Mike Smith

A 3-year-old filly bred by Spendthrift Farm and sired by one of the nursery's top stallions gutted out the victory in Friday's seventh race at Del Mar. That in itself was unremarkable and not unexpected, but the result was, as 21-5 third choice Sandy Bottom (Omaha Beach)--making her first start since running her record to two-for-two in the Anoakia Stakes some 390 days ago--was quickly into stride from the outside gate in a field of six and made every yard of the running to just hold an equally game effort...

7th-DMR, 61K, O/C, 3yo/up, f, 6f, 6:33 p.m. TAMARA (Bolt d'Oro), the daughter of four-time Eclipse winner Beholder, makes her long-awaited return to the races Friday after a year-long absence following last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Named a 'TDN Rising Star' in her summer debut over course and near distance, the Richard Mandella trainee gave visions of her illustrious mother when romping by 6 3/4 lengths in the GI Del Mar Debutante. Heavily favored to complete the hat trick at the Breeders' Cup, Tamara came home eased after...

When it comes to winning Breeders' Cup races, no rider does it better than "Big Money" Mike Smith. His 27 wins leads all jockeys and is seven wins better than runner-up John Velazquez. With the Breeders' Cup quickly approaching, Smith sat down with the team at the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland and took us on a trip down memory lane. The Hall of Famer was the Guest of the Week. Of the 27 wins, is one his favorite? "It would have to be Zenyatta [in the 2009...

When it comes to winning Breeders' Cup races, no rider does it better than Mike (Big Money) Smith. His 27 wins leads all jockeys and is seven wins better than runner-up John Velazquez. With the Breeders' Cup quickly approaching, Smith sat down with the team at the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland and took us on a trip down memory lane. Smith was this week's Guest of the Week. Of the 27 wins, is one his favorite? "It would have to be Zenyatta (in the 2009 Classic)," he...

The Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) will host "RTCA Night of Faith, Hope & Love" during Breeders' Cup week at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The evening will include food, music, the premier of this year's RTCA White Horse Award video, and a celebrity panel interview moderated by FanDuel's Scott Hazelton with scheduled guests Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, Hall of Fame jockey Ramon Dominguez, horseman and racing executive Janet VanBebber and multiple graded stakes winning jockey Kyle Frey discussing what Faith, Hope & Love...

Subsanador (Arg) (Fortify) didn't get much respect at 6-1 in the betting when throttling between rivals to seize a three-horse photo by a head in Saturday's GI California Crown S., and he likely won't be favored for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in five weeks, either. But make no mistake: There were no fewer than 10 aspirants for the Classic in the entries worldwide last week, and only Subsanador's score at Santa Anita resonated as a true status shifter that elevated this Richard Mandella trainee into the top tier among...

It's the final day of the meet where the 'turf meets the surf' where trainer Bob Baffert will likely finish the afternoon with an unprecedented 18th winner of the GI Del Mar Futurity, the final major contest of the season before the track gets all decked out in purple for the arrival of the Breeders' Cup in early November. The Hall of Famer saddles three of Sunday's seven intended runners, each capable of walking away with the victory on their best. 'TDN Rising Star' Getaway Car (Curlin) is the most...

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. started his night off strong, taking the first of two graded stakes at Charles Town Friday night as Mystic Lake (Mo Town) swept to the front in impressive fashion to win the GII Charles Town Oaks. The Florida-bred daughter of Mo Town wasn't bet like a winner, going off right on her 6-1 morning line, but entered on a strong run having won three of six starts this year in an "every other race" pattern. She earned her debut graded stakes win two back taking the...

A generation ago, the Philip H. Iselin S. used to be the premier race of the summer at Monmouth Park. Even while cycling through several name changes, the then-handicap carried Grade I status between 1976 and 1996 and a purse that swelled to $500,000 for a few years. Its importance as an August fixture for top older routers merited regular broadcasts on national TV, and the race's roster of winners boasted such standouts as Spectacular Bid, Alysheba and Skip Away. In decline ever since, the Iselin had already levelled out...

In the latest detour in the exhaustive legal saga stemming from Justify's 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby win, the connections of the horse during his racing career filed a notice last week with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) requesting that the agency entertain an appeal of a recent board of stewards decision disqualifying the horse from the race and to stay the purse distribution. In response, the CHRB have denied a stay of the stewards' decision but stated that it will "assign a Hearing Officer in this matter where...

More often than not, when the horses hit the finish line for the last Breeders' Cup race of the day, we know who the Horse of the Year is. Usually, someone has done enough to separate themselves from the pack: Flightline (Tapit), Knicks Go (Paynter), Authentic (Into Mischief). Or no one stepped up to unseat the leading contender going in. We have nothing of the kind this year. There were plenty of standout performances on Breeders' Cup Day, but that's part of the problem. The leading contenders are so evenly...

GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) was pulled up during a routine morning work Saturday at Santa Anita. He was vanned off after being helped into the ambulance. The GI Haskell S. winner was breezing into the stretch under veteran jockey Mike Smith when the incident occurred. An update from the Breeders' Cup read: "Geaux Rocket Ride sustained an open condylar fracture with intersesmoidian ligament damage to his right front leg during a workout this morning under Mike Smith, who was uninjured, dismounted, and tended...