Topic: Justin Stein

Churchill Downs, shuttered since a rash of horse deaths during its spring season, is back in action this weekend and kicks off its "Road to the Kentucky Derby" on Saturday.

A super day for Hong Kong highlighted weekend horse racing with action-starved fans emerging from pandemic lockdowns to cheer on some new heroes from the Sha Tin Racecourse grandstand.

The star of the 2022 Breeders' Cup, Flightline, has been retired to stud, but other participants in the two days of excellent racing will soldier on to new battles around the globe in 2023.

Racing moves back to Churchill Downs and Aqueduct this weekend, but the main focus is north of the border, where Woodbine stages an extravaganza on the turf, including three Breeders' Cup qualifiers.

Two-year-olds were on display from coast to coast in weekend horse racing, with potential contenders for the 2022 Kentucky Derby and Oaks and Queen's Plate prominent among them.

Luxembourg emerged as the favorite for the 2020 European and UK Classics with a dominant win at Doncaster while Angel Bleu, Ancient Rome and El Bodegon made their mark in their 2-year-old finales in France.

Stars such as Letruska and Bell's the One and lots of promising 2-year-olds earned "Win and You're In" spots in next month's Breeders' Cup in weekend racing at Keeneland and Belmont Park.

Torquator Tasso won Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in an upset as exciting as it was historic, while Knicks Go, Medina Spirit and Art Collector earned their way into the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Two 3-year-old fillies avenged their only losses in dramatic fashion in weekend horse racing with Malathaat victorious at Saratoga and pure-white Sodashi handling older rivals at Sapporo Racecourse in Japan.

Lexitonian, Dr. Schivel and Jackie's Warrior all posted big wins and potentially previewed a choice Breeders' Cup showdown as top-class sprints highlighted weekend horse racing.