The 2026-27 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park will offer a winter schedule of 66 Stakes – 27 Graded. The meet is highlighted by the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) on January 30th as well as the 76th running of the Florida Derby (G1) on March 27th. The Championship Meet will begin Thanksgiving Day, November. 26th, and run … Continue reading Gulfstream Park Championship Meet
If the Triple Crown is horse racing’s ultimate test of youth, the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the definitive test of absolute greatness. Conceived in 1984 by visionary breeder John Gaines, the Breeders’ Cup Classic was designed to be the ultimate year-end Championship—a grand finale where the finest three-year-olds in the world finally clash with older, battle-tested, Stakes-winning stars. Running at a demanding 1 1/4 miles … Continue reading The Breeders’ Cup Classic
The Keeneland Fall meet began on Friday, October 2nd which means that the Breeders’Cup World Championships cannot be far off. And when the Keeneland meet ends on Saturday, October 24th the Breeders’ Cup contingent will move right in to ready the facility for Breeders’ Cup weekend- October 30th & 31st. Within each racing season there is only one cumulative Finish Line: the Breeders’ Cup. When the end … Continue reading The Breeders’ Cup Origins
The Grade 1, $500,000- dollar Champagne Stakes is Saturday at the new Belmont Park. A field of six 2-year-olds will have a go at the one-turn mile, which offers a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on October 30th and some minor qualifying points for the 2027 Kentucky Derby. All six of these youngsters are seeking their first Stakes victory, and all but two of … Continue reading Who Wins The Champagne Stakes?
Over four decades (can that be right?) removed from his sensational jockey career, Steve Cauthen lives the life of a typical Thoroughbred insider in his hometown of Verona in Northern Kentucky. Best known for capturing the 1978 Triple Crown aboard AFFIRMED, Cauthen had established himself as a potential superstar in his first full year as a jockey in 1977. He was honored for that season with three Eclipse Awards—outstanding apprentice and journeyman … Continue reading Quite A Ride Kid
The crisp morning air rolling over the limestone gates, the vibrant amber canopy framing the backstretch, and the thunder of Thoroughbred hooves under an autumn sky—there is truly nothing like racing at Keeneland Race Course in October. This Friday, October 2nd, 2026, the gates swing open once again for the highly anticipated 2026 Fall Race Meet, kicking off a spectacular 17-day season that runs through … Continue reading Autumn In Bluegrass Country
The New York Yankees face off against the Boston Red Sox next week in an American League Wild Card series. So, what better occasion to write about rivalries. There are a lot of so-called rivalries in sports. But there are few whose status lives on and can stand up to the test of time. It is one small three letter word that is the barometer … Continue reading AFFIRMED and ALYDAR
The Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup have, for the past 75 years, been proving grounds for a long, distinguished list of Thoroughbred racing’s greatest Champions. Some horses, though, transcend the sport’s most famous stages. One such Horse was KELSO. KELSO never ran in a Triple Crown race, and his legendary career ended some 18 years before the Breeders’ Cup even began. Yet in eight years of racing, the gallant and durable … Continue reading The Legendary KELSO
“The racehorse, by virtue of his awesome physical gifts, freed the jockey from himself. When a horse and a jockey flew over the track together, there were moments in which the man’s mind wedded itself to the animal’s body to form something greater than the sum of both parts.” ― Laura Hillenbrand, “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” There is a moment right before the gates open … Continue reading The Beauty Of It All
A field of 11 will vie for victory in the Grade 1, $1 million-dollar Pennsylvania Derby Saturday at Parx Racing. The 1 1/8-mile signature race at Parx stands as the final Grade 1 Stakes race of 2026 restricted to 3-year-olds at two turns. Here is a brief look at that field: 1. ZIHNAL [ML 8-1] Trainer: Jonathan Thomas. Jockey: John Velazquez. Broke his Maiden in … Continue reading Who Wins The Pennsylvania Derby?
