Mike Brunker

Horse racing columnist Mike Brunker shares his Eclipse Award ballot and thoughts on improvements to the sport’s end-of-year accolades.

Despite the decision to postpone the traditional opening day from Thursday to Saturday over a rainy forecast, the track will still race when the weather isn’t fair.

Will they have to rename the Pegasus World Cup after another mythical figure — Icarus, the hubris-fueled adventurer who flew too close to the sun with disastrous results?

Track’s chief veterinary officer says catastrophic injuries have declined 70 percent in racing and 65 percent in training since March.

The Hall of Fame trainer was suspended for 30 days and fined $3,500 this week by Kentucky racing authorities after two of his horses failed post-race drug tests.

A Churchill Downs contract dispute and the demise of futures betting at Wynn Las Vegas leave locals with one option: the network of sports betting outlets run by William Hill.

Racing industry heavyweights launched a major initiative to improve safety measures for horses and riders. Those pushing for a ban were not impressed.

Ferrin Peterson, 27, who is both a veterinarian and a professional jockey, wrote a letter to California Sen. Dianne Feinstein urging her not to rush to judgment.

Having already played its army-of-veterinarians and raceday-medication-limits cards, management may have to look at replacing its dirt track with a synthetic racing surface.

Vino Rosso uncorked a vintage stretch run to capture the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday at Santa Anita Park, powering past favored McKinzie to win by 4¼ lengths.

The early picture for the Kentucky Derby became blurred Friday when three long shots finished 1-2-3 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park.

The 14 races to be run over the next two days promise plenty of drama. But there’s also an underlying tension arising from the surge of horse deaths this year at the racetrack.

With pre-entries drawn, the temptation for handicappers is to get down to intensive analysis of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races that will be run Nov. 1-2 at Santa Anita. Don’t do it.

As much as handicappers would love to get started chewing over the fields for the 14 races Nov. 1 and 2 at Santa Anita Park, it’s too early to get a clear picture of who’s coming.