Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, one of the most prolific trainers and influences in horse racing history, has been hospitalized in Louisville, Ky. and will not return to training, according to Lukas family members.
Never traveling beyond a mile before June 21, Mo Plex handled his first two-turn test with aplomb to win the $500,000 Grade 3 Ohio Derby June 21 at Thistledown.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s dominance of the Royal Ascot juvenile contests continued with Charles Darwin’s dominant victory in the June 19 Norfolk Stakes.
The No Nay Never colt was sent off odds-on and was briefly challenged by American Sandal’s Song and longshot Ameeq, but he exerted his class over the pair to pull clear under Ryan Moore by 2 1/4 lengths over a Godolphin’s rallying juvenile Wise Approach.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York Racing Association announced June 13 that the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will return to historic Saratoga Race Course in June 2026 for a third year to allow for the on-time and uninterrupted construction of a new Belmont Park.
The Triple Crown is the pinnacle of American horse racing, awarded to a 3-year-old Thoroughbred that wins the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in a single season.
