Horse Racing News

Christmas came early for D' Funnybone on Saturday at steamy Belmont Park, with a gift-wrapped win in the Grade 2, $250,000 Woody Stephens Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters.

An astonishing performance by the largely untried but fast improving Workforce electrified the crowd at Epsom on Saturday as the Michael Stoute-trained son of King's Best romped to a seven-length triumph in the $2.1 million Epsom Derby.

At 11 a.m., with $660,138 in the win pool, Kentucky Derby runner-up Ice Box was a strong 7-5 favorite for Saturday's 142nd Belmont Stakes

Macho Again had his final workout in preparation of his defense of the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap when he breezed five furlongs in 1:02.20 with regular rider Robby Albarado aboard Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

Zenyatta is unlikely to have many rivals when she seeks to extend her unbeaten streak to 17 races in the $250,000 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park next Sunday.

If all goes according to plan, Quality Road will make two more starts before the Breeders' Cup Classic in November, both in Grade 1 races at Saratoga this summer.

Fast workouts are uncommon for Neil Drysdale's turf workers.

Redding Colliery is an emerging player in the nation's handicap ranks, just as his owners, James and Fitriani Hay, are emerging players on the American racing scene.

The term "good-betting race" is usually a backhanded compliment about a field with modest to below-average horses with no strong favorite.

Separately, the Juddmonte Farms of Khaled Abdullah and trainer Bill Mott have won five of the first 16 runnings of the Just a Game Handicap.