GII Charles Town Classic

With stakes action offering over $2 million, Charles Town features its two marquee races of the meet--the GII Charles Town Classic and GII Charles Town Oaks--on Friday night. Returning in defense of his 2025 Classic title, Banishing (Ghostzapper) will follow the same playbook that earned him the victory in the 9-furlong Classic last season. Trained by David Jacobson, the gelding used a nose win in Ellis' 6 1/2-furlong Jeff Hall Memorial in 2025 and he enters the fray off a one-length score over next out victor Dreaminblue (Street Boss) on...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It only seems like trainer Chad Brown wins the GI Diana Stakes every year. Right? Oh, yeah. The Diana, worth $500,000, has become Brown's personal playground. All you need to do to believe is just examine the stats. The last four years, the winner of the 1 1/8-mile test on the inner turf course has come from Brown's barn. Nine of the last 10 editions of the Diana have belonged to a Brown filly or mare. All told, since 2011, Brown has held the Diana trophy...

Banishing (Ghostzapper) spoiled a bid by Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) to win the GII Charles Town Classic for the third year in a row when he successfully shipped in for West Virginia's biggest night at the races on Friday. The veteran who is co-owned by trainer David Jacobson scored his biggest triumph in the GIII Oaklawn Mile in Hot Springs Mar. 29 when he dueled and then defeated GISW Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming). Banishing was bested by First Mission (Street Sense) in the GII Oaklawn Handicap the next month, but he did...

Two years ago, Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) ran off to an impressive victory in the GII Charles Town Classic and returned last term to replicate the feat, winning by 5 3/4 lengths as the even-money choice. At Charles Town Friday, the 6-year-old will try for the three-peat when he lines up against seven others in the nine-furlong test. This season, the grey finished third in the GI Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream in January before taking Tampa's Challenger Stakes Mar. 8. Third in the GII Oaklawn Handicap in April, the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS--When Neil Poznansky, sitting on the back of GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty (Into Mischief), saw jockey Junior Alvarado early Friday morning, he wore a wide smile. "How'd I do?" Poznansky said. Alvarado grinned back. No answer necessary. Sovereignty did what Poznansky, Alvarado and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott wanted to see as he had his second work since winning the Belmont last month. Working in company with 4-year-old stablemate Jefferson Street (Street Sense), Sovereignty and Poznansky, Mott's assistant, covered four furlongs in :48.99...

Friday is shaping up to be quite a stakes-laden slate as the rescheduled King's Plate card from last weekend at Woodbine joins the GI Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga and a pair of pricey Grade IIs from Charles Town. TDN's full coverage of the races that were forced to move because of a deluge in Toronto can be found in Patrycja Szpyra's preview, plus a piece on the King's Plate by Bill Finley. As for the Spa feature, it boasts a set of intriguing match-ups between four of the runners...