Drayden Van Dyke

eFive Racing Thoroughbred's Grayscale (c, 2, Frosted--Petunia, by Into Mischief) was pegged as the 8-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's seventh race at Gulfstream, but his worktab--which included a bullet half-mile in :44 4/5 last month and other morning trials that screamed ready--dictated that he'd jump a much-shorter price for his career debut. Crunched into 3-10 for the Breeders' Cup-winning connections of trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. and jockey Drayden Van Dyke, the gray colt made no mistake en route to being named the afternoon's second 'TDN Rising Star'. Away in mid-division...

About a year before Drayden Van Dyke won the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint aboard Soul of An Angel (Atreides), no one would have thought he was about to win any sort of major race. His career in shambles, he went 5-for-136 in 2023, and he knew it would not be easy to bounce back. But the story changed. It's now about perseverance. Van Dyke is in Florida, getting ready for the Championship Meet at Gulfstream. His mental health has improved dramatically and, most importantly he is winning...

Drayden Van Dyke was quick out of the gate in his first weekend of riding at Gulfstream Park, finding the winner's circle on five of nine mounts, all of whom are trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. The 29-year-old jockey, who switched his tack from Santa Anita for a 30-day trial run at Gulfstream, won aboard his only mount Friday before winning on two of four mounts Saturday. Sunday, he won with Novo Sol in the second race and with Practically Dark in the eighth. Van Dyke earned the Eclipse Award...

Former Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey Drayden Van Dyke, a mainstay in Southern California, will move his tack to Gulfstream Park for 30 days to ride for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. The multiple Grade I-winning rider and his agent, Ryan Cosato, will then evaluate where Van Dyke will be based in the future. "We'll bring him out there for about a month," said Cosato. "If he does well, we'll go from there. There's no big announcement. We're just giving it a try." Van Dyke took a break from riding for a...

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. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 10/07/2022 Licensee: Leonard Rivero, owner Penalty:...

Defending itself against contempt-of-court allegations for purportedly violating an under-dispute preliminary injunction order by imposing riding infraction penalties upon Jockeys' Guild members nationwide, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority (HISA) fired back in federal court Tuesday with a filing that stated the plaintiffs' argument "fails the straight-face test." At issue is the still-disputed nature of the wording in a July 26 injunction order out of United States District Court (Western District of Louisiana), which stated that HISA rules would be enjoined in two plaintiff states until a June 29...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 2nd-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:39 p.m.   Purchased for $525,000 by trainer Kent Sweezey for R.S. Evans out of this year's OBSAPR sale following a :9 4/5 breeze, ILLICIT (Into Mischief) debuts in this spot. Bred by Evans, she was purchased by Gene Recio for $150,000 at Keeneland September and Evans was so impressed with how she developed, he bought her back. The bay is out of a half-sister to GSW Ocho Ocho Ocho (Street Sense) and GSP Private Ensign (A.P. Indy)....

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. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Del Mar Date: 07/30/2022 Licensee: Philip Tencer, owner Penalty: Restoration of good standing Violation: N/A Explainer: Owner...

The legal rabbit hole deepened on Tuesday in one of four lawsuits designed to derail the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority (HISA), pulling jockeys Drayden Van Dyke, Miguel Vazquez and Edwin Gonzalez into the fray as plaintiffs alleged new harms resulting from rule enforcement they believe is in contempt of a court order. Plaintiffs led by Louisiana, West Virginia, and the Jockeys' Guild moved for a federal judge to issue an immediate order to enforce its July 26 injunction to keep Guild-member jockeys from being subject to HISA rules...

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: 04/08/2022 Licensee: Ryan Curatolo, jockey Penalty: $1,000 fine Violation: Excessive use of the whip Explainer: Jockey Ryan Curatolo is fined $1,000.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1688(b)(8)(d) (Use of Riding Crop - more than six times -...

6th-SA, $67K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1m, 6:38 p.m. ET With a race under his belt, BLETCHLEY PARK (Nyquist) looks to move forward in his second career start Sunday for trainer Bob Baffert. The bay colt, purchased for a sale-topping $2.6 million from the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Park Sale (:9 4/5), was a close second behind Happy Jack (Oxbow), who has since gone on to place third in the GII San Felipe S. Bletchley Park is the first foal to race from the Smart Strike mare Spinning Wheel who, while not a...

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: 03/04/2022 Licensee: Kent Desormeaux, jockey Penalty: Suspension Violation: Non-appearance for hearing Explainer: Jockey Kent Desormeaux, having failed to respond to written notice to appear before the Board of Stewards at Santa Anita Park on or before...