Horse Racing

DUBLIN, Ireland — Nine-time Irish champion jockey and 2016 Epsom Derby winner Pat Smullen has died. He was 43. Horse Racing Ireland said Smullen, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2018, died in a Dublin hospital on Tuesday. Britain’s Press Association said Smullen’s initial treatment had been positive, but he suffered a relapse.

ARCADIA, Calif. — Honor A.P. has been retired because of an injury suffered in the Kentucky Derby, where he finished fourth. The 3-year-old colt will stand at stud for next year’s breeding season at Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky. Honor A.P. had two wins in six career starts and earnings of $532,200, according to

ARCADIA, Calif. — Opening day of Santa Anita’s fall season will be pushed back a week until Sept. 25 because of poor air quality caused by a wildfire burning near the Southern California racetrack. The meet had been set to open Saturday. The city of Arcadia, home to Santa Anita, ordered the residents of one

BALTIMORE — The official state song “Maryland, My Maryland” will not be performed before the Preakness next month because the lyrics are perceived by some to be racist. A spokesperson for Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness, said Friday the tradition of playing the song before the race will be scrapped on Oct. 3,

WASHINGTON — A key House committee on Wednesday gave bipartisan approval to legislation to create national standards for the horse racing industry to prevent fatalities and discourage illegal medication practices. The Senate’s top Republican said he would press to pass the bill before the year is out. The 46-5 vote in a Democratic-controlled panel is

WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Republican and a handful of senior lawmakers in both parties are making a late-session push for legislation to create national standards for the horse racing industry to prevent fatalities and discourage illegal medication practices. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., whose state is home to the country’s top breeding outfits and

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Saratoga Race Course completed its 40-day meet, and its all-sources handle topped $700 million for the second consecutive year despite being conducted without fans. Total handle was $702.5 million, just off last year’s mark of $705.3 million, with average daily handle of $17.5 million. Only a limited number of essential personnel,

Betting on the 146th Kentucky Derby was down sharply over the weekend, dropping 52% from last year’s record amount wagered. With no fans allowed at the track because of the coronavirus pandemic, Churchill Downs reported that $79.4 million was bet in the parimutuel pool on this year’s race. Last year’s Derby set a record with

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Authentic dueled with Tiz the Law in the final turn and upset the heavy favorite to win the 146th Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs. Ridden by John Velazquez, Authentic led from start to finish and won by 1¼ lengths, giving trainer Bob Baffert his record-tying sixth Derby champion. Authentic covered

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Merely contending on the big stage wasn’t good enough for Shedaresthedevil, who went on to hammer her name into racing history. The 15-1 long shot won the Kentucky Oaks in record time, overtaking favorite Gamine at the top of the stretch and holding off Swiss Skydiver for a 1 1/2-length victory Friday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The field for the Kentucky Derby has been reduced to 16 after Finnick the Fierce was scratched on Friday. The one-eyed gelding may have an issue with his foot. He’s missing his right eye because of a congenital cataract. The Derby on Saturday will have its fewest starters since 2003, when Funny

Between July 2018 and June 2019, 49 horses died at the Santa Anita racetrack in Southern California. Some broke down in training — a snapped leg bone, an irreversible injury. Others died publicly during a race. These incidents confirmed what horse racing people already knew: Sometimes … horses die. But when the story of Santa

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A friendly security guard checked my temperature and pointed toward an opening in an unmarked green fence, and just like that, I was alone in Churchill Downs. It was Derby week, and yet everything was so quiet I could hear the cicadas. That’s what the world’s most famous racetrack sounds like when

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Derby dream of Victor Martinez is over. The retired five-time All-Star catcher owns King Guillermo, who was set to run in Saturday’s 146th Derby. But Martinez and trainer Juan Carlos Avila decided Thursday to scratch the colt because of a fever. “It’s just the sad part about this game,” said

SOUTHWELL, England — Jump racing was suspended at a British racecourse on Thursday following the death of eight horses at the venue since July 1. The British Horseracing Authority already was working with the owners of Southwell racecourse to look into the circumstances behind six equine fatalities there from July 1 to Aug. 24. The

Nevada bookmakers are locked in a dispute with Churchill Downs that, barring a last-minute resolution, will prevent the state’s sportsbooks from offering pari-mutuel wagering on the Kentucky Derby. The dispute is centered on a price increase requested by Churchill Downs for data from the track, which bookmakers use to take pari-mutuel wagers, according to sources

Postponed from its traditional running on the first Saturday in May for the first time since 1945 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Kentucky Derby will take place on the first Saturday of September. Tiz the Law is the morning-line favorite (3-5) and is unbeaten in four starts this year. That includes the Belmont Stakes

BALTIMORE — The Preakness Stakes will be run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore Oct. 3 without fans, making it a spectator-free sweep of the three Triple Crown races this year because of the global pandemic. The Maryland Jockey Club and Stronach Group that owns and manages Pimlico made the announcement Wednesday that fans wouldn’t