Whitney

For a race that offers just a five-horse field, Saturday's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga will nevertheless feature plenty of intrigue, as two of the handicap division's top stars will meet the one-two finishers from the GI Metropolitan H. and a certain champion filly whose trainer called an audible to enter her in the meet centerpiece for older horses, a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Given the morning-line at 6-5 is the Korea Racing Authority's enigmatic star speedball Knicks Go (Paynter). A shocking...

The New York Racing Association announced post times for the 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga, which will feature 76 stakes worth $21.5 million in total purses. With the exception of Travers Day, Whitney Day and closing weekend, first post on live race days will be 1:05 p.m. First post for the GI Runhappy Travers Day card Aug. 28 will be 11:35 a.m. GI Whitney S. Day Aug. 7 kicks off with a 12:35 p.m. first post. Closing weekend of the Saratoga meet will offer a 12:35 p.m. post time...

James (Jimmy) Tsitsiragos, a longtime assistant starter at the New York Racing Association, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 16 at the age of 71. Born Aug. 6, 1949 in Leonia, New Jersey, Tsitsiragos graduated from Leonia High School in 1967 where he was a beloved football legend nicknamed by his classmates as "Zorba the Greek." He then attended Texas A&M University as a walk-on for the football team and quickly earned a full scholarship under Head Coach Gene Stallings. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1972, he...

This past Saturday wasn't a great day to be a favorite in an open stakes race at the nation's premier race meets. Chalk horses went a collective one-for-seven at Saratoga and Del Mar, and the list of excuses included stutter-step starts, bumps leaving the gate, stretch-run roughhousing, getting disqualified, and being dueled into defeat in internal pace battles. Tight finishes in several stakes elevated the interest level, although the results in general did not lend clarity to the nationwide divisional races with the GI Kentucky Derby inside the five-week mark...

'TDN Rising Star' Improbable (City Zip) scored back-to-back Grade I victories and provided his conditioner Bob Baffert with his second straight renewal of Saratoga's prestigious GI Whitney S. Saturday with a dominant score in this 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Heavily Favored Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike) missed the break and was relegated to last early as native New Yorker Mr Buff (Friend or Foe) took command, loping through early splits of :25.12 and :49.74 with 3-1 shot Improbable keeping close tabs from second. Improbable...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Following the draw for the GI Whitney S. Wednesday morning, trainer Shug McGaughey answered more questions about his previous Whitney winners than this year's runner, Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}). McGaughey, a member of racing's Hall of Fame since 2004, will try for his fourth victory in Saratoga's premier dirt race for older horses Saturday with William Farish's 4-year-old homebred colt. The chestnut drew in the middle of the strong five-horse field, that features Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike), who has won four straight stakes, and...

The GI Runhappy Travers S, normally run on the next-to-last weekend of the Saratoga meet, has been moved up to Aug. 8. The shift of the Travers date was one of a handful of changes made to the 2020 Saratoga stakes schedule, which was released Friday by the New York Racing Association. Had the Travers stayed in its normal slot on the calendar, it would have been run Aug. 29, just one week before the repositioned GI Kentucky Derby. With the race having been moved back three weeks, it sets...

Saturday's GI Whitney S. lost some of its appeal when two-time G1 Dubai World Cup hero Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) was scratched sick, depriving fans of a battle with 'TDN Rising Star' McKinzie (Street Sense) in the 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita the first weekend in November. Though that clash is on hold for the next eight weeks, McKinzie upheld his end of the bargain, getting a thinking-man's ride from Hall of Famer Mike Smith before holding off a late...