Flavien Prat, the jockey from France, is at the top of his game and in a good position to prosper with the two-day World Thoroughbred Championships being held in his backyard.
Horse racing
Eleven “Win and You’re In” races will be run Friday through Sunday, all but cementing the fields for the two-day racing extravaganza at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6.
The historic oval will again offer racing on its legendary tilted Camino Real Hillside Turf Course when it opens its 16-day autumn meet on Friday.
A flurry of races in the coming weeks will cement the fields for the two-day “World Championships” of thoroughbred horse racing on Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar.
Welcome to the latest installment of the dramatic series I like to call “As the Baffert Turns (On A Spit).”
The stars of summer tapped into pent-up demand and put on great shows to sweep away the old marks at both tracks, offering a lesson for track executives and racing authorities.
Horseplayers have lots of high-class action to choose from this Labor Day weekend, with Del Mar, Saratoga and relative newcomer Kentucky Downs all in the mix.
Justin Mustari, 26, of Des Plaines, Illinois, said he plans to buy a house with the $725,000 he won in the National Handicapping Championship that ended Sunday at Bally’s in Las Vegas.
Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Handicapping Championship makes its first appearance in August, adding to the excitement of the Midsummer Derby at Saratoga.
Arlington Park Track President Tony Petrillo orders all journalists out of press box as they are on deadline for likely final running of the Arlington Million — the world’s first $1 million race.
Steve Asmussen snaps all-time North American training record as Jorge Navarro enters guilty plea in federal horse doping case. All that and a Bob Baffert update.
The White Pine and Elko county fairs are returning, with the former running from Aug. 20 to 22 in Ely and the latter racing Aug. 27 and 28 and Sept. 3 to 6 in Elko.
Both tracks smashed handle records for opening day thanks to full, competitive fields, packed stands (to the degree allowed) and joyful atmospherics.
The Haskell Invitational drew a field of seven that includes the runners-up from all three Triple Crown races — Hot Rod Charlie, Mandaloun and Midnight Bourbon.
There’s been a lot of turmoil in the Sport of Kings of late, but everything will be right with the racing world again next week when both Del Mar and Saratoga open their gates.