Topic: Chad Brown

Big upsets in European races with Coolmore holding the short straw and the opening of Saratoga's iconic summer meeting dominated weekend horse racing.

It would be a slow weekend of horse racing but for the start of Saratoga's iconic summer gathering and the July meeting at Newmarket in England.

The carriages roll Tuesday at Royal Ascot with four Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" races on the five-day schedule. Another is on the line Sunday in Japan.

A stakes-heavy card Saturday at Churchill Downs, including 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, tops weekend horse racing.

Thorpedo Anna won the Grade I Apple Blossom Handicap and Carl Spackler landed the Grade I Maker's Mark Mile, polishing already shiny records in weekend horse racing.

Keeneland's critical Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks preps were rescheduled for Monday and Tuesday because of bad weather, leaving the fields for the big races still up in the air.

The penultimate weekend of the 2024 racing season brings the year's final Kentucky Derby prep, some turf racing and a farewell to Do Deuce in Japan.

Hong Kong's four Group 1 international races share the weekend stage with some important 2-year-old events from Japan to New York.

Top-level weekend horse racing in Japan and Hong Kong will impact year-end rankings and future global travel.

Sierra Leone, after a season of disappointments, made good on his promise with a mild upset win in Saturday's $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic, leaving year-end honors up in the air.