By Jarrod Horak The De La Rose Stakes headlines the Friday, July 17 card at Saratoga as Race 9, featuring a $150,000 purse for fillies and mares that have not won a graded stakes race in 2025 or 2026. The field will travel one mile on the inner turf course with a scheduled post time […]
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By Jarrod Horak The Grade 3 Maxfield Stakes tops Sunday’s card at Churchill Downs, serving as Race 9 with a $250,000 purse for three-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs on the main track. Scheduled for a 4:56 p.m. ET post, the race features a balanced field of promising sophomores. Using the speed and pace figures from Today’s […]
By Jarrod Horak The Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes headlines Saturday’s card at Churchill Downs with a $2 million purse for older horses going 1 1/8 miles on the main track. Originally scheduled as a seven-horse field, the race was reduced to five runners following the scratches of Forged Steel and Navajo Warrior, setting up […]
By Jarrod Horak The Grade 3 Bango Stakes brings together a solid group of older sprinters at Churchill Downs on Saturday, and several runners enter in sharp form. While proven stakes performers such as Cornucopian and Dr. Venkman command respect, the improving Built appears poised to continue his strong transition into a sprint specialist. Race […]
By Jarrod Horak The Grade 2 Chicago Stakes headlines the Churchill Downs program on Saturday night, offering a $300,000 purse for fillies and mares going seven furlongs on the main track. Race Overview The seven-furlong distance often favors horses that possess both sprint speed and the stamina to finish strongly, and this year’s field includes […]
By Jarrod Horak The Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes goes as Race 13 at Laurel Park on Friday, May 15, and this year’s renewal drew an interesting field of developing three-year-old fillies going 1 1/8 miles on the main track. With a $300,000 purse on the line, this race gives several improving runners a chance […]
By Jarrod Horak I’m diving into the Grade 3 Bewitch Stakes at Keeneland, a $350,000 event for fillies and mares going 1 1/2 miles on the turf. This is a classic stamina test, and races at this distance often come down to pace dynamics, positioning, and which runners can sustain their finish over the final […]
By Jarrod Horak The Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap headlines the Saturday, April 18 card as Race 11, offering a $1.25 million purse for older horses going 1 1/8 miles on the main track. This is a fascinating matchup between elite older runners and top-class four-year-olds returning from layoffs. I’m approaching this race as a classic […]
By Jarrod Horak I’m diving into the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, run Saturday, April 11 as Race 10. It’s a $400,000 event for three-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the main track, offering 20 Kentucky Derby points to the winner. Despite the points on offer, this race likely won’t produce a Derby qualifier. […]
Fair Grounds Lecomte Stakes 2026 picks Today’s Racing Digest — This is the Grade 3, $250,000 Lecomte Stakes on Saturday, January 17, 2026, and it’s a Derby-points type of race where trip and pace matter as much as raw talent. I’m going to keep it practical: who gets the right run, who can improve, and […]
