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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack provides analysis for Saturday's three GI Kentucky Derby preps–the GI Santa Anita Derby, GII Wood Memorial S. & G2 UAE Derby–and Tuesday's postponed GI Toyota Blue Grass S. GI Toyota Blue Grass S. – I'm banking on a big performance from Chancer McPatrick, who should move forward nicely off his runner-up effort while making his sophomore debut in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby. Despite just a field of seven entered, there figures to be plenty of pace (East Avenue sporting first-time blinkers, the rail-drawn River Thames and wire-to-wire Tampa Bay Derby winner Owen Almighty all want to be forwardly placed) for last year's head-turning, come-from-behind GI Hopeful S. and GI Champagne S. winner to close into. Chancer McPatrick will be much more in his comfort zone (and tighter with a race under his belt) taking back and making one run after sitting much closer than he prefers in the Tampa Bay Derby. Selection: #6 Chancer McPatrick (7-2). GI Santa Anita Derby – Journalism established himself as the horse to beat on the first Saturday in May with a top-shelf win with a flashy 108 Beyer in the GII San Felipe S. and is a deserved favorite in this compact, but very talented field of five. Hard not to love how the son of Curlin finishes off his races and he could potentially take another leap forward as the distances continue to increase. Should be a fantastic showdown with last year's champion 2-year-old and last-out GIII Robert B. Lewis winner Citizen Bull, who will be the one to catch on the engine here. Excited to see what the blue-blooded Baeza can do as well off his breakthrough maiden win at third asking. Selection: #1 Journalism (6-5). GII Wood Memorial S. – Captain Cook could still be any kind and has been training with a purpose for Rick Dutrow, Jr. since his fantastic track-and-trip score in the Withers. He's drawn well on the inside, is tactical enough to secure a favorable trip beneath Manny Franco and certainly wouldn't mind the wet weather in the forecast, either. Statesman is a very interesting longshot to consider after punching home impressively for back-to-back wins at Tampa. There is other speed on paper, but the rail-drawn, morning-line favorite Rodriguez scares me the most if he's able to shake free early. Selection: #2 Captain Cook (7-2). G2 UAE Derby – This race absolutely goes through Flood Zone, who couldn't have been more impressive while making his first start for Wathnan Racing and Brad Cox in the GIII Gotham S. He'll be heavily favored (and rightfully so) for this two-turn debut. I'll attempt to get a little cute here though and take a swing on Heart of Honor (GB). He has plenty of experience at Meydan (4-2-2-0), closing impressively for runner-up finishes in the G3 UAE Two Thousand Guineas and Al Bastakiya, and wants every bit of this 1 3/16-miles distance. Would be some spot for Honor A. P. to collect his first graded/group winner. Let's see if we can sneak Dragon (Jpn) into the gimmicks at a big number, too. He's gonna really appreciate this added ground, especially after resenting the kickback in the Hyacinth. Selection: #6 Heart of Honor (GB) (4-1). The post Handicapping the Kentucky Derby Preps: Blue Grass, Santa Anita Derby, UAE Derby & Wood Memorial appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Stellenbosch and Sixpence look to make a mark for the 4-year-old generation in the Osaka Hai (G1) April 6 at Hanshin Racecourse.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Betting on Thoroughbred racing in the United States continued to drop through the first quarter of 2025, with overall wagering declining 3.28% to $2,505,271,758, largely due to a 5.17% reduction in race days.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Keeneland announced April 4 the launch of artificial intelligence technology within the Keeneland Race Day App, making it the first race track to offer AI-driven insights to enhance the fan experience.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
About a year ago, RRP executive director Kirsten Green mused about a future in which we might see a headline such as “Leading sire X has prolific influence on track and beyond, produces record number of 5* starters.” A year later, that's almost exactly the headline I just got to write, which is thrilling as a fan of both racing and equestrian sport: the late Malibu Moon, inarguably an influential sire of Thoroughbred racehorses, is also leaving a lasting impact on equestrian sport. Malibu Moon's three starters are contesting the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S: in lay terms, this is the second highest level of competition available in the sport of eventing, easiest described as an equestrian triathlon. Horse and rider combinations first perform a dressage test, in which accuracy of prescribed maneuvers and quality of movement are paramount. Next, they compete cross-country, a grueling test of stamina and courage as horses thunder over miles of undulating terrain and footing, navigating over large solid fence. In the final phase, combinations tackle a show jumping course in an arena, a challenge of accurate footwork and nimbleness. Out of a total of 12 full Thoroughbreds entered in the 4*, Malibu Moon has sired a quarter of them. As of press time, there are 66 horses entered in total in the 4* (this number will drop in coming weeks: riders may only compete on two horses, so some have made multiple entries in advance to finalize later). Therefore, Malibu Moon has sired 4.5% of the entire 4* field. For context, only one other stallion has sired more entries, and we had to go across both the 5* and 4* divisions to find him: Diarado, a Holstein warmblood stallion approved across multiple breed registries, recognized worldwide as a top sire of horses in multiple arenas. In 2024, Diarado was recognized for the third year in a row as the top sire for the sport of eventing by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses. Diarado is represented in the 5* by three offspring, and in the 4* by one. Yeah, you read that correctly: the only stallion to sire more Kentucky Three-Day starters across both levels than Malibu Moon is literally the top ranking stallion in the world for that job. And yet as I scroll through social media and racing publications, I see… nothing. What Malibu Moon has achieved here, albeit perhaps somewhat by accident, is a remarkable achievement in equestrian sport. One could argue, reasonably, that equestrian sport simply isn't on the radar of the racing industry. And siring a string of horses who are competitive at the upper levels of a challenging sport completely separate from racing doesn't do much for a stallion's rankings in the Thoroughbred sire lists, nor improve the commercial appeal of his offspring. One could even argue that flaunting success in a totally different sport than racing might lessen a stallion's appeal as a sire of potential racehorses. Malibu Moon | Sarah Andrew But this achievement doesn't diminish a bit of Malibu Moon's legacy–if anything, it enhances it. It paves the way for the Thoroughbred industry to celebrate everything it's doing right in producing athletes. Because this is not a coincidence: these three Malibu Moons didn't just happen to end up here, contesting one of the highest levels of what is viewed as one of the most physically demanding horse sports, after they already had racing careers. Horses don't get to the 4* level by chance: they are in rigorous physical and mental training to handle the pressure of this kind of competition. Any breeder or stallion owner should be proud to have a horse reach this level. Looking back at Kirsten's article from last year, as much as I'm thrilled to be celebrating the achievements of Thoroughbreds in sport, I am reminded how much work we still have to do. We've certainly showcased the athleticism and trainability of the Thoroughbred in careers beyond racing through our work at the Retired Racehorse Project, but the next step looks clear: we as an industry need to better measure the impact of the breed in equestrian sport. While researching the bloodlines of the Kentucky Three-Day entrants, it became apparent that most, if not all, of the horses entered do have some amount of Thoroughbred blood in their pedigrees. But when a Thoroughbred is bred to a warmblood, the resulting foal is considered a warmblood, and the Thoroughbred's contributions–the stamina, speed, and heart–are generally overlooked. Thoroughbred ancestors are not always identified by breed in a horse's pedigree as recorded by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). The same is true in the American Quarter Horse Association, which generally sets the standard for the majority of western sport disciplines: Thoroughbreds are a viable outcross, but those foals are considered Appendix Quarter horses–and can “earn” their way into becoming full Quarter horses via competitive performance, which further erases the Thoroughbred influence. The AQHA recently announced its own free pedigree service, in which the Thoroughbreds in a Quarter horse's pedigree are only subtly identified via the last two digits of their year of birth–not their breed. (To its credit, AQHA did acknowledge our suggestion that Thoroughbreds be better identified in this pedigree service.) While the goal of the Thoroughbred industry is not necessarily to breed sport horses, with all the unique trappings of individual disciplines within that sport horse industry, the Thoroughbred industry does generally pride itself on breeding athletes. It's high time that we honor the achievements of Thoroughbreds in spaces other than racing. In no other aspect of the horse industry will you find animals intentionally and carefully bred and produced for one specific job so often transitioning with relative ease to another, vastly different from that original purpose–let alone to the upper levels of those new sports. Isn't that worth celebrating? The Retired Racehorse Project is following the progress of the total of 16 Thoroughbreds entered in the 5* and 4* divisions at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event on April 24-27. Learn more about the Thoroughbred entrants on the RRP's website. –Kristen Kovatch Bentley, the Retired Racehorse Project The post Letter To The Editor: Malibu Moon Is Second-Most Prolific Sire Of Kentucky Three-Day Event Starters appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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