Concert Tour

Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) is set to visit Dubawi (Ire) for the third year in a row,  according to plans released by Juddmonte for its European broodmare band. The 11-time Group 1 winner's dam Concentric (GB) (Sadler's Wells) will be covered by Frankel (GB) after foaling to Dubawi. Enable's first foal, the two-year-old colt by Kingman (GB) named Encompass (GB), will be trained by John and Thady Gosden at Clarehaven Stables, the former home of both his sire and dam. Enable's two-year-old full-brother Concert Tour (GB) has not yet been...

When Bob Baffert told us last week that he thought the positive drug test for Medina Spirit (Protonico) following the GI Kentucky Derby was the result of his having been treated with an anti-fungal ointment, he seemed to be suggesting that the whole thing was an honest and forgivable mistake. No harm, so why the foul? "This has never been a case of attempting to game the system or get an unfair advantage," he said. On that, he's likely telling the truth. That Baffert would use a rather benign corticosteroid...

After a few hours of sleep, trainer Michael McCarthy was back at Pimlico Race Course Sunday morning, quietly talking about Rombauer (Twirling Candy)'s emphatic victory in the 146th GI Preakness S. Saturday and looking ahead to the June 5GI Belmont Stakes. Bred and raced by John and Diane Fradkin, Rombauer rallied to a convincing 3 1/2-length score Saturday and stopped the clock in 1:53.62, the eighth-fastest time since the race distance was changed to 1 3/16 miles in 1925. While McCarthy, 50, acquired plenty of experience in Triple Crown races...

After undergoing three rounds of out-of-competition blood sample testing as part of an agreement between the Maryland Jockey Club and Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit (Protonico), Concert Tour (Street Sense) and Beautiful Gift (Medaglia d'Oro) have been reported clear and are eligible to race this weekend at Pimlico Race Course in the GI Preakness S. and GII Black-Eyed Susan S. Two samples were drawn May 6 and May 10, respectively by the Maryland Racing Commission and were screened by Industrial Laboratories in Colorado. A third sample was drawn on May 11...

BALTIMORE, MD--Immediately after the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby, it appeared that the GI Preakness S. two weeks hence would be a routine affair. Trainer Bob Baffert would be heading to Pimlico with a record seventh Derby victory under his belt and he would be in the enviable position of trying to collect his eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. And then the unthinkable happened. The Derby winner, Medina Spirit (Protonico), tested positive for Betamethasone, a substance banned on race day. That single event sparked a...

Per the condition of the entry agreement into the GI Preakness S. between the Maryland Jockey Club and trainer Bob Baffert reached earlier this week, Baffert-trained horses Medina Spirit (Protonico), Concert Tour (Street Sense) and Beautiful Gift (Medaglia d'Oro) underwent three rounds of out-of-competition blood sample testing. The Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) took two samples, one May 6 and the other May 10. A third sample was taken by 1/ST RACING and the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) May 11. Samples drawn May 6 and 10 by the MRC were sent...

Baltimore, MD--The leadup to this year's GI Preakness S. has proven anything but routine with news of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for Betamethasone following his GI Kentucky Derby win two weeks ago. However, just two days before the second jewel in the Triple Crown, the vibe around the Stakes Barns on Pimlico's back side had a decidedly more business-as-usual feel rather than a Classic-week electric charge. El Camino Real Derby winner Rombauer (Twirling Candy), third in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S., and Keepmeinmind (Laoban), last...

The Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) announced Tuesday that it had accepted the entry of Medina Spirit (Protonico) for Saturday's GI Preakness S. Trainer Bob Baffert revealed Sunday that Medina Sprit had tested positive for the prohibited medication betamethasone after winning the GI Kentucky Derby, which put his appearance in the second leg of the Triple Crown in doubt. The MJC, which operates Pimlico for The Stronach Group (TSG), had the option of banning all entries from Baffert. Following the announcement of the drug positive, Churchill Downs said that it would...

The suspension of Tex Sutton charters meant that GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) and his once-beaten stablemate, 'TDN Rising Star' Concert Tour (Street Sense) (video), had to endure a lengthy van ride over from Churchill Downs, but GI Preakness S.-bound duo arrived safely at Pimlico Race Course shortly after 2 p.m. Monday afternoon. The horses were overseen by assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes, who said they departed Louisville about 4:45 a.m. Monday morning. "It seemed simple," he said. "Actually, we're here even earlier than we fly sometimes. If you...

Bob Baffert confirmed to the Maryland Jockey Club press department Tuesday that 'TDN Rising Star' Concert Tour (Street Sense) will contest next Saturday's GI Preakness S., taking on GI Kentucky Derby-winning stablemate Medina Spirit (Protonico). "We figure, this is the race," Baffert said. "The Derby is run. A lot of horses, they went through a lot to get here. He's sort of a fresh horse. In the Rebel, he looked so good." Gary and Mary West homebred Concert Tour began his career three-for-three, taking Santa Anita's GII San Vicente S....

Gary and Mary West's 'TDN Rising Star' Concert Tour (Street Sense) will not run in the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby, said trainer Bob Baffert Saturday morning. He will instead be pointed for the May 15 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico. The homebred wired a field of Santa Anita maidens by 3 1/2 lengths to earn the 'Rising Star' designation Jan. 15 and made a seamless transition to graded competition, taking the seven-furlong GII San Vicente S. Feb. 6. The bay colt made all the running en route to a...

Super Stock (Dialed In) emerged in "fantastic" shape from his victory in Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn, Steve Asmussen, the colt's Hall of Fame trainer, said Sunday morning. The bay is scheduled to be flown early this week to Kentucky, Asmussen said, where the colt will join the trainer's string at Churchill Downs to begin preparing for the GI Kentucky Derby May 1. Bought for $70,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, Super Stock gave Asmussen his fifth Arkansas Derby victory and is co-owned by Asmussen's 79-year-old father Keith. The...