Track Times Today - With Bernie Dickman - Racing, Breeding, Pari-Mutuels

Kantharos Heads 2027 Ocala Stud Farm Roster

Friday, October 23, 2026

Returning stallion will stand for $8,500 . . .

Ocala Stud Farm has announced fees for its 2027 stallion roster, which is headed by Kantharos, who is returning to the Sunshine State and will stand for $8,500 S&N. Roadster, Florida’s No. 1 First-Crop Sire and a leader nationally, will stand the upcoming breeding season for $7,500 S&N, and Khozan will stand for $6,000 S&N. The roster is further bolstered by the addition of Rated by Merit, who will stand his first season for $3,500 S&N.

A perennial leading sire, Kantharos initially stood in Florida before relocating to Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in 2016. That transition year saw him dominate the Florida sire ranks—leading in graded stakes- winners, black-type horses, and black-type winners, while finishing the year as Florida’s No. 2 General Sire behind Wildcat Heir. He was the No. 1 Florida Sire of 2-year-olds. With his move back to Florida, he tops all Florida sires in 2026 with progeny earnings of more than $6.5 million this season.

With a proven reputation for siring precocious, fast horses like Gr. 1 winners X Y Jet, an earner of more than $3 million, and World of Trouble ($1,263,300), as well as multiple graded stakes-winner and leading young sire Bucchero ($947,936), Kantharos is represented this year by multiple graded stakes-winner Lagynos, winner of the Wise Dan Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs and the Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds, and Somerset West, victorious in the $1.5 million Music City Stakes (G2) at Kentucky Downs and winner of the San Clemente Stakes (G2) at Del Mar. Kantharos is by Lion Heart out of the winning Southern Halo mare Contessa Halo.

Roadster is far and away the leading Freshman Sire in Florida. The Santa Anita Derby (G1)-winning son of Quality Road boasts 16 first-crop winners, six black-type horses, and progeny earnings of $1,061,785. His runners are led by Hot Rod Honey, winner of the $100,000 Sharp Susan Stakes and third in the Scandalous Act Stakes, both at Gulfstream Park, and Road Show, an impressive maiden special weight winner at Saratoga and runner-up in the Bertram F. Bongard Stakes at Belmont Park.

Khozan, a son of Distorted Humor, is currently the No. 2 Florida General Sire behind Kantharos and was Florida’s top General Sire each year from 2020 through 2025. This year his runners, who include 91 winners and three black-type horses, have banked more than $3 million.

Colonel Liam’s first-crop runners include Liam’s Law, impressive winner of the $225,000 With Anticipation Stakes (G3) at Saratoga and a possible contender in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf . A three-time Gr. 1 winner during his racing career, Colonel Liam is a son of Liam’s Map—a half-brother to leading General Sire Not This Time—and was a $1.2 million 2-year-old in training purchase by Robert and Lawana Low.

With the Breeders’ Cup on the horizon, Awesome Slew is represented in 2026 by Gr. 1 winner R Disaster, a leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Also possible for that Breeders’ Cup race is Nooni, by Win Win Win.

St. Elias Stable’s Florida homebred Rated by Merit, who swept the 2024 Florida Sire Stakes series at Gulfstream Park as an undefeated 2-year-old and won the 2025 Discovery Handicap at three, was the fastest 2-year-old of 2024. He made short work of his rivals in that year’s Sire Stakes series, demonstrating speed and stamina. Rated by Merit won the three races by a combined 16 lengths, including the Affirmed division with a 99 Beyer, the fastest Beyer by a 2-year-old in his crop.

In his first start at three for trainer Chad Brown, Rated by Merit captured the one-mile Discovery Handicap during the Belmont at the Big A meet. In that front-running score, he covered the distance in 1:33 2/5, running a career-best Beyer of 106. Rated by Merit is by Battalion Runner, a multiple graded stakes-placed son of Unbridled’s Song and is produced from the winning Speightstown mare Banner Waving. He hails from the family of the Gr. 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Runup the Colors ($555,024), multiple graded stakes-winner Revolutionary ($1,353,125), and multiple stakes-winning millionaire Bango ($1,644,979).

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Juveniles Highlight Gulfstream Program

Friday, October 23, 2026

Four races for 2yos on today's card . . .

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Juveniles will be in the spotlight with four races scheduled on three surfaces when the fall Sunshine Meet resumes with a nine-race program today at Gulfstream Park.

First race post time is 12:20 p.m.

The opener is a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds sprinting six furlongs on the main track that drew a field of eight led by 9-5 program favorite Senti La Voce, a first-time starter by Speaker’s Corner that fetched $425,000 at auction in May. Speaker’s Corner, 2-for-36 (5 percent) with juvenile debut runners, won the Fred Hooper (G3) and Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) in 2022 before winning the Carter (G1) that spring.

Also among the entrants is Holy Warrior, a $100,000 son of five-time Grade 1-winning multimillionaire Jackie’s Warrior that has placed in each of his three starts thus far, including a third behind undefeated Sum of Success in the seven-furlong Express Tour Sept. 5 and second in the one-mile Palm Bay overnight handicap Oct. 3.

Juvenile fillies will go a mile and 70 yards on the all-weather Tapeta in Race 3, a maiden claiming event where Arindel homebred Dorothy looks to break through after placing three times in six prior tries, among them a second as the favorite in a similar spot Sept. 4. Cathedral Sun returns after a runner-up finish in her Sept. 13 debut, also as the top choice at the course and distance.

Nine 2-year-old fillies are set to line up in Race 4, an optional claiming allowance scheduled for five furlongs on the grass. The narrow 2-1 program favorite is Party Mix, who debuted with a maiden special weight victory at the course and distance Aug. 15 and was sixth in the 6 ½-furlong Untapable Aug. 30 at Kentucky Downs last out. Goddess of Beauty has been third or better in four of five starts, running second to Party Mix in mid-August before graduating at five furlongs on Tapeta Sept. 4. Vittoria Eva, Cynster, Roadsterella, Jost a Chance Yadi and Army Salute all exit wins.

The finale is a six-furlong maiden optional claimer on the main track for Florida-bred 2-year-old fillies where five of the nine entrants are first-time starters including Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Khozan Ostra. The AMG Equine homebred is by Khozan, who is 55-for-397 (13 percent) with first-time starters and 38-for-256 (14 percent) with debut juveniles. Classic Genes, a daughter of 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner and 2017 Preakness (G1) runner-up Classic Empire, rallied to be second in her Sept. 25 unveiling going 5 ½ furlongs for trainer Jose D’Angelo.

Leonel Reyes continues to hold a narrow lead in the Sunshine Meet jockey standings, 28-25, over Samy Camacho, followed closely by Miguel Vasquez (21), Diego Herrera (20) and Edwin Hernandez (19). The trainer standings are equally tight with Saffie Joseph Jr. (18), Jose D’Angelo (17), Victor Barboza Jr. (14) and Carlos David (13) separated by five wins.

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Gulfstream Well-Represented in BC pre-entries

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Nearly half of pre-entries raced at Gulfstream . . .

HALLANDALE BEACH - Including nearly half the pre-entries for the $7 million Classic (G1), Gulfstream Park once again finds itself well-represented in the 43rd Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

A total of 255 pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup Oct. 30 and 31 at Keeneland were announced Wednesday including 222 individual horses, both event records.

The 1 ¼-mile Classic drew 11 pre-entries led by defending champion Forever Young. Five of his rivals have Gulfstream connections including Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott stablemates Knightsbridge and Sovereignty.

Knightsbridge won the Mr. Prospector (G3), Fred Hooper (G3) and Gulfstream Park Mile (G3) during the 2025-2026 Championship Meet and has since won two more stakes including the Aug. 22 Pacific Classic (G1) in his most recent start. Sovereignty won the Fountain of Youth (G2) and was second in the Florida Derby (G1) to launch his 2025 Horse of the Year campaign.

Gulfstream’s perennial leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. pre-entered Forged Steel in both the Classic and $1 million Dirt Mile (G1). Forged Steel made eight of his first 10 career starts at Gulfstream, five of them on turf, and earned an automatic spot in the field with his victory in the Sept. 26 Goodwood (G1) at Santa Anita under Gulfstream-based jockey Edwin Gonzalez.

Other Classic contenders with Gulfstream ties are Napoleon Solo, fifth to open his 3-year-old season in the Feb. 28 Fountain of Youth before going on to win the Preakness (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, May 16 at Laurel Park; and The Puma, winner of the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and Tampa Bay Derby (G3) who ran second in his Jan. 10 unveiling and the March 28 Florida Derby at Gulfstream. Both horses are also pre-entered in the Dirt Mile.

In addition to Forged Steel, Knightsbridge and Napoleon Solo, Dirt Mile pre-entries include Full Serrano, third-place finisher in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 24.

Burnham Square and Test Score were both pre-entered in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1). Burnham Square, trained by Ian Wilkes, ran second in an optional claiming allowance on the Fountain of Youth undercard Feb. 28 before going on to reel off four consecutive wins, all in stakes, three of them graded led by the Aug. 1 Arlington Million (G1). Test Score began his 4-year-old season with a victory in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) Jan. 24 over Graham Motion-trained stablemate One Stripe.

Among the pre-entries in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) are Eunomia and Nitrogen. Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Nitrogen opened her 2025 3-year-old filly championship season with a victory in Gulfstream’s Ginger Brew going a mile on the grass – the first of nine career stakes wins, eight graded, including Grade 1s on turf and dirt. Joseph-trained Eunomia got her 2026 season under way running third to stablemate Claret Beret in Gulfstream’s Feb. 14 Royal Delta (G3) and most recently won the Clement Hirsch (G1) Aug. 1 at Del Mar.

Casse-trained 4-year-old filly Classic Q was pre-entered in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. After finishing 12th in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2) Jan. 24, she was beaten less than a length in the Feb. 28 Honey Fox (G3) and since won three graded-stakes including the Just a Game (G1) and First Lady (G1) last out Oct. 3 at Keeneland.

Other Mile pre-entrants include Pegasus Turf veterans Cabo Spirit and Formidable Man, while among the pre-entered Filly & Mare Turf field is a pair of Brendan Walsh trainees – Expensive Queen, a Jan. 18 optional claiming allowance winner at Gulfstream that won Keeneland’s Jenny Wiley (G1) two starts later; and 2026 Honey Fox winner Lush Lips, undefeated in three career Gulfstream starts.

Joseph, winner of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) with eventual 2024 champion Soul of an Angel, will have a pair of contenders this year in Kerry’s Kiss and R Disaster. Kerry’s Kiss has put together three straight wins since being privately purchased, all in Gulfstream stakes, capped by the Sept. 12 Princess Rooney (G3) that earned her an automatic berth. R Disaster was a front-running winner of the Hurricane Bertie (G3) March 7, later winning the Derby City Distaff (G1) in Kentucky and Gallant Bloom (G2) in New York.

Also pre-entered in the Filly & Mare Sprint was two-time Grade 1-winning millionaire and leading contender Ways and Means, who ran second in the 2024 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) in her third career start and first as a 3-year-old.

Joseph’s fifth and final Breeders’ Cup pre-entrant comes in the $1 million Turf Sprint (G1) – In Our Time, who ran third in the 2025 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf and ninth this year before being cut back to one-turn where she most recently won the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint (G1) Aug. 29. Shisospicy, trained by Gulfstream-based Jose D’Angelo, was pre-entered to defend her title from last fall at Del Mar. Pre-entrant Possiblemente won the 2024 Sabal Palm overnight handicap on Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta course.

In the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), July 26 Bing Crosby (G1) winner Listenupshance was fourth in a June 2025 maiden claimer at Gulfstream for original trainer Luis Gonzalez, and Roll On Big Joe graduated in January 2023 and won an optional claiming allowance in March 2024 at Gulfstream. Second on the also-eligible list is multiple graded-stakes winner Mad House, who has trained since mid-May primarily at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

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Yaupon Filly Breaks Her Maiden in the Mud

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

So Icy was a $700,000 March 2yo . . .

HALLANDALE BEACH - Morplay Racing, Sonata Stable, Denali Stud, Marquee Bloodstock and KAS Ultimate Racing’s So Icy turned in a thoroughly professional debut performance at Gulfstream Park, looking well worth her $700,000 purchase price.

The 2-year-old daughter of Yaupon broke on top in Race 8, a six-furlong maiden special weight for juvenile fillies, before settling into a stalking position behind pacesetter Practical Bling on the backstretch and into the far turn during a :22.09-second first quarter of a mile over a muddy track.

So Icy advanced steadily on the turn into the homestretch under jockey Leonel Reyes, taking over the lead at the top of the stretch following a :45.83-second half-mile. The Kentucky-bred filly, who was purchased at the OBS March 2-year-olds-in-training sale, drew off to a clear lead in the stretch with only mild urging to prevail over runner-up Street Queen by a comfortable length.

By Yaupon out of the unraced Candy Ride mare Tempered, So Icy prepped for her debut with seven works since early August at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

“She’s a nice filly. Very smart,” said trainer Jose D’Angelo, noting that So Icy acted up somewhat when she took to the track for the first time and was briefly reluctant to enter the starting gate. “Everything was new to her. After she loaded, she broke like she broke at Palm Meadows.”

So Icy ran six furlongs in 1:11.44 over a track turned muddy by heavy showers. D’Angelo has no immediate goals for the promising filly. “She’ll tell us when she’s ready, and we’ll go from there,” D’Angelo said.

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Strong Field of Juveniles Spice Gulfstream Card

Friday, October 16, 2026

Promising 2yos meet in race 5 . . .

HALLANDALE BEACH - Live racing action resumes at Gulfstream Park today when the Sunshine Meet continues with a nine-race program offering a look at some intriguing prospects entered in a strong field of juvenile maidens.

A full sister to Grade 1 winner Blazing Sevens will debut in Race 5, a five-furlong maiden special weight on turf that attracted a 10-horse field with several promising 2-year-olds. Seven of Hearts, whose brother Blazing Sevens won the 2022 Champagne (G1) and finished second in the 2023 Preakness Stakes (G1), is scheduled to debut for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. The daughter of Good Magic is priced at 6-1 on the morning line and will break from the No. 11 post under Edwin Gonzalez. Casse will also be well represented by Sass Sass, a daughter of War of Will, who debuted with a third-place finish behind multiple-stakes winner Liberty Rings and next-out-winner Pros and Cons in the Royal Palm Juvenile.

Favored at 3-1 on the morning line is Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Rhett Dreams, a daughter of Jack Christopher who sold for $260,000 at the OBS June sale. She will seek to rebound under Michah Husbands from a tough-trip debut at Kentucky Downs. Trainer Rohan Crichton-trained Eager Gal, a daughter of Highly Motivated, is slated to debut off a series of sharp workouts. Well-bred daughters of Golden Pal, Mitole and Speaker’s Corner are also entered to debut in Race 5.

In Race 7, a mile maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies on turf, David Fawkes-trained Intricity, a daughter of Complexity favored at 9-5 on the morning line, will seek to rebound from a troubled beaten-favorite effort on Tapeta while returning to turf. Dale Romans-trained Knows Everything hasn’t been far behind Complexity at the finish in her last two starts. Jose D’Angelo-trained Kokomo Kitty, a daughter of Uncle Chuck who has raced evenly while finishing third in her two starts on dirt, has been working forwardly on Tapeta and turf in preparation for her turf debut.

Michael Yates-trained Finding Strength is slated to make her 2026 debut in Friday’s Race 8 feature, a six-furlong optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares on Tapeta. The 3-year-old daughter of Khozan closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a pair of stakes placings, including a tough beat in the Florida Sire Stakes Desert Vixen, in which he lost by a nose to multiple-stakes winner Lennilu.

Finding Strength sports a series of sharp works for her return to action.

“The main objective is to get her back to the races. That’s always the hurdle to overcome when horses are coming off layoffs, and I feel like we’ve done enough with her that she’s ready to lead over there,” Yates said. “I feel like she’ll run competitively. The Tapeta is obviously a question mark. She’s never raced on it. We haven’t actually breezed her on it, but she’s galloped on it and the way she’s training, we’re looking for a really good effort.”

Joseph-trained Barakah, a daughter of Speightstown, is scheduled to make her first start since debuting with an off-the-pace victory on Tapeta March 29. Casse will be represented by Ocala Gala, a daughter of Code of Honor who returns to Tapeta as the 5-2 morning-line favorite, over which she graduated prior to a trio of even efforts on turf.

Races 5, 7 and 8 are included in Friday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence that will span Races 4-9. The popular multi-race wager starts anew Friday following last Sunday’s mandatory payout of the jackpot pool.

Races 7 and 8 are included in the sequence for Friday’s Sunset 6, while Race 8 will kick off the sequence for the 1/ST Coast-To-Coast Pick 5. Both retail-only multi-race wagers have a $1 base with a 15-percent takeout.

The Sunset Six, combining races from Gulfstream and Santa Anita, will get underway with Races 7, 8 and 9 at Gulfstream Park, followed by Santa Anita’s Races 7, 8 and 9.

The Coast-To-Coast Pick 5 will get underway at 4:04 p.m. ET with Race 8 at Gulfstream, followed by GP’s Race 9 and will be closed out by Santa Anita’s Races 3, 4, and 5.

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