Horse Racing News

It's boy vs. girl at Sandown Park on Saturday when Twice Over and Dar Re Mi go toe-to-toe in the $750,000 Eclipse Stakes.

Johnny Sellers, who rode Carry Back to victory in the 1961 Kentucky Derby and Preakness and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 2007, died early Friday morning in an Arkansas nursing home, according to his son Mark.

Step by step, trainer Todd Pletcher stretched out Discreetly Mine from six furlongs in January to the Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May.

The partnership that owns Compari may wait until race day to decide the participation of their four-time stakes winner in Sunday's $150,000 American Handicap at Hollywood Park.

As a deputy of sorts when California-based trainer Bob Baffert ships horses to New York, John Terranova has been around some extremely talented runners.

Rightly So, beaten one-half length by Hour Glass in the Grade 2 Vagrancy Handicap last out, tries again for her first graded stakes score when she meets seven fillies and mares entered in Monday's Grade 3, $150,000 Bed o' Roses Handicap.

Kent Desormeaux, who had flown in from New York to ride Hold Me Back for trainer Bill Mott in Thursday's $216,400 Dominion Day Stakes, was taken off his mount by the stewards after failing a breathalyzer test.

Winchester and Acclamation, two emerging forces in the turf division, both bring two-race winning streaks to Monmouth Park on Saturday for the Grade 1, $750,000 United Nations Stakes.

After mulling all the options, trainer D. Wayne Lukas decided Thursday to enter 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the Grade 2, $175,000 Firecracker Handicap, the closing-day feature Sunday at Churchill Downs.

Rachel Alexandra is headed for a Jersey Shore encore.