Horse Racing

12:48 PM ET Medina Spirit, the Thoroughbred who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby under suspicious circumstances, has died according to Dr. Jeff Blea, the California Horse Racing Board’s equine medical director. The 3-year-old racehorse collapsed after a workout at Santa Anita Park on Monday morning during which he completed five furlongs. It was his second

9:24 PM ET Associated Press Urine testing of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has shown that a steroid present in the colt’s system came from a topical ointment and not an injection, according to an attorney for trainer Bob Baffert. Medina Spirit tested positive for the steroid betamethasone after winning the May 1 race and

2:00 PM ET Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — All samples collected from horses competing in the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar have tested clear. The Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at UC Davis announced the results Thursday. All horses competing in the world championships last weekend were tested for total carbon dioxide levels

9:48 AM ET Associated Press The nascent Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority on Thursday released a draft of proposed anti-doping and medication control rules designed to bring uniformity to a sport that has operated for years under patchwork regulations in 38 racing states. Since July, HISA has been working with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to

9:30 PM ET Associated Press DEL MAR, Calif. — Knicks Go burst into the lead out of the starting gate and kicked away to a 2¾-length victory in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday at Del Mar. No one seriously pressed the colt, who earned his fourth straight victory and in the process

8:51 PM ET Associated Press DEL MAR, Calif. — Corniche won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 1 3/4 lengths at Del Mar on Friday, stamping the colt as the early favorite for next year’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, where his trainer, Bob Baffert, has been banned. Sent off as the 7-5 favorite,

6:36 AM ET The 38th edition of the Breeders’ Cup will kick off two days of action Friday afternoon at Keeneland. A lot of eyes will be on the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and with so many high-profile races in the mix, there are numerous opportunities to wager on horses that offer significant value. Chris “The

5:14 PM ET Associated Press DEL MAR, Calif. — For the first time, all 14 Breeders’ Cup races this weekend at Del Mar will be run without race-day medication, the final step in a process that had the antibleeding medication Lasix prohibited in races for 2-year-olds at last year’s world championships. Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien

3:44 PM ET Associated Press DEL MAR, Calif. — A 2-year-old filly was fatally injured in an accident during training hours at Del Mar on Wednesday. Del Mar Thoroughbred Club President Josh Rubinstein announced the death during a safety briefing for the Breeders’ Cup, which will be held at the track north of San Diego

1:42 AM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — A 4-year-old filly died from an injury suffered during training at Santa Anita on closing day of the track’s fall meet. Star of Africa was listed as suffering a non-musculoskeletal injury Sunday on the California Horse Racing Board’s website. She had three wins in 16 career starts

6:41 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Churchill Downs has announced that jockey Miguel Mena, who won nearly 2,100 thoroughbred races in North America and earned $72.4 million in prize money, has died following a pedestrian accident. He was 34. The track stated in a release that Mena was killed Sunday night on westbound

9:24 PM ET Associated Press Knicks Go is the early 5-2 favorite for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic this weekend at Del Mar. The two-day world championships drew 169 horses from eight countries, including 46 foreign horses to the seaside track north of San Diego. Del Mar is hosting for the second time in

11:43 PM ET Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Rebuff won the Colt & Gelding Trot to kick off Breeders Crown weekend at the Meadowlands Racetrack. The track presented four stakes, each worth $600,000, for 2-year-olds on a rainy, windy Friday night. The eight Crowns for older horses take place Saturday afternoon. The Breeders Crowns

4:51 PM ET Associated Press Medina Spirit, the controversial winner of the Kentucky Derby, and Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality head a field of 10 horses for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, with trainer Brad Cox pre-entering two horses for the $6 million race that also includes Hot Rod Charlie. Hot Rod Charlie finished third in

8:59 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — UCLA coach Mick Cronin is a winner even before the college basketball season starts next month. A 3-year-old filly co-owned by Cronin won the $63,000 feature at Santa Anita by three-quarters of a length on Friday. Sent off at 6-1 odds, So Very Smart paid $14.40, $6.40

11:42 AM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — Bob Baffert can enter horses in the Breeders’ Cup next month at Del Mar, but the event’s all-time money-leading trainer has to meet certain conditions, including stricter out-of-competition testing of his horses and greater security at his barn. The conditions are the result of a review by

9:42 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Irad Ortiz Jr. rode his 3,000th career winner Thursday in the fifth race at Belmont Park. The 29-year-old jockey from Puerto Rico rode Saratoga Kisses to an 8 1/4-length victory for trainer and co-owner Rudy Rodriguez. Ortiz is 15th on the career earnings list, totaling over $220

7:26 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Embattled thoroughbred horse trainer Bob Baffert will have to face an administrative hearing scheduled for Monday by the New York Racing Association to address his suspension. Brooklyn Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York ruled Tuesday that a hearing was required for Baffert