The best sprinters on the West Coast will gather at Del Mar Saturday for the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes. Aside from shares of the $400,000 purse, the field of nine will be battling for a free spot in the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint Oct.
Horse racing has many different terms to measure margin of victory. Going from closest to largest, a horse can win by a nose, head, or neck, by fractions of a length, or by a length or more (a length is, as you might guess, the estimated length of a racehorse, roughly eight feet).
But sometimes, there is no margin to measure – the horses reach the finish line equally together. When that happens, the familiar term “dead heat” is applied, usually after a several-minute wait while the racetrack stewards examine the finish line photo.
Although the feature race last Saturday at Saratoga was the Dunkin’ Diana Stakes for fillies and mares on turf, the most important race on the July 18 card for horse fans and bettors anticipating next spring’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve started the day’s action about 2 ½ hours earlier.
America’s Best Racing editor Patrick Reed presents four takeaways from an eventful weekend in horse racing highlighted by the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, featuring several race results that should have an impact on the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in the fall.
To make it to one Breeders’ Cup is special for any horse and the people connected to them To win a Breeders’ Cup race puts that horse in elite company. To make five consecutive starts at the Breeders’ Cup is a testament to a horse’s quality, a trainer’s expertise, and an owner’s faith.
Kona Gold was a stalwart sprinter whose soundness and speed made him a star and earned him accolades aplenty, including a spot in the 2026 Hall of Fame class.
