GI Stephen Foster

Spendthrift Farm's Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) earned an automatic berth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic with a dominant victory in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday. The 2-1 shot rated just off the pace as First Mission (Street Sense) and Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) took the field through a moderate opening quarter in :24.13. First Mission, the 4-5 favorite, took charge as the half went up in :48.38, but Kingsbarns was rolling up three wide to grab control into the stretch. The favorite attempted to fight back, but...

Blue Heaven Farm had every intention of selling Pyrenees (Into Mischief). As a boutique, family-run breeding program, selling foals is what pays the bills. They had a number in mind for what they thought the colt was worth, but after he RNA'd for $350,000 as a weanling and again for $380,000 as a 2-year-old, they had to make a decision. Should they keep him to race themselves or cut their losses and sell him? Retaining a filly was one thing, but they had raced a few homebred colts in the...

With the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) issuing provisional suspensions in what seems like a rapid-fire manner, attorney Alan Pincus has been busy. He is representing trainer Mario Dominguez, who was hit with a provisional suspension after a horse he trained allegedly tested positive for cobalt, and has worked with trainer Jonathan Wong on his case. A Wong-trained horse allegedly tested positive for the banned substance Metformin. Pincus joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast sponsored by Keeneland to discuss his cases and to express his views on what has...

Kenny McPeek has managed to keep Lucky Seven Stable's talented pair Smile Happy (Runhappy) and Rattle N Roll (Connect) away from the same starting gate until now, but on Saturday the stablemates will meet for the first time in the GI Stephen Foster S. Set to run this year at Ellis Park, the mile-and-an-eighth contest drew a field of eight and is a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders Cup Classic. Smile Happy and Rattle N Roll share more than a few similarities, but the main parallel...

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...