Ricardo Santana

During the Wednesday running of race five at Saratoga Race Course, a $50,000 starter allowance going nine furlongs over the turf, Wisecraken (McCraken) sustained a catastrophic injury to his right hind leg, Pat McKenna, NYRA's Vice President of Communications, said via email Wednesday afternoon. Despite the immediate response of on-site veterinarians, the horse was humanely euthanized due to the severity of the injury. The 3-year-old gelding owned by Ironhorse Racing Stable LLC was trained by Michelle Nevin and ridden by Ricardo Santana, Jr., who was uninjured.

New York Thunder (Nyquist) declared victory in his first stakes attempt for AMO Racing at Woodbine on Saturday. Perfect in his only two career starts towards the end of his juvenile year, the bay colt was a debut winner Nov. 27 at Gulfstream by 6 1/2 lengths sprinting over the Tapeta. He then switched to turf against optional claimers in Hallandale and drove clear by 1 3/4 length. After working out in Kentucky for nearly two months, the Jorge Delgado trainee shipped to Canada and was well-regarded at the windows...

Despite missing the final 13 racing days due to injury, David Cabrera earned his first Oaklawn Park riding title with 62 victories when the Arkansas track concluded its racing season Sunday. Cabrera was one win ahead of Francisco Arrieta and eight-time Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana was third with 47 victories. "This is a dream," Cabrera said. "This is a dream and I really thank my agent. He's a very, very good agent. To me, having him is something very good. He's my secret weapon." Cabrera, who has spent the...

With the Medina Spirit (Protonico) positive, the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf debacle, the on-going saga of Jorge Navarro, Jason Servis and the rest and the closing of Arlington Park, it's been another tough year for horse racing. This game sure can get you down at times. But we will always have the horse. These beautiful, athletic, noble, graceful animals, they always find a way to make you feel good about the sport. Which is why so many people were smiling and cheering Saturday at Woodbine as Pink Lloyd (Old...

When pre-entries for the Breeders' Cup were announced last week it was no surprise that Chad Brown's contingent was dominated by turf horses. He has 11 entered for grass races and just three for dirt races. Since he went out on his own in 2007, Brown has established himself as the sport's best grass trainer and grass racing has always been his focus. Entering Sunday's races, he had won 1,316 turf races for a winning rate of 25% and 63.5% of his career wins had come on the grass. Brown...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $77,248, Msw, 6-19, 2yo, 5f, :57.49, ft. JACKIE'S WARRIOR (c, 2, Maclean's Music--Unicorn Girl, by A. P. Five Hundred) topped off a concise worktab with a bullet half-mile from the gate in :47 1/5 (1/35) at Keeneland June 9 and was made the 21-10 second favorite on debut. Hustled along early to contest the pace from the inside, Jackie's Warrior was taken hold of by Ricardo Santana, Jr. at the 3 1/2-furlong pole and switched out into the two path. Despite having lost some momentum in so doing,...