Horse Racing

3:34 PM ET Associated Press HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Simplification will be the morning-line favorite at Gulfstream Park for Saturday’s $1 million, Grade 1 Florida Derby, one of the last big prep races for the Kentucky Derby. Simplification was given 5-2 early odds. White Abarrio was narrowly installed as the second choice at 3-1. Simplification

8:31 PM ET Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — Favorite Epicenter took a big step toward the Kentucky Derby, surging past leader Zozos and Pioneer of Medina entering the stretch and pulling away to a 2 1/2-length victory Saturday in the $1 million Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. The Steve Asmussen-trained bay colt started the Grade

1:48 PM ET Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Country Grammer provided Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert with victory in the $12 million Dubai World Cup on Saturday. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, Country Grammer pulled ahead of favorite Life Is Good a half furlong from the finish and won by about two lengths

2:43 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — Bob Baffert has transferred four of his promising 3-year-old colts to other trainers, which will allow them to earn qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby while the Hall of Fame trainer appeals his 90-day suspension. Baffert on Thursday transferred Messier, Doppelganger and McLaren Vale to trainer Tim

12:55 PM ET Associated Press BORDEAUX, France — Twenty-six people were arrested in relation to a suspected doping ring in horse racing, prosecutors in France said Wednesday. The Bordeaux prosecutor’s office said those arrested on Tuesday were racehorse trainers and owners, doctors and pharmacists. Of those arrested, 25 were in France and another person was

4:30 PM ET Associated Press A Kentucky judge has denied Bob Baffert’s request to stay his 90-day suspension but delayed it until April 4 to allow his representatives to seek emergency relief through the state’s Court of Appeals. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards last month suspended Baffert for 90 days, fining him $7,500, and disqualified

2:33 PM ET Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. — Attorneys for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert argued in a Kentucky court Thursday that a 90-day suspension imposed by the state’s racing commission would essentially end his career. Baffert is asking a judge to delay the suspension for a failed postrace drug test by Medina Spirit

1:46 PM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky racing officials have denied trainer Bob Baffert’s request to stay his suspension for a failed postrace drug test by Medina Spirit that led to his disqualification as Kentucky Derby winner. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission board members on Friday voted 10-0 with three abstentions against the stay

2:39 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has sued Churchill Downs and track leadership in federal court, seeking to overturn his two-year suspension on grounds it violated his due process rights. The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court names Churchill Downs Inc., CEO William C. Carstanjen

2:02 PM ET Associated Press RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Emblem Road rallied with a wide, sweeping move on the outside to win the $20 million Saudi Cup at 99-1 odds on Saturday, beating Bob Baffert-trained Country Grammar by a half-length. Ridden by Wiggy Ramos, Emblem Road ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.52 in the world’s

5:55 PM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s racing director has denied trainer Bob Baffert’s request to stay his suspension by stewards in their ruling that also disqualified Medina Spirit as Kentucky Derby winner. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards on Monday suspended Baffert for 90 days, effective March 8 through June 5, and fined

8:24 AM ET Associated Press GEORGETOWN, Ky. — The ashes of disqualified 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit will be interred at a retirement farm for thoroughbred horses in Kentucky. Old Friends said Friday the colt’s ashes will be interred in a memorial garden alongside 1999 Kentucky Derby winner Charismatic and 2002 Derby winner War

2:04 PM ET ESPN News Services Medina Spirit has been disqualified as Kentucky Derby champion and trainer Bob Baffert was suspended for 90 days after the horse tested positive for a banned medication, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced Monday. In addition, Baffert was fined $7,500 and all purse money from Medina Spirit’s win was

7:30 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — Test of Faith, a winner of 14 of 16 starts last season, is harness racing’s Horse of the Year. The award was announced Sunday night at the annual U.S. Harness Writers Association meeting. Test of Faith is the fourth 3-year-old filly to earn the sport’s highest honor,

6:32 AM ET Associated Press LONDON — Mark Todd, a two-time Olympic champion in equestrian and now a notable racehorse trainer, has temporarily lost his training license pending an investigation into a video showing him striking a horse with a branch. The British Horseracing Authority imposed the interim suspension on the 65-year-old New Zealander on

8:49 PM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — An attorney for Bob Baffert believes the Hall of Famer trainer and embattled Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit “will be fully exonerated” after stating to Kentucky racing stewards that the colt’s failed drug test for a steroid resulted from a prescribed topical salve rather than an injection.

1:14 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — A necropsy on 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit showed no definitive cause of death. The California Horse Racing Board on Friday released the results of the examination performed after the colt collapsed and died following a workout on Dec. 6 at Santa Anita. Trainer Bob Baffert

11:57 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — Knicks Go won Horse of the Year and older dirt male horse honors at the Eclipse Awards on Thursday night, and Brad Cox won for the second straight year as best trainer in a ceremony at Santa Anita. Winner of the Pegasus World Cup and Breeders’ Cup