Belmont S.

You know, it's almost like they're family. Okay, maybe that's not terribly helpful. As we've learned from others kindly sharing their experiences for this series, the only right way is the one that works for you. That's always a pretty good starting point, anyway, with horses. And given this additional variable, where the directors stage board meetings around a kitchen table, then different families must find their own ways to meet the challenges of succession. Some hire consultants; some transition with parallel businesses; some, no doubt, never get past the...

Highlighted by a 17-1 upset victory by Dornoch (Good Magic) in the $2-million GI Belmont S., the four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival drew better than 120,000 racing fans to Saratoga for the unprecedented event, approximately double the attendance for the two most recent runnings at Belmont Park. Thursday's opening day of the Festival featured a pair of $150,000 stakes for the 2-year-old males and females and the first of the weekend's 14 graded stakes, the GII Belmont Gold Cup. In front of an announced crowd of 22,027, renowned Australian commentator...

With entrants ranging from a $2.3-million sales-topping yearling to a homebred, the $2-million GI Belmont S. turns a new page in 2024 with its first running at Saratoga Race Course. Here we take a look at the origins of all 10 entrants in the Classic, including the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. winners. 1). Seize the Grey (Arrogate--Smart Shopping, by Smart Strike) Mill Ridge's Headley Bell purchased Shop Again, second dam of Seize the Grey, for $450,000 at the 2007 Keeneland November sale on behalf of Tolie Otto,...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - For trainer Danny Gargan, having Dornoch (Good Magic) land in Post 6 for the GI Belmont S. was a Monday win that just might lead to a major victory on Saturday. Five weeks after finishing a never-threatening 10th from the dreaded post position on the rail in the GI Kentucky Derby--a spot in the gate that has not produced a winner since 1986--Dornoch will leave from what Gargan figures will be a more promising location in the field of 10 at Saratoga Race Course. "I like...

by Tim Wilkin and Editorial Staff For the first time since before the GI Kentucky Derby, Mystik Dan (Goldencents), had a workout. And trainer Kenny McPeek is getting more and more confident that his colt, winner of the Derby and second in the GI Preakness, will be in the starting gate at Saratoga Race Course for the GI Belmont S. on June 8. Mystik Dan, with exercise rider Danny Ramsey aboard, went five furlongs in 1:01.59 (2/5) on the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning. He worked in company with Gould's...

Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman's Resilience (Into Mischief), most recently sixth behind Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in the GI Kentucky Derby May 4, is under consideration for the June 8 GI Belmont S., trainer Bill Mott told the NYRA media office Friday. The Hall of Famer said a decision would likely come this weekend after the GII Wood Memorial S. winner breezes at Saratoga. "We've got some discussions to have with the owners, but we're giving it strong consideration," Mott said. "We're going to work on the weekend and once he...

The GI Belmont S. lost a major contender Thursday when trainer Todd Pletcher revealed that last year's juvenile champion Fierceness (City of Light) will pass the final leg of the Triple Crown and will instead point for the GI Haskell S. on July 20 at Monmouth Park. The Daily Racing Form's David Grening was first with the story. "We felt like Fierceness needs more time and will point for the Haskell," Pletcher said in a text message. Fierceness has not run since finishing 15th as the beaten favorite in the...

'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) will have a new running mate in the GI Belmont S. at Saratoga Race Course on June 8. After watching the GI Kentucky Derby runner-up work five furlongs in 1:02.64 (5/6) on the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning, Brown said he was making a rider change. Tyler Gaffalione is out; Flavien Prat is in. Sierra Leone lost the Derby by a nose to Mystik Dan (Goldencents) and finished a nose ahead of Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}). Sierra Leone is owned by...

'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) returned to the worktab for the first time since his bang-up second to Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in the GI Kentucky Derby, breezing a half-mile in the company of his GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby-winning stablemate Domestic Product (Practical Joke) in :48.20 (3/31) over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga. With light rain falling, the pair galloped out six furlongs in 1:14 4/5, according to trainer Chad Brown. "I thought the horse worked super," Brown said of Sierra Leone, who was once again...

'Saturday afternoon horses' are every breeder's goal. We continue our new weekly series with a young sire who got his first graded win in a high-profile race this past weekend. At this time last year, an unheralded colt parlayed a sole maiden win into victory in the GIII Peter Pan S., which led to Classic success in the GI Belmont S. This year, Antiquarian (Preservationist) is following the same blueprint put in place by Arcangelo (Arrogate): a maiden win early in his sophomore campaign before bursting onto the national scene...

1988 GI Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors (Caro {Ire}) will have her accomplishments recognized throughout the week via a partnership between Horse Racing Radio Network and Keeneland Sales, the pair announced Monday. Coverage of 'Winning Colors Week' began April 29 and will continue through May 4 with tributes to Winning Colors held on air and displayed across the network's various social media channels. The Derby winner, purchased by D. Wayne Lukas from Keeneland as a yearling in 1986, was named Champion 3-year-old Filly and inducted into the Hall of Fame...

The purses for maiden and allowance races, both open and restricted, will be increased between $10,000 and $13,000 for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, to be held at Saratoga Race Course Thursday through Sunday, June 6-9. Open maiden special weight contests will offer purse money of $100,000, up from $90,000, while New York-bred maidens will run for $85,000, an increase from $75,000. Open entry-level allowance purses will be upped by $10,000 to $110,000, while New York-bred first-level allowance races will offer $90,000, a boost from $80,000. The open non-winners of...