GI Kentucky Oaks

1st-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 8-18, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:11.29, my, 1 1/2 lengths. COREY AND QUINN (f, 3, Uncle Mo--Youcan'tcatchme {Ch. Female Sprinter-Can, MGSW, $425,710}, by The Daddy) debuted as the 7-5 favorite here and after yielding the front up the backstretch to Spun Special (Hard Spun), the bay filly took over the lead around the far turn. With a sixteenth left, she found more to turn back a charge from La Girvina (Girvin) to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Out of an extended female family which includes GI Kentucky Oaks...

Not just anyone could join their club. You had to possess status, refinement, wealth and charm. Oh, and the real test was, "The ability to drive four horses with grace and skill," which translated to holding the reigns in one fist--whew, tough. Founded in 1875, New York's Coaching Club had strict guidelines for membership, which included that you could not be involved in racing of any kind. Interesting that the CC's annual parade was replaced in 1917, the same year America entered The Great War, by a race for 3-year-old...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Godolphin homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) stayed out of trouble with a perfect, stalking trip from her far outside draw and gamely fended off Repole Stable's Gambling Girl (Dialed In) in dramatic fashion to capture Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks. Drawn widest of all in post 14 and adding blinkers for trainer Brendan Walsh after a runner-up finish in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks, Pretty Mischievous broke well beneath Tyler Gaffalione and secured a fantastic spot in fifth rounding the clubhouse turn before a...

Norm Casse lived in Louisville throughout most of his childhood, but one spring, he spent a few months in Ocala with his father. Norm was responsible for getting himself up and out the door for school each morning while his dad was busy at the training center. One morning, as Kentucky Oaks day dawned, Norm's alarm never rang. It was well into the morning before Mark Casse burst into his son's room in a panic. "Norman, why aren't you at school?" he cried. [Elite_video_player id="2" html5videos_hd="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/822062086/rendition/540p/file.mp4?loc=external&signature=3c1cd569582ec02225920fa7b00321389eb3f5da89aa9f31b92dbb2f1307047a" html5videos_videoThumbnails_jpg="" html5videos_title="Norm Casse on...

GI Kentucky Derby entrant Raise Cain (Violence), trained by Ben Colebrook, and GI Kentucky Oaks entrant Affirmative Lady (Arrogate), trained by Graham Motion, worked at Keeneland on Thursday morning, the track said in a release. Raise Cain covered a half-mile in company with the unraced 3-year-old filly Merrily Rush (Cross Traffic) in :49 on a fast track. Clockers caught him galloping out 5 furlongs in 1:02.80. "I just wanted him to have something to run at: a horse 5 lengths in front of him because that's something he'll be doing...

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 575 entries for its upcoming Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, to be held Monday and Tuesday, May 22-23, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. "Buyers will be presented with the strongest Midlantic catalogue in recent memory when they arrive in Timonium this year," said Midlantic Sales Director Paget Bennett. "We purposefully tightened up our numbers just a bit, while adding increased quality. We have strong sire power, quality individuals, and from what I hear from our consignors, horses that have showed very promising ability in...

It was a big Saturday for trainer Brad Cox who won the GI Arkansas Derby with Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), and the story may not change this week. Cox has serious threats in a number of big races, among them the GI Ashland S., the GI Blue Grass S. and the GII Wood Memorial. All of which means it was a perfect time to have Cox join the team on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. For the second time this year, Cox was the Green Group...

The GII Gulfstream Park Oaks brought a new contestant into the GI Kentucky Oaks picture in victress Affirmative Lady. The connections of the blossoming daughter of Arrogate are newcomers not only to the Oaks trail, but to racing in the U.S. After launching its American stable two years ago, AMO Racing celebrated its first graded stakes win in the States with Affirmative Lady's score on Saturday. Founded by football agent and businessman Kia Joorabchian, AMO Racing has proven to be a force on the other side of the Atlantic in...

For the sport's best 3-year-old fillies it's where the rubber meets the road time. The last round of preps for the GI Kentucky Oaks is upon us. In the GII Fair Grounds Oaks and the Bourbonette Oaks, there were a pair of key races last weekend. This week, we have the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and the GIII Fantasy S. It's a division where, since 2-year-old filly champ Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) finished second at 1-2 in the Feb. 11 Suncoast S. at Tampa, there has been no clear leader....

Led by the $3 million GI Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve Sat. May 6, a record 50 stakes races that total $20.525 million will be staged at Churchill Downs Racetrack during the 44-day Spring Meet which spans April 29-July 3. The lineup features 28 stakes races that received significant boosts--including the GI Stephen Foster which is now worth $1 million--and one new event, the $175,000 Chorleywood Overnight S. Derby Week kicks off the Spring Meet with 22 stakes that total a record $13.125 million over the six-day stretch that...

Just like her full-sister, champion Malathaat (Curlin), Julia Shining (Curlin) not only won her debut at Keeneland Oct. 16, but did so in 'TDN Rising Star'-fashion. And she followed in her GI Breeders' Cup Distaff-winning sister's hoofprints once again Saturday, capturing the GII Demoiselle S. in the slop at Aqueduct. Favored just like her sister, albeit at 1-2 instead of 2-5, Julia Shining was even farther back than Malathaat was in her Demoiselle, racing in second last as 37-1 shot Tribal Queen (Bolt d'Oro) clocked opening splits of :24.61 and...

Forty years after his first GI Kentucky Oaks win, D. Wayne Lukas relished his fifth appearance in that winner's circle this year alongside a special filly named Secret Oath (Arrogate - Absinthe Minded, by Quiet American). "We've celebrated in that winner's circle a number of times already, but this one was a little bit better though, because when you're an old man you often wonder if you're going to get another one--one of those really special ones," explained Lukas. The Hall of Fame conditioner known as "The Coach" has a...