Churchill Downs has launched the official Web site for the 2009 Kentucky Derby (G1), www.kentuckyderby.com, which will offer unparalleled coverage of the horse racing season leading up to the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2009. Employing advanced Web technology, the site serves as an all-inclusive online resource for the entire Kentucky [...]

Ian Pearse now knows what it’s like for an opposing quarterback to stand in the pocket and face a blitzing USC defense. Pearse was confronted by about 50 trainers - some of them loaded for bear - in the Santa Anita grandstand on Wednesday morning during an hour-long meeting that was arranged by California Thoroughbred Trainers [...]

Racing at Turfway Park should continue for another week, before a dispute between horsemen and jockeys regarding increased mount fees sought by riders, is settled. The riders have agreed to continue taking mounts through next Friday, while horsemen consider their request, officials with The Jockeys’ Guild and the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association said yesterday. The [...]

I know about every kind of handicapper after my many years at the track. Some play class, some play trainers, and others follow everything from front wraps to the way the horse looks in the post parade. For most of my life, I have had the pleasure of knowing Ed Tyack. He was an old drywaller. [...]

It’s early, and the races for newly turned 3-year-olds are mostly still far short of a mile and a quarter but — what the heck – spring is just around the corner and it’s time to think Kentucky Derby. With Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champ Midshipman prepping in Dubai , the field is typically wide open at [...]

Deshawn Parker, the country’s second-winningest jockey in 2008, will ride at the upcoming Oaklawn meeting, media relations director Terry Wallace said. Parker, who has never ridden in Hot Springs, won 333 races last year, second only to perennial leader Russell Baze. Parker, 37, has been a fixture at Mountaineer Race Track in West Virginia, where he has [...]

A New Year’s resolution is a nice thought. It is a time where we make promises to go to the gym; eat better; do something nice for your neighbor. You get the gist… But here is a resolution or two that may make racing a little kinder place. 1. Be sure to make an effort at [...]

Typically on Sunday you gather around the TV and start watching the gridiron greats. But this Sunday, there is a little more to get excited about. Take a look at Race #8 on Sunday afternoon. It is the Old Hat Stakes, a very nice G-3 event for 3-year-olds. Before making your play, take a look at the [...]

Whether a champion colt like Smarty Jones or Afleet Alex, or a champion filly like Eight Belles, will surface this spring at Oaklawn Park remains to be seen, but the tradition-rich horse racing track will see well-known trainers with solid stables of horses when the race season opens Jan. 16th. Oaklawn’s leading trainer for the past [...]

It’s amazing how much Rafael Bejarano has accomplished during such a short period in Southern California. When was the last time a young jock arrived in the Southland and immediately stole the spotlight as Bejarano has done since moving his tack west in late 2007? Remember a guy named Bill Shoemaker? As impressive as Bejarano has been, it’s [...]

For me, nothing says Kentucky Derby quite like the opening of the Gulfstream Park winter meeting. And how we do love opening days! Actually, today’s Gulfstream card is an excellent start to the South Florida racing season. Four races for three-year-olds, including the six-furlong Spectacular Bid Stakes — one of two added-money events, the other being [...]

For the card on Friday, there are a couple of WinningPonies.com runners that have my wallet geared up and ready. Here come a couple of plays that warrant a double look, and possibly a play to start off the weekend early. In Race #4, take a look at Earle’s First Girl. The number is 7 in your program, [...]

Has anyone been paying attention to The Big “A”? The speed is being run down, stalked and caught at the wire. What is going on? Once upon a time, whoever had the lead at the 1/4 pole was getting ready for the camera. I have been watching very closely over the past few days. Two days ago, [...]

Officials of Churchill Downs Incorporated (”CDI”) and representatives of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (”KHBPA”) and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (”KTA”), have come to an agreement that allows the distribution of Churchill Downs racetrack’s live racing signals to national advance-deposit wagering (”ADW”) platforms, including TwinSpires.com. The agreement covers the 2009 spring meeting at [...]

Opportunities are sparse for China’s small-time speculators. So it was with a certain ebullience, that 7,000 residents of Wuhan recently gathered at the Orient Lucky City racecourse to indulge in what the central leadership terms a “social evil”. They were the first people in mainland China to be given official approval to win money from [...]

The year of 2008 was interesting, competitive, and compelling.  This could be the same line written about every year practically, but we may be a little biased. This is after all The Sport of Kings. We saw a wonderful crop of runners emerge early on, and with the blowing winds of winter, we begin our countdown [...]

Thoroughbred racing’s all-time winningest jockey Russell Baze, and three of his colleagues, will fly up from Northern California to take on four of the top riders at Portland Meadows, on Jan. 7th in the first Golden Gate versus Portland Meadows Jockey Challenge, sponsored by XpressBet. The competition at the Portland, Ore., racetrack will consist of four [...]

Opening day at Santa Anita means Christmas is over, the springtime “Road to the Roses” is on the horizon, and there’s one last chance to evaluate some of the top runners of the waning year before voting for the Eclipse Awards. The Santa Anita “validation” may not be as important as it was before the Breeders’ [...]

We’re mucked and mired in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Housing, banks, retailers, auto makers and candlestick makers. You name the industry and it’s probably feeling at least a pinch from this global economic downturn. And sports, obviously, have not been immune. The Arena Football League is taking at least a year off, and NASCAR [...]

You wouldn’t notice it while she is riding in a horse race adorned in silks, a helmet and goggles, but Chantal Sutherland is a beautiful person. Just ask People magazine, which in April included Sutherland in its annual listing of the world’s 100 most beautiful people. Or Vogue magazine, which featured her in a four-page photo [...]