Kentucky Oaks

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Though Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas rarely passes on big stakes opportunities, he is skipping the GII Shuvee S. Sunday with Secret Oath (Arrogate). After she turned in an uncharacteristic dull performance in the June 10 GI Ogden Phipps S., Lukas and the 4-year-old filly's breeder-owners Robert and Stacy Mitchell are using a little-bit-less-is-more approach at Saratoga Race Course. "She's really, really doing well," Lukas said Wednesday morning, "but we have made a decision to run here only once. We're trying to space her...

Nest (Curlin), last year's Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly, tuned up for her expected seasonal debut in the July 23 GII Shuvee S. with a four-furlong work in :50.00 (13/38) in company with unraced stablemate Onlooker (Street Sense) over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Sunday. "It was a good work and a nice, strong gallop out. She seemed to keep going," trainer Todd Pletcher said. Owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, Nest has been off since finishing fourth in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. During...

With the Churchill Downs spring meet, which was moved over to Ellis Park, winding down, it appeared that Bob Baffert would soon be able to put the worst of his problems behind him. Baffert was serving a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs that came in the aftermath of Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for a substance banned on race day after crossing the wire first in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. The suspension forced Baffert to sit out the 2022 and 2023 runnings of the Derby, the race that is...

It was a banner weekend for Godolphin homebreds during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Cody's Wish (Curlin) added another chapter to racing's feel-good story with a powerful, come-from-behind victory in the stallion-making GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan H. The GI Kentucky Oaks winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) validated her upset neck victory on the first Friday in May with a heart-stopping victory in the GI Acorn S. The up-and-coming Loved (Medaglia d'Oro)--a 4-year-old half-sister to MGISW and young Darley stallion Maxfield (Street Sense)--made it three straight...

The TDN sat down with 2-year-old consignor Tom McCrocklin for this first offering in a new series presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders Association (CBA). Through conversations with buyers and sellers, the series looks to contribute to the discussion on radiograph findings and their impact on racetrack success. Tom McCrocklin, who was represented this spring by graduates in both the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks, as well as by a pair of million-dollar juveniles in the sales ring, admitted his approach to vet work varies...

ELMONT, NY -- Godolphin homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) followed up her thrilling GI Kentucky Oaks victory with a hard-fought, head decision over Dorth Vader (Girvin) in Friday's GI Acorn S. at Belmont Park. Occult (Into Mischief) was another four lengths back in third. Cutting back to a one-turn 1 1/16 miles here, the 9-5 second-choice raced within striking distance in an outside fifth as the stretching-out and favored 'Rising Star' Munnys Gold (Munnings) led through fractions of :23.34 and :46.37. Pretty Mischievous loomed boldly while...

ELMONT, NY - After canceling Thursday's card at Belmont Park amid poor air quality issues, there is optimism that live racing will return with Friday's 11-race program featuring a trio of Grade I events. Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), last seen pulling off a dramatic 10-1 upset with first-time blinkers in the GI Kentucky Oaks, will take on seven rivals in the GI Acorn S. "She's doing great and hasn't missed a beat since she came out of the Oaks," trainer Brendan Walsh said. "This was the obvious next step for...

'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), last-start winner of the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks May 5, breezed a half-mile in :47.87 over the Belmont main track at 6:45 Saturday morning in advance of a start in Friday's GI Acorn S. at Belmont Park. The Godolphin homebred worked in the company of the dual graded-stakes placed Gilmore (Twirling Candy), who is expected for Saturday's GI Woody Stephens S. on the Belmont S. undercard. Trainer Brendan Walsh was duly pleased with his filly's final serious piece of work. "That's typical of...

Lucky Seven Stable's Rattle N Roll (Connect), winner of this term's GIII Ben Ali S. Apr. 22 and GIII Pimlico Special S. May 19, is the horse to beat returning on short notice in Saturday's GIII Blame S., the featured race on "Stephen Foster Preview Day" at Churchill Downs. The $1-million GI Stephen Foster will now be held four weeks later at Ellis Park. The Ken McPeek-trained 2021 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner will face seven rivals from his rail draw, including the re-opposing Ben Ali second and third-place finishers...

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has received the post-race sample results from the runners in the May 6 GI Kentucky Derby and May 5 GI Kentucky Oaks, according to Kristin Voskuhl, a spokesperson for the Public Protection Cabinet, which oversees the KHRC. All samples have been cleared, as indicated by the laboratory results from the University of Kentucky. The Derby had 18 runners and was won by Mage (Good Magic), while the Oaks, won by Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), had 14 total runners.

Courtesy Thoroughbred Idea Foundation Winning horseplayers at Churchill Downs and around the world betting into the pools across Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby days enjoyed more than an additional $1 million in winnings thanks to an amendment to Kentucky law which now rounds winning bets to the penny. The practice, known as breakage, has been in effect across all of American racing, relatively unchanged, for more than a century. But Kentucky's legislature passed an amendment to existing laws in March 2022. The measure took effect in July of last year,...

Friday's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks card at Churchill Downs set a record, with all-sources handle for the day of racing reaching $74.9 million--up from last year's record $74.6 million. All-sources wagering on the Oaks specifically was $22.4 million, down from the record set 12 months ago of $24.3 million. Attendance was a reported 106,381. "Congratulations to the connections of Pretty Mischievous on today's win," said Churchill Downs President Mike Anderson. "The 149th Kentucky Oaks will be remembered as a memorable day of racing on a near-perfect Kentucky day. Today's success...