When frontrunner Super Ocho was scratched, Air Force Red dictated the pace and repelled all rivals to win the Joe Hernandez Stakes (G2T) on Santa Anita’s hillside turf course distance of about 6 1/2 furlongs.

Frank Fletcher’s Frank’s Rockette overwhelmed her four rivals in the Dec. 31 $125,000 Sugar Swirl Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park, scoring a sharp front-running victory under Luis Saez.

Rich Strike may not have garnered much attention when left the starting gate at 80-1 odds in the May 7 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, but his underdog story caught the eyes of BloodHorse readers, beginning with his Derby upset.

Jockey Olivier Peslier has paid tribute to Freddy Head, whose 59 years in racing officially come to an end Dec. 31. The pair most famously combined for 14 group and grade 1 successes.

After making three promising starts following a $50,000 claim by trainer Carlos David, Bell Racing’s Atthecrossroads makes her stakes debut against Pure Pauline and seven others in the $100,000 Cash Run Stakes Jan. 1 at Gulfstream Park.

The New York Racing Association canceled the remaining four races on the nine-race card Dec. 31 following Race 5, due to heavy fog that settled into the New York City area, resulting in visibility concerns at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

An attorney for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority asked a federal appeals court panel to set aside its ruling declaring the entity’s underlying legislation facially unconstitutional, citing a recent amendment to the law.

Spendthrift Farm general manager Ned Toffey on Into Mischief, the leading North American sire of 2022. The sire is the first to earn four consecutive leading sire titles since Bold Ruler.

Respected Kentucky horseman Bobby Miller, the former vice chairman at Ro Parra’s Millennium Farms, died Dec. 29 at the age of 82. Miller died following a long battle with cancer at his home on the Millennium Farm’s property in Lexington.

Respected Kentucky horseman Bobby Miller, the former vice chairman at Ro Parra’s Millenium Farms, died Dec. 29 at the age of 82. Miller died following a long battle with cancer at his home on the Millenium Farm’s property in Lexington.