Wathnan Racing's Leading Change backed up an impressive 6 1/2-length career debut win last month by jumping immediately into graded stakes company and winning the $300,000 Grade 3 Indiana Derby July 11 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
The $1 million NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes July 18 serves as the signature race at the 2026 Monmouth Park meet, and this year’s edition is expected to feature a strong cast of runners to compete in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 stakes for 3-year-olds.
There are few certainties in life or in the sport of horse racing. But just as you could count on the changing of the seasons, you could count on Jonathan Sheppard sending out winners by the dozen, year after year, in tests of both pure speed and dexterity over jumps. He retired from training in the U.S. before the 2021 season, maintained a small stable in Ireland for a short while, and passed away at 82 on Aug. 27, 2023.
One of the key figures behind Formula 1 auto racing’s meteoric rise in popularity plans to help launch a team-based horse racing league next season that has drawn many of the sport’s biggest owners, according to a July 9 release.
It was a tumultuous week in North America with cancellations across the country due to extreme heat. Opening day at Saratoga went on as scheduled on Friday, July 3, and opening day at Ellis Park was postponed until Saturday, July 4.
