Pacific Classic

Trainer Gary Jones, who was inducted into the United States Racing Hall of Fame in 2014, passed away Sunday at his home in Del Mar, California. His son, trainer Marty Jones, said his father had been in hospice care and died of natural causes. He was 76. "He was an amazing person, first and foremost," his son said. "For me, that's the most important thing. On top of that, he was a great horse trainer." Gary Jones was the son of longtime California-based trainer Farrell Jones and took over his...

Whether you love him or have mixed feelings about him, there is one thing about Maximum Security (New Year's Day) that is very hard to dispute: he is an outstanding racehorse. Prohibitively favored at 40 cents on the dollar to take Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic in his second start since being transferred to the barn of Bob Baffert, the bay absorbed race-long pressure but, realistically speaking, never looked like losing in securing an all-expenses-paid berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in early November. When the dust had settled,...

It's not his fault. But the fact is that Maximum Security (New Year's Day) has become one of the most chronicled, most contentious Thoroughbreds of recent times. From a lawsuit over his disqualification at Churchill, to the scandal engulfing his former trainer, to his frozen Arabian treasures, to the merit (or otherwise) of his debut for a new barn, one way or another, this extraordinary creature cannot keep out of the headlines. If feeling mischievous, indeed, one might almost say that he will not be the only polarizing incumbent facing...

The first foals by Grade I-winning multimillionaire Collected (City Zip--Helena Bay, by Johannesburg), have been reported at leading nurseries Airdrie Stud, Anderson Farms and Trackside Farm, Airdrie announced Tuesday. Airdrie Stud resident Believe You Can (Proud Citizen), winner of six stakes including the 2012 GI Kentucky Oaks, foaled a colt by Collected Feb. 1. "We bred the most important mare on our farm to Collected and he has greatly rewarded our faith in him," said Airdrie's Bret Jones. "Believe You Can's colt is an absolutely exceptional foal with the presence...

It was back in 1988 that John Sadler began his stake race winning spree at Del Mar, when the mild-mannered speedball Olympic Prospect took the then-$75,000 Bing Crosby H., prompting jockey Alex Solis afterwards to breathlessly exclaim, "I never rode a horse that fast in my life." When given this little factoid at his Del Mar barn one recent morning--a full 31 years after the event--Sadler assumed the look of someone who'd just been told that water wasn't wet. "I wouldn't think so--it's got to be before that," he said...

Hronis Racing's Catalina Cruiser (Union Rags), undefeated in two starts to that point, had his coming out party with a 6 3/4-length romp in the GII San Diego H. on opening weekend last summer at Del Mar. He will attempt to repeat that feat as a heavy favorite in Saturday's renewal of the seaside oval's annual prep for the GI Pacific Classic. Debuting in October of 2017 with a sharp off-the-pace success, the chestnut proved both his talent and versatility when annexing a Santa Anita optional claimer in front-running fashion...