Dylan Davis

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley We will need a bigger sample size before being able to fully evaluate how Monmouth's experiment with whip-free racing has fared. But this much is certain: Three days in and after hysterical fomenting from the pro-whip side of the argument, the whip-less races amounted to a big nothingburger. That is to say there were no incidents, no major form reversals, no mass boycotts from the horseplayers, etc. Perhaps this was just round one in what figures to be a long, drawn-out battle that...

Max Player went from maiden winner to graded winner by outstaying his competition in Saturday's GIII Withers S. His victory was both the first black-type and graded for sire Honor Code (A.P. Indy), whose Lane's End barn mate Tonalist was also represented by his first graded winner Saturday in the form of GIII Forward Gal S. romper Tonalist's Shape. Awkward early but flying home late when second on debut going a mile at Parx Nov. 12, Max Player broke through in the slop by 4 1/4 lengths back in Bensalem...

7th-Aqueduct, $81,560, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 1-31, 4yo/up, 1m, 1:39.15, ft. SIR WINSTON (c, 4, Awesome Again--La Gran Bailadora {GSW & GISP, $338,416}, by Afleet Alex), victor of the GI Belmont S. last June, returned to winning ways Friday in his return to dirt after a failed attempt on turf last month. Scratched due to sloppy conditions in last Saturday's Jazil S. at the Big A, the homebred was given a 4-1 chance in this competitive event. The chestnut trailed the field early as Leitone (Chi) (Dunkirk) loped along through...