BALTIMORE — Gun Song had her owner, R. Lee Lewis, a touch worried after she finished fourth in the March 30 Gulfstream Park Oaks.

Mark Hennig, whom Lewis considers his best friend as much as his trainer of choice, reassured him the filly looked “better than ever” going into Friday’s George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The week started with the highly unusual situation where the winner of the Kentucky Derby was not the favorite to win the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown.

Mystik Dan won the 150th running of the race two weeks ago by a nose and that came after a near perfect trip along the rail. Can't happen like ...Read more

BALTIMORE — On Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, eight horses will be ushered expertly into their starting gate stalls. Assistant starters will yell out when there’s two, and then only a single horse left to load, and again when all the doors are shut.

Bruce Wagner will listen intently for any signs of hang ups, before hitting a button that ...Read more

BALTIMORE — When searching around for a reason to buy a racehorse, you're pretty much guaranteed to see the word "risky" more frequently than popcorn at a movie theater, which, by the way, is also not a great investment these days.

They are expensive to buy, expensive to maintain and your chance of turning a profit is not very good. Financial...Read more

BALTIMORE — Sportsbooks are on a heater.

The rise of online gambling over the past six years has resulted in a lucrative market for sports betting operators with annual revenue in the 11-figure range. Americans placed a total of $119.8 billion on legal sports bets in 2023, a 27.5% increase over 2022, with $10.9 billion in revenue for ...Read more

BALTIMORE — It took just two days and two entries for the Preakness Stakes field to go from uh-oh to “pretty solid” in the estimation of trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who’s been in more of these classic races than anyone.

And it took just one scratch — morning-line favorite Muth exited the field Wednesday because of a 103-degree fever — ...Read more

BALTIMORE — A rematch expected to headline Saturday’s Preakness Stakes lost one of its combatants three days before post time.

Preakness favorite Muth was declared out of the race after his temperature spiked to 103 degrees upon his arrival in Baltimore on Tuesday evening.

“We are sick about this. The horse had been doing really well,”...Read more

Muth, the Bob Baffert trainee who won the Arkansas Derby in his last effort, is the 8-5 morning line favorite for Saturday’s 149th running of the Grade 1, $2 million Preakness Stakes.

A field of nine horses will go 1 3/16 miles on the dirt track Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore in the middle leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Kenny McPeek said it again and again.

He didn’t fear the two-week turnaround from the Kentucky Derby or the fresher horses waiting for Mystik Dan in the Preakness Stakes field. He simply wasn’t going to rush a decision before the Derby winner indicated through training he was sufficiently recovered to take on the second leg of...Read more

BALTIMORE — Mystik Dan returned to the track Wednesday for the first time since he won the Kentucky Derby, jogging and then galloping as trainer Kenny McPeek continues to assess his fitness for a possible run in the May 18 Preakness Stakes.

“He’s doing great,” McPeek told reporters at Churchill Downs afterward. “I suspect we’ll make...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Who is up and who is down after an unforgettable 150th running of the Kentucky Derby:

— Up: Kenny McPeek. For the veteran trainer from Lexington, last weekend permanently altered how his career will be viewed.

When McPeek’s Thorpedo Anna won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, followed by the trainer’s Mystik Dan claiming the...Read more

The actions of jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who rode Sierra Leone to a hotly contested second-place finish in Saturday’s 150th Kentucky Derby, will be reviewed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

The race went official at Churchill Downs in Louisville on Saturday with a top three of Mystik Dan, Sierra Leone and Forever Young. Track stewards...Read more

When the officials from Pimlico Race Course called Kenny McPeek on Sunday morning to offer an official invitation to the Preakness Stakes, the trainer had but one question.

“Can I bring my dog?” McPeek asked with a grin.

While McPeek got the go-ahead to bring his yellow Labrador Sonny to Baltimore, the trainer was noncommittal on whether ...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the 150th renewal, you could not have asked for a more thrilling Kentucky Derby.

Trained by Lexingtonian Kenny McPeek, Mystik Dan edged hard-charging $2.3 million colt Sierra Leone and Japanese intruder Forever Young in a three-way photo finish by a nose (if that) to win a breathtaking Derby before 156,710 at Churchill ...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The margin was a nose but the smiles were a mile wide. In one of the closest finishes in almost 30 years, Mystik Dan won the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby.

The horse was generally overlooked by most but he ran a smart race on the rail and poked his head in front in the final strides to hold off Sierra Leone and Forever...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mystik Dan won a three-way photo finish over Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a historic 150th edition of the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby from a full field of 20 horses on Saturday night beneath the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Mystik Dan, saddled by Lexington-based trainer Kenny McPeek and ridden by...Read more

There are some big reputations at the Kentucky Derby this year: Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was spotted at the 150th run for the roses.

Kelce was also sighted at Sports Illustrated’s Revel At the Races event, which took place at the Ice House in downtown Louisville Friday night. Kelce was with his friends, The Chainsmokers, and ...Read more