Horse Racing

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has tested positive for a banned substance, trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday, and the horse could be stripped of its history-making victory.

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.

(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 Bob Baffert-trained horse got the job done as a 12-1 betting underdog at the Kentucky Derby. It marks a record seventh Derby win for Baffert.

Medina Spirit won the 147th Kentucky Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs, giving trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the US flat racing classic.

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.

King Fury, the 20-1 Kentucky Derby entrant named for world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, was scratched from Saturday's US racing classic after spiking a fever on Friday.

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

English jockey Jim Crowley is not one to get "wrapped up in emotion" but he told AFP it "would be very special" if he wins his first English classic in the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's silks on Saturday.

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

Jockey Luis Saez, who appeared to have won the 2019 Kentucky Derby before a disqualification for interference, will ride favorite Essential Quality in Saturday's 147th "Run for the Roses."

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

The undefeated grey colt, who is owned by Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin, will have jockey Luis Saez aboard in the 20-horse race that is the first jewel of U.S. thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown. "I think it'll be a good spot," said Essential Quality trainer Brad Cox. Essential Quality, perfect in five career starts, will attempt to become the first reigning juvenile champion since Nyquist in 2016 to win the Kentucky Derby.

Minty Bets is joined by Justin Powell to discuss the upcoming 147th Kentucky Derby taking place on Sat. May 1 from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Fifty-eight horses were evacuated from the blaze that broke out along the back stretch of the Long Island horse track.

Rachael Blackmore found it hard to quantify her achievement in becoming the first woman jockey to win the Grand National but for legendary rider AP McCoy it is a "groundbreaker" for the sport.

Grand National winning jockey Rachael Blackmore was described as an "inspiration" after becoming the first female to ride the winner at the world's most famous race on Saturday. The Irishwoman produced a masterful ride on 11-1 shot Minella Times to win by six lengths after taking control two fences from home at the Aintree course. Katie Walsh, whose third place in 2012 had been the best previous effort by a female jockey in the race, said Blackmore's feat was a great result for racing.

Rachael Blackmore made Grand National history by becoming the first female jockey to win the race as she steered Minella Times across the finishing line at Aintree on Saturday. The Irishwoman, who became the first leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival last month, timed her finish to perfection as Minella Times surged ahead after the 30th and final fence. Minella Times, priced at 11-1, never looked threatened in the charge to the finish with 100-1 shot Balko Des Flos coming second and Any Second Now in third place.

Aintree racecourse fell silent as a mark of respect to the late Prince Philip on the eve of the Grand National on Friday as royal trainer Nicky Henderson won one of the day's biggest races.

Henry de Bromhead has the Cheltenham Gold Cup trophy sitting in pride of place in his kitchen but will not tempt fate and imagine the Grand National prize will be beside it on Sunday.

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson celebrated a notable hat-trick on the opening day of the Aintree Grand National meeting on Thursday, with three of his horses triumphing in Grade One races.

Four-times British champion jump jockey Richard Johnson announced his retirement on Saturday at the age of 43. The Englishman holds the record for most appearances in the Grand National without winning (19), and is second in the all-time list of National Hunt Racing winners behind Tony 'AP' McCoy. "That's it for me," he told in a surprise announcement after finishing third on Brother Tedd at Newton Abbott.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, one of the most influential figures in horse racing over the past four decades, has died at the age of 75, his brother Sheikh Mohammed announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

Irish trainer Henry de Bromhead celebrated an historic "Holy Trinity" of wins at the Cheltenham Festival after Minella Indo won the Gold Cup on Friday as Rachael Blackmore was crowned top jockey.

Minella Indo won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday to make Henry de Bromhead the first trainer to win the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and the blue riband event at the same festival.

Rachael Blackmore confirmed her status as the star of this year's Cheltenham Festival on Thursday, riding a double as the Irish once again dominated proceedings.

Al Boum Photo bids to become the fifth horse to win three successive Cheltenham Gold Cups on Friday as Rachael Blackmore eyes a rare double at the four-day festival of jump racing.

Tiger Roll and Put The Kettle On were the stars of the show as the Irish took the Cheltenham Festival by storm on St Patrick's day, winning six of the seven races.

Rachael Blackmore became the first woman jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when she guided Honeysuckle to victory in the opening feature race of the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday. It was unbeaten Honeysuckle's 11th successive victory. "Absolutely incredible," Blackmore said.

Rachael Blackmore, riding Honeysuckle, became the first woman jockey to win the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday.

Jumps racing's showpiece meeting the four day Cheltenham Festival starts on Tuesday with the best of the English horses pitted against the best from Ireland.

Three-time Grand National-winning trainer Gordon Elliott was Friday banned for a year, six months of which are suspended, by Irish racing authorities after a photograph emerged of him sitting on a dead horse.

The IHRB also indicated, however, that there was a "sinister aspect" to the case, referring to a "concerted attack" on Elliott, "the full circumstances of which are unknown." The sanction will start on March 9 and Elliott said in a statement that he accepted the situation and had been dealt with fairly. Elliott had been barred from racing in Britain pending the Irish investigation and had already seen several top racehorses moved to other trainers.

Gordon Elliott has already lost horses and sponsors but the three-time Grand National-winning trainer risks much harsher punishment after a shocking image emerged of him sitting astride a dead horse.

Elliott, a Gold Cup and three times Grand National winner, has been barred from racing in Britain pending an investigation in Ireland. "eCOMM Merchant Solutions has terminated its sponsorship contract with Gordon Elliott due to recent events," the yard sponsor said on Twitter. The Newmarket-based Cheveley Park Stud moved eight Elliott-trained horses to the yards of Henry de Bromhead and Willie Mullins.

Leading Irish trainer Gordon Elliott's apology for being photographed talking on the phone while sitting on a dead horse has fallen on deaf ears, with English owners Cheveley Park Stud removing their horses from his charge on Tuesday.

Three-time Grand National-winning trainer Gordon Elliott has apologised after a photograph emerged of him chatting on the phone while sitting on a dead horse.

A head shorter than his peers, Fallou Diop https://reut.rs/3rZQ7DU quickly vanishes into the crowd of jockeys preparing for early morning drills in the western Senegalese village of Niaga. "When I start riding I get a bit stressed, but after a moment, it's over," Diop says. Diop is one of Senegal's most promising jockeys, having won the country's top racing prize when he was just 17.

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) -- Santa Anita has canceled live racing on Friday because of strong rains expected to hit Southern California over the next few days.

Knicks Go went to the lead right out of the gate and dared the other 11 runners in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational to catch him. Picking up by far the biggest purse of his career, and doing so with ease, the heavily favored Knicks Go won the fifth running of the Pegasus on Saturday - his fourth consecutive victory, one that pushed his lifetime winnings to about $3 million. ''Great horses do great things,'' trainer Brad Cox said.

The California Horse Racing Board voted to let stand a decision by stewards at Santa Anita and leave Justify as the winner of the 2018 Santa Anita Derby. Stewards at Santa Anita last month decided to dismiss complaints filed by the current racing board in the combined cases of Justify and Hoppertunity, both of whom had scopolamine detected in post-race samples following their victories. The racing board filed the complaint as part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by Mick Ruis, the owner-trainer of Bolt d'Oro, who finished second to Justify in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby.

There are plans for Knicks Go, and there are hopes. The plan for Knicks Go - the likely favorite in Saturday's $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida - is to keep him racing throughout 2021. ''This is a very important race,'' trainer Brad Cox said in an interview done virtually with Gulfstream Park leading up to the Pegasus.

Knicks Go was installed Wednesday as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, which will be the 5-year-old's first outing since winning the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in November. Knicks Go, a winner of three consecutive starts, will break from the No. 4 post in Saturday's race at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Code of Honor, trained by Shug McGaughey, is the 9-2 second choice and will start from the No. 10 post in the 12-horse field.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Tall Dark Stranger is harness racing's Horse of the Year.

Bruce Headley, the thoroughbred trainer who developed sprint champion Kona Gold and many other stakes winners during a 61-year career based in California, died Friday. Santa Anita officials said Headley died at an Arcadia hospital from the effects of a stroke. Headley was first introduced to racing at Santa Anita by an aunt at age six.

A Dakar Rally racer who was badly injured after crashing his motorbike has died aboard a medical flight from Saudi Arabia to France, race organizers said Friday. Pierre Cherpin died while being transported from Jeddah to Lille on Thursday night, four days after his crash during the seventh stage from Ha'il to Sakaka. Cherpin underwent surgery in Sakaka and was kept in an induced coma before being airlifted to a hospital in Jeddah, organizers said.

Khalid bin Abdullah, the Saudi prince who owned the Juddmonte Farms horse-racing operation which produced superstar thoroughbreds like Frankel and Dancing Brave, has died. The prince's death was announced by the Juddmonte group on Tuesday. A passionate supporter of horse racing as a young man, Prince Khalid founded Juddmonte in 1980 and oversaw the breeding of more than 440 winners - including 102 at top-tier Grade One level worldwide - who carried his green, pink and white silks.

A horse trainer has been banned from several racing tracks for giving his horse a racist name.