Pop quiz: what do 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify and Atomic Blonde, dam of last week's GI Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map), have in common? Both are by Scat Daddy, both were bred by the Gunther family, and both were raised at Glennwood Farm near Versailles, Kentucky. Justify and Atomic Blonde also have [...]

That must have been a good sandwich. It was certainly a memorable one. Walker Hancock of Claiborne Farm distinctly remembers eating subs from Jersey Mike's one fall afternoon in 2021 with Daisy Phipps Pulito and Claiborne's farm manager Bradley Purcell in Claiborne's conference room. The three of them sat down over those sandwiches to hash [...]

Connections of Stark Contrast (c, 3, Caravaggio–Catch the Eye, by Quality Road), second in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks Mar. 21 behind scratched GI Kentucky Derby contender Fulleffort (Liam's Map), could have entertained a Derby bid with the 50 points he earned at Turfway, but opted instead for the 35th running of the GI American [...]

'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Cy Fair (f, 3, Not This Time–Remarqued, by Arch) is a big fan of showing her best during the sport's biggest weeks. Following a scintillating win in last fall's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint over the boys, the bay filly signaled her return as a headliner with a [...]

Keeneland's spring meet has kicked off and the GI Kentucky Derby is less than a month away. Let's take a look back at the recently concluded first quarter of 2026, where we got to enjoy 78 (19%) of the 410 graded races scheduled domestically for this year. Thus far in 2026, the 78 graded races [...]

When So Happy (c, 3, Runhappy–So Cunning, by Blame) won his first two starts–both sprints–impressively, then yielded when stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in the GII San Felipe Stakes Mar. 7, it could be assumed he had distance limitations. After all, his sire was the 2015 champion sprinter and So Happy had kicked off [...]

Meaning (f, 3, Gun Runner–Figure of Speech, by Into Mischief), a Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners colorbearer, proved her win over Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly Super Corredora (Gun Runner) in the Las Virgenes Stakes Feb. 8 was no fluke and asserted herself as California's division leader with a resounding victory in the GII Santa [...]

Elite winners are always cause for celebration. With racing at the highest levels quickly ramping up for 2026, we continue to spotlight some of the special Grade I producers of the last several months. Up today, we get a glimpse into a quartet of mares who produced homebred stars. Stormy Welcome, dam of Raging Sea [...]

Slam Dunk Racing, Deborah Baltas, and Cynthia McClanahan's British Isles (g, 5, Justify–Purely Hot, by Pure Prize), a private purchase by the team from Coolmore connections two years ago, has spent the majority of his 24-race career in allowance company, but took full advantage of the scratched-down field of five in Saturday's GI Santa Anita [...]

Last year, no one could have foreseen Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) would use the GIII Florida Oaks–a turf race for sophomore fillies that offers no GI Kentucky Oaks points–as an unlikely springboard to the 3-year-old filly championship. This year, it was Tagermeen Racing's Dandona (f, 3, Tiz the Law–Tulsa Queen, by Cactus Ridge) who captured the [...]

Sometimes, you might as well just buy the factory. It was the fall of 2023 and Glenn Bennett already had two of Adorabella (Ghostzapper)'s three foals, the oldest of which (Girl Trouble, by Fast Anna) was a stakes winner for him and partner Swilcan Stable at Parx, and the youngest of which he'd just bought [...]

Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Michael B. Tabor's Plutarch (c, 3, Into Mischief–Stellar Wind, by Curlin) was bred to be a star–he is out of 2015's champion 3-year-old filly turned $6-million Keeneland-topping mare Stellar Wind–and he made good on that promise Saturday in the $101,000 GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita. The [...]