Thorpedo Anna

Jockey Brian Hernandez, who was fined $1,250, will also serve a one-day suspension for the ride on Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in last weekend's GI Travers Stakes, reports Daily Racing Form Tuesday. Issued by the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and signed by NYRA steward Victor Escobar, the penalty was levied for using the crop seven times, one over the limit of six strikes. The Kentucky Oaks winner and Hernandez finished a close second behind juvenile champion Fierceness (City of Light) in the Travers. Hernandez, who is scheduled...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.-When it became perfectly clear that the finish of Saturday's $1.25-million, GI DraftKings Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course was going to be desperately close, trainer Todd Pletcher went to work. Sitting up in his clubhouse box, the normally composed Pletcher rose to his feet and screamed and yelled for his 3-year-old colt Fierceness (City of Light) to get the job done in the Midsummer Derby. "I knew it was getting close," the Hall of Fame trainer said outside his office at his barn at the Oklahoma Training...

Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) deserves all the credit in world for her game performance in the GI DraftKings Travers Stakes. Facing off against one of the toughest Travers fields in memory, she beat everyone but Eclipse Award winner Fierceness (City of Light), losing by a diminishing head. She finished ahead of the GI Toyota Blue Grass winner and GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and GI Belmont S. and GI Haskell S. winner Dornoch (Good Magic) and four other males. It was a special effort by a special...

Saturday's 14-race DraftKings Travers Day card generated a record-setting all-sources wagering handle of $63,023,405, according to a press release from NYRA on Saturday. The 2024 figure represents a 13.4 percent increase over the prior record of $55,559,317, which was established in 2022. Paid attendance on Saturday was 47,844 with on-track handle of $11,267,864. THE CHAMP IS BACK! Fierceness, son of @LanesEndFarms stallion City of Light, wins the G1 @DraftKings Travers Stakes, leaving no doubt that he's back on top! The legendary @ljlmvel was aboard for @PletcherRacing and @RepoleStable. pic.twitter.com/M8KY6h4sQr —...

If there was a knock on last year's champion 2-year-old and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) heading into Saturday's GI Travers S., it was that he couldn't fire his best shot in back-to-back races. Seems awfully silly now, doesn't it? Off as the 7-2 third choice and just a dime shy of 4-1 in the highlight of the summer meeting at Saratoga, the Repole Stable homebred backed up his exceptional win in the local prep GII Jim Dandy Stakes July 27 with a dramatic head victory over the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--There was a steady stream of people ambling over to trainer Kenny McPeek's barn at the Annex behind the Oklahoma Training Track Friday morning. They all wanted to send good thoughts to him and his 3-year-old filly, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), as Saturday's $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course quickly approached. McPeek, standing outside his office with his canine companion Sonny at his side, accepted all the positive vibes. Some lucky ones were even able to secure a pink Thorpedo Anna baseball cap, which were...

When 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) enters the gate for Saturday's $1.25-million GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga, it'll be more than a sporting gesture on the part of the ownership group and trainer Ken McPeek. The conditioner is rolling the dice against a field that includes three other Grade I winners--an oft-brilliant, but sometimes unpredictable reigning Eclipse Award champion, a Classic winner over the course and distance and a seven-figure yearling whose full potential has yet to be realized. Sure, Thorpedo Anna could have faced her peers in...

Everyone has their superstitions before a big race. For Mark Edwards, it's the shirt he was wearing when Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) broke her maiden by over eight lengths and became a 'TDN Rising Star' at Keeneland last October. He's worn the same shirt for every one of her races since then other than her only career loss last year in the GII Golden Rod, so you can bet that Edwards will be sporting his shirt this weekend when Thorpedo Anna takes on the boys in the GI Travers Stakes....

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--In an intriguing GI Travers Stakes loaded with talent and questions, will anyone be surprised if 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) wins? Nope. Although it is unlikely that the colt trained by Chad Brown will be the betting favorite Saturday in the 155th running of the signature race at Saratoga Race Course--he is a narrow fourth at 7-2 on the morning line--Sierra Leone's record demands respect. He has never been worse than third in seven career starts. One of those victories came in the GI Blue...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Trainer Kenny McPeek sat in his office at his barn at the Annex across from the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning and began rattling off the names. Ruffian. Genuine Risk. Winning Colors. Rags to Riches. Zenyatta. Rachel Alexandra. Beholder. They are some of the best fillies to ever do it on the racetrack. McPeek is hopeful that, after next Saturday, the name Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) might join that illustrious group. Thorpedo Anna, of course, is attempting to become the first filly since 1915 to win the $1.25...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. - Saturday is going to be a big day for horses being pointed to the $1.24-million GI Travers Stakes. Two key horses for the race--Dornoch (Good Magic) and Fierceness (City of Light)--had their final works switched from Friday to Saturday. They will join Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), Honor Marie (Honor Code) and Batten Down (Tapit), who are all scheduled to have their final Midsummer Derby moves on Saturday. Saratoga did have some heavy rain on Thursday, but the track appeared ok on...

The absence of the 'Grizzly Bear' has not put a damper on Saturday's GI Alabama Stakes, neither for the connections in it nor likely for the betting public, but despite Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}) being the class of the field, it's not as cut and dry of an affair. Currently sitting cosy at 7-5 on the morning line, Candied is deservedly the one to beat as victory in the GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes, a third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, and a gutsy second to 'TDN Rising Star'...