Belmont

The New York Racing Association released its 2022 racing calendar with 202 live race days at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. The 2021-22 Aqueduct winter meet will run from Thursday, Dec. 9 through Sunday, Mar. 27 with live racing generally conducted four days per week in January and February and three days per week in March. The 15-day Aqueduct spring meet will open Thursday Mar. 31 and conclude on Sunday, Apr. 24. Live racing will be conducted Thursday-Sunday. Highlighted by the 154th running of the GI Belmont...

Several of runners targeting next month's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar breezed for trainer Chad Brown at Belmont Saturday, including Oct. 2 GI Champagne S. winner Jack Christopher (Munnings), who worked a half-mile in :49.05. According to Brown, the Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud and Peter Brant-owned colt remains on target for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 5. "He was great," said Brown. He was in control the entire way and galloped out super. He came back good." Also on Saturday's worktab, Klaravich Stables' multiple Grade I-winner Domestic...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency PRICEY QUALITY ROAD COLT DEBUTS IN NY 3rd-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 1:41 p.m. Shug McGaughey unveils an expensive son of Quality Road here in CITIZEN MACK. A $950,000 KEESEP purchase by Don & Donna Adam's Courtlandt Farm, the dark bay is the first foal out of Rutile (Medaglia d'Oro), who is a daughter of MSW Set Them Free (Stop the Music). That blue hen mare is also responsible for GI Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo (Holy Bull), MGISW Tiago (Pleasant Tap); GSW & MGISP Stanwyck...

Chad Brown has two good chances to score his third straight win, and fifth overall, in Belmont's GII Sands Point S. Saturday. Higher Truth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) broke her maiden and won a N1X allowance going 10 furlongs over this course in the spring and was third to the ill-fated Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in this venue's July 10 GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S., which was also run at 1 1/4 miles. A close second in the GII Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. Aug. 8, the bay led throughout the...

Both plaintiff Bob Baffert and defendant the New York Racing Association (NYRA) traded volleys of legal filings that were posted electronically just before 6 p.m. Tuesday. They all relate to Baffert's ongoing quest to fight NYRA's attempts to either banish him outright or to give him a hearing that would adjudicate the "detrimental conduct" charges NYRA has levied against Baffert over the repeated equine drug positives in his trainees. NYRA on Oct. 12 filed a memorandum of law in support of its earlier motion to dismiss Counts I, III, IV...

W.S. Farish's ascending homebred Royal Flag rallied to a convincing win in Sunday's GII Beldame S. at Belmont, her third graded stakes conquest in her last five starts. Graduating second out by eight lengths in the Aqueduct mud in December of 2019, the chestnut repeated by nine lengths in a Gulfstream allowance/optional claimer and made it three straight with a score in a similar spot last May at Churchill. Disappointing somewhat with a distant third in the GIII Molly Pitcher S., she was a close runner-up in the GIII Shuvee...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency PLETCHER UNVEILS PRICEY INTO MISCHIEF 1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 12:35 p.m. Spendthrift Farm teamed up with My Racehorse on a $600,000 son of Into Mischief in KEESEP acquisition PROVOCATEUR, who debuts in this test for trainer Todd Pletcher. The bay is a full-brother to Grade III winner One Liner and SP Roderick. This is also the family of Grade I-winning stallions Daredevil (More Than Ready) and Albertus Maximus (Albert the Great). Christophe Clement unveils Ruthenian (Union Rags) here as well. He is a half...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency SON OF ROSALIND DEBUTS AT BELMONT 4th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 2:11 p.m. Harrell Ventures' CHANCEUX (Speightstown) makes his debut in this event for trainer Todd PLetcher. The chestnut is the second foal out of Grade I winner Rosalind (Broken Vow), a $1 million FTKNOV acquisition by SF Bloodstock. Rosalind also captured the GII Sheepshead Bay S. and placed in three more top-level events. TJCIS PPs

Castleton Lyons's Chi Town Lady (Verrazano), the lone stakes winner thus far in a potential-laden field of 12, will try to make it three-for-three to start her career in Saturday's GIII Matron S. over six furlongs on the Belmont turf. Debuting as an overwhelming 1-5 on the Keeneland dirt this April, the chestnut obliged with a three-length graduation and, after a length break, overcame a stumbling start to score a 1 3/4-length success in the Bolton Landing S. over yielding grass Aug. 18 at Saratoga. An array of contenders will...

In a summer full of impressive and promising performances in allowance races at Saratoga, it was the Sept. 4 run of a total no-name who could've been had by anyone in the sport for just $10,000 months earlier that stood out the most on the speed-figure scale. And Saturday, modestly-bred Baby Yoda (Prospective) will try to back that monster effort up while making his stakes debut against four rivals in Belmont's GII Vosburgh S., a Win and You're In qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. Debuting for owner Gerald...

The first two across the line in a thrilling renewal of this summer's GI Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer S. will face off once more in a seven-horse renewal of the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. over 1 1/2 miles on the Belmont turf Saturday. Otter Bend Stables' Gufo (Declaration of War) has yet to be out of the trifecta in 12 career outings and picked up stakes scores in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S., GIII Kent S. and English Channel S. last year as a sophomore to...

Trainer Rohan Crichton said he has given up on his attempts to run Bajan Girl (Speightstown) in Sunday's GI Juddmonte Spinster S. at Keeneland after being told he would not be allowed to enter. Crichton is one of five trainers recently suspended by Gulfstream officials after it was found that they were violating house rules regarding clenbuterol. He is in the midst of serving a 30-day suspension and cannot run at any of the tracks owned by The Stronach Group. However, a suspension issued by a racetrack is not reciprocal...