workouts

GI Florida Derby champ Fierceness (City of Light) breezed at Palm Beach Downs on Friday morning in preparation for the GI Kentucky Derby. The Eclipse Award winner covered five furlongs in 1:00.35 under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, while working in company with fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road). "I thought he worked super--a solid five-eighths with a good gallop-out, exactly what we were targeting," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. "I think he is doing every bit as good, if not better, than he was...

The Santa Anita stewards on Sunday issued trainer Dan Blacker a 90-day suspension and a $15,000 fine for 527 separate incidents of failing to undertake the necessary pre-workout veterinary examination reporting process for horses in his care. The three-month suspension is scheduled to run from Feb. 26, 2024, to May 25, 2024. During that time, Blacker will be denied access to all licensed premises in California. Last October, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) charged Blacker with failing to comply with regulations requiring that a horse undergoes a veterinary exam...

The California Horse Racing Board is working with The Jockey Club's InCompass Solutions to create an automated system that will correlate official workouts at California racetracks and training facilities with confidential veterinary submissions for the purpose of verifying compliance with CHRB Rule 1878. Rule 1878 states in part that "a horse shall not be permitted to workout (unless) the horse has been examined by the trainer's attending veterinarian during the 72 hours immediately preceding the workout for the express purpose of evaluating the horse's fitness to work out." Furthermore, "The...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - After watching GIII Schuylerville S. winner Becky's Joker (Practical Joke) work a bullet half-mile Wednesday, trainer Gary Contessa said he may buck convention, take a step back in time and run her in the GIII Adirondack on Aug. 6. Becky's Joker turned in a stunning performance on opening day, July 13, easily winning the six-furlong Schuylerville by 3 1/4 lengths at 21-1 in the first start of her career. According to Equibase, she is the fifth horse since 1991 to win a graded stakes in her...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A trio of GI Kentucky Derby workers enjoyed the spotlight during training hours on a brisk Tuesday morning beneath the Twin Spires. Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) was hard held beneath Masatoshi Segawa and ready to do much more as he hit the top of the stretch. He finished up strongly once let loose down the lane and completed his four-furlong breeze in :49.60 (13/20). The G2 UAE Derby winner will be ridden in the Kentucky Derby by Christophe Lemaire. His countrymate Mandarin Hero (Jpn) (Shanghai...

GIII Sunland Derby winner and GI Kentucky Derby hopeful Wild On Ice (Tapizar) was euthanized Thursday after the colt sustained a left hind leg injury that occurred following his workout just before 6 a.m. (EST) at Churchill Downs, Felix Chavez of the El Paso Times shared via Twitter after speaking with owner Frank Sumpter. The Texas-bred gelding clocked five furlongs in 1:01.40 and then was pulled up while galloping out down the backstretch. Wild On Ice was evaluated at the Churchill Downs Equine Medical Center and was transported to Lexington...

RED TR-Racing's 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) worked five furlongs at Keeneland Wednesday morning in preparation for a possible start in the Lexington oval's GIII Ben Ali S. Apr. 22. With Carlos Enriquez aboard, the chestnut covered the distance over a fast track in 1:01.20. "I thought he worked good and finished strong," trainer Eric Reed said. "We are looking here [1 3/16 Ben Ali] or Oaklawn [$1-million GII Oaklawn H. going 1 1/8 miles the same day]. We want to get the first one out of...

Iowa-bred sensation Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) worked five furlongs in 1:00 flat Saturday morning at Oaklawn Park, his third breeze since receiving a month off following a second bleeding incident when third in the Dec. 9 Advent S. in Hot Springs. He also bled and was vanned off after being eased home in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in November. He previously went three furlongs in :36.40 (3/8) Feb. 18 and a half-mile in :48.60 (13/66) Mar. 4. "Doing good," said trainer and co-owner Tim Martin. "I'm just...

Practical Move (Practical Joke), upset winner of the GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 17, returned to the worktab for the first time since at Santa Anita Saturday morning, drilling a half-mile in a strong :47.80 (7/60). Trainer Tim Yakteen told the Santa Anita press office that the bay colt--bred by Chad Brown and Head of Plains Partners--'moved well' in the work. "Well give him a few more works and see where we're at, but we're looking at sometime in late February or early March," said Yakteen. "We have a few...

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,...

When the news was reported earlier in the week that a NYRA clocker had been charged with altering a published workout, it may have seemed at first that a significant penalty was in order. Workouts are an important part of a horse's history and gamblers must be able to have trust in their accuracy. The New York Gaming Commission is alleging that clocker Richie Gazer played around with the workout of a horse named Papi On Ice (Keen Ice) and suspended him for 30 days and fined him $2,500.  He...

Jay Em Ess Stable's Happy Medium (Runhappy) posted his first breeze since his 'TDN Rising Star' performance Dec. 18, which was his third consecutive daylight win. The freshly minted 4-year-old was out for a half-mile work Sunday over the Belmont training track, getting the four furlongs in an easy :51.22. "He worked well this morning," said trainer Michelle Nevin. "It was just an easy breeze, which was what I wanted." A $300,000 Keeneland September yearling, Happy Medium had debuted with a third at Aqueduct last March before heading to the...