Thoroughbred Daily News

On Jan. 9, 2025, a Thoroughbred mare named Kayseri was euthanized in Puerto Rico. She had no joint space left in her fetlocks. Her body was broken down from overuse, her mind likely exhausted from pain and confinement. Her death is not only a tragedy–it is the subject of three formal complaints now filed against the Puerto Rico Racing Commission, the track veterinarians, and her final owner.

Kayseri was not a forgotten horse. She was bred by the University of Kentucky. She raced under Hall of Famer Mark Casse. She competed at Gulfstream Park. But in 2021, after a decline in performance, she was sold off privately and shipped via cargo container to Puerto Rico–where she was raced over 50 times in three years, with minimal oversight, on a dangerous surface, while her condition clearly deteriorated.

I personally flagged Kayseri in July 2024 and submitted an official intervention request to the Puerto Rico Racing Commission. I provided race history, declining speed figures, and an offer to retire her to a safe home.

My formal complaints cite:

• Regulatory failure by the Puerto Rico Racing Commission for allowing Kayseri to be repeatedly raced after being placed on the vets' list multiple times (for lameness, medication violations, and appetite loss), and for failing to respond to a written intervention request made six months before her death.
• Veterinary misconduct by Equine Practitioners & Associates and Veterinary Clinic de Confederación for the continued administration of joint injections and pain-masking treatments rather than recommending rest or retirement, in direct violation of veterinary ethics and welfare standards.
• Owner negligence by Establo Anajalin PR, for knowingly exploiting a declining, unsound mare until she collapsed under the weight of their indifference.

These complaints are not symbolic. They are a plea for justice–not just for Kayseri, but for the 1,000+ horses euthanized at Camarero between 2021 and 2024. The data speaks volumes:

• 2021: 268 horses euthanized, 32.3% within 7 days of last race
• 2022: 257 euthanized, 34.8% within 7 days
• 2023: 270+ euthanized, 41.4% within 7 days
• 2024: 254 euthanized, 36% within 7 days

Many of these horses were Kentucky bred. Many were only three or four years old. This is not “retirement” racing. This is a disposal system in disguise.

Now, with the Ocala Breeders' Sales (OBS) approaching, the American Thoroughbred industry–breeders, consignors, trainers–must take responsibility for where these horses are ending up. If we continue to sell to bad-faith buyers who ship to Puerto Rico, we are enabling cruelty.

Puerto Rico is U.S. soil. These are U.S.-bred horses. And the suffering happening at Hipódromo Camarero is happening on our watch.

I urge the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to expand its jurisdiction to include Puerto Rico, or for Puerto Rico's regulators to voluntarily adopt and enforce HISA's welfare standards. Until such protections are in place, U.S. sales companies and racetracks should blacklist any buyer known to ship horses to Puerto Rico, where there is currently no reliable oversight or enforceable safeguards. If Puerto Rico refuses to accept external accountability, the industry must act by cutting off its supply of horses. And the public and press must continue to shine a light on these regulatory failures until meaningful reform is no longer optional, but inevitable.

Kayseri ran in 60-plus races. She tried every time. She did not deserve to be discarded, ignored, and raced to death in silence. Her death must mean something.

The letters have been filed. The facts are documented. Now it is time for accountability.

Chrissy Laughlin is an advocate and owner of a retired racehorse.

The post Letter to the Editor: Suffering in Puerto Rico is Happening on Our Watch appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Jake Ballis didn't know quite what to expect when he sent Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) to the 2023 Royal Ascot meet, where she won the GII Queen Mary Stakes. He says now it was one of the most exciting days of his life, and he has vowed to get back there every day since.

Ballis, who heads the Black Type Racing partnership, couldn't find a runner in 2024 that he thought could win at one of the most competitive meets in the world. But he never stopped looking.

“It was probably the greatest racing experience I've ever had,” Ballis said. “It's an unbelievable experience. We wanted to find another horse and do it again. I'm not doing it just to say we had a participant. It needed to be one that we thought had a chance over there. Running against 25 other horses is not an easy task. We have partners that have wanted to run there, especially after we won. We were just trying to find the right one to take us back there.”

This time around, he found his horse. Black Type has purchased Azizam, (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) a first-out winner at Hamilton Park in Scotland in his debut.

“Why did we buy him? It was the way the horse finished,” Ballis said. “The jock flashed him the stick and he just took off. You can see that he was rank early and he was getting no cover. Once they started going up the hill, the jockey asked him and he had a really nice turn of foot. That was the main thing that caught our eyes. The sire, Havana Grey, has been very, very good. Go back a few years and I wouldn't be looking to buy a turf sprinting colt. But after we won at Ascot in 2023, I wanted to go back. Last year, we looked and couldn't get anything done. Now this horse came around and we're going to take a shot.”

Azizam will remain in the barn of Karl Burke for his next start before he is sent to the U.S., where he will join George Weaver's stable. Weaver also trained Crimson Advocate.

“We've been looking for something to buy to go over there,” Ballis said. “Whether we bought it in the States or over there, that didn't matter. I have a friend named Adam Potts, who works for BBA Ireland. So we will bounce horses off of one another and I look to get his opinions on European horses. If he sees something, he'll send it to me. He was the first one who brought this horse to my attention. I wasn't watching European racing that day. I watched the replay, and I sent the replay over to my wife who helps buy our horses and then to George Weaver. We all agreed it was worth taking a shot.”

He said he's not going back just to be able to say that he had a horse run at Royal Ascot.

(Below, Azizam, the grey horse on the far side, exercises in Yorkshire Tuesday.)

“It costs too much money to buy these horses and with the expenses and the shipping just to go over there to have a party,” he said. “We're happy that we are going to be there, but we don't want to do anything just to say we participated. We're going to try to pick the right spot for him over there, a spot where he can win.”

Ballis said that Azizam will most likely start in the June 18 Windsor Castle Stakes.

Once back in the U.S., Azizam will be pointed to the Kentucky Downs meets, where he could land in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint.

The stable was planning on using John Velazquez, but with Outfielder no longer making the trip to Royal Ascot, Velazquez has decided to stay home. Ballis said it is likely that Luis Saez will pick up the mount.

“We're going to keep trying this because it's an incredible place to visit and it was one of the best experiences we ever had,” Ballis said. “Even if we hadn't won with Crimson Advocate we would be trying to get back. That's how special that place is.”

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Trainer Wesley Ward has sent some very good horses to Royal Ascot over the years and has won 12 races there. Win No. 13 looked to be well within his reach as he was planning on sending Outfielder (Speightstown) to the GII Norfolk S. on June 19. The horse was so impressive when winning his debut that some believed he could be the best horse Ward ever sent to Ascot.

But a Tuesday morning workout at Keeneland yielded a minor injury that will keep the two-year-old home.

“We breezed him and there was a little bit of a shin issue,” Ward said. “It is very disappointing. With any horse,  let alone one with this quality, you don't want to have any issues going into the race. This is just a minor problem and we're still hoping to have a great year with him. I'm still very excited about his future.”

Ward remains hopeful that Outfielder can make the GI Prix Morny in Deauville, France on Aug. 24. The Kentucky-based conditioner has won that race three times, with No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) , Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) and Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac ({GB}).

With Outfielder sidelined, Ward will not have a starter at this year's Royal Ascot meet.

Racing at Churchill Downs, Outfielder won his debut by 6 1/4 lengths and covered the five furlongs on the turf in :55.93 seconds.

“He moves like a cat,” Ward said after the race. “Usually, big horses like him are kind of lumbery and they don't have the agility that this guy does.”

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Sovereignty (Into Mischief) is on top. He got there by winning two of the most important races on the calendar for 3-year-olds. With his wins in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes, he leads the way because this is a sport where they're always asking, “What have you done for me lately?”

But that doesn't necessarily mean that he's the best 3-year-old to have run this year.

The last time Sovereignty lost was in the Mar. 29 GI Curlin Florida Derby. He didn't have any excuses. He just wasn't as good as the winner, Tappan Street (Into Mischief). Prepping for the Kentucky Derby, Tappan Street suffered a condylar fracture to his right front leg in an Apr. 26 workout. His Triple Crown dream ended that day.

But what if?

If Sovereignty could win two legs of the Triple Crown but could not beat Tappan Street in the Florida Derby, does that not mean Tappan Street is the better horse? Things are never quite that simple in racing and it could be that Sovereignty matured and improved following the Florida Derby defeat? But it is a legitimate question.

Trainer Brad Cox has every right to complain about his bad luck, but that's not him. He's got too much else to worry about and understands there's nothing to be gained by looking back.

“I think that Tappan Street  is a very good horse and he showed he can compete at the Grade I level,” said Cox, who trains Tappan Street for the partnership of WinStar Farm, CHC, Inc., and Cold Press Racing. “He obviously beat a very good horse in the Florida Derby in Sovereignty.  It's different for me because I'm part of the Godolphin [the owners of Sovereignty] team, so I am happy for those guys. And Bill Mott is a class act. I don't really think about it. I'm trying to move forward with it. Hopefully, we can get our horse back at some point and maybe we could have a rematch with him. We obviously would have to be able to come back and show the good form where it makes sense to face him again.”

Cox wasn't the least bit surprised that the top two performers in the Triple Crown series, Sovereignty and GI Preakness and GI Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism (Curlin), came out of the Florida Derby and the Santa Anita Derby.

“We were zeroed in on the Triple Crown preps with several horses and I really felt like the Florida Derby and the Santa Anita Derby were by far the best two preps,” he said.  “Some speed figures didn't make the Florida Derby quite as fast as they did with some other races. I thought the top two horses in the Florida Derby were serious and obviously top two horses in the Santa Anita Derby were serious. It's kind of showing up now a couple months removed.”

Cox said that Tappan Street's surgery went well and he looks forward to having him back on track at some point, maybe even later this year. He is currently rehabbing at WinStar Farm.

“I think his recovery will be typical of what you see with these kinds of injuries,” Cox said. “Sixty days off and then probably some light exercise. The surgery went very, very well and we've had several horses in the past who have had surgery like this that came back to compete at a higher level than before they were hurt. I'm pretty optimistic about him being able to come back and be a bigger, stronger horse.”

Cox envisions a scenario where Tappan Street runs before the end of the year, but he won't be pushing him and will look to find a fairly easy spot for him to make his return.

“I wouldn't rule it out,” Cox said when asked if Tappan Street will run again this year. “To say there's a Grade I this year that would make sense, I'd say probably not. I don't think we could get enough foundation underneath him to be ready for something like that. We will just have to see.”

Sovereignty is the leading candidate for the 3-year-old champion and by the time voters cast their ballots, the Florida Derby will be a distant memory. There are no such awards for the horse that beat the horse that beats everyone else.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the Belmont-at-Saratoga meet was that Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) finished up the track in the GI Acorn S. It was her first loss after winning her first seven starts. She was fifth.

“She came out of the race fine,” Cox said. “I can't use the racetrack as a big excuse when she had performed well on a wet track before. You could tell at the half-mile pole that something wasn't right. Luis [Saez] started really pushing her along and she wasn't responding. She didn't quit, but she didn't pick off horses like she normally does when she is asked to. We'll keep her here in Saratoga for the near future. I'm not sure where she will land. We'll look around for spots and see what makes the most sense.”

The post If Sovereignty Is Good, What Does that Say about Tappan Street? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

3rd-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 6-8, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:04.65, ft, 3 1/4 lengths.
DIBLASI (g, 2, Win Win Win–One More Minute, by Istan) was introduced to the races with a runner-up finish at 4 1/2 furlongs on Apr. 13 at Keeneland. Aided by the slow starting rivals to his inside, this gelding broke well and worked his way down to the rail, sitting off an early quarter clicked in :22.28. While Diblasi bided his time, four rivals lined up at the top of the stretch, and with a seam opening down on the inside, jockey Junior Alvarado pushed the button and led this 9-5 favorite to the wire under confident handling. Pacesetting stablemate Gracie's Delight (American Pharoah) held on for second. One More Minute's half-sister My Indian (Indian Charlie) produced SW Chief Istan (Istan). A 2024 full-sister and 2025 half-sister by Highly Motivated are the most recent foals of One More MInute. Sales history: $100,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $67,060. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Resolution Road Stables; B-Brereton C. Jones (FL); T-Wesley A. Ward.

The post Win Win Win’s Diblasi Skims Rail And Scores To Graduate At The Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Godolphin's undefeated champion 2-year-old filly Immersive (Nyquist), off since winning last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, tuned up for her seasonal debut in next Saturday's Monomoy Girl Overnight Stakes with a four-furlong work in :49.20 (23/53) at Churchill Downs Sunday. The filly returned to the work tab at Churchill Downs in early May after being sidelined with bone bruising. Leading into the Monomoy Girl, she has posted six published workouts, including her latest move Sunday morning.

“We're looking forward to getting her started again,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She's doing well since coming back to the string at Churchill and looks just as good as she did as a 2-year-old.”

Under Cox's exercise rider Joel Osorio, Immersive began her Sunday move with an opening quarter-mile in :25.40 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.80.

In addition to her Breeders' Cup win, Immersive won last year's GI Spinaway Stakes and GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes.

The 1 1/16-mile Monomoy Girl will be the fifth of 11 races at Churchill Downs Saturday. Jockey Manny Franco, who has been aboard for all four of her starts, has the call on Immersive and will break from post position two in the field of six.

The post Immersive Readies for 2025 Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

1st-Saratoga, $90,000, (C), Msw, 6-8, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:05.25, ft, 4 lengths.
ANGEL GIFT (f, 2, Connect–Georgie's Angel {GSW, $129,564}, by Bellamy Road), installed the 3-2 choice for this unveiling, settled off the fleet-footed favorite Gorrono Ranch (War of Will) and Nacho Problem (Waiting), who carved out an opening quarter mile in :22.44. With the top two still exchanging blows straightening for home, Angel Gift still had several lengths to make up but was picking up steam down the center of the track. Turning on the gas late, he blew by the pacesetter and drew clear to score by an eye-catching four lengths over the fast-closing Miss Magical (Good Magic). The winner is a half to MGISW Cave Rock (Arrogate), $748,000. GSW Georgie's Angel, who sold for $75,000 while carrying subsequent $1.05 million OBSMAR purchase Assurbanipal (Arrogate) at Keeneland November in 2020, is also responsible for an unraced 3-year-old filly by Improbable and a yearling filly by Flightline. She was most recently bred to Good Magic. Sales history: $300,000 Ylg '24 SARAUG. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $49,500. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Repole Stable; B-Kathleen Burke Schweizer & Daniel J. Burke (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — The party was just getting started in the cramped winner's circle at Saratoga Race Course. It almost seemed like half of the 46,243 that came out to Saratoga to watch the GI Belmont Stakes were in there. Well, let's not get carried away.

But it was jammed, and everyone was singing the praises of Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the Most Valuable Player in the second annual Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga.

Even those who were vanquished by Sovereignty had to give a congratulatory nod to the Godolphin-owned, Bill Mott-trained and Junior Alvarado-ridden champions.

While Sovereignty was getting his flowers, connections of the second-place finisher, Journalism (Curlin), the 2-1 favorite, had to swallow another tough loss. The three-length defeat came on the heels of a 1 1/2-length defeat in the GI Kentucky Derby.

“I think you can call it a rivalry,” Aron Wellman, the President and Founder of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, who head the ownership group of Journalism, said outside the winner's circle. “But the scoreboard reads, 2-0.”

Michael McCarthy, Journalism's thoughtful trainer, paused after speaking to a handful of writers and listened to a throng of fans who were shouting mostly good things.

“We will get him home,” McCarthy he said to them, “feed him some carrots and maybe come back here in August (for the Grade I Travers).”

Journalism had earned favoritism after his heroic and brave win in the GI Preakness Stakes three weeks ago in Baltimore. While Journalism was playing pinball through the stretch at Pimlico and completing an improbable victory, Sovereignty was resting in Mott's barn at the Oklahoma Training Track.

Waiting for the Belmont, Waiting for Journalism.

The debate would start as soon as the Belmont was finished. Did Sovereignty have an advantage because he was fresher? Journalism was the only horse to compete in all three legs of this year's Triple Crown.

McCarthy and Wellman were not going to use that as an excuse.

“I am very pleased with my horse's effort,” McCarthy said. “I could not be prouder of him. You would have to think that a horse of (Sovereignty's) caliber gets five weeks between races … I just thought our horse ran very well.”

It appeared as though Journalism might just even the score when he and jockey Umberto Rispoli disposed of leaders Rodriguez (Authentic) and Crudo (Justify) and roared into the lead heading into the stretch of the 1 1/4-mile race.

But Sovereignty was gaining momentum, and he was closing. Fast.

“It was reminiscent of the Kentucky Derby,” McCarthy said. “We opened up at the top of the lane and I saw those (Godolphin) royal blue silks and I knew it would be the two of them all over again.”

Rispoli, back outside the jockey's room, shook his head when asked about the race. He was disappointed in the result, of course, but not in his horse.

Journalism, he said, gave him everything he had. He refused to say the colt was tired, the rigors of the three hard efforts in five Triple Crown races finally getting to him.

“I had the two targets,” he said. “When there was a quarter of a mile to go, it was time to go. He responded. He fought. He just got beat. I never felt a lack of energy from him.”

If there was any nit-picking to be had for the trip, maybe it was Journalism having a bit of a stumble coming out of the gate. No one was saying it cost him.

For the second time in five weeks, Journalism just got beat by the better–and fresher–horse.

McCarthy, Wellman and Rispoli hope there is another chapter in the rivalry and hope it comes sooner than later.

“We are probably going to face each other probably until the end of the season,” Rispoli said. “It will be a good battle; it will be good for the sport.”

“Listen,” Wellman said, “This horse has danced every dance and has shown up every single time. Everyone hopes these two horses can face off again the second half of the season.”

McCarthy, before disappearing into the crowd, talked of seeing Sovereignty again. Maybe in the Travers, hopefully at the end of the year in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic on his home court at Del Mar.

“Let's hope everybody stays happy and healthy and we will see him in November in our backyard,” he said. “I can't say enough good things about that horse. I can't say enough good things about my horse.”

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The 12-race Belmont Stakes Day card, highlighted by Sovereignty's (Into Mischief) victory in the GI Belmont Stakes, generated all-sources handle of $101,861,883 with a paid attendance of 46,243, NYRA announced in a press release Saturday evening.

Originally a 14-race card, heavy rain in the Saratoga Springs region Friday and Saturday forced all races off the turf and canceled both the GI Jaipur [Race 9], a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint; and the GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan [Race 12].

That pair of Grade I's will instead be run Sunday, June 8 to close out the 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

On-track handle for the Belmont Stakes Day card was $10,440,740 while all-sources handle for the Belmont Stakes alone was $55,456,793.

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival concludes Sunday with a 13-race card beginning at 12:10 p.m. headlined by the Manhattan and Jaipur.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There's absolutely no doubt who the ruler of the 3-year-old division is now.

Just like he did in the GI Kentucky Derby, Godolphin homebred Sovereignty (Into Mischief) collared Journalism (Curlin) in the stretch, and powered on by to capture the 157th running of the GI Belmont Stakes with authority.

It was the same first three finishers across the line on the first Saturday in May with the blue-blooded Baeza (McKinzie) up for third once again.

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was held at Saratoga Race Course for the second straight year while construction of the new Belmont Park continues downstate.

“It was pretty much like the Derby,” winning rider Junior Alvarado said. “He was very exceptional today. I couldn't believe how much horse I had the whole way around today.”

Off as the 5-2 second-choice after his much-discussed bypassing of the GI Preakness Stakes–won in dramatic fashion by Journalism–Sovereignty was away in good order from his inside draw and found himself sitting much closer to the front than usual, racing in a joint second as 'TDN Rising Star' Rodriguez (Authentic) clicked off an opening quarter in :23.42.

Sovereignty cruised along beautifully in an inside fourth with Journalism, favored in all three legs of Triple Crown and off at 2-1 this time, racing to his outside as the half-mile went up in :47.60.

Journalism made the first move on the top two of Rodriguez and Crudo (Justify) and rolled up three deep beneath Umberto Rispoli approaching the quarter pole.

Rispoli tried to win the race right there and Journalism kicked for home as the one to catch.

Sovereignty was steered out by Alvarado, beginning to make a flashy move of his own at this point, and the rematch that everyone was waiting to see between the Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness winner–the roar of the 46,243 in attendance on a steamy day at the Spa said at all–was set.

The drama, however, was short lived.

Sovereignty lengthened that massive stride of his down the center of the course and was well on his way to another brilliant performance. The winning margin was three lengths, with another 3 1/2 lengths back to the aforementioned third-place finisher.

The final time over a track that began the day as a sea of slop following heavy morning and early afternoon rain, but ended up harrowed and good, was 2:00.69.

Due to the configuration of Saratoga's main track, the Belmont Stakes was once again contested at 1 1/4 miles rather than the traditional distance of 1 1/2 miles.

“This is home,” winning Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “It's the race we were pointing for after the Derby and fortunately it worked out very well. I'm sure we would have taken some criticism had he gotten beat today and he hadn't run in the Preakness, but it worked out. The horse was good. Junior rode him well. He had a lot of confidence in him and when he cut him loose the horse responded and got the job done.”

Mott continued, “I feel we beat a good field of horses. Journalism is a really good horse. I've watched him here this last week and I've looked at him–he's in good form, he looks great, his hair is good and his weight is good. I think he was ready to run today and he ran a good race, you know. Sovereignty was good enough to run him down and get the job done.”

The Belmont was Sovereignty's fourth race this season.

A jaw-dropping, last-to-first maiden winner in the GIII Street Sense S. at third asking last fall, he was an impossible winner in his belated sophomore return (due to a fever) in the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 1 over a Gulfstream Park surface very well-known for not playing kindly to his come-from-behind running style.

Sovereignty lost little in defeat there four weeks later, completing the exacta in the GI Curlin Florida Derby prior to his heroics in Louisville.

His 2-year-old form also included a debut fourth in the always-loaded Travers day maiden at Saratoga, which was highlighted in these same pages in our 'Second Chances' series.

Pedigree Notes:

Have a day, Into Mischief and Spendthrift Farm. With three Grade I races contested at the Spa Saturday, Into Mischief sired the winners of two, while his son, Maximus Mischief, who stands alongside the six-time leading stallion, sired the winner of the other. Does it get better than that?

Into Mischief tallied his 25th career Grade I winner in Saratoga's GI Woody Stephens Stakes Saturday afternoon with 'TDN Rising Star' Patch Adams, then barely took a deep breath before adding his first Belmont winner with Sovereignty, who also gave him his third Kentucky Derby win in six years just five weeks ago. Into Mischief, who started the hard way and is now seeing his better books come to fruition, has 85 graded winners and 175 black-type winners.

The Spendthrift stalwart may be the undisputed king of sires these days, but it's also hard to beat the late Bernardini as a broodmare sire. Currently ranked third by earnings among U.S.-based broodmare sires of 2025, Bernardini has 113 stakes winners out of his daughters, including last year's 2-year-old filly champion Immersive (Nyquist)–who, like Sovereignty, races as a Godolphin homebred–and three graded winners by Into Mischief. Bernardini, the champion 3-year-old colt of 2006 and winner of that year's GI Preakness Stakes, also was a homebred for the operation and stood his entire career at Darley.

John Ferguson purchased Crowned, the dam of Sovereignty, for $1.2 million on behalf of Godolphin at the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale. Unraced, the mare produced four foals with a year off between each: the winning mare Jane Grey (Into Mischief), who has 2024 and 2025 Medaglia d'Oro fillies; the placed 5-year-old mare Misintention (into Mischief); Sovereignty; and a yearling colt by Nyquist. Crowned passed away in 2024. –Jill Williams

It's Sovereignty!!

The Kentucky Derby winner takes the Belmont Stakes! pic.twitter.com/IvvQ3Lhl2F

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 7, 2025

Saturday, Saratoga
BELMONT S. PRESENTED BY NYRA BETS-GI, $2,000,000, Saratoga, 6-7, 3yo, 1 1/4m, 2:00.69, gd.
1–SOVEREIGNTY, 126, c, 3, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Crowned, by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Mushka, by Empire Maker
                3rd Dam: Sluice, by Seeking the Gold
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $1,200,000. Lifetime Record: 7-4-2-0, $4,872,800. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Journalism, 126, c, 3, Curlin–Mopotism, by Uncle Mo. ($825,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert V. LaPenta, Elayne Stables Five, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. $360,000.
3–Baeza, 126, c, 3, McKinzie–Puca, by Big Brown. ($1,200,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine; B-Grandview Equine (KY); T-John Shirreffs. $200,000.
Margins: 3, 3HF, 1 3/4. Odds: 2.50, 2.05, 3.50.
Also Ran: Rodriguez, Hill Road, Heart of Honor (GB), Uncaged, Crudo.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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'TDN Rising Star' Patch Adams (Into Mischief) took his record at one-turn trips to three wins from four tries with a clear-cut victory in Saturday's GI Woody Stephens Stakes at a drying-out and freshly harrowed Saratoga Race Course.

Hard-ridden from gate four by Luis Saez, the bay colt took up a prominent early spot as GII Pat Day Mile upsetter Macho Music (Maclean's Music) cut out the fractions in advance of Madaket Road (Quality Road) down the backstretch. Under constant urging as longshot T Kraft (Connect) went through underneath him in third, Patch Adams was off the bridle to pick up as Macho Music and Madaket Road continued to lock horns on the pointy end.

Back into the bit passing the quarter pole, Patch Adams loomed up three off the inside under a full head of steam in upper stretch, took command with about a furlong to travel and came away late to take it by 2 1/4 convincing lengths as the lukewarm 17-5 favorite. Fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Big Truzz (Justify), in a bit of traffic at the half-mile marker, came on late to take third ahead of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Eclipse Award winner Citizen Bull (Into Mischief).

A debut third as odds-on at Keeneland last October, Patch Adams was accorded 'Rising Star' honors when decimating a field of Churchill maidens by better than 10 lengths, earning a 98 Beyer that was 10 points higher than that achieved by First Resort (Uncle Mo) in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes later in the program, albeit over a sprint trip. That effort suggested that the sky was the limit, but after fourth-place efforts as the favorite in the GIII Southwest Stakes and GIII Tampa Bay Derby going long, he was cut back to a 6 1/2-furlong allowance on the Derby undercard May 3 and he responded with a handy 2 1/4-length defeat of Big Truzz.

“We tried to mess it up by trying to run him long a couple of times, but you always try for that and you have to realize where your success lays,” said WinStar President, CEO and Racing Manager Elliott Walden. “He showed that he's a seven-furlong horse the day he broke his maiden and has been telling us what he wants to do.”

While trainer Brad Cox was less willing to commit, Walden indicated a return to Saratoga for the GI H. Allen Jerkens Stakes in August was probable for Patch Adams.

Pedigree Notes:

Patch Adams is the 25th top-level winner for his sire and his fifth out of a mare by WinStar's legendary and much-missed Distorted Humor, including 'Rising Star' and current WinStar stallion Life Is Good, Jerkens-winning sire Practical Joke, the aforementioned Citizen Bull and this year's GI Curlin Florida Derby hero Tappan Street. Goldencents is out of a mare by Banker's Gold, like Distorted Humor a son of Forty Niner.

WinStar purchased Patch Adams's stakes-winning third dam for $150,000 in foal to Awesome Again at Keeneland November in 2001 and bred eight winners from her, including G1 Dubai World Cup hero Well Armed (Tiznow); Grade III winner Witty (Distorted Humor)–the dam of GSW Bombard (War Front)–and the dam of GI La Troienne Stakes heroine Played Hard (Into Mischief).

Well Armed's full-sister Life Well Lived was represented as recently as Friday by GIII Belmont Gold Cup winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Parchment Party (Constitution), and she is also the dam of GISW and Japanese-based sire American Patriot (War Front) and MGSP Muqtaser, a full-brother to Well Humored. Once sold to Bobby Flay for $1.25 million at Keeneland November in 2017, Life Well Lived was purchased by Machmer Hall for $360,000 the same day Parchment Party was named a 'Rising Star' at KEENOV in 2023 and delivered a full-brother to that Pin Oak-owned runner last season.

The last listed produce from Well Humored is Patch Adams's 2-year-old full-brother Wall Street, who breezed a half-mile at Churchill Downs in :50 flat on June 6.

PATCH ADAMS gets his first stakes win in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens pres. by @MoheganSun with Luis Saez aboard for trainer @bradcoxracing. pic.twitter.com/YsKqEbMRdZ

— Belmont Stakes (@BelmontStakes) June 7, 2025

Saturday, Saratoga
WOODY STEPHENS S. PRESENTED BY MOHEGAN SUN-GI, $500,000, Saratoga, 6-7, 3yo, 7f, 1:21.36, my.
1–PATCH ADAMS, 118, c, 3, by Into Mischief
            1st Dam: Well Humored (SW), by Distorted Humor
            2nd Dam: Life Well Lived, by Tiznow
            3rd Dam: Well Dressed, by Notebook
'TDN Rising Star'. 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES
WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O-CHC, Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC;
B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Luis Saez. $275,000.
Lifetime Record: 6-3-0-1, $497,585. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Madaket Road, 118, c, 3, Quality Road–Frolic's Dream,
by Smoke Glacken. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($650,000 Ylg '23
FTSAUG). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables
LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson,
Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan;
B-SF Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $100,000.
3–Big Truzz, 118, c, 3, Justify–Saralin, by Curlin. 1ST BLACK
TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE.
($300,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star' O-Flying Dutchmen;
B-Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt & Kaleen Shah Inc. (KY); T-Brian
Lynch. $60,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 3 1/4, NK. Odds: 3.40, 11.10, 7.90.
Also Ran: Citizen Bull, T Kraft, Gate to Wire, Chancer McPatrick-(DH), Macho Music-(DH), Neoequos, Gunmetal. Scratched: Colloquial.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post ‘Rising Star’ Patch Adams Scoots Clear In Woody Stephens appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) continued his ascent with a powerful, 2 1/2-length victory over heavily favored 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) in the 'Win and You're In' GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga. Just a Touch (Justify) held third over second-choice White Abarrio (Race Day).

“(Winning the Met Mile) is something that I never dreamt of just because it seems so far-fetched, but a horse like Raging Torrent is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime kind of horse,” winning trainer Doug O'Neill said. “He's got speed. He's got stamina. He's got class. He has no problem shipping and it's just a wonderful feeling.”

Overlooked at odds of 8-1 following wins in the GI Malibu S. at Santa Anita Dec. 26 and the G2 Godolphin Mile at Meydan Apr. 5, the Yuesheng Zhang and Craig Dado colorbearer cleared the field of five from his outside draw beneath Frankie Dettori over the sloppy and sealed going.

He showed the way through fractions of :23.92 and :46.86 with 3-4 choice Fierceness, a last-out winner of the GII Alysheba S. in track-record time at Churchill Downs, in hot pursuit in second after brushing with White Abarrio at the start exiting from his rail draw.

Fierceness drew up alongside Raging Torrent approaching the quarter pole and it looked like a two-horse race from there with the former appearing to be going the better of the two.

Raging Torrent still had plenty left in the tank, however, and turned back Fierceness to win going away for his third straight victory.

Raging Torrent, a game winner of Del Mar's GII Pat O'Brien S. last summer, had a three-race winning streak snapped when seventh in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint last fall.

“He's been in great form,” O'Neill said. “We intentionally gave him that time off after the Malibu and were shooting for the Godolphin Mile after that. Usually when you make a plan, God laughs, especially in this business, but Raging Torrent is just one of those unique horses who you can make a plan (for) and he comes through and does it. Incredible.”

O'Neill added, “If he comes out of it good, the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile will be a logical goal and maybe a race between now and then. The plan is to take him to California on Tuesday and play it by ear.”

Fierceness, previously three-for-three at the Spa, led by a heart-stopping win in last summer's GI Travers S., will be pointed for the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga Aug. 2, per trainer Todd Pletcher.

“Actually, Johnny (Velazquez) said he broke so sharply he kind of hit the gate and came back with some blood on his mouth,” Pletcher said. “Then the first sixteenth of a mile was pretty rough. They were bouncing around trying to get position. After that he got into the exact position that we wanted, he just couldn't get by the horse on the lead.”

Pedigree Notes:

Raging Torrent is one of three graded winners and the lone top-level winner for Maximus Mischief, a Spendthrift-based son of Into Mischief. He is the only starter from his winning dam Violent Wave (Violence), who was claimed by Equinox, Inc. for just $6,250 out of her career finale at Gulfstream Park in 2018.

Violent Wave, a $150,000 KEESEP yearling and a half-sister to GSW The Nth Degree (Distorted Humor), was offered with Raging Torrent in utero at the 2021 Keeneland January Sale, but was led out unsold on a bid of $27,000. Raging Torrent was himself bought back for the same price by breeders Rodney Winkler and Alfonso Mazzetti at Keeneland September in 2022, and it was Mark Davis's name (Steve Rothblum, agent) on the ticket when he fetched $75,000 at the 2023 OBS April Sale (:10).

The first daughter of Violence to produce a Grade I winner, Violent Wave is also the dam of the unraced 3-year-old colt Contra Mundum (Honor A.P.), a $55,000 RNA at KEESEP in 2023, and the 2-year-old filly Layan (Collected), a $47,000 KEENOV weanling.

Violent Wave was bought back for $575,000 in foal to Up to the Mark at the 2024 KEENOV sale.

That's three straight graded stakes wins for RAGING TORRENT as he wins the Grade 1 @HillnDaleFarm Metropolitan Handicap with @FrankieDettori up for trainer @DougONeill1! pic.twitter.com/ys0lQTtDKd

— Belmont Stakes (@BelmontStakes) June 7, 2025

Saturday, Saratoga
HILL 'N' DALE METROPOLITAN H.-GI, $970,000, Saratoga, 6-7, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:35.89, sy.
1–RAGING TORRENT, 123, c, 4, by Maximus Mischief
              1st Dam: Violent Wave, by Violence
              2nd Dam: Coastal Wave, by Dixieland Band
              3rd Dam: Orange Wave, by Coastal
($27,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP; $75,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR).
O-Yuesheng Zhang and Craig Dado; B-Rodney J. Winkler &
Alfonso Mazzetti (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill; J-Lanfranco Dettori.
$550,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-UAE, 14-7-1-2, $1,797,400.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Fierceness, 125, c, 4, City of Light–Nonna Bella, by Stay
Thirsty. O-Derrick Smith, Repole Stable, Michael B. Tabor,
and Mrs. John Magnier; B-Repole Stable, Inc. (KY); T-Todd A.
Pletcher. $200,000. 'TDN Rising Star'
3–Just a Touch, 119, c, 4, Justify–Touching Beauty, by Tapit.
($170,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP; $125,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT;
$300,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Qatar Racing, Resolute Racing
and Marc Detampel; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Brad
Cox. $120,000.
Margins: 2HF, 2 1/4, HF. Odds: 8.00, 0.75, 3.70.
Also Ran: White Abarrio, Castle Chaos.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post All the Rage: Raging Torrent a Front-Running, Upset Winner of the Met Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Winner of last year's GI Woody Stephens Stakes on this program and very game third in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Stakes, Book'em Danno (Bucchero) made the most of his third trip to Saratoga with a stalk and grind-it-out defeat of fellow elite-level winner Mullikin (Violence) in a high-class renewal of the GIII True North Stakes Saturday afternoon.

The 23-10 second choice–about $5,000 behind favored Nakatomi (Firing Line), Book'em Danno left gate five without incident and was content to lay third through the opening exchanges, as Concrete Glory (Bodemeister) set a good pace in advance of Mullikin. The latter made his move early beneath Flavien Prat to claw his way to the front at about the midway point of the turn, but Paco Lopez had the move covered atop the New Jersey-bred Book'em Danno, and the two began to put a gap on their rivals nearing the stretch.

Despite the demanding pace–the half was a taxing :44.72 over the rain-affected going–Mullikin had a kick and remained in front, albeit narrowly, with a furlong to race. But Book'em Danno, who typically saves his best for a finish, wore his rival down late to take it by 1 1/4 lengths. Nakatomi, last year's GI A. G. Vanderbilt Handicap winner and a near-miss runner-up in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen when last seen Apr. 5, bombed the start and rushed up beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr., but never factored thereafter, finishing fifth.

“He's had some bad luck in his races where he got beat a head and a neck, but I really wasn't afraid of anybody today,” said winning trainer Derek Ryan. “The six [furlongs] is a little short for him; six and a half, seven is his trip. [Jockey] Paco [Lopez] gave him a great ride. He loves to be on the outside. I've been preaching that for the last year, and I finally got someone who will do it for me. So, I was very happy. I said, 'Sit third, but make sure you're on the outside.'”

“He'll run on anything. Good horses, they said they'll run on a tin roof. He's just a good horse,” Ryan added.

The unlucky runner-up in the GIII Perryville Stakes at Keeneland last October, Book'em Danno was arguably over the top when a slightly hampered fifth in the GII Cigar Mile Handicap Dec. 7 and connections called time on a season during which he bankrolled better than $800,000. After being ruled out of trips to Saudi Arabia and Dubai in February and March, Book'em Danno resumed in a $150,000 overnight handicap on Virginia Derby weekend, but when just two horses took him on, it meant that he had to be ridden atypically on top of the speed, and he left there knowing he'd had a race, covering the seven furlongs in 1:20.03. Part of that incredibly deep field for the GI Churchill Downs Stakes May 3, Book'em Danno was awkward for a stride or two in upper stretch, led between calls in deep stretch and settled for fourth, beaten a neck for all of it behind 'TDN Rising Star' Mindframe (Constitution).

Pedigree Notes:

Book'em Danno is thus far the most decorated performer for his sire, who covered his first book of mares in New York in 2024 and now anchors the fledgling stallion operation at Ironhorse Stallions in Stillwater, about 20 miles south and east of Saratoga. Bucchero covered in excess of 185 mares this season.

Breeder Greg Kilka purchased the unraced Adorabella for $14,000 in foal to Fast Anna at the 2020 Keeneland January Sale, and that foal, Girl Trouble, did her part in improving the page with a pair of juvenile stakes scores in 2022. When factoring in Book'em Danno's emergence in late 2023, the family became even more valuable, as the mare's then-yearling colt by Classic Empire topped the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October sale on LC Racing's bid of $135,000. That same operation added Adorabella to the fold when paying $550,000 for the mare in foal to Medaglia d'Oro after she was supplemented to the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Adorabella subsequently aborted that foal. Adorabella returned to the Darley superstar and produced a colt this past Apr. 1.

The stakes-placed second dam produced snythetic stakes winner Alydiva (Quality Road) and she is a daughter of Esprit d'Escalier, the dam of GSW & MGISP Gastronomical (Sunshine Forever). Alydorable was purchased by Thomas & Mitchell Bloodstock for $5,000 at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale and foaled a filly by Sir Winston last May before being covered by Bucchero.

Book'em Danno (2-1) wins the G3 True North by 11/4 lengths for trainer Derek Ryan and @pacolopez. 8th win in 14 starts for NJ-bred; race was a Win and You're In for @BreedersCup Sprint at Del Mar. 5-6-2-8 pic.twitter.com/BMCwBHtxyZ

— Tim Wilkin (@tjwilkin) June 7, 2025

Saturday, Saratoga
TRUE NORTH S.-GIII, $400,000, Saratoga, 6-7, 4yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:14.64, sy.
1–BOOK'EM DANNO, 124, g, 4, by Bucchero
              1st Dam: Adorabella, by Ghostzapper
              2nd Dam: Alydorable, by Arch
              3rd Dam: Esprit d'Escalier, by Diesis (GB)
($475,000 RNA 3yo '24 KEECHA). O-Atlantic Six Racing, LLC;
B-Gregory J Kilka & Bright View Farm (NJ); T-Derek S. Ryan;
J-Paco Lopez. $220,000. Lifetime Record: GISW-U.S., GSP-
KSA, 14-8-3-1, $1,360,425. *1/2 to Girl Trouble (Fast Anna),
MSW, $288,540. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Mullikin, 124, h, 5, Violence–Tulira's Star, by Congrats.
($500,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-WinStar Farm LLC; B-Fred W.
Hertrich III & John D. Fielding (KY); T-Rodolphe Brisset.
$80,000.
3–Crazy Mason, 122, c, 4, Coal Front–Izshelegal, by Maria's
Mon. ($20,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $27,500 Ylg '22 EASOCT).
O-Donna Wright and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing;
B-Gmbracstables LLC, Mr. & Mrs. Ramon Rangel & Mr. &
Mrs. Zachary Madden (KY); T-Gregory D. Sacco. $48,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2 3/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.30, 2.85, 6.30.
Also Ran: Nutella Fella, Nakatomi, Surveillance, Concrete Glory. Scratched: Full Moon Madness.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Kathy Walsh, the former trainer who died last month at age 85, will be honored with a 'Celebration of Life' Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. in the 100-1 room at Santa Anita. In addition, the fifth race is named in Walsh's honor.

The reception at the 100-1 includes a cash bar and free appetizers compliments of Santa Anita. All are welcome to attend.

Walsh was a trainer from 1970 until her retirement in 2021. She won 1,232 races and earned training titles at Longacres in Washington state and Canterbury Downs in Minnesota. In 2009, Walsh was inducted into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame.

Walsh's top performers included Grade I winners Georgie Boy and Nany's Sweep, as well as graded stakes winner Devious Boy and Hanuman Highway, who in 1998 finished seventh in the 1998 Kentucky Derby behind winner Real Quiet.

The post Celebration Of Life Set For Kathy Walsh appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

One of the pieces to the handicapping puzzle that was this year's GI Kentucky Derby was just how Juddmonte Farm's Final Gambit (Not This Time) would handle a conventional dirt surface, having raced only on turf and synthetic tracks in his four starts prior to that.

The homebred had punched his ticket to the Run for the Roses when exploding through the lane to dominate the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks Mar. 22, and he answered the surface question when making up a stack of ground–albeit behind a strong tempo–to round out the superfecta while finishing just over four lengths behind Sovereignty (Into Mischief). A 17-1 chance five weeks and a day ago, Final Gambit will be a fraction of that price against a maximum of six rivals in Sunday's GIII Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs. The rail-drawn Gaming (Game Winner) will scratch in favor of Sunday's Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert told the TDN's Sue Finley on Saturday.

“He came out of the Derby in really good shape and we were proud of his effort that day,” trainer Brad Cox told the Churchill Downs media office. “We targeted this race to give him another opportunity on dirt without shipping somewhere. He worked three times since the Derby and I thought each one was solid leading into this race.”

Cox said Saturday that Flavien Prat is scheduled to retain the mount despite being named on horses in the postponed GI Manhattan Stakes and GI Jaipur Stakes.

Final Gambit is joined in the field by four other Derby alumnus, including 'TDN Rising Star' East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro). Eighth after failing to find the front on Derby Day, the Godolphin homebred figures to have an easier time getting to the lead from the outside gate on Sunday in a field void of early speed.

Burnham Square (Liam's Map) was up on the wire to defeat East Avenue in the GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Apr. 8 and turned in a mostly even effort in the Derby, enduring a bit of bumper cars a half-mile from home before passing tiring rivals into sixth.

Coal Battle (Coal Front), upset winner of the GII Rebel Stakes, was a mid-pack 11th in the Derby, while Chunk of Gold (Preservationist), a longshot second in the GII Risen Star Stakes and GII Louisiana Derby, exits a ninth.

The Matt Winn sextet is completed by Just a Fair Shake (Laoban), the distant runner-up to Belmont Stakes participant Crudo (Justify) in the May 17 Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico.

The post Final Gambit In a Starring Role in Matt Winn appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Francis X. “Buddy” Keegan, Jr., a New Jersey Racing Commissioner since 2006 and a breeder/owner who raced horses in the state since 1963, passed away on Thursday, June 5.

He was 86.

In addition to being a long-serving commissioner on the New Jersey Racing Commission, Keegan was president of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, president of the New Jersey Horsemen's Association and was a patron of Monmouth Hunt.

Keegan was also a member of the Thoroughbred Club of America, the Green Mountain Horse Association and the National Hunt Association.

A graduate of Seton Hall, Keegan also attended Fordham Law School. He served in the infantry in the U.S. Army and retired after 51 years as Wealth Management Adviser and First Vice President of Investment with USB Financial Services.

The resident of Spring Lake, New Jersey is survived by his son, Mickey.

A viewing will take place Monday, June 16, at the O'Brien Funeral Home in Wall Township, New Jersey from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

Keegan will be celebrated during a mass on Tuesday, June 17, at St. Catharine's Church in Spring Lake at 10 a.m. ET. Burial will follow at St. Catharine's at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Repast will be at 12:30 p.m. ET. at the Spring Lake Golf Club.

The post NJ Commissioner And Breeder/Owner Buddy Keegan Dies At 86 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

2nd-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 6-7, 3yo/up, 7f, 1:23.66, sy, head.
STARS AND STRIDES (c, 3, American Pharoah–Holiday Blues, by Ghostzapper), a first-time starter tackling several more experienced rivals here, went off at 8-1 and opted to rate mid pack as longshot Henry's Hope (Maclean's Music) set a contested tempo with 3-5 race favorite Mainstream (Speightstown) sitting second. Beginning to pick up the bridle midway around the turn, Stars and Strides dove inside at the quarter pole under Junior Alvarado to engage Mainsteam who took over the front momentarily. The pair dueled into the final furlong with Stars and Strides gutsy even in a tight spot against the fence and the race favorite refusing to yield outside even as contact was made close to the wire. The stewards took a look at the stretch run but ultimately made no change leaving Stars and Strides the winner by a head with a further 6 1/2 lengths back to Secured Lender (Omaha Beach) in third. Holiday Blues, who produced Panther Island (Speightstown), SW, $254,120 as her first foal and is a half-sister to MSW/GISP Wine Police (Speightstown), went through the ring this year at KEEJAN in foal to Arcangelo on a final bid of $210,000 to Maytime Bloodstock. Her 2-year-old Frosted filly brought $220,000 at KEESEP last year while her yearling Maxfield colt sold for $100,000 at KEENOV. She reported an Arcangelo filly this spring. Sales History: $160,000 Wlg '22 KEENOV; $475,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $55,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Pin Oak Stud LLC; B-Four Pillars Holdings LLC (KY); T-William I. Mott.

The post Stars and Strides Game In Maiden Upset Win At Saratoga appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Woodbine cancelled its Friday races due to poor air quality from wildfires in the area, the racetrack said in a press release.

Environment Canada's air quality index for Toronto was listed as 'High Risk' Friday and was expected to remain at that level throughout the day. As of Thursday, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center said 201 fires were burning in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, with half of them considered “out of control.”

Woodbine Entertainment's decision to cancel came through consultation with the HBPA and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and was consistent with the AGCO's air quality guidelines.

According to the Woodbine release, the cancellation “was made in the best interests of the health and safety of the horses and racing participants.”

The track will continue to monitor the situation into the weekend and provide updates as required.

10 races are scheduled for Saturday with first post at 1:05 p.m. ET.

BREAKING: Today's card of live racing @WoodbineTB has been CANCELLED due to poor air quality.

Woodbine's decision to cancel comes through consultation with the HBPA and is consistent with the AGCO's air quality guidelines.

Live Racing is scheduled to resume tomorrow.

— Woodbine Communications (@WoodbineComms) June 6, 2025

The post Friday Live Racing Cancelled At Woodbine Due To Poor Air Quality appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When the phone rang, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith was on the other end.

“I'm on the treadmill,” Smith said.

Of course he was.

Smith, who will ride 'TDN Rising Star' Rodriguez (Authentic) in Saturday's $2-million GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, has always been obsessed with working out. And, as he closes in on his 59th birthday (Aug. 10), he has no intentions of pulling the plug on his two-hour, five-day-a week workout schedule.

Nor are there any plans to hang up his goggles. A 43-year-career, which has produced 5,780 wins, is not ending any time soon.

“I feel too good,” Smith said. “If I start feeling like I am getting in the way, that's a different story. I don't feel like I am getting in the way. I have a lot of experience, my core is strong, my legs are strong. My weight is good, and I can tack anywhere from 118 to 120 and do it naturally. Why would I stop now? And do what? Whatever I do after this, I can do another four years from now.”

If Smith and Rodriguez get to the finish line first in the Belmont, the rider would become the oldest jockey to ever win a Triple Crown race. Bill Shoemaker was 54 when he won the 1986 GI Kentucky Derby aboard Ferdinand (Nijinsky II).

Smith doesn't ride as many horses a day as he used to, but that is by design.

He wants to ride in the big races; he wants the best opportunities. He flew cross-country from California and was expected to be in town Thursday (naturally, he said he would get a run in once he got here).

Smith has two mounts on Belmont Day. He will also ride Baffert's Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), last year's 2-year-old champion, in the GI Woody Stephens Stakes.

“I don't worry about him,” Baffert said. “He is a pro, Big Money Mike. When I put him on a horse, I know he is going to fit him really well. He was perfect for Rodriguez. Mike is just in unbelievable physical shape.”

Citizen Bull | Sarah Andrew

Smith and Baffert have a history. In 2018, they teamed up to win the Triple Crown with Justify (Scat Daddy). According to Equibase, Smith has ridden for Baffert 607 times and has 163 wins; in stakes races, they have 93 wins in 316 starts together.

Smith rode Rodriguez when he overwhelmed nine others winning the April 5 GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct by 3 1/2 lengths. He hasn't run since as he missed the Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness Stakes with a foot bruise.

Expect Smith to put Rodriguez where he'll be most comfortable in the 1 1/4-mile Belmont. On the lead.

“I will let him be who he is and get happy and get in a happy rhythm,” Smith said. “I'm not looking to steal the race in a 25 (second quarter mile), 50 (half mile). Hopefully, he is good enough to hold them off. He held that last group off (in the Wood), let's see if he can hold this group off. There are a couple in there who have already proved who they are. We have a ways to go to prove we are as good as they are.”

Jamie Osborne, the trainer of Belmont Stakes contender Heart of Honor (GB) (Honor A. P.) wasn't going to lie. When the Preakness started on May 17, his, pardon the pun, heart sank.

“I wanted to dig a hole and jump into it,” Osborne said outside the Stakes Barn at Saratoga Race Course Thursday morning. “I wanted to crawl under a bush.”

That's because his horse, fractious at the gate, got off to a slow start and was never a factor in the Preakness. Only a mild late rally got him a fifth-place finish in the field of nine. He finished 8 3/4 lengths behind Journalism (Curlin) in Baltimore.

Heart of Honor's flop in the Preakness came after five starts in Dubai and one in Great Britain (two wins, four seconds). Osborne, who won a steeplechase race here 27 years ago as a jockey, is making his first trip back to the Spa since then.

There is not much faith given to his horse, owned by Jim and Claire Bryce (Jim and Claire Limited). He was given morning-line odds of 30-1 by New York Racing Association oddsmaker David Aragona.

“Look, you can only deal with the facts that are staring you in the face,” Osborne, who is based in England, said when asked if his horse is not getting any respect. “I would just like to see him get a shot at it and not give himself such a big disadvantage early on.”

Then, after a pause and a smile, he said, “he is not as slow as he looks.”

Heart of Honor | Sarah Andrew

Thursday, Heart of Honor visited the track with Osborne's 23-year-old daughter, Saffie, in the saddle. She will ride the colt in the Belmont.

Heart of Honor has been spending plenty of time standing in the starting gate with the hopes he will be relaxed in the Belmont. That was the exercise that was repeated on Thursday.

“He has a fairly decent cruising speed, but he will only use that cruising speed if he is not getting a massive sandstorm in his face,” Jamie Osborne said about the kickback his horse got in the Preakness. “Hopefully, he won't be on the back foot, and he'll be able to sit somewhere in touch of the leaders.”

Osborne, who has been training since 1999, has had success in the U.S. before. He trained Toast of New York (Thewayyouare) to a second-place finish in the 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

He knows how much of a chore is in front of Heart of Honor in the Belmont.

“At this level, against these sorts of horses, we need everything to go right,” he said. “If any tiny thing goes wrong, we understand we have a mountain to climb on Saturday. But it's a horse race. Strange things can happen. I kind of figure we've got nothing to lose by rolling the Belmont dice as we are here.”

Trainer Brad Cox sat in a golf cart outside his barn office at the Oklahoma Training Track on a steamy Thursday morning. If he was feeling the heat, he sure wasn't showing it.

Late Friday afternoon, Cox's star 3-year-old filly Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) will put her seven-race win streak on the line when she goes to the post as the 1-2 morning-line favorite in the GI Acorn Stakes. Cox wasn't sweating bullets over this, either.

“I feel more confidence than I do pressure, if that makes any sense,” Cox said.

Good Cheer | Sarah Andrew

Good Cheer is squarely at the top of the 3-year-old filly rankings, especially after a punctuating 2 1/4-length win in the prestigious GI Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs May 2. That was her first Grade I win after three straight Grade II scores.

When Cox brings Good Cheer and jockey Luis Saez to the races for Godolphin LLC, he expects good things. So far, so good. When Godolphin first sent her to Cox, he wasn't blown away. There was no way he could have thought after seven starts she would have seven wins.

“I don't know if you can ever expect this from any horse that continues to win race after race,” Cox said. “We thought she was good; did we think she was this good? I have had enough horses at this point of my career that they have to prove it to you.”

Good Cheer is part of a stable of riches that Cox has regarding 3-year-old fillies.

Immersive (Nyquist), last year's champion 2-year-old filly, won all four of her starts in 2024 and is set to make her seasonal debut in the Monomoy Girl Stakes at Churchill on June 14.

He also has Margie's Intention (Honor A.P.), the winner of the GII Black Eyed Susan Stakes. Cox said she could show up next in the GIII Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park, also on June 14.

The post Belmont Stakes Notebook: Everything Working Out Just Fine for Jockey Smith appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Opting to face the boys instead of taking a chance with a speed-laden Astoria Stakes later in the card, the connections of Mythical chose wisely as the filly remained undefeated with a victory in Thursday's Tremont Stakes at Saratoga.

Wasting no time going to the front, Mythical rolled through an opening quarter in a crisp :22.2 with Mercilesanihilator (Audible) and favored Blinging It Back in hot pursuit. Still clear turning for home, the filly kept finding more to kept the favorite at bay, winning by a geared-down 3 1/2 lengths.

“This was the plan from the very beginning,” said winning jockey Emisael Jaramillo. “The idea was to take the lead and go all the way. These horses are just learning to run, so the horse that takes the lead usually is the one that gets the win.”

He continued, “She stumbled just a little bit at the break, but she recovered herself very easily and took the lead right away. She was moving perfectly. In the stretch I hit her twice just as a way of learning to race. All the way around she felt like a winner.”

In her career unveiling, the Florida-bred employed similar tactics, wiring a field of nine others by 8 1/2 lengths.

“It was actually an owner's decision [to run in this race],” said winning trainer Jorge Delgado. “Entry day, they were looking at what was a better spot [versus facing fillies in the Astoria]. They figured that this filly has tons of speed, there was a little more speed in the filly race. We wouldn't run away from anybody, but we wanted to find the easier spot for the way she runs and to develop that speed.”

The filly has been posting her most recent works at Monmouth Park, where Delgado set up shop for the first time this season.

“She does that [show speed] in the morning which is scary,” he said. “She does really well every breeze. She just wants to run. She is born to be a runner. Once she hears the bell, she wants to go.”

Asked if another date with the colts is in the cards for the speedy filly, Delgado explained, “We'll see when the time comes. I will discuss with the owners. Most likely, probably, sticking with the boys was a one-time thing [laughs]. We will probably go with girls, and decide with the owners. We are very happy she won and we'll enjoy this win.”

Out of GSW Dat You Miz Blue, Lailoni produced a Noble Bird colt last term and was bred back to Colonelsdarktemper.

Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

TREMONT S., $145,500, Saratoga, 6-5, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:03.57, ft.
1–MYTHICAL, 119, f, 2, by St Patrick's Day
1st Dam: Lailoni, by Brethren
2nd Dam: Dat You Miz Blue, by Cure the Blues
3rd Dam: Emma Loves Marie, by Wild Again
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Arindel (FL); T-Jorge Delgado;
J-Emisael Jaramillo. $82,500. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0,
$132,500.
2–Blinging It Back, 120, c, 2, Volatile–Ima Three Blinger, by
Too Much Bling. ($80,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE.
O-Barber, Gary and Deutsch, Peter; B-Forever Spring Farm
(KY); T-Mark E. Casse. $30,000.
3–Romeo, 122, c, 2, Honor A. P.–Fancy Love, by Not For Love.
($14,000 RNA Ylg '24 EASOCT). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Joseph
Lloyd; B-John C. Davison (MD); T-John J. Robb. $18,000.
Margins: 3HF, 7 3/4, NK. Odds: 1.85, 1.10, 3.95.
Also Ran: Baytown Dreamer, Mercilesanihilator.

MYTHICAL with an impressive victory in the Tremont Stakes to kick things off on Day 2 of the @BelmontStakes Racing Festival.

The daughter of St Patrick's Day broke on top and never looked back wiring the field for trainer Jorge Delgado and jockey Emisael Jaramillo. pic.twitter.com/UHzSV5h5nN

— NYRA Bets (@NYRABets) June 5, 2025

The post Mythical Romps Over The Boys In The Tremont appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.