Todd Pletcher

There were 13 graded stakes races run in North America Saturday and the combination of Bob Baffert, Chad Brown, Steve Asmussen, Brad Cox and Mark Casse won eight of them. That's three Hall of Famers and two future Hall of Famers. Not that any of this should come as a surprise. The so-called super trainer stables seem to only be getting bigger and more powerful by the day, leaving everyone else to fight over the leftover scraps. So what chance did Jason Cook have in the GII John A. Nerud...

The New York Race Track Chaplaincy, an organization devoted to serving the community of stable workers and their families who make Thoroughbred racing possible at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack, and Saratoga Race Course, have announced that tickets and sponsorships for its 16th annual brunch in Saratoga Springs are now available. The brunch, scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 10 a.m. EDT, will once again be held at the Saratoga National Golf Club. Tickets and sponsorships can be obtained online by visiting www.rtcany.org. or by calling 516-216-5196. "This increasingly popular event...

2nd-ELP, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:14 p.m. Two high-priced maidens will kick off their careers at Ellis Park Thursday. BC Stables paid $1.35 million for DAILY GRIND (Medaglia d'Oro) at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling sale. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, the bay colt is out of SW Walk Close (Tapit), who also produced his full-brother Anneau d'Or, second-place finisher in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Lambo (Uncle Mo), trained by Steve Asmussen, brought $950,000 from the Heiligbrodts and Jackpot Farm at OBS March after posting a :10 flat...

The rest of the Patrick family had all come and gone by the time Belle's Finale (Ghostzapper) was preparing to sell at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale, but Mary Leigh Patrick was there to watch as the pretty bay mare stepped into the ring. Mary Leigh had decided to hold out for the rest of the session, hoping to find one last addition for Ramspring Farm's broodmare band ahead of another breeding season. The octogenarian knew she had accomplished the mission when she spotted Belle's Finale, an unraced 3-year-old out...

1st-Belmont, $87,300, Msw, 6-18, 2yo, f, 5f, :58.74, ft, 3 lengths. WINE ON TAP (f, 2, Tapit--Princess La Quinta {GSW, $178,148}, by Quality Road) debuted here as the even-money co-favorite alongside Looks First (Mor Spirit). Breaking from post four, the gray filly tracked a longshot from second up the backstretch, pulled even with her rival past the quarter pole and went on to graduate by 3 lengths over the late-running Ilikefunsize (Upstart). The winner is her dam's first to make the races, but she does have a 3-year-old half-brother named...

Just a few days after the running of this year's GI Belmont S., the final leg of the Triple Crown was back in the news. With the Belmont grandstand set to be torn down after the 2024 spring meet and with the new stands not expected to be ready until 2026, the 2025 Belmont S. will likely need a home. And after hinting that the race could be run in Saratoga, the New York Racing Association was more specific when the topic was addressed early last week. When asked by...

2nd-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 3:30 p.m. When the hammer fell at OBS back in March, MUTH (Good Magic) was not only the session topper, but the 2-year-old tied the sale record with a final price of $2 million. Purchased by Amr Zedan and trained by Bob Baffert, the bay colt breezed during the under tack show by going 1/8 in :9 3/5. Muth debuts for these connections from the outside post with Juan Hernandez aboard. TJCIS PPS 1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, 1:05 p.m. On Belmont's Sunday card,...

4th-ELP, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 3:16 p.m. OXO Equine's BALTA (Munnings), a $685,000 '23 OBSMAR purchase who went :9 4/5 during the under tack show, debuts Saturday for Paulo Lobo. The 2-year-old chestnut colt's family tree includes GISW Cupid (Tapit) and is a half-brother to SW Opus Forty Two (Mendelssohn). Opposing him will be fellow firster, trained Kenny McPeek, Northern Flame (Flameaway), who brought $425,000 at the Fasig-Tipton August sale last year. Also entered is D. Wayne Lukas trainee Just Steel (Justify), who went for $500,000 at the '22...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 06/09/2023 Licensee: Kent Desormeaux, jockey Penalty: Probation...

The New York Gaming Commission has suspended Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher 14 days and fined him $2,000 after a horse he trained tested positive for the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone during a 2022 race at Saratoga. Via text message, Pletcher said he is appealing the penalty. He declined to comment further. The Paulick Report was first with the story. The horse in question, Capensis (Tapit), was the even-money favorite in the 10th race at Saratoga on July 30, 2022 and finished sixth. He is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners,...

The team around Arcangelo (Arrogate) was still basking in the glory of his GI Belmont S. victory Sunday morning, even as trainer Jena Antonucci admitted no future plans had been mapped out for the gray colt who was taking a power nap nearby. "There is zero idea," Antonucci said of a potential next start for Arcangelo. "We know what the calendar is and what's where, so we'll let him come out of this and tell us. [The Aug. 26 GI Travers] is on our radar, but the stakes schedule is...

Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's Up To the Mark (Not This Time) consolidated his position at the top of the American turf division with a second straight dominating performance at the top level in Saturday's GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S. at Belmont Park. Made the 8-5 chalk on the strength of a much-the-best victory in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs May 6, the $450,000 Keeneland September graduate was away in good order and landed just ahead of centerfield...