Churchill Backstretch Learning Center

The Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs is launching "Purses for a Purpose", a program to allow horse owners to pledge a portion of their horse's earnings to benefit backside workers and their families. "The backstretch community is a hugely important part of our sport, and we're more than happy to support it in any way we can," Brian DiDonato of Franklin Ave. Equine LLC, owner of Moonshine Dancing (Speightster) and Too Much Kandy (Kantharos), the first two horses to participate in Purses for a Purpose, said of his motivation...

To paraphrase the Rolling Stones, you can't always get what you want. But sometimes, you get what you need. That might end up being the case regarding the retooled GI Belmont S. announced last week by the New York Racing Association (NYRA). For its 2020 running, COVID-19 has transformed the $1.5-million, 12-furlong "Test of Champions" concluding leg of the Triple Crown into a one-turn, nine-furlong prep for the other two Classics with two-thirds its original purse. The revised Belmont S. will be run June 20 in a spectator-free Belmont Park...