LOS ANGELES — California horse racing, struggling to stay afloat, got a stark reminder how uphill its battle is to add a new form of supplemental income this month when state Attorney General Rob Bonta ruled against daily fantasy sweepstakes.

The decision underscored the power of Indigenous tribes when it comes to gambling in California.

...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — After winning two of this year’s three Triple Crown races, Sovereignty is back on the racetrack.

The Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner will be part of Saturday’s five-horse field in the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Saratoga was also the site of Sovereignty’...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Next year’s Kentucky Oaks will be run in prime time for the first time ever, according to an announcement by Churchill Downs and NBC.

The race, which is the top competition for 3-year-old thoroughbred fillies, will move to 8 p.m. on May 1 on NBC and Peacock.

“By moving the Kentucky Oaks to prime time, we’re giving one ...Read more

Journalism proved again what a great competitor and super horse he is, rallying from next to last on the backstretch to win the $1 million Haskell Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

The stretch run was vintage, but Journalism’s start in the 1 1/8-mile race was poor as the 3-year-old broke seventh in the eight-horse field. ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Legendary horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas — a four-time Kentucky Derby winner — has died.

The Lukas family released a statement Sunday afternoon: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved husband, grandfather, and great-grandfather, D. Wayne Lukas, who left this world peacefully yesterday ...Read more

Sometimes a rivalry falls short of the hype. But no such thing happened Saturday at Saratoga Race Course when in almost a repeat of the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty ran past Journalism in mid-stretch to win the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes.

The conversation would have been quite different if Sovereignty had run in the Preakness Stakes and...Read more

Sovereignty closed horse racing’s 2025 Triple Crown season with a win in the 157th running of the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday night at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Contested at a shortened distance of 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga, in comparison to the traditional distance of 1 1/2 miles when the race is ...Read more

Baeza has gone from a horse that barely made the Kentucky Derby starting gate to one of the trendy choices to win Saturday night’s 157th running of the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes.

The John Shirreffs trainee was an also-eligible entrant for the 2025 Derby, before drawing into the field after Bob Baffert’s Rodriguez scratched from the...Read more

Normally, the running of the Belmont Stakes without a chance at a Triple Crown winner makes the third leg of the series about as interesting as a television procedural — the Chicagos, FBIs or Law & Orders — in the last two minutes after the culprit has been identified and prosecuted.

But not this year. The 157th running of the Belmont ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Earlier this week, I got a call from a reporter at a publication that covers sports gambling. He was working on a story about what he perceived as an increase in interest in horse racing.

Tuesday, on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s teleconference, a reporter asked Michael Banahan, Godolphin’s United States ...Read more

Michael Kipness, aka “The Wizard,” a professional horse racing handicapper since 1986, analyzes the eight-horse field for Saturday’s 157th Belmont Stakes, designating each horse as a contender or a pretender.

Visit Wizardraceandsports.com to purchase his full card selections, wagering strategies and best bets for Friday’s 14-race card ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — After several weeks of debate, the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner is back in horse racing’s spotlight.

Sovereignty, whose connections opted to not run him in the Preakness Stakes, is back for the final race of the 2025 Triple Crown season.

The Bill Mott trainee is one of eight horses that will run in Saturday night’s Grade ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — I never met Christophe Clement.

As far as I can tell, I never talked to the man. When his horse Tonalist won the 2014 Belmont Stakes, the big story that year was California Chrome’s unsuccessful bid for a Triple Crown. I remember talking to and writing about Chrome’s connections after the race. I didn’t pay much ...Read more

BALTIMORE — When I texted my family group chat that I’d be riding a horse for the sake of Preakness week content — pulling back the curtain of life as a jockey to see if I have what it takes — my mom replied with an iPhone photo of a grainy, printed out shot of her horseback riding 40 years ago.

That distant photo by association, and ...Read more