Rich Strike

ELMONT, NY - With regular exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes in the saddle, GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) circled the shedrow shortly after 8:30 a.m. on a sticky Thursday morning at Belmont Park. Making his way through the picturesque Belmont backstretch about 10 minutes later with a good-sized entourage in tow, Rich Strike entered the paddock via the tunnel as owner Richard Dawson and trainer Eric Reed, both sporting plenty of black-and-red Rich Strike swag, chatted by the famed Secretariat statue. With torrential pre-dawn thunderstorms leaving the main...

Though not a proponent of "fixing" the Triple Crown by spacing the races further apart, I can't deny that the series has a problem. GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) passed the GI Preakness S. Preakness winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) won't be running in the GI Belmont S. this Saturday and not a single horse will contest all three Triple Crown races this year. The Triple Crown ends with a race that is good but could be a lot better. Lining up the best horses possible for...

ELMONT, NY - With the rising sun making its way through cloudy skies, GI Belmont S. longshot Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) began to get into his gallop on the clubhouse turn on a steamy Wednesday morning at beautiful Belmont Park. Sporting plenty of trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.'s flashy yellow-and-blue stable colors, the GI Preakness S. fifth-place finisher continued to catch the eye upon return while jogging along the outer rail with his neck arched. He stood briefly by the gap and soaked up plenty of attention from a handful of photographers as...

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), the winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and a starter in the upcoming GI Belmont S., was placed on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's veterinarian's list May 22 and did not come off the list until last Sunday. However, trainer Eric Reed reports that the horse's presence on the vet's list is not a cause for concern. "He was on there because of routine stuff that we had a chiropractor work on," Reed said "In Kentucky, with anything like that you have to report it to...

ELMONT, NY -- With GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) exiting from post four, a field of eight was drawn Tuesday morning for Saturday's 154th GI Belmont Stakes. The historic, come-from-behind 80-1 Derby upsetter heads to the final leg of the Triple Crown fresh after breaking the norm and skipping the GI Preakness S. He has been installed as the third choice on the morning line at odds of 7-2. The $30,000 claim-to-fame will attempt to be the first non-Triple Crown winner to capture both the Kentucky Derby...

Several major contenders for next week's $1.5-million GI Belmont S. completed their final serious preparations Saturday morning. Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher seeks his fourth Belmont trophy, and sent out his pair of representatives, GII Wood Memorial S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks runner-up Nest (Curlin), to an in-company half in :49.90 (68/129) over the Belmont training track. Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Jose Ortiz, respectively, piloted the pair, who Pletcher caught breaking off in :24.80 and galloping out six furlongs in 1:14 and seven furlongs...

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), upset winner of the GI Kentucky Derby, got his first look at the Belmont Park main track on Thursday, galloping 1 1/2 miles over the sloppy going with regular exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes in the irons. The chestnut arrived at Belmont early Wednesday morning to prepare for the GI Belmont S. on June 11. "It seems like he's done everything a little bit better than I thought he would," said trainer Eric Reed. "We actually took him out yesterday and we were going to give him...

GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike (Keen Ice) arrived in New York by van from Kentucky at 1 a.m. Wednesday to prepare for the GI Belmont S. June 11. With exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes up, Rich Strike visited Belmont's dirt training track at 9:30 a.m. with the accompaniment of outrider Juan Galvez and his pony Stormy, making two laps the wrong way round. "He settled down a lot the second time round. A lot of that was trying to get him used to the pony. You could see the farther...

RED-TR Racing's GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) dazzled fans Monday at Churchill Downs with a five-furlong move in :59 between Races 5-6 in his final major preparation toward the $1.5 million GI Belmont Stakes S. June 11. With rider Gabe Lagunes in the saddle, Rich Strike clipped off eighth-mile fractions of :11.80, :23.20 and :34.80, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Robertson. The 80-1 upset winner of the Derby galloped out six furlongs in 1:12 and completed seven furlongs in 1:26. Trainer Eric Reed watched the work from the...

Alex Bregman was 0-for-4 last Thursday night as the Houston Astros fell, 5-1, to the Texas Rangers, but the two-time All-Star will remember the day as one of the best he's ever enjoyed in sports. A few hours before the Astros took the field at Minute Maid Park, Bregman won his first-ever race as an owner with the first horse he had ever run. The feat was accomplished by Cadillac Candy (Twirling Candy) in the first race at Churchill Downs, a five-furlong turf maiden for two-year-olds. "It felt like hitting...

Roughly 12 hours before his peers were set to take to the Pimlico main track for the GI Preakness S., RED-TR Racing's GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike (Keen Ice) returned to the worktab, breezing a half-mile in a strong :47.20. With rider Gabe Lagunes in the irons, the chestnut broke off aggressively with an opening quarter-mile in :22.80 and he galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.60. Immediately following his stunning 80-1 upset beneath the Twin Spires, connections fully intended on pressing on to the Preakness, but it was announced...