{Sunday, July 31, 2011} SHACKLE NO CINCH AT THE HASKELL The sun-baked Jersey shore turns up the heat another notch today when two Triple Crown classic stars — Shackleford and Ruler On Ice — go at it in the $1 million Haskell Invitational

{Thursday, July 28, 2011} SUPER SUMMER WEEKEND by John Piesen Are you ready for some...horse racing? Sure hope so. Granted it will be a tough act to follow that Meadowlands race last Thursday when Man O' War came back from the

{Monday, July 25, 2011} SIDNEY'S CANDY MAKES PLETCHER THINK TWICE Sidney's Candy, a graded winner on all three surfaces, fired a bullet work on the turf Sunday morning that caused his connections to re-think plans for his next race. Under

{Sunday, July 24, 2011} SATURDAY STAKES RECAP It's Tricky wears down Plum Pretty in CCA Oaks Five fillies broke from the gate in Saturday's $250,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Saratoga, but the final three furlongs

{Thursday, July 21, 2011} THEY'RE OFF AT SARATOGA Hate to call on a tired old cliche, but the John Piesen Hot Line is hotter than the weather. Four picks last week on the final Belmont weekend, and four winners, including a $202 trifecta

{Monday, July 18, 2011} A RIVALRY WORTH WATCHING With the left eye on the Grade 3 Jaipur Stakes for three-year-olds and up going 7 furlongs on Belmont’s Widener turf course and the right eye on the monitor above me where in a matter of

{Sunday, July 17, 2011} Blind Luck outduels Havre de Grace to Del 'Cap victory Saturday's $765,000 Delaware H. (G2) was billed as a match race between BLIND LUCK (Pollard's Vision) and Havre de Grace (Saint Liam), and the pair did not

{Thursday, July 14, 2011} COUNTDOWN TO SARATOGA by John Piesen It takes just one glance at Saturday afternoon's 10-race program at Belmont Park to realize that Saratoga is just around the corner. Two things jump off the pages of

{Monday, July 11, 2011} UNCLE MO MAY MAKE KING'S BISHOP Uncle Mo, expected to depart WinStar Farm July 11 to join trainer Todd Pletcher’s string at Saratoga Race Course, could make his return to the races in the Foxwoods King’s Bishop Stakes

{Sunday, July 10, 2011} First Dude edges Game on Dude as Baffert runs 1-2 in Gold Cup Donald R. Dizney's homebred FIRST DUDE (Stephen Got Even) closed dramatically to nip pacesetter Game on Dude (Awesome Again) on the wire in Saturday's

{Thursday, July 07, 2011} TOP 10 PERFORMANCES OF 2011 With the first half of 2011 in the rearview mirror, it’s time to rank the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in this country from Jan. 1 through June 30. Here are my choices: 10.

{Tuesday, July 05, 2011} HER SMILE TAKES PRIORESS Owner Bobby Flay and trainer Todd Pletcher hemmed and hawed for two days before ultimately deciding to run Her Smile in Monday's $250,000 Prioress Stakes at Belmont Park. At 11 a.m. Monday,

{Sunday, July 03, 2011} SATURDAY AT MONMOUTH Teaks North defends home turf in United Nations

Jules Boutelle's TEAKS NORTH (Northern Afleet) was unbeaten on the Monmouth turf going into Saturday's $765,000