Haskell Stakes

OCEANPORT, NJ - Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife (Gun Runner) led home a one-two finish for his sire when he charged up the rail in deep stretch to nip Taiba (Gun Runner) on the line while setting a new track record in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park Saturday. The victory gave trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux their second winner from as many starters in the Haskell following Mandaloun (Into Mischief)'s win via disqualification in the 2021 renewal of the race and put an end to a...

With temperatures set to reach the high nineties this weekend in the Mid-Atlantic region, a number of tracks have announced adjusted schedules, but Monmouth Park officials remain confident that the Saturday card featuring the GI Haskell S. will go off as planned. "First and foremost, we are concerned about the safety of the horses and jockeys and want to make sure we do the right thing," said Dennis Drazin, who heads the management team at the Jersey Shore track. "But we've been on top of it all week and right...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY- Klaravich Stables's GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) was shipped from Belmont Park to Saratoga Race Course Sunday and will run in the GII Jim Dandy July 30. Trainer Chad Brown announced that Early Voting will go in the Jim Dandy with stablemate Zandon (Upstart), rather than face another stablemate, unbeaten Jack Christopher (Munnings) in the GI Haskell S. July 23. Brown is aiming all three of his graded stakes-winning 3-year-old colts for Saratoga's signature race, the $1.25-million GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 27. He...

After winning the GII Remsen S. and the GII Wood Memorial S. and running a credible fifth in the GI Kentucky Derby, Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) put it all together on Saturday. He was the decisive winner of the GI Belmont S. to give New Yorker Mike Repole a one-two finish in the final leg of the Triple Crown at his home track. It was a good story and a good performance from a very good horse. It was not, however, the highlight of the day. It's hard to overshadow...

Mandaloun (Into Mischief) finished second in the GI Kentucky Derby and will be declared the winner if Medina Spirit (Protonico) is ever disqualified for a betamethasone positive. He didn't cross the wire first in the GI Haskell S. either, but was awarded the win after the stewards disqualified Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) for interference. It pays to be both lucky and good. But a page has been turned and Mandaloun will kick off his 4-year-old season Saturday at the Fair Grounds in the GIII Louisiana S., the first step in...

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), who most recently clipped heels and nearly fell to the track in the stretch run of the July 17 GI Betfair.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park, tuned up for an expected start in next Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S. with a four-furlong work in :49.77 (17/68) over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Sunday. "He's a very impressive horse," trainer Steve Asmussen said. "I think we're obviously very fortunate that he came out of the mishap in the Haskell in good shape and he's training...

The Monmouth Park stewards have handed jockey Flavien Prat a seven-day suspension for his ride aboard Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) in the July 17 GI TVG.com Haskell S. The ruling was issued Sunday, three days after the stewards granted Prat a hearing. The suspension runs from Sept. 7 through Sept. 13. The timing may not be a coincidence, as the suspension starts the day after the Del Mar meet closes. California racing then shift to Los Alamitos, where Prat doesn't normally ride on a regular basis. It will, however, keep...

Over a teleconference, the Monmouth Park stewards held a hearing with jockey Flavien Prat Thursday morning concerning his ride aboard Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) in the GI Haskell S. run July 17. The stewards called for a hearing after disqualifying Hot Rod Charlie from first place. In a tight finish, Hot Rod Charlie may have come over on Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), who was in third at the time. Midnight Bourbon fell, tossing his jockey, Paco Lopez. Neither Lopez nor Midnight Bourbon was seriously injured. According to a Monmouth Park spokesman,...

Trainer Doug O'Neill joins the TDN Writers' Room following the disqualification of his horse, Hot Rod Charlie, in the Haskell Stakes to give his take on both the controversial race and the new whip ban at Monmouth Park.

The accident and disqualification of the winner in last Saturday's GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park has rocketed to the top of racing's recent controversies, chiefly because of the polarizing role that New Jersey's newly implemented anti-whipping role may or may not have played in the stretch-run spill. Since the start of the 2021 meet at Monmouth, whipping a Thoroughbred has been strictly prohibited, except for the express purpose of ensuring the immediate safety of the horse or rider. As three horses battled for the lead in the stretch...

BetMakers Technology Group, in partnership with Monmouth Park, will sponsor a $1-million bonus to a horse that sweeps this year's GI TVG.com Haskell S., GI Runhappy Travers S. and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Authentic (Into Mischief) earned the inaugural bonus, which, due to the pandemic, included the Haskell, GI Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic. "We're thrilled to sponsor the BetMakers Bonanza again after the enormous effort by Authentic last year," said Dallas Baker, BetMakers' New Jersey-based Head of International Operations. "We're fully committed to supporting the U.S. racing...

Matt Shifman, senior writer and assistant editor at Horse Racing Nation, has been named the winner of the 2021 Bill Handleman Award for outstanding coverage of last year's GI TVG.Com Haskell S. The award is named in memory of the late Bill Handleman, one of New Jersey's preeminent sportswriters who wrote for the Asbury Park Press for nearly three decades. Handleman, a fixture at Monmouth Park and a passionate chronicler of the sport, died in June of 2010 at the age of 62. The Handleman award, first presented in 2012,...