Ron Flatter News Today

A crowded field dreams of glory, but will a horse for the ages emerge from what looks like a fairly even field?

Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move was scratched from Saturday's 2023 Kentucky Derby on Thursday because of a high temperature, according to Pat Forde of…

Horse racing isn't going to have a Triple Crown winner in 2022. Rich Strike, the 80-1 long shot who won the Kentucky Derby, won't be entered into the Preakness Stakes . So the number of horses to achieve the illustrious feat will remain at 13...

Ron Flatter advises to pay close attention to key races over the next three weekends if you want to be prepared to handicap the season-ending horse racing championships.

If the horse racing calendar were more like the college basketball schedule in a normal year, it would be like we were about to move into the second half of conference play. Familiar opponents are getting rematches, others are meeting for the first time and serious candidates will emerge for the big dance. In this case, it would be the November madness known as the Breeders’ Cup.   Just look at what the next few weeks will offer (possible and probable starters courtesy of Horse Racing Nation...

  After holding off Hot Rod Charlie in a signature stretch duel to win the Belmont Stakes, Essential Quality burnished his place in Brad Cox’s mind as the best 3-year-old in his barn. That would make him even better than Mandaloun, who seems destined to win his biggest races through stewards’ decisions and medication rulings.   Now, more than three months before the racing year reaches its crescendo at Del Mar, certain bettors seem to agree with Cox. Essential Quality (5-1) is the global ...

  Largely the underfinanced volunteer work of a dozen or so people who had a passion for racing, HANA was active for about 10 years as a collective voice for the horseplayer. It heightened awareness of hot-button topics from medication controversies to simulcast distribution. It even organized wagering boycotts of places that were seen as doing wrong by the average bettor.   The best thing HANA ever did was to hold racetracks accountable for their takeout rates. It was credited with having a ...

    I have never had a hole-in-one. I came within 4 inches once in Stockton, Calif. But I was there at the old Vet in Philadelphia in 2003, when Kevin Millwood threw his no-hitter against God’s team, the San Francisco Giants. I was there with my friend, Geoff Flynn, 30 years ago this month after driving 830 miles from San Diego to Ciudad Constitucion, Mexico, to see the solar eclipse. And 10 years ago this fall in Las Vegas, Tina and I got married.   For horseplayers, hitting a Pick 6 is a...

Rumor — or perceptual reality — has it that the Churchill Downs calendar has three days on it. There is the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. The day before is the Kentucky Oaks. And the day after lasts 8,712 hours, taking in all of three seasons and most of a fourth without much to write home about. It is easy for haters to use the calendar at the Home of Racing for target practice. Lord knows the racebook cartel in Nevada has been doing that for 606 days and counting. But days ...

Did it sneak up on everyone this year? Blame it on the pandemic. Or the president. Or a better than expected finish to the Triple Crown. Last year COVID-19 took the queen away from the racecourse that she had graced with her presence every June since 1946, back when she was a mere princess. Since her Gehrig-esque streak ended last year, and since she was busy with a couple of Bidens this week, it is understandable that she would miss the start of the Royal meeting. But what about the rest of us...