Gambling Girl

Rafael Bejarano's trip from Kentucky to New York to ride just one mount Saturday in the GI Alabama S. resulted in disqualification from fifth to sixth and a subsequent three-day suspension issued Sunday by the Saratoga Race Course stewards for "careless riding." The incident involved Bejarano and the 4-1 Taxed (Collected) swerving inward and cutting off the 5-1 Gambling Girl (Dialed In) and Irad Ortiz, Jr. about 70 yards into the 10-furlong stakes. The Equibase chart stated Bejarano's filly "stumbled at the start recovering inwards a step, raced to the...

"What's in a name?" Spurning Master Shakespeare and embracing anecdotal evidence, consider the tale of how Saratoga's Oklahoma Training Track got its name. Horsemen complained that the distance across Union Avenue to the main course was such a hike that it might as well be in Boomer Sooner land. Another piece from the past concerns the name of the Alabama S. Dating to 1872, the race was given that moniker after the Derby-winning owner William Cottrell of Mobile asked if it could be dubbed after his home state, instead of...

Favored to earn her first taste of Classic glory in the GI Kentucky Oaks in May, Godolphin's Wet Paint (Blame) could only manage a fourth-place finish behind stablemate Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief). Fast forward through a runner-up effort in Ellis's Monomoy Girl S. last month followed by a trek to upstate New York, the bay finally bagged her own Grade I, taking Saturday's Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga. "She's a super consistent filly who always comes running," said trainer Brad Cox, who won the 2018 renewal of the Oaks...

'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) was none the worse for her tough-trip victory in Friday's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs as a group of onlookers congregated outside the barn of trainer Brendan Walsh Friday morning. It was a first win in America's premier race for the sophomore filly set for her owner/breeder Godolphin, Walsh, jockey Tyler Gaffalione and her all-conquering sire. "We are very proud of what she has accomplished and it couldn't be more special winning this for Godolphin," said Walsh, who spent many seasons...

Under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer Laz Barrera, Buryyourbelief (Believe It) became the first New York-bred filly to win the GI Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs in 1987 as the 8-1 upset, coasting home a 2 3/4-length winner in the nation's most prestigious race for 3-year-old fillies. This Friday, 37 years later, the Todd Pletcher-trained Gambling Girl (Dialed In) will fly the flag for the Empire State as the lone New York-bred in a field of 14. Owned by Queens native Mike Repole, Gambling Girl represents the fourth...