Mike Maker

When Fitri Hay's Zipaway (City Zip) took a $5,000 maiden claimer at Turfway Park Mar. 21, it gave trainer Wesley Ward a tiebreaking 19th winner from 53 runners and secured leading trainer honors at the meet, cut short by Governor Andy Beshear's directive to close non-essential businesses in the coronavirus outbreak. Ward's victory left Mike Maker on 18 winners from his 70 starters. It was the third consecutive title for Ward at the winter/spring meet at Turfway. He also shared the top spot with Maker during the 2018 holiday meet....

Saturday's GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks is one of just two Kentucky Derby points races in this country to be held over a synthetic racing surface and while only half of the 12 entrants hold nominations to the Triple Crown series, an interesting betting affair looms. Invader (War Front) figures a lukewarm favorite, as he enters this graded-stakes debut perfect in two tries over the local Polytrack--a towering 12 3/4-length maiden victory going a mile last Dec. 4 followed by a 6 1/4-length success in the John Battaglia Memorial S. Feb....

Already a smashing success story as a former claim turned multiple graded stakes winner, Michael Hui's Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire}) enjoyed a dream run along the rail to earn his first top-level score in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. last out, and the hard-knocking gelding is right back in the entry box as he attempts to defend his title in the 1 3/8-mile GII Mac Diarmida S. Saturday at Gulfstream. Haltered for $80,000 out of a dominant optional-claiming victory in the summer of 2018 at Churchill,...

Jay Ingle, an attorney with the Lexington, Kentucky-based law firm Jackson Kelly PLLC, released a statement on behalf of owner Ahmed Zayat Saturday morning addressing the complaint filed by trainer Mike Maker in Jefferson County Court this past Thursday seeking better than $120,000 in alleged unpaid training bills. "This lawsuit from Mike Maker is absurd," the statement read. "Ahmed Zayat made all payments required under his prior settlement with Mr. Maker until MGG seized control of Zayat Stables' bank account last month. It is outrageous for Mr. Maker to cry...

Ahmed Zayat's legal problems continue to grow. Trainer Mike Maker filed a complaint in Jefferson County (Kentucky) Court Thursday seeking $120,921 over what he alleged are unpaid training bills. Maker's complaint was filed less than two weeks after a Kentucky court ordered Zayat's assets into receivership, the result of claims by an investment group that says Zayat owes it $23 million. Maker's complaint was first reported by BloodHorse. According to the complaint, Maker trained as many as eight horses for Zayat Stables, which was falling behind on paying its training...

Sent off at odds of 11-1 making his first appearance since a running-on and wide fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, Michael Hui's Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire}) enjoyed a cozy inside passage from gate one beneath Tyler Gaffalione and snuck through underneath Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) at the eighth pole en route to a two-length victory in Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf S. at Gulfstream Park. "Just a great horse," winning trainer Mike Maker said. "I thought he got unlucky in the Breeders' Cup or he...