Exaggerator bulls way through in Saratoga Special

Sun Aug 16 2015Vance Hanson

Keith Desormeaux had one of the nation’s top two-year-olds last year in Texas Red, and now the trainer has another good juvenile in Exaggerator, who rallied from off a hot pace to win Sunday’s $200,000 Saratoga Special (G2) . Last early as longsh ...
Taris outclasses them in Rancho Bernardo comeback

Sun Aug 16 2015Kellie Reilly

Going into Sunday's $100,500 Rancho Bernardo (G3) at Del Mar, the only question about Taris was how sharp she'd be off her injury-induced layoff. The answer? Razor-sharp, and ready to be a prime player in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint ( ...
Danish Dynaformer's a rising turf star

Sun Aug 16 2015Kellie Reilly

Charles Fipke's homebred Danish Dynaformer spreadeagled the field in Sunday's $382,157 Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine, the final jewel of Canada's Triple Crown. And the manner of his performance transcended the usual caveats about this being restrict ...
Golden Sabre brutally unlucky in Sky Classic

Sun Aug 16 2015Kellie Reilly

After suffering traffic trouble en route to a half-length second in the July 19 Nijinsky (G2), Sam-Son Farm's homebred Golden Sabre endured an even tougher beat in Sunday's Sky Classic (G2) . While it's arguable whether he would have defeated Are Yo ...
Older pacers take center stage over the weekend

Sun Aug 16 2015Ted Black

While many thoroughbred and standardbred enthusiasts are very adept at following the top three-year-olds, especially during a season in which American Pharoah captured the Triple Crown and Wiggle It Jiggleit contends for harness horse of the year hon ...
Questionable Call by the Stewards in Beverly D.

Sun Aug 16 2015D.S. Williamson

In my over 20 years of betting on horses, I've been both helped and hurt by stewards making questionable calls. Yesterday, the stewards at Laurel Park helped me a lot in Race 6. I had money riding on the winner of the race, Pirate's Cove. The gelded ...

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Esoterique defeats males in Marois; comebacker Karakontie sixth

Sun Aug 16 2015Vance Hanson

The four-year-old filly Esoterique darted through an open seam in the middle of the pack with just over a furlong remaining and drove home a 1 1/2-length winner of Sunday’s Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) under jockey Pierre-Charles Budot. The highlig ...
American Pharoah on cruise control in first post-Haskell work

Sun Aug 16 2015Kellie Reilly

If anyone was on the lookout for signs of tiredness, wear and tear, or a lack of enthusiasm from American Pharoah, that hypothetical anyone wouldn't have seen anything of the sort. In his first work back from the August 2 Haskell Invitational (G1), t ...
Southland Recap on Longshot Selections

Sun Aug 16 2015MoneyMaker Mike

Welcome to another Sunday matinee card of exciting greyhound racing at  Southland  Greyhound Park. For the past week  MoneyMaker Mike  has been giving out four longshot selections for several evenings for those of you who requested that I give some c ...
Sharla Rae bounces back in Del Mar Oaks

Sun Aug 16 2015Jen Caldwell

Sharla Rae entered Saturday’s $300,750 Del Mar Oaks (G1) off a seventh-placing in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) and a fifth-place run in the American Oaks (G1), both at 1 1/4 miles, and the cutback in distance to nine furlongs seemed right up ...
The Pizza Man overcomes deep ground to serve up hometown win in Arlington Million

Sun Aug 16 2015Kellie Reilly

There was joy in Mudville -- I mean, Arlington Heights -- when hometown hero The Pizza Man prevailed in Saturday's $1 million Arlington Million (G1) , becoming the first Illinois-bred to capture his home state's greatest race and locking up a spot i ...
Pacific Classic hopefuls put in final major moves over the weekend

Sun Aug 16 2015TwinSpires Staff

Just as the sophomores were readying for the Travers S. (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, horses were also gearing up for the $1 million Pacific Classic S. (G1) at Del Mar. A number of horses put in final major moves for next Saturday’s 1 1/4-mile con ...
Watsdachances awarded Beverly D. upon DQ of Secret Gesture

Sun Aug 16 2015Kellie Reilly

Eleven years after Powerscourt was disqualified for interference in the 2004 Arlington Million (G1), jockey Jamie Spencer was involved in another disqualification at Arlington on Saturday, as Secret Gesture was demoted to third in the $700,000 Bever ...