Belmont Park

There was no better place to be in American horse racing than Belmont Park Wednesday morning as the track prepared to reopen New York racing later in the day after months of being shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic. That's where Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey called in from as the Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. In a wide-ranging discussion, McGaughey talked about the return of stable star Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}), racing finally resuming at his...

The race was just a $20,000 maiden claimer, but the importance of the moment was not lost on Belmont track announcer John Imbriale, who welcomed racing back to New York Wednesday. "We can finally say...they're off and running at New York's Belmont Park," Imbriale called out as the field burst from the gate. And as Star of the West (Flashback) crossed the wire to win the opener, Imbriale once again recognized that this race was something special. "It's now official. New York sports is back and beautiful Belmont Park is...

3rd-Belmont, $62,080, Msw, 6-3, 2yo, 5f, :58.42, gd. PRISONER (c, 2, Violence--Al Max Diner {SW, $131,226}, by End Sweep) denied the overly hyped Fauci (Malibu Moon) to graduate on debut in New York's first baby race of the year. Seizing the early advantage, the 6-5 second-choice dueled with favored Fauci through a :22.54 opening quarter and into the far turn. Prisoner shrugged off his foe in the stretch, cruising clear to a dominant 4 3/4-length victory. The winner is a half to Manuka Honey (Borrego), SW & MGSP, $177,084. Stakes...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols 3rd-BEL $64k, MSW, 2yo, 5f, post time: 2:23 p.m. The timely named FAUCI (Malibu Moon) is the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the first 2-year-old race of the year in New York. Trained by Wesley Ward for Lindy Farms and Ice Wine Stable, the bay colt was a $175,000 KEESEP yearling. The race also includes a pair of graduates of the recent OBS March sale. Kelly Breen saddles Garoppolo (Outwork), who was purchased by Mr Amore Stable for $125,000 following a :21 1/5 quarter-mile work in Ocala....

It won't take long for the stars to come out at the abbreviated Belmont spring/summer meet, as multiple Grade I winners Got Stormy (Get Stormy) and Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) headline a stout six-horse field in Wednesday's opening-day feature at Big Sandy, the GIII Beaugay S. Third at 21-1 behind Rushing Fall in the GI Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. last spring at Keeneland, Gary Barber's Got Stormy developed into a turf terror over the summer, capturing the De La Rose S. Aug. 3 at Saratoga and famously coming back...

The 2-year-old filly Community Adjusted (Summer Front) has been added to the Empire Racing Club's roster of runners, the group announced Monday. The dark bay filly will race for the partnership of Rob Masiello and ERC, and will be trained by Christophe Clement. Out of Rimini Road (Dynaformer), the filly was purchased by Masiello for $100,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. "Community Adjusted is a lovely filly with a nice neck and shoulder, and looks like she will be able to get a route of ground," said Masiello....

While the Thoroughbred industry is set to welcome back racing at Belmont Park this Wednesday, the races will not be shown on TVG. Reporting for HorseRacingNation, Ron Flatter said that NYRA races will appear only on FOX Sports, MSG+ and across advance-deposit wagering platforms, including TVG. "FOX Sports has significantly increased its commitment to horse racing every year since our partnership began in 2016," said Tony Allevato, Chief Revenue Officer for NYRA and the president of the company's advance-deposit wagering platform NYRA Bets. "This year, FOX Sports presented NYRA with...

Trainer Chad Brown was trackside at Belmont Park Thursday morning to oversee turf workouts for a pair of top-class distaffers. Working in company were eFive Racing's Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) and Peter Brant's Fifty Five (Get Stormy), who were each clocked a half-mile in a leisurely :50.48. The conditioner said that both mares would make an appearance on the much-anticipated opening day of the Belmont spring/summer meeting next Wednesday, June 3. They both worked fine and will be entered for the [GIII] Beaugay [S.]," Brown told the NYRA notes...

Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (Constitution), last-out winner of the GI Florida Derby, tuned up for the June 20 GI Belmont S. with a five-furlong work in :59.75 (1/5) at Palm Meadows Sunday. "He's doing fine. He had a nice work," said trainer Barclay Tagg. "I sent a little filly here ahead of him so he had something to look at, and he caught her going down the stretch. I'll probably breeze him here next Sunday before we head back to New York." Tiz the Law won last year's GI...

To paraphrase the Rolling Stones, you can't always get what you want. But sometimes, you get what you need. That might end up being the case regarding the retooled GI Belmont S. announced last week by the New York Racing Association (NYRA). For its 2020 running, COVID-19 has transformed the $1.5-million, 12-furlong "Test of Champions" concluding leg of the Triple Crown into a one-turn, nine-furlong prep for the other two Classics with two-thirds its original purse. The revised Belmont S. will be run June 20 in a spectator-free Belmont Park...

As the racing world mostly returned to order last week with the reopening of Santa Anita and Churchill and dates for two-thirds of the rescheduled Triple Crown being locked in, eyes turned to the New York Racing Association. Located in the epicenter of the world's coronavirus pandemic, NYRA hasn't run a race card since Mar. 15 at Aqueduct, and has remained in limbo like much of the state as the virus peaked, then slowly--painfully slowly--retreated. But with Governor Andrew Cuomo's proclamation that racing could resume in New York beginning June...

Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}), an Eclipse Award finalist for champion 3-year-old male in 2019, is targeting the GIII Westchester S. for his return on opening weekend at Belmont Park June 6. The dominating GI Runhappy Travers S. hero has post five workouts at Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey's Payson Park base in Florida this spring dating back to mid-April. He is currently in training with McGaughey at Belmont Park. "He went five-eighths in 1:01 and change the other day [at Payson May 17]," McGaughey said. "He was a...