Tom Knust

Jockey Antonio Fresu watched the 2023 GI Kentucky Derby on television. Though from Italy, he understood the importance of the race and knew that everybody, be it a jockey, trainer, owner, aspires to win it. But he had no reason to believe that he'd ever win the Derby, let alone ride in it. In late April of last year, just eight days before the Derby, he had started riding in the U.S. at Santa Anita. He was unknown and unproven to the trainers in the U.S. "I came here to...

After a long lifetime marked by notable wins on the racetrack and in the business world, prominent owner-breeder, entrepreneur and philanthropist Marty Wygod has passed away aged 84. "I have so many good memories of Marty Wygod. I was telling Emily [Bushnell, Wygod's daughter] this morning, one of my favorite things about Marty was he had a great sense of humor," said trainer John Shirreffs, who conditioned some of Wygod's heaviest hitters on the track. Wygod, said Shirreffs, was also something of a prankster. "The first time I met him...

Jockey Antonio Fresu, currently second in the jockey's standings at Del Mar with 31 wins, has been suspended a total of 32 days by the California stewards for overuse of the whip. Fresu's suspension runs from Sept. 8 through Oct. 9. He was also fined $1,242. The suspensions came in the form of six separate rulings from the California Horse Racing Board, including two issued Sept. 4. According to CHRB spokesman Mike Marten, while the CHRB issued the rulings, it was only enforcing rules set forth by the Horse Racing...