Tampa Bay Downs hosts its first Kentucky Derby points race Saturday with the1 1/16-mile Sam F. Davis Stakes. A springboard to the March 8th Tampa Bay Derby, the Sam F. Davis is also a solid first step toward a starting spot in the May 3rd Run For The Roses as it awards 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points to the top 5 finishers. Here’s a brief look at … Continue reading Who Wins The Sam F. Davis Stakes?
The $265,000 dollar Holy Bull Stakes is Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/16-mile dirt race is the first of three Road to the Kentucky Derby stops at the Hallandale facility, followed by the Fountain of Youth on March 1st and the Florida Derby March 29th. The Holy Bull offers qualifying points for the 151st Run for the Roses to the top five finishers, distributed on … Continue reading Who Wins The Holy Bull?
The Road to the Kentucky Derby makes a stop in Arkansas on Saturday with the running of the million dollar, Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Aside from the $1 million purse, the contest will also award 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers. Last year’s Southwest Stakes Winner MYSTIK DAN used the race as a springboard on his way to Win the Run … Continue reading The Southwest 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 He’ll Always Be ‘The Kid’
At 4 feet 11 inches tall and 98 pounds, it didn’t look like Bill Shoemaker could ride a ten-speed Schwinn, let alone control a head-strong, 1200 pound Thoroughbred Race Horse. Still, Shoemaker personified that mysterious bond between horse and rider. He communicated with an innate light touch on the reins, coaxing the horse into the action, gentling it with his hands. Horses would always run for Shoemaker, … Continue reading ‘The Shoe’ Was Tough As Leather
Saratoga Cool Beans is a nifty online coffee shop catering to horse loving, coffee drinkers. It’s a fun website and you needn’t love horses to enjoy the gourmet coffee, but knowing the game a little bit makes the references more enjoyable. The companies tag line is; Your Morning Cup Of Giddy-Up, and the coffee descriptions are just as much fun. For example: JIM DANDY– No 100-1 upset here. This … Continue reading Horse-Themed Coffee Makes A Great Gift
BARNES an unraced 2-year-old colt has been entered by trainer Bob Baffert in a 5 ½-furlong Maiden Special Weight sprint at Churchill Downs next Wednesday (11/27). The start will be Baffert’s first at the Louisville track since Churchill Downs announced in July of this year that it was lifting their imposed three-year suspension. This was the moratorium that kept the trainer from racing in the … Continue reading Baffert Back At Churchill
Woodbine Racetrack which reopened for training Wednesday morning and is scheduled to resume live racing on Thursday. The track cancelled the last two races of Saturday’s card and both training and racing on Sunday due to three separate incidents that occurred on the Tapeta surface Saturday. The all-weather Tapeta surface underwent “a thorough review and extensive maintenance conducted over the last couple of days,” said officials … Continue reading Woodbine Set To Race Thursday
Woodbine Racetrack cancelled training and racing yesterday (Sunday) as a precautionary measure, prioritizing the safety and well-being of the horses and jockeys. The cancellation was warranted after three catastrophic breakdowns took place on Saturday. On Saturday morning during workouts at Woodbine, an unnamed horse suffered a breakdown. During the 2nd race on the card, SOCIAL DANCER took an awkward step at the half-mile mark, was … Continue reading Woodbine Woes
The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) is a public charity that provides financial assistance to former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Since its founding in 2006, the fund has disbursed nearly $11 million dollars to permanently disabled jockeys, most of whom have sustained paralysis or brain injuries. Many of the jockeys the PDJF serve were injured while in their 20s and 30s and face decades of … Continue reading Java For Jockeys
