Gary and Mary West

1st-KEE, $100K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:00 p.m. A Gary and Mary West homebred, HOLLYWOOD ENDING (Curlin) makes the races Friday for trainer Brad Cox. The colt is the fifth foal out of Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Milwaukee Appeal making him a half-brother to MGSW Actress (Tapit), herself the dam of GIII Withers S. winner Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}). On a steady work tab at both Turfway Park and, more recently, Churchill Downs, Hollywood Ending comes in with a good foundation and picks up Flavien Prat for his debut. TJCIS...

5th-KEE, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 3:08 p.m. ET Gold Square's AIR OF DEFIANCE (Quality Road), a $400,000 Keeneland September purchase, is the 3-1 morning-line favorite after running a solid second behind 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) over a muddy strip at Saratoga in his six-furlong debut Aug. 25. The Brad Cox trainee is the second foal out of graded stakes winner Faypien (Ghostzapper). St. Elias and Starlight Racing's It'smyluckytime (Not This Time), a $450,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling, makes his first trip to the post for trainer Todd Pletcher....

Ben Glass, the stable manager for Gary and Mary West, has reported that GI Stephen Foster S. winner West Will Power (Bernardini--Wild Promises, by Wild Event) has been sold to a Korean farm, where he will stand at stud next year. Glass said the deal was brokered by bloodstock agent Jun Park. Glass did not know what farm had bought West Will Power, but according to a Tweet from Korea Racing his new home will be Songma Farm. On July 1, West Will Power picked up the biggest victory of...

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione and trainer Brad Cox entered the final day of racing Sunday at Churchill Downs having already locked up their respective titles for the 14-day September Meet. Both successfully defended their titles from a year ago and set new September Meet records for wins: Gaffalione with 25 victories through 13 days and Cox with 15. Gaffalione more than doubled second-place Cristian Torres's 12 wins prior to Sunday's 10-race card. This will be Gaffalione's 10th riding title at Churchill Downs since 2018 and fourth-straight September Meet title. Cox's dominant...

Wygod Equine's Victory Way (City of Light) leads a nine-horse field in Parx's Tuesday feature, the GIII Smarty Jones S. A winner of two of his three starts, the homebred's only defeat came in when narrowly third in the seven furlong GIII Bayshore S. at Aqueduct Apr. 8. To get the win, the Bill Mott trainee will have to take on another homebred in Salute the Stars (Candy Ride {Arg}) for Gary and Mary West. Riding a three-race win streak, including the Pegasus S. at Monmouth at this distance over...

West Will Power (Bernardini--Wild Promises, by Wild Event), last-out winner of the GI Stephen Foster S., has been retired from racing after suffering a soft tissue injury, trainer Brad Cox confirmed Tuesday. The news was first reported by Dave Grening of Daily Racing Form. A homebred for Gary and Mary West, West Will Power hit the board in 15 of 17 starts, with seven wins and earnings of $1,745,390. In addition to his victory in the July 1 Stephen Foster, the 6-year-old also won this year's GII New Orleans Classic...

Six days before he is to be sentenced as the final--and most notoriously prominent--defendant in the 2020 racehorse doping conspiracy scandal, the barred trainer Jason Servis was described by federal prosecutors in court documents as a person who "lied, repeatedly, and persisted in his illegal conduct even when confronted with irrefutable proof that his conduct was dishonest and violated racing rules." Culled from a trove of wiretapped surveillance (that would have been used against him at trial had he not pleaded guilty last December as part of a plea bargain)...

Salute the Stars continued his rise through the ranks here with a determined victory in the Pegasus S. at Monmouth Park. Coming into the race riding a two race win-streak which began when he wrapped his juvenile season with a victory against maidens at Ellis on the grass, he moved from John Ortiz to Brad Cox before his seasonal bow last out May 14 in an off-turf allowance. Winning there by a neck, he was made the 5-2 second choice behind Kingsbarns, who was reappearing for the first time since...

A new kingpin graces the No. 1 slot after a wild, final weekend of 100-point preps. The rankings below are independent from the "Road to the Derby" leaderboard Churchill Downs uses to determine starting berths, with several horses included here who are currently below the cut.   1) PRACTICAL MOVE (c, Practical Joke--Ack Naughty, by Afleet Alex) O-Leslie & Pierre Jean Amestoy & Roger Beasley; B-Chad Brown & Head of Plains Partners (KY); T-Tim Yakteen. Sales history: $90,000 RNA yrl '21 KEESEP; $230,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-4-1-2,...

Gary and Mary West's Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}) exited his 5 1/2-length victory in Saturday's GIII Withers S. in fine shape, according to Brad Cox's Belmont-based assistant trainer Dustin Dugas. "He looked good this morning," Dugas said. "He cooled out well yesterday and came back in good shape. He was at the front of the stall, and bright eyed this morning. We're happy with him and he was happy with himself." Hit Show's potential next starts include the Apr. 8 GII Wood Memorial. "He's always been a horse that...

GSW & MGISP American Freedom (Pulpit--Gottcha Last, by Pleasant Tap) has been sold to Bob and Tyree Wolesensky's Leadem Farm and will stand stud in Arkansas beginning the 2023 breeding season. American Freedom will command a stud fee of $3,500 LF. He stood at Airdrie Stud his first four seasons. The purchase was facilitated by Brock Martin and Steve Castagnola of Taylor Made Sales Agency. "We wanted to find the perfect match for Arkansas breeders and we are very happy with this beautiful son of Pulpit," Tyree Wolesensky, President of...

Keeneland concluded a record-breaking fall meet Saturday with all-sources handle of $208.9 million, a season record for the Lexington track. The 17-day fall meet ran from Oct. 7-29 with Kentucky racing scheduled to switch over to Churchill Downs Sunday prior to returning to Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup Nov. 4-5. The all-sources wagering of $208,907,655 was a 15.41% increase over the 2021 fall meet record of $181,009,626. It was the fourth consecutive season of record handle at the track. The numbers do not include whole-card simulcasting at Keeneland. "This fall...