The $485,000 Grade 1 Dunkin' Diana Stakes drew some of the best turf fillies and mares the division has to offer, and down the stretch it was Excellent Truth and She Feels Pretty that put on a show July 12 at Saratoga Race Course.
The Jockey Club announced July 10 the speakers for its 73rd Annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing, which will be held July 31 at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at 10 a.m. ET, following a networking breakfast that begins at 9 a.m. It will also be livestreamed on The Jockey Club’s website at jockeyclub.com.
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.
This year’s Bowling Green Stakes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course drew a main group of eight contenders plus three additional entrants entered for the main track only in the event rain forces the turf stakes onto the main track. Weather forecasts can change quickly, but the outlook for opening weekend of the summer meet at Saratoga looks mostly clear.
The history of horse racing is filled with rags-to-riches stories of jockeys, trainers, and horses that rise from humble beginnings to achieve success at the highest levels of the sport.
Few such stories can compare with that of the remarkable gelding Lava Man, who went from claimer to Hall of Famer to dominate California horse racing for much of three unforgettable years.
