Horse Racing

Galopin Des Champs justified favouritism and all the hype to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday, with jockey Paul Townend declaring "the horse doesn't know how good he is"."We won the Gold Cup this year, and you'd like to think we'd come back next year and be favourite and win it again," he said. nr/jc

Energumene routed his rivals to join a select club of back-to-back winners of the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday.That day he had Editeur du Gite and Edwardstone in front of him, but they could only muster fourth and fifth as Energumene joined Altior and Master Minded as the only back-to-back winners of the Champion Chase this century.

The Cheltenham Festival, jumps racing's showpiece meeting, starts on Tuesday with over 250,000 spectators -- many of them Irish on their annual pilgrimage -- expected over the four days.However, a disappointing outing at Cheltenham in January with two bad jumping errors saw him finish third in the Champion Chase behind Editeur de Gite and Edwardstone.

Legendary English trainer Nicky Henderson's godfather was Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and he would have been rightly proud of his godson's generalship in training 72 Cheltenham Festival winners.Fitzgerald -- whose four wins for Henderson at the 2000 Cheltenham Festival saw him finish leading rider -- says there is a reason owners still flock to his stables.

Minella Times, who Rachael Blackmore rode to 2021 Grand National glory when she became the first woman jockey to win the world's most famous steeplechase, has been retired, it was announced on Tuesday.Blackmore -- who last year became the first woman rider to win the blue riband of jumping the Cheltenham Gold Cup -- said Minella Times was "such a special horse."

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike finished sixth.

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike is going off at 7-2.

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike did not run in Saturday's race.

Epicenter will be tough to beat in a nine-horse field.

Rich Strike will skip the Preakness Stakes this year and instead prepare for the Belmont in June.

Leon's agent says that he'll be eligible to ride in the Preakness if Rich Strike is entered.

With a Kentucky Derby victory in hand, Rich Strike's team faces a choice: go for the glory, or go for the better chance at victory?

How the memorable call of the Kentucky Derby upset happened, as told by the man who made the call.

The 148th Kentucky Derby began with no runaway favorite, and it was an 80-1 long shot that ended up taking the roses.

The field is wide open for the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby.

The Kentucky Derby has announced post positions for Saturday's 148th running of the race.

Medina Spirit is the second horse in the 146-year history of the Kentucky Derby to have title taken away over drug offense.

The 3-year that tested positive for betamethasone after winning the Derby in May collapsed on the Santa Anita track Monday morning.

We're not sure that's street legal.

A federal judge has nullified New York Racing Association's (NYRA) suspension of famed thoroughbred trainer Bob Baffert, saying the organisation failed to provide him a post-suspension hearing. The ruling was a significant win for the trainer, one of the most successful and recognisable figures in the sport, and allows for him to compete in New York state races again, effective immediately. In May, NYRA barred Baffert-trained horse Medina Spirit from running in the Belmont Stakes, the third and final leg of the triple crown, after the Kentucky Derby winner failed a drug test.

Bob Baffert can run horses in New York again.

Bob Baffert is trying to get his New York suspension lifted.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Monday sued New York horse racing officials for suspending him from running horses at state racetracks, following a positive drug test for Baffert-trained Medina Spirit after it won the Kentucky Derby. Baffert, a seven-time Kentucky Derby winner and one of the sport's best-known figures, said the New York Racing Association (NYRA) unconstitutionally usurped the authority of the state's gaming commission by taking away his trainer's license indefinitely.

(Reuters) -Essential Quality atoned for Kentucky Derby disappointment out-duelling Hot Rod Charlie down the home stretch to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, bringing the curtain down on a tumultuous year for U.S. thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown. The favorite to win May's Kentucky Derby, Essential Quality came home fourth at Churchill Downs but this time got a perfect ride from jockey Luis Saez. It was the fifth win in six career races for Essential Quality who is owned by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The Kentucky Derby favorite delivered at Belmont.

Essential Quality is once again the 2-1 favorite and there are plenty of reasons to think he will come through this time.

Churchill Downs cited Baffert's "reckless practices and substance violations" in announcing the decision.

2 jun (Reuters) - Una segunda prueba de drogas posterior a la carrera para el ganador del Derby de Kentucky, Medina Spirit, confirmó la presencia de una sustancia prohibida, dijo el miércoles un abogado del entrenador del caballo, lo que plantea la posibilidad de que el potro alazán oscuro sea descalificado. El abogado del entrenador del Salón de la Fama Bob Baffert, quien ganó un séptimo Derby de Kentucky con Medina Spirit el 1 de mayo, dijo que una segunda muestra halló el fármaco antiinflamat

(Reuters) -A second post-race drug test for Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit confirmed a prohibited substance was present, a lawyer for the horse's trainer said on Wednesday, raising the possibility the dark bay colt might be disqualified. While a decision on whether to disqualify Medina Spirit will depend on the outcome of a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission investigation, Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) moved swiftly by banning the colt's Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert for two years. In making the ruling, CDI said it could no longer overlook Baffert's history of drug testing failures.

Children will not be allowed to attend England's second test against New Zealand at Edgbaston next month after the match was chosen as one of the British government's pilot events to allow bigger crowds. The June 10-14 test will be the first event in the second phase of the government programme assessing the risk of COVID-19 transmission at mass participation events. Edgbaston will now be allowed around 18,000 spectators a day, or 70% of capacity, but all ticket holders must be aged 16 and over.

Baffert and his horses are banned from several lucrative NY races, including the third leg of the Triple Crown.

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit will not contend in next month's Belmont Stakes after the New York Racing Association (NYRA) temporarily suspended the horse and its famed trainer, Bob Baffert, on Monday following a failed drug test. Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone, a banned substance, earlier this month after winning the first of the three legs of horse racing's Triple Crown series. The horse came up short at Saturday's Preakness Stakes, finishing third behind Midnight Bourbon and upset winner Rombauer.

All eyes were on Medina Spirit at the 146th Preakness Stakes, but Rombauer captured the victory.

"If we don't [speak up] for the bettors, it's just going to keep on going."

The Kentucky Derby winner (for now) is officially racing in the Preakness.

The Bob Baffert-trained horse tested positive for the anti-inflammatory drug betamethasone after winning the first of the three famed Triple Crown races on May 1, raising questions over whether the three-year-old colt would be allowed to race at Pimlico Race Course. Medina Spirit was cleared to compete after "undergoing three rounds of out-of-competition blood sample testing as part of the condition of entry," Pimlico owner Stronach Group said in a statement. Baffert, one of the most recognizable figures in the world of professional horse racing with a record seven Kentucky Derby titles, said the prior failed drug test may have been due to the use of an anti-fungal ointment.

All the focus is on Medina Spirit at the Preakness Stakes.

(Reuters) -Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, the Bob Baffert-trained horse which failed a drug test after its May 1 triumph, is eligible to compete in Saturday's Preakness Stakes, the Maryland Jockey Club said on Tuesday. If the horse's positive test for the anti-inflammatory drug betamethasone is confirmed, Churchill Downs said it will strip Medina Spirit of its Kentucky Derby win and the racetrack has already banned Baffert from entering horses there. The controversy surrounding Medina Spirit's positive test raised questions about whether the three-year-old colt would be allowed to compete in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Medina Spirit will run in the Preakness Stakes despite a positive test for a regulated substance at the Kentucky Derby.

If Medina Spirit is stripped of the 2021 Kentucky Derby victory, second-place Mandaloun would be deemed the winner but bettors on Mandaloun would still be out of luck.

Medina Spirit's Derby win could be in jeopardy.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who won a record-setting seventh Kentucky Derby with Medina Spirit last week, said the dark bay colt had another light workout on Thursday and is currently in peak form ahead of next week's Preakness Stakes. Baffert said it takes about a week to determine if a horse will be ready in time for the Preakness Stakes but that Medina Spirit came out of the Kentucky Derby well, has jogged for two consecutive days and he sees no discouraging signs. "I'll know by the weekend how he is doing but so far he is actually handling it pretty well," twice Triple Crown winner Baffert, who is scheduled to return to Louisville over the weekend, said on a conference call.

Bob Baffert's horse is never a bad bet at Churchill Downs.

(Reuters) -Medina Spirit stormed to victory in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday to give trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh win in the $3 million Run for the Roses. Under jockey John Velazquez, Medina Spirit jumped out to an early lead and fended off challenges down the stretch in front of 51,838 fans in Louisville, Kentucky, in the largest U.S. sporting event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The win was Hall of Fame jockey Velazquez's fourth in the first race of the Triple Crown, which returned to its usual spot - the first Saturday in May - after being pushed to September last year due to the pandemic.

The Kentucky Derby returned to its traditional May slot, and it was as thrilling as ever.

Here’s a casual guide — from an admitted non-expert — on how to spread around $100 of bets to perhaps take home a bit of milk money.

The 20-horse field for the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville is packed with talented, dynamic runners.

Sheikh Mohammed's horse, Essential Quality, is a favorite to win the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

The 20-horse field for the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville is packed with talented, dynamic runners.