Horse Racing

6:55 PM ET Associated Press Churchill Downs’ spring meet without spectators will open May 16, with the historic track expected to release a revised schedule of stakes races online this weekend. Last weekend’s scheduled opening was delayed because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, which already has forced the postponement of the Kentucky Oaks and

6:22 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — R.D. Hubbard, who bred, owned and raced thoroughbred and quarter horses and was an influential executive in the racing industry, has died. He was 84. Hubbard died Wednesday at home with his wife, Joan Dale. at his side in Palm Desert, about 115 miles east of Los

8:28 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Churchill Downs will open stables at the track and training center in phases starting May 11 before races are run during its spring meet without spectators. The historic track postponed the Kentucky Derby last month from May 2 to Sept. 5 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It

1:40 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Secretariat is the early 7-2 favorite for this weekend’s virtual Kentucky Derby, an animated race between all 13 Triple Crown winners on the day the Derby would have been held before the coronavirus pandemic postponed it. The virtual Derby will use computer-generated imagery of the 13 horses

8:23 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Kentucky Derby-winning trainers Bob Baffert and Doug O’Neill joined horse racing advocates rallying outside a Los Angeles County board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday in an effort to convince government officials to allow the resumption of live racing at Santa Anita. Even behind a mask, the white-haired

7:26 PM ET Associated Press For the first time, the Arkansas Derby will be run in two divisions next weekend. Both will carry the full 170 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. The race was originally set to have a $1 million purse. Now, each division will be worth $500,000. A total of 22 horses

1:09 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — A 2-year-old colt has died after what was called an accident at Santa Anita, making it the 12th fatality at the track since late December. Last Renegade, who had yet to make his racing debut, died Friday, according to information posted on the California Horse Racing Board

10:53 AM ET Associated Press Churchill Downs will recognize the first Saturday in May with a “Kentucky Derby at Home” online party, highlighted by a virtual Derby featuring 13 former Triple Crown winners in an effort to raise $2 million for coronavirus relief. The 146th Kentucky Derby was moved from May 2 to Sept. 5

9:00 AM ET Ryan Hockensmith A few years ago, a guy in his late 20s approached famous jockey Ron Turcotte and rolled up his sleeve. Turcotte is best known as Secretariat’s rider, and he was in Virginia that weekend signing autographs and swapping stories for the legendary horse’s birthday party. Yes, Secretariat might have died

8:48 AM ET Associated Press British horse racing’s most successful flat trainer of all time is recovering after contracting the coronavirus. Mark Johnston has been isolating since having the symptoms confirmed, and his family says he is making good progress. His son, Angus, told Racing TV “he had a couple of days in bed but

6:14 PM ET Associated Press The Breeders’ Cup is donating cash to help racetrack backstretch communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The Lexington, Kentucky-based organization gave $25,000 to the Race Track Chaplaincy of America. The money will be allocated to help those most in need at various backstretch communities. Breeders’ Cup also donated 4,500 gloves,

7:02 PM ET Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scott Chaney has been named executive director of the California Horse Racing Board, replacing Rick Baedeker, who retired last month. Chaney’s appointment was announced Thursday by racing board chairman Greg Ferraro. Chaney has been a steward in California since 2005, serving initially on the Southern California thoroughbred

1:29 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — A horse broke down after completing a workout at Santa Anita and was euthanized, marking the 11th fatality at the track since late December. M C Hamster, a 4-year-old filly, suffered a fractured left front ankle after a three-furlong workout on the main dirt track Wednesday. It

11:18 PM ET It was a good Saturday for one lucky horse racing bettor, who turned a 50-cent Pick 5 into over half a million dollars. One bettor won the Early Pick 5 — correctly picking the winner of the first five races — of Saturday’s 13-race program at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida,

6:05 PM ET Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Quarter horse trainer Bobby R. Martinez, whose combined earnings over a decades-long career total nearly $13 million, has been hit with a hefty fine and a 34-year suspension for several doping violations. Documents obtained from the New Mexico Racing Commission show the violations involved horses that tested

4:46 PM ET Associated Press Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has completed his quarantine period that followed a positive test for the coronavirus and has returned to his base in New York. Castellano tested positive for COVID-19 last month as part of a physical mandated by Gulfstream Park to determine if he could be

2:52 PM ET Associated Press Officials say they are working to find a new date for the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown. The Maryland Jockey Club and Stronach Group announced Friday that whenever the Preakness is run in 2020, it will go on without the infield activities that had been

7:32 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — There was a horse fatality Thursday at Santa Anita, which is temporarily closed for live racing because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the seventh death at the track since December. According to the California Horse Racing Board website, a 2-year-old filly named Smiling Ali died. She had