Racing News

Claire Novak at the BloodHorse.com reports on a big blow to the Classic division - Graydar will be out for about two months due to an ankle chip.

I'll be honest, I find this somewhat odd: "There's nothing obviously wrong with him but we will go over him thoroughly and give him some time off to fully recover from his long campaign. He'll be sent to Payton Training Center today and allowed to have the down time that he seems to need right now," Pletcher reported. Shanghai Bobby won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in early November. Didn't race again until late January in the Holy Bull, followed by the Florida Derby on March 30. That's three races in five months. That's doesn't seem like a tough campaign; just the opposite.

It was found post-Southwest. Should be somewhat of an excuse for his flat run. But I'm still not sure if it makes me think any more highly of the Smarty Jones field.

A new, half a million dollar race for three-year-olds on the lawn at Penn National will debut on June 1st. The introduction of another high money turf race is quite nice, especially for horses that don't quite belong in the Triple Crown series due to surface or distance limitations. This could be a nice option for horses that run well on synthetics in the spring.

Good news here, nothing serious. And this is a true statement if I've ever heard one, "It's really a shame, because the race would have set up perfectly for her, with her speed and the way the track was playing, favoring speed. She was coming up to the race in fantastic shape."

With a turf that looks to be rated as Soft come Saturday, it might be a challenge... Ok seriously, Racing Post? Frankel will be fine. His acceleration and the stamina he has demonstrated thus far should carry him over any surface. Thought it is awesome that they only summarily discuss the other runners and focus instead on the surface as the major hurdle.