Bob Baffert

Aidan O'Brien has never won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. But it hasn't been from a lack of effort. He's had 13 starters in the race and has run some very good horses, including Galileo (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Giant's Causeway (Storm Cat). But his luck could very well change this year as he will take aim at the Classic with one of the best horses of this generation. The O'Brien trained City of Troy (Justify) has had an outstanding campaign in Europe, winning six of seven starts, including four...

Del Mar concluded its 85th summer racing season Sunday as the seaside track once again recorded strong field sizes and average daily handle as well as the highest daily purses in the state of California. Del Mar averaged 8.6 starters per race and $831,000 per day in total purse distribution. Total wagering for the meet was $502,985,000, a slight decrease from last summer after Del Mar implemented new restrictions on computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players in 2024. Average daily handle was $16,225,000. Track officials indicated that the handle figures were in...

For the 18th time, the GI Del Mar Futurity belongs to trainer Bob Baffert. The Hall of Fame trainer sent three horses to post Sunday in Del Mar's Closing Day feature and, while race favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Getaway Car (Curlin) was the expected winner, it was 7-2 shot Gaming (Game Winner) who stole the spotlight. He lined up facing not just his own talented stablemates (including the aforementioned favorite along with Citizen Bull {Into Mischief}) but also another gate-to-wire maiden winner in McKinzie Street (McKinzie) for Tim Yakteen....

.      The lesser-preferred half of a Bob Baffert-trained pair, Baoma Corp's Tenma (Nyquist) was shoved across the wire first by jockey Kazushi Kimura to take out Saturday's GI Del Mar Debutante on the penultimate day of the summer meeting at the seaside oval. Vodka With a Twist (Thousand Words) carried a clear advantage into the final furlong, but was chinned on the wire while finishing a block ahead of longshot So There She Was (Munnings) in third. The disappointment of the race was 'TDN Rising Star' Nooni (Win Win...

It's the final day of the meet where the 'turf meets the surf' where trainer Bob Baffert will likely finish the afternoon with an unprecedented 18th winner of the GI Del Mar Futurity, the final major contest of the season before the track gets all decked out in purple for the arrival of the Breeders' Cup in early November. The Hall of Famer saddles three of Sunday's seven intended runners, each capable of walking away with the victory on their best. 'TDN Rising Star' Getaway Car (Curlin) is the most...

4th-DMR, $75K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 6:00 p.m. ET. CASH CALL (McKinzie) makes her first start for CSLR Racing and trainer Bob Baffert. Bred by Brent Harris and Beth Harris, the filly went for $600,000 at the OBS April Sale after she clocked :20 1/5 during the under tack show. The debut runner's dam is D'Fashion (D'wildcat), who out of her eight foals has five to race with as many winners, including MSW Strategic Dreams (Archarcharch). TJCIS PPS

It's been nearly 30 years since trainer Bob Baffert won his first GI Del Mar Debutante Stakes with Batroyale back in 1995. The Hall of Fame conditioner looks to have a stranglehold on this year's renewal of the seven-furlong contest, as he sends out a pair of big-money fillies, each campaigned by previous Debutante scorers. Front and center is 'TDN Rising Star' Nooni (Win Win Win), the $1.8-million topper from this year's OBS March Sale, who looks to become the second winner of the event in the last four years...

3rd-DMR, 75K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 5:30 p.m. One of two entries for trainer Bob Baffert, the New York-bred ZABO (Justify) sold to Zedan Racing for $700,000 at OBS March earlier this year from the Chester and Mary Broman consignment. The colt is the first foal out of MSW/GSP Pauseforthecause (Giant's Causeway) who earned nearly $550,000 in her career and is herself a daughter of MSW/GISP Spritely (Touch Gold). After bringing just $100,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September, Zabo impressed with a sharp quarter-mile breeze in :20.2. Joining him to...

One-for-one Heartland (c, 3, Justify--Sambuca Classica, by Cat Thief), whose debut maiden victory in 2023 stamped him as a 'TDN Rising Star' under Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, has been retired from racing and will stand at WinStar in 2025. His introductory fee will be $10,000 S&N. "One might ask, 'Why stand a maiden winner?'," said WinStar President, CEO, and Racing Manager Elliott Walden. "Well, he looks the part, he's by Justify, and he's a half-brother to Classic Empire. It makes perfect sense to us because we know what we...

Juddmonte homebred Show Card romped home the easiest of winners in the Tranquility Lake Stakes at Del Mar Monday. The bay filly sat just off pacesetter Yuki through a quarter in :23.42 and was pressing that longshot as the field of five bunched up down the backstretch as the half went up in :47.25. Show Card took charge approaching the stretch and strode clear down the lane to an effortless victory. Favored Super Shine was left at the gate and trailed the field early. Rank up the backstretch, she moved...

GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth (Good Magic) marked his return to the races Sunday with a victory in the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. Checking off the initial box on his road back, the $2 million OBS March topper is now poised to take the next step on the road to this fall's Breeders' Cup, which will be held at Del Mar Nov. 4-5. "He's always been a really smart horse," said trainer Bob Baffert. "You can place him wherever you want to. He had to move a little...

Early Kentucky Derby favorite Muth faced several twists and turns earlier in the 2024 season. Despite winning the GII San Vincente Stakes in January and the GI Arkansas Derby in March, Muth was precluded from running on the First Saturday in May due to his trainer's forced exclusion from the Classic over the past three seasons. Shipped to Pimlico two weeks later for the GI Preakness, the colt spiked a temperature which forced him out of the second jewel of the Triple Crown, shuttling him to the sidelines. Given plenty...