Belmont Park

Members of the Belmont Park jockey colony will participate in an autograph signing Friday to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF). The special meet and greet and autograph session featuring riders from the Belmont jockey colony with a suggested donation to PDJF will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday on the first floor grandstand. Benefits from the signing will go directly to the PDJF. The PDJF is an independent charitable organization that provides financial assistance to jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. For more...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, 5fT, post time: 5:13 p.m. ET Ranlo Investments' TALKIN PHAROAH (American Pharoah) acquitted himself well enough in his 4 1/2-furlong bow over the Keeneland main track, finishing a well-backed runner-up Apr. 20, but a surface switch is in the offing, and with good reason. The bay colt is the first foal to the races from the Randall Lowe-bred Just Talkin (Midshipman), five times placed in sprint stakes company--four of those on the grass--and a full-sister to the outstanding GSW and GI...

The New York State Gaming Commission has articulated the security protocols it has established for this weekend's Belmont Stakes Festival. Horses running in the GI Belmont S. will be subject to continuous, 72-hour 'dedicated watch' by experienced security personnel. One guard will be stationed full-time for every Belmont S. entrant. Horses running in the GI Metropolitan H. will be under 'intensified watch,' by six to eight security personnel conducting mobile surveillance and direct horse checks at least three times a shift from 72 hours up to 30 hours prior to...

Getting a 3-year-old to peak precisely on the first Saturday of May is an over-arching goal in our sport. But even for the very upper crust of colts, a brush with GI Kentucky Derby aspirations ends up being nothing more than an early diversion on a much longer development arc. It's always intriguing to watch how one-time Derby hopefuls progress over months and even years, and two of them from Todd Pletcher's barn signaled Saturday that they might be A-level factors in the second half of this season. Within the...

Golden Glider (Ghostzapper), most recently second in the GIII Peter Pan S., tuned up for Saturday's GI Belmont S. with a four-furlong work in :49.90 (33/84) at Belmont Park Sunday. NYRA clockers caught the colt, with exercise rider Kylie Wellington up, through a quarter-mile in :26.20 and a gallop-out in 1:02.80. "I thought he worked really well. He settled early, which is what you want out of a Belmont horse, and flew home," trainer Mark Casse said. Casse won the 2019 Belmont with Sir Winston (Awesome Again), who also finished...

Trainer Robert Klesaris and his lawyer Drew Mollica have filed an appeal of the voided claim of Battalion (Tiznow) following the fourth race at Belmont Park May 28 with the New York State Gaming Commission. Mollica has filed a brief on behalf of Klesaris and owner Mike DeBella and the matter will be heard June 7 by Peter Moschetti. Battalion finished seventh in the May 28 race and, when he received no notification of any claim, Klesaris said he had the horse returned to his barn. Once notified that trainer...

Trainer Chad Brown sends out undefeated Unanimous Consent (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}) in Saturday's GII Pennine Ridge S. at Belmont Park. After breaking his maiden on debut as a 2-year-old Sept. 11 over one mile on the grass at Monmouth, he returned off a six- month layoff to beat allowance company Feb. 4 over the grass at Tampa. Stepped up into stakes company for the first time, he took Aqueduct's Woodhaven S. when last seen Apr. 23. Making his first start on turf for Todd Pletcher after exiting the Derby Trail...

The unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit) has been cleared for takeoff. Last seen making it a perfect three-for-three with a gaudy 118 Beyer Speed Figure in Santa Anita's GI Runhappy Malibu S. Dec. 26, Flightline will launch his highly anticipated 4-year-old campaign in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. on the completely stacked GI Belmont S. undercard June 11. "We're at that stage where he's all ready," trainer John Sadler said. "He's doing really well. He hasn't missed a beat. We just have to get to next week and get...

Andiamo a Firenze (c, 2, Speightstown--My Every Wish, by Langfuhr) bossed what appeared on paper to be a well above-average group of state-bred maidens to become the newest 'TDN Rising Star' for his outstanding WinStar Farm-based stallion. A close relation to connections' GISW Firenze Fire--by Speightstown's son Poseidon's Warrior ($2,730,350)--the Mr Amore homebred was away like a shot from the inside stall and set a strong pace in advance of the debuting and well-backed filly Danseur d'Oro (Bolt d'Oro), covering the opening quarter in :22.49 over a sloppy main track....

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-BEL, $75K, MSW, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:00 p.m. ANDIAMO A FIRENZE (Speightstown), a half-brother to Grade I-winning sprinter Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior), debuts in this spot for trainer Kelly Breen. His older brother won a total of 13 black-type events for Breen and earned over $2.7 million. He is also a half-brother to stakes-placed Firenze Freedom (Istan). The Mr Amore Stable homebred has posted back-to-back bullet works at Belmont, going four furlongs from the gate May 12 in :47 3/5 (1/44) and five furlongs May...

GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike (Keen Ice) arrived in New York by van from Kentucky at 1 a.m. Wednesday to prepare for the GI Belmont S. June 11. With exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes up, Rich Strike visited Belmont's dirt training track at 9:30 a.m. with the accompaniment of outrider Juan Galvez and his pony Stormy, making two laps the wrong way round. "He settled down a lot the second time round. A lot of that was trying to get him used to the pony. You could see the farther...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. CALIFORNIA Track: Santa Anita Date: 05/28/2022 Licensee: Abdul Alsagoor, jockey Penalty: Three-day suspension Violation: Careless riding Explainer: Apprentice Jockey Abdul Alsagoor, who rode Poseidon's Kid in the eighth race at Santa Anita Park on May 27, 2022, is suspended for 3 racing...