Sierra Leone's reputation was as a talented horse that never seemed to win. In his last four races he finished second twice and third twice. All that changed on Saturday when he charged to the front at the top of the stretch and won the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic at the Del Mar Turf Club.

The 3-year-old colt beat the favored Fierceness, ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. — The emotions became jumbled and knotted as joy, relief and a twinge of sadness all wrestled to take control inside of Drayden Van Dyke.

The 30-year-old had shocked the field Saturday in a $1 million race, the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar, after his 19-1 longshot Soul of an Angel seemed hopelessly lost, ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. — Bob Baffert's return to eligibility for the Kentucky Derby couldn't have started any better when he won the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile on the first day of the two-day event that is considered the Super Bowl of horse racing. Citizen Bull not only won the race, but the other two Baffert runners, Gaming and Getaway Car, ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. — In the paddock at Del Mar racetrack Friday before the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint, 18-year big leaguer Rick Sutcliffe and current star Alex Bregman chatted.

Then, Sutcliffe spotted an opening.

The Chicago Cubs broadcaster jokingly hinted to Bregman, who is free agency-bound, that a certain National League team might be ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. — Walking around a race track with Bob Baffert is like taking a master class in public relations. He stops and takes photos with anybody who asks. He’s friendly, he’s got his go-to series of quips and he’s always revising his material.

Earlier this week, he took 30 minutes to sign what seemed like an endless supply of ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. — It’s almost impossible to imagine someone fitting the international flavor of the Breeders’ Cup more than globe-hopping jockey Rachel King.

She’s from Oxford, England. She’s lived in Australia for the last decade. She will ride a Japanese horse, Satono Carnaval, in the Cup’s Juvenile Turf on American soil at Del ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. — The last time Japanese horses came to Del Mar for the 2021 Breeders’ Cup, they made a sizable dent in American racing with two breakthrough wins.

On their return, they just might be swinging a sledgehammer.

The country patiently and successfully groomed the sport since Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Sunday ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. — This Breeders' Cup does not have the star power of past years. There is no Flightline. There is no Cody's Wish.

Instead, there is a collection of very competitive races that will make the betting markets robust but leave the casual viewer with a bunch of horses they may never have heard of.

There are 14 races over Friday ...Read more

One started a beach footwear company. One oversees the sales of sports drinks. One works in promotions. One is a drive-time radio host.

The Great Friends Stable, an eclectic Del Mar-based group 60 or so strong, began as a horse racing syndicate with an ulterior motive 17 years ago.

It dawned as a slick way to promote the racetrack. It grew ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — One of the most significant construction projects in Keeneland’s history is on schedule for completion next fall.

That’s what Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Wednesday during a wide-ranging interview at the Lexington racetrack.

Last October, Keeneland announced plans for a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The death toll over a serious equine virus at Los Alamitos grew to 12, with five more horses euthanized after an outbreak of equine infectious anemia (EIA) in the barn of quarter horse hall of fame trainer Heath Taylor.

The first horse that was infected and euthanized was Bullet Train V on Sept. 24, according to the California ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — When legalized sports gambling was proposed in Kentucky, one of the fears was that allowing people to wager on other sports would hurt the thoroughbred industry vital to the state’s economy.

To alleviate some of those fears, Kentucky law required sportsbooks to partner with thoroughbred and harness racing tracks around the ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The former director of the University of Kentucky equine testing lab fired last month after the school said he falsified test results and mismanaged the lab said Friday he “categorically denies” the allegations.

Scott Stanley, a professor at the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and former ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Six horses at Los Alamitos were euthanized on Wednesday and Thursday after an outbreak of equine infectious anemia (EIA) in the barn of trainer Heath Taylor. A seventh was euthanized on Sept. 24.

EIA is an incurable disease that usually results in euthanasia. Horses with EIA have that virus mostly for the rest of their life, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The California Horse Racing Board met last week in Sacramento to decide the immediate future of horse racing in the northern part of the state. There was tension, confrontation and a sense of desperation from all the proponents in the room looking for a lifeline to run a short three-month meeting in Pleasanton to show that they ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky is moving to fire its former equine testing lab director amid allegations of misconduct and mismanagement, including falsifying the results of at least one drug test, the university said Tuesday.

Scott Stanley, a professor at the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and former ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Is there anything more romantic than your boyfriend buying a horse that shares your name?

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs tight end and boyfriend of music superstar Taylor Swift, now owns a share of a 3-year-old gelding Swift Delivery, the outlet Bloodhorse reported. The horse is owned by Team Valor International and Gary ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. — Eli Hernandez was 35 and working as a drug and alcohol counselor in east Los Angeles, trying to help the homeless and those with mental health issues untangle lives that had become suffocating, bear-hugging kids from loveless homes being drawn into gangs, when he got the call.

The voice on the end shook his world to its core...Read more