Horse Racing

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.

ALBANY, Calif. (AP) -- Golden Gate Fields will resume live racing on Jan. 15 after being closed for over a month due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

Mucho Gusto has been invited back to defend his crown in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, later this month.

Heavily favored Life Is Good survived a mild threat late from stablemate Medina Spirit and went on to a three-quarters of a length victory in the $100,000 Sham Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old colt trained by Bob Baffert earned 10 qualifying points for the May 1 race at Churchill Downs. Baffert trained last year's Sham winner Authentic, who later gave him a record-tying sixth Derby victory.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) -- Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law has been suddenly retired on the advice of a veterinarian after an X-ray revealed bone bruising in the colt's front leg.

A man slips a piece of paper with the name Sophie Linda on it under the teller's window. It's the end of the day at Madrid�s Zarzuela Racecourse, time for the horses to be stabled and for jockeys to put away their whips, harnesses, boots and other gear. ''Fortunately, we have a lot of space,'' said Guillermo Arizkorreta, a racehorse trainer with plenty of winning experience.

Horse racing officials and industry activists are hailing the passage and signing of a safety and integrity bill that will standardize medication and doping rules in an effort to make the sport safer and fairer. The bill gives an independent panel authority to set uniform, national medication, drug and track safety standards to be enforced by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. ''This is a monumental step forward that will help secure the future of thoroughbred racing in the United States,'' New York Racing Association president and CEO Dave O'Rourke said.

US Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis T. Tygart on Monday hailed the new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act as the start of a "new era" for the sport.

HISA, which will put anti-doping/medication control and safety programs under the umbrella of one independent, non-governmental authority as opposed to individual state racing commissions, was signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday. "This passage signifies the beginning of a new era in the storied history of the horse racing industry," USADA chief executive Travis Tygart said in a statement. Tygart said USADA welcomed the opportunity to develop uniform rules and implement vigorous independent testing and enforcement which he feels will contribute to the longevity and legacy of the sport of horse racing.

A 2-year-old colt racing in the $80,150 Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita was fatally injured Sunday, becoming the Southern California track's first fatality since June. Trained by Peter Miller, Ebeko was lagging the field when he injured his left front leg at the top of the stretch in the 1-mile turf race, throwing jockey Joel Rosario to the ground. The colt was triaged on the turf course, but a statement from Santa Anita said veterinarians determined it was an unrecoverable injury.

Charlatan tracked favorite Nashville to the quarter pole and then drew off to a 4 1/2-length victory in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes on opening day of Santa Anita's 84th winter meet Saturday. Ridden for the first time by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, Charlatan ran seven furlongs in 1:21.50. Trained by fellow Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the chestnut colt had been idle since May 2.

Bryony Frost became the first female jockey to win the King George VI Chase when she rode 20-1 shot Frodon in an impressive front-running display on Saturday, giving trainer Paul Nicholls a record-extending 12th victory in the prestigious English horse race. Frodon - one of Nicholls' four runners - dictated the pace of the 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) jumps race at Kempton after going out in front early and jumped excellently throughout under the 25-year-old Frost. Clan Des Obeaux, another horse trained by Nicholls, was going for a third straight victory in the race.

A bill to ban race-day doping of horses and set national medication and track-safety standards for the horse-racing industry is nearing the finish line. Lawmakers gave final approval to the bill late Monday as part of the massive legislation on spending and pandemic relief. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill in the next few days.

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (AP) -- Spielberg edged pacesetter The Great One by a nose in the $200,500 Los Alamitos Futurity on Saturday, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his seventh straight victory in the Grade 2 race.

Blue cushions are up for grabs as masked spectators cheer horses galloping to the finish in Wuhan, ground zero for the pandemic but also a major centre for racing in China.

Stewards at Santa Anita have dismissed complaints filed by the California Horse Racing Board involving the post-race drug tests of Triple Crown winner Justify and another horse in 2018, both of whom were trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Stewards John Herbuveaux, Ron Church and Kim Sawyer issued their ruling on the combined cases late Wednesday after hearing evidence and testimony via video on Oct. 29. The CHRB had sought the disqualifications of Justify from his victory in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby and Hoppertunity from his win in the Tokyo City Cup the following day.

Princess Noor, one of the top 2-year-old fillies in the country, was retired Sunday because of a soft tissue injury sustained while leading the $300,000 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, she was the 3-5 favorite in Saturday's Grade 1 race. Princess Noor was purchased for $1.35 million earlier this year for Zedan Racing Stables.

ALBANY, Calif. (AP) -- Golden Gate Fields has extended is suspension of live horse racing until Dec. 26, when its winter meet is scheduled to begin.

After nearly 50 years, the sun has set on a racing day at Calder for the final time. Diligent won the final race at the track formerly known as Calder on Saturday, ending a half-century run of racing at the facility that was rebranded several years ago as Gulfstream Park West. It was a fitting finish: Eddie Plesa Jr., a member of Calder's Hall of Fame, was the winning trainer in the final race at the facility.

The champion jockey of British horse racing was banned from riding for three months on Friday following a positive test for cocaine. The punishment was handed down by France Galop, four months after Murphy returned a positive test for metabolites of the drug in a test undertaken at Chantilly. Murphy, a 25-year-old jockey from Ireland, denied he had taken any drugs and requested a B sample.

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- Golden Gate Fields has suspended live horse racing through the end of November because of the surging coronavirus.

Churchill Downs says president Kevin Flanery will retire at the end of this year after 11 years in charge of the home of the Kentucky Derby. Flanery began as Churchill Downs Incorporated's vice president of national public affairs in December 2005 before becoming the historic track's 13th president in July 2009. Flanery said in a release Wednesday that growing up in the track's surrounding area provided an appreciation for what Churchill Downs means to the industry and community.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jockey Joel Rosario earned his 3,000th career victory in a race at Aqueduct in New York.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Authentic's track-record time in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland has been updated to 1:59.60 after a review of multiple sources and camera angles.

Authentic won the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic as Bob Baffert capped a troubled 2020 with two victories at Keeneland, where European raiders won all four turf races on Saturday in sometimes sensational style.

Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by John Velazquez, won the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky.

Horse racing has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic but is facing even tougher times ahead, according to a bleak assessment by Ascot' director of racing Nick Smith.

Improbable (5-2) will be gunning for his fourth consecutive Grade One race win while Baffert, the sport's most successful trainer, is looking to secure a record-extending fourth victory in the 1-1/4 mile, $6 million contest. Other contenders in the 10-horse field are Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law (3-1) and Baffert's two other horses - Saudi Cup champion Maximum Security (7-2) and Kentucky Derby champion Authentic (6-1). The 67-year-old Baffert, who has also won six Kentucky Derbys as well as the Triple Crown in 2015 and 2018, has been under scrutiny after receiving medication complaints from regulators this year.

Essential Quality seized control in the middle of the final stretch Friday to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and give trainer Brad Cox his second winner of the day at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky.

Jockey Christophe Soumillon tested positive for Covid-19 at the Breeders' Cup and will miss the two-day racing showcase at Keeneland in Kentucky, organizers said Friday.

Here’s a closer look at some of the top contenders and potential wagering strategies for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Authentic and Tiz the Law clash again on Saturday in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland, where they'll contend with a deep field of older horses led by Improbable in the $6 million race.

Triple Crown winner Justify failed a drug test before his sweep in 2018.

Irish raider Twilight Payment won the coveted Aus$8.0 million (US$5.5 million) Melbourne Cup on Tuesday in a race run without spectators and marred by the death of English Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck.

English Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck was euthanised Tuesday after breaking down during the Melbourne Cup, the seventh horse since 2013 to die at the race.

Irish raider Twilight Payment won the coveted Aus$8.0 million (US$5.5 million) Melbourne Cup at an eerily quiet Flemington on Tuesday, with the "race that stops a nation" run behind closed doors for the first time.

Irish master trainer Aidan O'Brien will bid for an elusive Melbourne Cup win at a closed Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday, having come close to snatching the "race that stops the nation" in recent years. O'Brien has saddled 15 runners in Australia's iconic two-mile handicap and will have another two in the A$8 million ($5.60 million) Cup's 160th running on Tuesday. Both entrants are highly regarded, with Tiger Moth a narrow 13-2 favourite ahead of last year's Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (15-2).

Australia's "race that stops a nation" will Tuesday be staged in front of empty grandstands, devoid of the roars from tens of thousands of punters when the Melbourne Cup is run behind closed doors for the first time in its long history.

Authorities are targeting crowds of at least 25,000 people per day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for Australia's second cricket test against India, a government official said on Wednesday. Melbourne, Australia's second most populous city, was released from a coronavirus lockdown on Wednesday, with retail and hospitality businesses opening their doors for the first time in months.

Melbourne Cup-winning Australian trainer Darren Weir was committed to stand trial Monday on animal cruelty and conspiracy to defraud charges stemming from the 2018 spring racing carnival.

Hollie Doyle is the "boss", according to boyfriend and fellow jockey Tom Marquand, but as far as she is concerned, he is "the romantic".