By Ed McNamara Poor Medina Spirit. Through no fault of his own, he’s been the center of controversy since his postrace drug positive for betamethasone came to light eight days after he finished ...
By Ed McNamara They started running the Champagne Stakes in 1867, and for eons it’s been America’s most prestigious 2-year-old race. It has produced many superstars, including Buckpasser, ...
By Ed McNamara American Pharoah was the long-awaited unicorn who in 2015 ended a Triple Crown drought that began in 1979. In 2018, Santa Anita renamed the FrontRunner Stakes, which Pharoah won as a 2-...
By Ed McNamara It’s been 17 years since the beloved Smarty Jones turned Philadelphia Park from an obscure outpost into the staging area for a Triple Crown bid. I was there for his final workout ...
By Ed McNamara Saratoga is all about having fun unless you’re there to work. For trainers, jockeys and backstretch people, the year’s best meeting isn’t an endless party, it’s ...
By Ed McNamara The racecourses of Europe come in all shapes and sizes, and Kentucky Downs would be a perfect fit there. In the United States, there’s nothing like it. From the air, its 1 5/16-mi...
By Ed McNamara Saratoga is always about finding the stars of the future, and Wit could be one. He’s 2-for-2 by a total of 14 lengths and will be heavily favored in Monday’s 7-furlong Hopef...
By Ed McNamara The leaves and acorns have begun to fall, and the calendar says September. Vans are arriving on the backstretch to carry horses back to their bases, and by Tuesday Saratoga no longer wi...
By Ed McNamara She was everybody’s single in the pick 6, and Gamine didn’t disappoint Saturday at Saratoga. Before an overflow crowd on Travers day, Bob Baffert’s superstar filly dom...
By Ed McNamara Saturday’s Travers day card is easily the best one we’ll see until Breeders’ Cup Saturday, and it’s hard to imagine that the races on Nov. 6 at Del Mar will be t...
