Category Archives: What’s Happening!

In the 2014 Breeders Cup Classic, Bob Baffert’s colt Bayern took a left turn out of the gate directly into the lane of the favorite, Shared Belief. It was a clear and obvious foul. Shared Belief and Mike Smith were lucky not to go down. Despite being nearly wiped out at the start, Shared Belief finished fourth beaten 4 lengths.

Like one of those Broadway shows that runs forever, “The Phantom of the Opera” or “Cats,” the Wesley Ward show keeps on truckin’ at Keeneland’s Spring Meet. Though he is currently second to Chad Brown in terms of winners, he’s hitting the board at an amazing 56%, and seems unable to miss with his two-year-old firsters.

Arizona Downs has landed one of the world’s preeminent race-callers in naming Michael Wrona the announcer when live horse racing returns to the region for the first time in a decade.
Arizona Downs will run both thoroughbred and quarter-horse racing May 24 through Labor Day, Sept. 2.

What a surprise! As of today, April 19, American Pharoah has taken over as leading freshman sire, with two debut winners out of three starters, the first winner, Monarch of Egypt, in Ireland, the second, today, at Aqueduct, in the first race, a $100,000 maiden special weight. Maven, trained by two-year-old whiz Wesley Ward, sent out Maven as the prohibitive favorite, and the colt won gate-to-wire, despite running green down the stretch.

A coalition of leading Thoroughbred racing associations and organizations announced today a new horse racing initiative committed to phasing out the use of the medication Furosemide (Lasix) beginning in 2020 and eliminating the use of Lasix in stakes races held at their racetracks beginning in 2021. 

The top three finishers from Saturday’s $200,000 Stonestreet Lexington (G3), Owendale, Anothertwistafate and Sueno, are either at Churchill Downs or soon will be, according to their connections. Rupp Racing’s Owendale, who notched his first stakes victory with a 1¾-length triumph, might head back to Churchill Monday to join trainer Brad Cox’s string there, according to Tessa Bisha, who runs Cox’s barn at Keeneland.

The amazing and astonishing Australian racemare Winx bowed out of her racing career with a win in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney Saturday. This final victory took Winx’s earnings to over $26 million AUS, equivalent to $17 million US. In her customary come from behind style Winx took it up at the quarter pole and won going away in another convincing victory.

It looks like all the sales results reflected American Pharoah’s value as a stallion correctly. Today, April 13, at Naas Racecourse in Ireland, Monarch of Egypt was the Triple Crown Winner’s first starter, and his first winner. He took the opener at Naas, leading all the way, as the 9/10 favorite for trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore.

The special meeting of the California Horse Racing Board that was scheduled for April 12 has been canceled. The discussion of Santa Anita Park is being moved to the agenda for the April 18 meeting of the Board. The April 18 meeting will take place in the Baldwin Terrace Room at Santa Anita beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Yesterday, April 6, was as thrilling a day of racing as anyone could ask for, with the Kentucky Derby picture finally becoming a little less muddy, and photo finishes in graded stakes races providing edge of your seat excitement. Bob Baffert, who might’ve been shut out of the Derby for the first time since the Late Jurassic Period, now has both Roadster and Game Winner going to the Derby thanks to their one-two finish in the Santa Anita Derby-G1, and Improbable poised to run in the Arkansas Derby-G1 next week.