Knicks Go

GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go (Paynter) was honored as 2021 Maryland-bred Horse of the Year during the fifth annual Renaissance Awards held virtually throughout the week of Feb. 28. The awards, which are a collaborative effort between the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Jockey Club, were presented through the MHBA's social media accounts. Also honored were champion 2-year-old male Joe (Declaration of War), champion 2-year-old filly Luna Belle (Great Notion), champion 3-year-old male Jaxon Traveler (Munnings), champion 3-year-old filly Street Lute (Street Magician),...

The first mares bred to Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter) and MGSW Tacitus (Tapit) have been confirmed in foal, Taylor Made announced today. Suchada, a daughter of Frosted, has been scanned in foal to Knicks Go, and stakes winner Lady Joan, a daughter of Courageous Cat, has been confirmed in foal to Tacitus.

A halter worn by recently crowned 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter) will be auctioned at Louisville Collegiate School's Gold Gala this Saturday, Feb. 26. Trainer Brad Cox donated the halter and autographed a photo of the 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner, which will be included in the package. Proceeds from the gala benefit Louisville Collegiate School. The auction is open to the public with attendance at the gala not required to win. Click here for more information and to place bids on the halter or the...

   Two-time Breeders' Cup Champion and newly-crowned 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go is already well underway in his first year at stud at Taylor Made Stallions. It's been a whirlwind stretch for the five-time grade I winner over the past few weeks after his final career start in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. as he traveled from Florida to Kentucky and had just a few days to prepare for the upcoming breeding season before the shed doors officially opened. "He ran in the Pegasus on Jan....

   The TDN's 'Let's Talk'--a podcast series featuring TDN's Christina Bossinakis and TVG's on-air analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussion on personal, and sometimes sensitive, topics that are often uncomfortable for many to speak about in an open forum.    The latest edition presents a trio of successful trainers--New York's David Donk, Ron Moquett, who is principally based at Oaklawn Park and Churchill Downs and Kentucky horseman Brad Cox, who was honored with his second Eclipse Award as the nation's leading trainer at the awards ceremony held at Santa Anita...

Already named champion older dirt male Thursday, Knicks Go (Paynter) finished off Eclipse Award night with one more big win as he was crowned Horse of the Year for a 2021 campaign that saw him rack up $7,324,140 in earnings with five wins from seven starts, capped off with a convincing gate-to-wire score in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for Korea Racing Authority and trainer Brad Cox. The grey, who stands this year at Taylor Made, was bred in Maryland by Angie Moore. 

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter) carried strong 2020 form into 2021 with a comprehensive success in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., and the $87,000 KEESEP yearling had a strong second half of his 5-year-old season, winning four straight including the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. As expected, he got the nod as champion older dirt male Thursday. The Brad Cox pupil now begins his second career at Taylor Made Stallions. 

Brad Cox earned his first Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer in 2020—ending a four-year streak by Chad Brown—and he doubled up in 2021 thanks to the exploits of his many standouts, including Knicks Go (Paynter) and Essential Quality (Tapit). Cox's runners racked up a North American leading $31,832,345 in earnings last season, taking 269 trips to the winner's circle from 1025 starters (26%). 

Iowa's Prairie Meadows, which is set to begin its 2022 live racing season Friday, May 13, will see an average 5% increase in purses across the board. The 84 Thoroughbred racing days will be interspersed with Quarter Horse racing, which will see that breed's purses raised by up to 25%. The Thoroughbred purse structure includes a total of 26 stakes worth an estimated $2 million, highlighted by the Iowa Festival of Racing July 8-9. Last year's edition of the $300,000 GIII Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. during the Festival was won...

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have Erin Fisher of Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds. "All my horses are crossed with stallions that I feel will throw appealing and sound horses that can provide second and third careers off the track and provide longevity to the breed," said Fisher. "I look for soundness and attitude with the idea that my foals can have long futures in any discipline after racing." APPEALING WAY (m, 8,...

It was an eventful few months for three-time Eclipse champion jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Shortly after scoring a hat trick of victories at the Breeders' Cup, Ortiz was suspended 30 days for careless riding at Aqueduct. Upon his return, the 29-year-old picked up where he left off at Gulfstream, piloting winners left and right and over the weekend, added two more seven-figure Grade I wins to his trophy collection with victories in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. on back-to-back winner Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) and Pegasus World Cup...

HALLANDALE, FL--Heading into Saturday's Pegasus World Cup card at Gulfstream, it wasn't much of a stretch to think that trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. could walk away the winners of both Pegasus features of the afternoon. However, considering the obstacles facing them, one had to concede that it might be a bit too tall of an order. The GI Pegasus World Cup Turf contender Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) was coming off a massive layoff, 239 days to be exact, and Life Is Good (Into Mischief), while freakishly...