by Chelsea Hackbarth|09.29.202209.29.2022|6:21pm6:29pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘Unbelievable’ Journey From Barber Shop To Winner’s Circle It was just a regular afternoon in the South Florida barber shop: young Cuban immigrant Andy Hernandez was preparing to give a customer a haircut as he had done nearly every day since the age of 15, but Hernandez couldn’t have known that the man in his chair would change his life forever. When Hernandez […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|09.15.202209.15.2022|5:15pm5:29pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘We Kept Going And We’re Still Going’ It’s always exciting to have a Grade 1-winning 2-year-old in the barn, but it is perhaps more so when it’s your first graded stakes winner in 11 years and first Grade 1 winner since 1993. “It’s great. We are really, really happy for the people who own this horse,” said trainer Phil Serpe after Leave […]
by Tom Pedulla|09.01.2022|10:32am Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Riley Mott’s Biggest Lesson From His Father Is Patience Like father, like son? Bill and Riley Mott sure hope so as Riley takes initial steps toward launching his training career this winter at Oaklawn Park. Riley has applied for 20 stalls at Oaklawn and is confident he will come close to filling them. He already has secured horses from some clients of his Hall […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|08.19.2022|10:20am Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘Stars Lined Up’ On Saratoga’s East Avenue The winner’s circle at Saratoga after Saturday’s fifth race was filled with all kinds of emotion, even before the winning filly Vallelujah returned from the gallop out. There were tears of joy, endless hugs, and shouts of celebration all the way around that hallowed enclosure. “This is just incredible,” said trainer Robbie Davis. “The only […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|08.04.2022|4:55pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Shirer’s Gamble Pays Off With Former Claimer Kneedeepinsnow It isn’t every day that a former claimer enters a Grade 1 race. It’s even less often that such a horse runs well at the sport’s top level, but that’s exactly what the flashy Kneedeepinsnow accomplished when he finished second behind reigning sprint champion Jackie’s Warrior in last weekend’s Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap. Trainer Matt […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|07.21.2022|2:50pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Beren Brings Adults With Autism Into The Winner’s Circle The winner’s circle was filled with family and friends after Beren’s triumph in the $150,000 Frank De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park, but the day’s biggest winner was not a person or a horse. Co-owner and breeder Chris Feifarek donates 10 percent of Beren’s earnings to Itineris, a Baltimore-based non-profit dedicated to empowering adults […]
by Natalie Voss|07.07.202207.07.2022|4:42pm4:45pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: 38 Years Between Trips To The Winner’s Circle Here’s something you don’t often hear coming from a jockey’s lips: “I can’t push it too hard because if I ride too many, they’re going to take away my Social Security.” Then again, Kim Sampson isn’t the kind of jockey you come across every day. She hopes to soon be recognized as a Guinness World […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|06.26.2022|2:20pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘Nothing Like A Horse That Really Inspires You’ When his second-generation homebred Stitched was beaten almost 32 lengths in his first start, Nathan McCauley could have lost faith in the Mizzen Mast colt. Instead, assistant trainer Travis Foley called Nathan and urged him not to give up just yet. “I was thinking, ‘Okay, what’s the cheapest maiden claiming race they run at the […]
by Joe Nevills|06.09.2022|9:48am Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Kitodan Goes From Claim To Fame For Foster When a trainer drops a claim on a horse, it’s done with the expectation that the runner will at least make their money back and hopefully earn a few trips to the winner’s circle. Kitodan put trainer Eric Foster on the fast track to that goal on June 4, when he closed like lightning to […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|05.25.202205.27.2022|4:42pm10:37pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: World Traveler, Female Jockey Michel Will Prove She Belongs At Churchill French-born jockey Mickaëlle Michel will have her first U.S. ride this Thursday at Churchill Downs, named aboard a 20-1 shot in the featured turf allowance race for trainer Graham Motion. The 26-year-old made the move to Kentucky after more than four years winning races in six different countries, including on the dirt in Japan, because […]