Bill Mott

The Roth family's LNJ Foxwoods announced plans to move its Southern California-based horses east and re-focus its racing stable on the East Coast, Canada and Kentucky circuits. A Sunday afternoon tweet from Jaime Roth read, "LNJ Foxwoods has made the difficult decision to take a break from having horses stabled year-round in Southern California. With our family based in New York and one of our advisors, Alex Solis, II of Solis/Litt, having relocated to Lexington, we would like to focus on the East Coast, Canada and Kentucky circuits at this...

It was a hectic week in the Thoroughbred business with all eyes firmly focussed on Louisville, Kentucky. Here are some facts and figures that you might have missed in the rush. Record Numbers... Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby (single race) totaled $179 million, up 15% over 2021 and up 8% from the previous record of $166.5-million set in 2019. This year's wagering record includes $8.3 million of handle put through the window in Japan. The Smart Strike Factor... As a broodmare sire, Smart Strike has the distinction of...

In another zip code at the top of the stretch, Juddmonte homebred Obligatory (Curlin) turned in a furious stretch rally to record a career high in Saturday's GI Derby City Distaff S. at Churchill Downs. Favored Just One Time (Not This Time), a last out winner of Keeneland's GI Madison S., showed the way through fractions of :22.36 and :44.95 and hit the quarter pole as the one to catch. Obligatory, meanwhile, last of seven throughout, tipped out six wide beneath Jose Ortiz for the stretch run. Longshot Four Graces...

And the beat goes on for Olympiad (Speightstown), who looked to be in all sorts of trouble entering the final furlong of Friday's GII Alysheba S., but he called on his class and talent to repel a challenge from 'TDN Rising Star' Happy Saver (Super Saver) to remain perfect from four starts this season. Away alertly, the odds-on favorite raced prominently under the wire for the first time and had company to his inside in the form of Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile) and from a three-wide Happy Saver. The Chiefswood...

Those who swallowed the 1-5 on the comebacking War Like Goddess (English Channel) in Friday's closing-day GIII Bewtich S. at Keeneland were made to sweat it out, but the gaps finally came with time ticking away and the George Krikorian colorbearer proved best following a trip that can best be described as adventurous. With Joel Rosario somewhat controversially taking over at the controls from Julien Leparoux aboard the 2021 Eclipse Award finalist, War Like Goddess settled in third position in a scratched-down field of just five turf marathoners, but the...

In the 1980s the horse racing game was filled with white bridles and D. Wayne Lukas winning just about every weekend stakes race from coast to coast. The slogan which handicappers used was "D. Wayne off the plane," referring to his ability to ship horses to different tracks and pick up stakes wins. Several of Lukas's fillies included Landaluce, Terlingua, Lady's Secret, Life's Magic, Family Style, Lucky Lucky Lucky, Miss Huntington and the list goes on. When I think back of my first years working at the track, two fillies...

Not quite nailing the GI Kentucky Derby with Essential Quality (Tapit) felt like one of very few omissions from a spectacular 2021 for Godolphin on both sides of the Atlantic. And while it seems that Sheikh Mohammed must wait at least another year to satisfy that particular craving, his team certainly won't have felt too marginalized during the coast-to-coast sequence of rehearsals that gripped our attention last Saturday. Because they now know for a fact that they have one of the outstanding talents of the previous crop in Speaker's Corner...

Nostalgic (Medaglia d'Oro) added to a banner day for Godolphin with an upset score over even-money favorite and Busher Invitational S. romper Venti Valentine (Firing Line) in Aqueduct's GIII Gazelle S. Saturday. Godolphin and Nostalgic's trainer Bill Mott also teamed up to win the GI Carter H. one race earlier with Speaker's Corner (Street Sense). Additionally, Sheikh Mohammed's operation won Keeneland's GIII Commonwealth S. with homebred 'TDN Rising Star' Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro). Venti Valentine broke alertly and went straight to the front with fellow NY-bred, 9-5 second-choice and 'TDN Rising...

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) took his 2022 record to a perfect three-for-three with a sensational victory in the GI Carter H. on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct. Hammered down to 3-5 favoritism, the Godolphin homebred was quickest away from the outside stall, but was quickly joined on the front end by a trio of rivals to his inside. Speaker's Corner spurted away to gain a clear lead after the first quarter went up in :23.17 with Reinvestment Risk (Upstart) tracking from second to his inside. That foe backed up...

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), a perfect two-for-two to start the year, led by a dominating victory with a 106 Beyer over next-out GIII Ghostzapper S. winner Fearless (Ghostzapper) in the GII WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile S. Mar. 5, headlines Saturday's GI Carter H. at the Big A. Always held in high regard by his connections, the Godolphin homebred has found his calling around one turn this year after concluding his sophomore season with a drifting second in the 1 1/8-mile Discovery S. here Nov. 27. Drawn widest of all in...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 7th-GP, $60K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 4:07 p.m. ET A trio of Hall of Fame barns send out five of the eight entrants in this elongated sprint. Todd Pletcher saddles Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's $560,000 KEESEP buy Gate Runner (Arrogate). Out of stakes-placed turf router Nerfertiti (Speightstown), he's half to MGSW dirt sprinter Engage (Into Mischief). Second dam Clearly a Queen (Lucky North) was a hard-knocking MGSW on the lawn. Pletcher will also be represented by Days of Yore (Street Sense), who appears to...

Olympiad added to his 2022 hot streak with his third straight win Saturday in the GII New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds. The heavy favorite stalked from second as Promise Keeper put up early splits of :23.69 and :47.25. Seizing command in early stretch, Olympiad rolled clear in the lane for a facile score over Proxy. Promise Keeper held third. Olympiad's final time of 1:47.74 just missed the track record for nine furlongs of 1:47.64. Olympiad won a Keeneland allowance in October, for which he earned a 98 Beyer Speed...