Man o'War Stakes

The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association has done it again, announcing Saturday that it has reduced the number of graded stakes races that will be run in the U.S. in 2024, while also downgrading 30 races. To most, this is a welcome development. With the foal crop continually declining, there should be fewer graded stakes races and fewer Grade I's. Many believe that the committee has not gone far enough. Yet, the announcement, as it always seems to do, did not come without a...

A Jan. 23 trial date for the Jason Servis case was announced last week, which means in about eight months there will be some closure and Servis will learn his fate. The way he has handled things, it seems that he is at least somewhat optimistic that he will be found not guilty. If so, he is deluding himself. Everything about this case says that he has virtually no chance of being acquitted. Which raises a question: why is he fighting this when it makes far more sense to go...

With heavily favored champion Yibir totally missing the start, Saturday's GI Man o' War S. at Belmont was thrown into a state of flux, and longest shot on the board Highland Chief took advantage. Away well himself and with no real pace on, Highland Chief shared early front-running duties with Abaan (Will Take Charge) past the wire for the first time while kept well off the fence by pilot Trevor McCarthy. Content to sit second on the first bend and down the backside through splits of :25.35, :51.84 and 1:17.60,...

Johnny V. did it again. A week after wiring the GI Kentucky Derby aboard Medina Spirit (Protonico), John Velazquez sent Calumet Farm homebred Channel Cat (English Channel) to the front in Saturday's GI Man O' War S., and just held on by a nose over favored Gufo (Declaration of War). Channel Cat, off at 8-1, dueled from the inside through an opening quarter in an eye-catching :22.69 in this 1 3/8-mile affair. He began to shake clear rounding the clubhouse turn and slowed it down some to a testing half...