Jockey Club Gold Cup

Olympiad (Speightstown--Tokyo Time, by Medaglia d'Oro), a five-time graded stakes winner, led by the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S., and most recently second in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, has been retired to Gainesway Farm. The $700,000 Keeneland September graduate will stand for an advertised fee of $35,000 LFSN. One of North America's top older males of 2022, Olympiad posted eight wins in 13 career starts for earnings of $3,027,560 for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and owners Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stables and LNJ Foxwoods. Olympiad's year started...

Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods's Olympiad (Speightstown), a head-scratching fourth in the GI Whitney S., bounced back with a powerful performance in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga. The 8-5 favorite jumped well from his inside draw and sat a perfect, stalking trip in second behind longshot pacesetter Tax (Arch) through fractions of :24.54 and :49.70. Racing in between rivals as last year's GI Cigar Mile H. winner Americanrevolution (Constitution), one of four entered for Todd Pletcher, continued to draw closer heading...

On this week's episode of Bettor Things with Joe Bianca, the host talks to handicapper, owner/breeder and former racetrack executive CJ Johnsen about betting, sports, music and more. Johnsen, who is currently the vice president at CJ Thoroughbreds, is best known for guiding the remarkable transformation of Kentucky Downs from an afterthought on the racing calendar to a marquee stand with what equates to paradise for horseplayers: big fields and low takeout. Then, in the latest installment of his Breeders' Cup handicapping series, Bianca lays out plays for Saratoga's GI...

Joe Bianca talks to handicapper, owner/breeder and former racetrack executive CJ Johnsen about betting, sports, music and more, then Joe lays out plays for Saratoga's Jockey Club Gold Cup and Flower Bowl, two Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" challenge races.

There is no such thing as a sure thing in horse racing, but 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit) will be bet as if Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic--a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 5--is already the proverbial fait accompli. And why not, really? His four towering victories in as many trips to the races have come by an average winning margin of better than 13 lengths. His lowest Beyer Speed Figure is a downright pedestrian 105 earned for his debut just...

The New York State Gaming Commission has announced that its Equine Medical Director Dr. Scott E. Palmer VMD and all three stewards will be made available to the media at the conclusion of the program to discuss any incidents that occur during the races at Saratoga Race Course Sept. 3. In addition, Dr. Palmer will be available to speak to the media in the event of any equine health-related on-track incidents that take place during the day. Dr. Luis Castro, the American Association of Equine Practitioners on-call veterinarian, will provide...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - It is very much an understatement to say that during the first week of August 2019, West Point Thoroughbreds and their partners really got it right when purchasing two yearling colts. Maybe even struck gold. Time will tell. On Monday, Aug. 5, 2019 at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale, West Point, headed by president and CEO Terry Finley, and a group of investors went to $1 million for Hip 80, a son of Tapit out of Feathered (Indian Charlie). He was the session topper. Named Flightline, the lightly...

Edited Press Release With closing weekends on the horizon for this summer's Saratoga and Del Mar meets, XBTV.com has already successfully captured, cataloged and uploaded nearly 2,000 morning video workouts for racing's marquee meets. The XBTV workouts are available without cost to those with a 1/ST account. "An analysis of a published workout based only on final time can lead to a faulty conclusion," said Jeff Siegel, Xpressbet.com handicapper and one of the country's most respected analysts.  "How the breeze was accomplished, and which work mate it was accomplished with,...

George Hall and Sport BLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player (Honor Code) will train up to the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar following his win in Saturday's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, trainer Steve Asmussen confirmed Sunday. "Max Player is better than he's ever been and physically he's developed into this," Asmussen said. "There's more of him. He's a horse that's continued to grow, fill out and mature. There's a lot more of Max Player as a 4-year-old than there was as a 3-year-old. He's bigger and stronger....

George Hall and SportBLX's Max Player (Honor Code) proved his bounce-back GII Suburban S. score in July was no fluke as he again showed more speed and pulled away to an emphatic victory in the repositioned GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga. A fringe player on last year's Triple Crown trail, the Steve Asmussen trainee has stamped himself as a legitimate GI Breeders' Cup Classic threat in two strong efforts at 10 furlongs, and earned an automatic berth into the year-end championship event Saturday as part of the "Win...

Don Alberto Stable's Forza Di Oro (Speightstown) has shown considerable talent in six starts dating back to his debut in September of 2019, and he'll finally get his chance at the highest level as a likely favorite in Saturday's 10-furlong GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, being run at Saratoga for the first time in the race's storied history. Running a huge race after a disastrous start to be second at 31-1 in his unveiling, the homebred graduated next out, but took a major step backward when finishing eighth, beaten 24...

Forza Di Oro (Speightstown), a stylish optional claiming winner for Hall of Famer Bill Mott in his seasonal debut at Saratoga July 21 (video), could target the newly positioned GI Jockey Club Gold Cup over closing weekend at the Spa Sept. 4. The lightly raced 4-year-old, a disappointing eighth in the GII Remsen S. in his juvenile finale, has been perfect in three starts since. The Don Alberto homebred was two-for-two in an abbreviated 2020 campaign, capped by a win with a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure in the GIII...