3) at Del Mar.
California Chrome still may be aberration of all aberrations, but he's no longer the only winner produced by Love the Chase, the famed mare who broke her maiden for an $8,000 tag.
Up next for Skye Diamonds, with an eye on the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), is the $100,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3), where she'll encounter Constellation once again, along with Claiborne Farm's grade 3 winner Bendable.
In conjunction with Tom Hall's Throwback Thursday features in BloodHorse Daily, BloodHorse.com each Thursday will present corresponding race stories from the pages of the magazine.
The early juvenile stakes in California can bring entrants with wide-ranging backgrounds, but the field for the $200,000 Best Pal Stakes (G2) Aug. 12 is a unique hodgepodge.
Auto and equine industries have some similarities
Working on his own with jockey Martin Garcia in the irons, superstar Arrogate clipped off a solid seven-furlong drill in 1:25 1/5 Aug. 8 at Del Mar as trainer Bob Baffert and regular rider Mike Smith looked on from the track's grandstand.
A wide trip throughout did not hamper East Coast invader Cambodia Aug. 5 in the $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap (G2T) at Del Mar.
Each week BloodHorse.com looks forward to the weekend's biggest races. Consider this your weekly guide to the best stakes races in North America. This week a loaded card at Saratoga Race Course, featuring two grade 1 races, highlights the schedule.
There is terrific stakes action all over the map Aug. 5, which is Whitney Stakes (G1) Day at Saratoga Race Course and also West Virginia Derby (G3) Day at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort.
Leonard Lavin, a longtime force in Thoroughbred racing who built Glen Hill Farm into a nationally prominent racing and breeding outfit, died Aug. 2 at the age of 97.
With a minor upset over favored Kimberlea K in the $100,000 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Stakes Aug. 2 at Del Mar, Show It N Moe It became the first stakes winner for her sire, Grace Upon Grace.
In his first workout since his stunning San Diego Handicap (G2) defeat, champion Arrogate breezed four furlongs in a bullet :47 1/5. He remains on point for a start in the Aug. 19 TVG Pacific Classic (G1).
The budding rivalry between two of the grittiest females in the country saw a repeat performance July 30 in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1) at Del Mar.
In her first timed workout since she had surgery to remove an ankle chip, champion filly Champagne Room showed an eagerness to do what she does best July 30 at Del Mar.
A day after a rodeo of a race in the July 29 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1), the connections of the top horses involved are mostly looking forward.
A few strides into the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) at Del Mar, champion sprinter Drefong dropped jockey Mike Smith to the main track. Even though he was ineligible to win after that point, the colt had an undisputed impact on who won the race.
A week after stunning Arrogate, the world's top-rated horse, with Hronis Racing's Accelerate in the TVG San Diego Handicap (G2), trainer John Sadler is already eyeing a potential rematch with the gray.
Trainer Richard Baltas said there's a good chance Tom Mansor and Tachycardia Stables' grade 1 winner Big Macher will be retired after a suspensory injury knocked him out of the July 29 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1).
Consider this your weekly guide to the best stakes races in North America. This week a trio of grade 1 events highlight the schedule, along with a classic showdown in the Jim Dandy (G2).
Patrons at Kentucky simulcast outlets will be able to wager on Monarch Content Management racing signals for the first time in about a month beginning July 29.
Unlike the TVG San Diego Handicap (G2), when Hronis Racing, trainer John Sadler, and jockey Victor Espinoza upset Arrogate with Accelerate, the connections will occupy the pre-race spotlight in the Clement L. Hirsch (G1) Sunday at Del Mar.
If not for his gray stablemate's late-season ascension, Baoma Corporation's Drefong would have been the brightest rising star of 2016.
Jockey David Flores, who secured three Breeders’ Cup wins in the early 2000s and delivered top-notch rides throughout his career, plans to retire from racing after this weekend at Del Mar.
The summer's two best meets began with buzz, but will they be able to sustain the momentum?
Hard Aces will return to defend his title in the 1 1/2-mile Cougar II Handicap (G3) July 26 at Del Mar for trainer John Sadler.
The ocean breeze at Del Mar may have brought out the best in the Sir Prancealot filly, who displayed an eye-catching turn of foot with a last-to-first winning move in the $200,000 San Clemente Handicap (G2T) July 23.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert didn't have any overnight revelations to explain Arrogate's clunker of a performance in the July 22 TVG San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar.
Hronis Racing's Accelerate stunned the world July 22 with a dominant upset in the $300,000 TVG San Diego Handicap (G2). Jockey Victor Espinoza sent the horse to a gate-to-wire victory as Mike Smith was unable to get heavily favored Arrogate going.
Michael House's Hunt provided a moment of drama in the stretch, but even a blocked-off trip wasn't enough to prevent the Dark Angel gelding from winning his first graded race.
All Arrogate has to do is show up and be Arrogate, and the TVG San Diego Handicap (G2) is a foregone conclusion, which is exactly why his connections will have their minds stressed until they see the expected ending.
It's opening weekend at Del Mar and Saratoga Race Course, which is sort of like midsummer Christmas for anyone who follows Thoroughbred racing.
If everything goes right for Joe Turner's Sircat Sally, the California-bred filly will face increasingly tougher challenges as the year progresses.
