Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In her days as a Thoroughbred horse trainer, Keri Brion has been associated mainly with steeplechase runners. And she has no problem with that. The jump game has been good to her. Since opening her own stable, the former assistant to the late Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard has trained an Eclipse Award Steeplechase horse in The Mean Queen (Ire) (Doyen {Ire}), who won it in 2021, her first year. But there is more to her training game, and she made people take notice. On Thursday,...

Trainer Chad Brown has long stated that a victory in the GI Travers S., not far from home in Mechanicville, would be one of the crowning moments of what will be a Hall of Fame career. 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) is the barn's main hope for the centerpiece of the Saratoga meeting and he can take one giant step towards fulfilling his trainer's dream as the likely favorite in Saturday's GII Jim Dandy Stakes. The colt, who topped the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale not far from the...

Siena Farm and WinStar Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' World Record (Gun Runner), third last out in the Maxfield Stakes at Churchill Downs June 30, received a much more aggressive ride from Flavien Prat Friday and ran a compact--but talented--field off their feet in the GII Amsterdam Stakes at the Spa. Off at odds of 6-1 while adding blinkers, the bay was on the engine from his rail draw and sizzled through fractions of :21.56 and :44.64. He kicked for home as the one to catch and kept on motoring down...

7th-SAR, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, post time: 3:54 p.m. ET INVICTUS (Into Mischief), the first foal from 2019 GI Kentucky Oaks and 2020 GI Ballerina Stakes winner Serengeti Empress (Alternation), cost China Horse Club, Siena Farm and WinStar Farm $1.2 million at last year's Keeneland September Sale, and the Jan. 29 produce carries the WinStar colors for this first go. The bay, bred on similar cross to this sire's Grade I winners Life Is Good and Practical Joke, has been made the 3-1 choice on the morning line for...

The anniversary is right around the corner, a gruesome tragedy that nobody who was at Saratoga that day will ever forget. It was among the darkest days in the long history of racing upstate. But nobody had it worse than trainer Melanie Giddings, who, in a fraction of second, saw Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) go from the sure winner of the GI Test Stakes to a horse who broke down inches before the wire and could not be saved. Her business is doing fine. She has 42 horses and...

A small, but very select field of five 3-year-old colts is set to face the starter in Friday's $200,000 GII Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga, a contest in which an argument could be made for each of the entrants. Godolphin's Jefferson Street (Street Sense) broke his maiden by nine lengths as a 1-4 mortal at Keeneland in April and after stubbing his toe when third to next-out Maxfield Stakes hero Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) in the race immediately following the GI Kentucky Derby May 4, defeated older allowance foes by some...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Friday at Saratoga and Del Mar: Friday, July 26, 2024 Saratoga 6, $90k, 2yo,...

MyRacehorse's Seize the Grey (Arrogate) recorded his final major work Tuesday ahead of an intended date in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga this weekend. Over Oklahoma's training track rated 'wet-fast,' the grey covered a half mile in :47.99. The GI Preakness Stakes winner shipped to Churchill Downs following a seventh-place finish in the GI Belmont Stakes June 8 before returning to the Spa earlier this month. "He was very strong and I'm very pleased with him," said Lukas. "I told the rider to go :47 and a fifth,...

The Horse Racing Women's Summit (HRWS) hosted their second event of the year with panels and networking opportunities taking place at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Tuesday, July 23 in Saratoga Springs, New York, the organization said in a Wednesday release. "To be clear, this is not an event where women get together to discuss female challenges," said Shona Rotondo, Chair of the HRWS Marketing & Communications Committee. "It's an event that brings together intelligent and successful industry professionals to discuss the challenges of our...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. To follow are the horses entered for Thursday at Saratoga: Thursday, July 25, 2024 Saratoga 1, $90k, 2yo, f, (S),...

A well-matched field of eight is set to line up for Wednesday's GII Honorable Miss Stakes at Saratoga. Riding a three-race win streak, Juddmonte's Accede (Into Mischief) posted a last-out neck victory in the seven-furlong GII Bed 'O Roses at the Big A June 15. Trained by Chad Brown, the homebred previously recorded a pair of wins at Keeneland at the oval's Fall and Spring meets, including a 1 3/4-length score going six panels against optional claiming company in her seasonal return Apr. 24. "We'll plan on keeping her running...