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Two days ahead of Santa Anita Park's second official Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) prep, another 3-year-old colt made waves with what could end up being his first step on the Triple Crown trail Feb. 4. Watch Replay 
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You don't have to spend much time in Southern California to find out precipitation is a pretty big deal in the region.
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Grade III winner Far Right is scheduled to make his 4-year-old debut Jan. 28 at Oaklawn Park in a third-level allowance/optional claiming race for older horses at a mile. Robert LaPenta and Harry Rosenblum's Far Right enjoyed success at Oaklawn last season, winning the Smarty Jones and Southwest Stakes (gr. III) there before finishing second to American Pharoah in the Arkansas Derby (gr. I).
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The Glen Puller-trained Illuminator downed favorite Silver Mountain to win the inaugural CTS Million Dollar at Kenilworth on Saturday, Jan. 23 in South Africa. The result was a dream for apprentice Heavelon Van Der Hoven, who picked up the winning ride on the colt after scheduled rider Weichong Marwing was stood down. Van Der Hoven, while still an apprentice, looked a likely choice to replace Marwing as he knows the colt (described by his trainer as difficult) well, and had ridden Illuminator to victory in his first two starts. The pair are now unbeaten in three starts.
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Shadwell Stable's undefeated multiple graded-stakes winner Mohaymensignaled his readiness for the Jan. 30 Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes (gr. II) for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park with a sharp final work Jan.21. Under regular exercise rider Miguel Jaime, the Tapit colt sailed through five furlongs in :59 1/5 on the main track at Palm Meadows Training Center. Mohaymen will make his 2016 debut in the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull.
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American Pharoah 's win in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) to land the first Triple Crown in 37 years was named the 2015 National Thoroughbred Racing Association "Moment of the Year." The result was announced the morning of Jan. 15 during the fourth annual ThoroFan Awards Breakfast at Frankey's Sports Bar at Gulfstream Park. Under regular rider Victor Espinoza, heavily favored American Pharoah led every step of the way in the June 6 Belmont, drawing clear in the stretch to score by 5 1/2 lengths. The result ignited a raucous celebration among the 90,000 fans on track and 22 million more watching on NBC, and also established the 3-year-old colt as an international celebrity.
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On his way into the Santa Anita Parkwinner's circle aboard Passau after the last race Jan. 15, Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux locked eyes with trainer Bob Hess Jr. and couldn't help but chuckle.
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Scott Blackler had a pretty good day on the golf course one recent fall afternoon and it had nothing to do with the way he played. Blackler, a trainer based in Middletown, N.Y., went out to shoot a round with a friend and ended up with a horse. That horse --- the now 4-year-old pacer Unix Hanover --- has won five of eight races since joining Blackler’s stable and is being pointed toward March’s Sagamore Hill Series at Yonkers Raceway. It all started with a phone call from Blackler’s friend Marc Reynolds, a horse agent from Maine, as Blackler was getting ready to tee off. Reynolds told Blackler, a Maine native, that a horse in Ontario named Unix Hanover was available, but Reynolds needed to know whether Blackler wanted the horse within an hour.
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Bad As Leader was a repeat winner, while a pair of fresh faces visited the winner’s circle in Thursday’s (Jan. 14) second leg of the Blizzard Series at Woodbine Racetrack. A trio of $11,900 Blizzard Series divisions for 3- and 4-year-old pacing fillies and mares were contested under light snow conditions. Bad As Leader was confidently driven by Trevor Henry to a 1:54.3 victory in the first division. Sent off as the 1-5 favorite, Bad As Leader got away seventh and last for Henry, while Nadia Can Go and Mattjestic Tempo did the early heavy lifting on the front end. Bad As Leader was able to pick up the cover of Tilikum at the half to sit second-over around the final turn.
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McJagersonthemove, second in his previous two races, proved the best in the Thursday (Jan. 14) feature race at Dover Downs, winning easily in 1:52.2 with Tony Morgan driving.
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Racing Hall of Famer Lava Man and future Hall of Famer Zenyatta will be added to the Arcadia Historical Society's Thoroughbred Racing Walk of Champions in a ceremony May 24. The celebration, honoring inductees from 2015 and 2016, will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Along with the two equine stars, jockey Chris McCarron, trainers Gary Jones, Ron McAnally, Mike Mitchell, and Mel Stute, and breeder/owner Buddy Johnston's Old English Rancho also will be honored. Victor Espinoza, the only active jockey to have won racing's Triple Crown, will receive special recognition for his achievements in the sport and community service.
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The John Simpson Memorial Stakes for colts and fillies will undergo several changes in 2016 as the races return to Pennsylvania after a successful five-year run at The Meadowlands, Tioga and Vernon Downs. The eight races for 2- and 3-year-old trotters and pacers will be reformatted as early closing events that race the same year payments are collected. Named in honor of the late John Simpson, the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association will host the races at Harrah’s Philadelphia with double the amount of added money and a revamped payment structure. “The Simpson name has been synonymous with excellence for 75 years,” said Peter Marinari, executive director of the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association. “We are pleased to be able to bring these races home to Pennsylvania.”
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Ragazzo Dolce continued his all winning record at Dover Downs this meet, winning his eighth straight on a chilly Wednesday (Jan. 13) at Dover Downs. Ragazzo Dolce mastered the $15,000-$20,000 claiming handicap ranks with a 1:55.1 triumph.Jim Morand roared out of post eight with Ragazzo Dolce to secure the front and then never looked back en route to his second victory from the outside for co-owner/trainer Dylan Davis and Mike Casalino. The 5-year-old altered son of Muscles Yankee-Bella Dolce won for the 15th time, good for career earnings of $125,405. Man Of Muscle (Jonathan Roberts) was second. Master Builder (Tim Tetrick) was the show horse. Montrell Teague enjoyed a two-hole trip behind favorite I Like My Boss before pulling out at the top of the stretch to rush past for a 1:54.4 victory with Bluebird Reverend in the $20,000 Open Trot.
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Grade I winner Nickname makes her season debut in the $100,000 Martha Washington Stakes Feb. 6 at Oaklawn Park, starting for the first time since a fourth-place finish in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) Oct. 31 at Keeneland. LNJ Foxwoods' 3-year-old Scat Daddy filly, a $350,000 Solis & Litt purchase from the Upson Downs Farm consignment to the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale, won the Oct. 3 Frizette Stakes (gr. I) atBelmont Park after breaking her maiden on second asking for trainer Steve Asmussen at Saratoga Race Course last September.
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Midwest Thoroughbreds' The Pizza Manhad his first work of 2016 Jan. 23 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
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$750,000 Euro or $810,000 USD is the total purse in the world’s richest under saddle race, the Prix de Cornulier, which will be raced at Vincennes Sunday afternoon. As the entry box closed no less than 24 trotters were entered, but just 18 are allowed to race.
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Steve and Vicki Desomer sent out three winners on last Sunday night’s Cal Expo card, with all three being trotters out of the champion Website mare Charlotte’s Web. The 3-year-old Claudius Augustus filly Kissed The Boys kicked things off by springing a $68 upset in the first leg of the Alan Kirschenbaum Series in the second race on the program with Steve at the controls. It was the 7-year-old British Sterling mare Silverlode accounting for the next event as the 6-5 favorite under the 79-year-old Desomer’s direction, while Kissed The Boys’ 4-year-old full brother Cadet capped off the barn/driver/broodmare hat trick two races later while returning $9.60 to his backers. “It was a fun night, to be sure,” Vickie related after posing for pictures. “Steve said that the Charlotte’s Webs go the same on an off track as they do on a fast track -- strong but not very fast.”
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Ahmed and Joanne Zayat, in South Florida where their American Pharoah is expected to be crowned with racing's top honor later today, are OK following a fire in the couple's suite late Jan. 15 at the Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Fla. "We had a major fire in our room last night," Ahmed Zayat said in a message early Jan. 16, adding that the living room in the suite on the 30th floor was destroyed. "It was very scary but thank God nobody got hurt. We are very fortunate and lucky."
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The Living Horse Hall of Fame nominating committee of the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame has announced the results of recent balloting to determine the 2016 inductees into the Harness Racing Living Horse Hall of Fame. Annual members (in good standing) voted for the two horses they felt best exemplified greatness. Their choices are racehorses Muscle Hill and Real Desire. The other nominees were Credit Winner, Mr. Muscleman and Yankee Glide. Broodmare Arl's Troublemaker will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame, having met the qualifications for broodmares.
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Following a gritty 1:49.3 triumph in last week's $25,000 Open Pace, Henderson Farms' Bushwacker seeks his third straight top-level victory at The Meadowlands, and his fifth in six starts, on Saturday (Jan. 16). Tim Tetrick drives the 5-year-old Rocknroll Hanover gelding, who was assigned the outside post in the featured six-horse field. After pouncing from the pocket on Jan. 2, Bushwacker used a first-over bid on the far turn to grind past Doctor Butch, subsequently opening up and prevailing by 2-1/4 lengths. The Chris Ryder trainee has been installed as the 3-2 morning line favorite in the $25,000 Open Handicap, carded as race two on the 14-race card.
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Horse of the Year California Chrome returned to action last weekend with a victory in the G2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita. The 1 1/16-mile contest marked the 5-year-old's first start since his second-place finish in the 2015 Dubai World Cup, and the horse's connections appear eager for another crack at the rich Grade 1 race at Meydan Race Course March 26. According to a report at Racing UK, trainer Art Sherman and California Chrome's majority owner, Perry Martin, will ship the 2014 Kentucky Derby winner to Dubai earlier this time, with Chrome making at least one start – possibly two – in Dubai prior to the World Cup.
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Yoko Maeda's Japan-based 3-year-old colt Lani has been nominated to the 2016 Triple Crown and will prep in the March 26 UAE Derby (UAE-II) at Meydan, trainer Mikio Matsunaga announced Jan. 14. Should Lani finish first or second in Dubai, Yahoo Japan reported, Matsunaga plans to enter the son of leading sire Tapit in the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). The UAE Derby awards 100 points to the winner and 40 to the runner-up in the Road to the Kentucky Derby standings.
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Unbeaten 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) winner Songbird, the overwhelming favorite to be named champion 2-year-old filly at the Eclipse Awards Jan. 16, worked six furlongs 1:14 2/5 on Santa Anita Park's fast main track Jan. 14.
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Multiple graded stakes winner Sarah Siswill make her 4-year-old debut in the $100,000 American Beauty Stakes Jan. 23 at Oaklawn Park, according to trainer Ingrid Mason. Mason said she'll use the six-furlong American Beauty as a prep for a return to two turns in the $100,000 Bayakoa Stakes (gr. III) Feb. 14 at Oaklawn. Sarah Sis posted a five-furlong bullet (1:00) work Jan. 8, a breeze that was fastest of 93 at the distance that day at Oaklawn.
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Shadwell Stable's Mohaymen continued to work forwardly for his 3-year-old debut in the $350,000 Holy Bull Stakes (gr. II) Jan. 30 at Gulfstream Park with a five-furlong breeze Thursday morning. Under exercise rider Miguel Jaime, the multiple graded stakes-winning son ofTapit covered the distance in 1:01 at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13 4/5 according to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.
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