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The 2026 Haskell Stakes field is set 🏇

Seven three-year-olds break from the gate Saturday, July 18 at Monmouth Park 📍 — with an automatic “Win & You’re In” berth to the $7M Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic on the line 🏆

Further Ado enters as the 2-1 morning-line favorite off his Matt Winn Stakes win 🔥 But post 4 is the story we’re watching: The Puma returns for the first time since the Florida Derby, after an injury forced him out of Kentucky Derby contention 💫

Full field, post positions, and our race-day breakdown — link in bio on Substack 📖

Who’s taking the win Saturday? 👇

#HaskellStakes #MonmouthPark #ThoroughbredRacing #GradeOneRacing #triplecrowntrail by @_equestriansociety

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11 days ago

RICH STRIKE: 80-1. 🎲 Dead last on paper. Then this happened. 🐎🔥

Nobody wanted him. He wasn’t even supposed to be in this race. 😳

24 hours before the gates opened, a scratch got him in. 🎟️ Then he ran down the two favorites in the final stride and became the second-biggest upset in 148 years of Kentucky Derby history. 🏆👑

This is what “impossible” actually looks like. ⚡️

Watch it again. 🔁 Did you have him? 👇 Follow @_equestriansociety for more

#RichStrike #KentuckyDerby #HorseRacing #Underdog #ChurchillDowns taken in Churchill Downs by @_equestriansociety

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11 days ago

HISTORY OF POLO: A polo player uses six horses in a single match — and each one has to be able to stop at full gallop, spin on command, and do it again four chukkers in a row. 🐴 Polo is one of the oldest team sports in human history, tracing back over 2,500 years to ancient Persia. The horses aren’t props — they are the sport. And the physical demand placed on a trained polo pony is unlike almost anything else in equestrian competition.
🔗 What polo actually demands from a horse — SUBSTACK link in bio.
Have you ever watched a live polo match? Tell us where. 👇
#Polo
#PoloLife
#SportOfKings
#PoloHorses
#EquestrianSports
@uspolo
@fei_global
@usequestrian taken in Museum of Polo & Hall of Fame by @_equestriansociety

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12 days ago

Part two of our Haskell preview. Five more probables on the road to Monmouth — and one of them might just be chasing redemption. Lineup reflects probables as of today and could shift before July 18. Full profiles on Substack. 🔗 in bio

Baby Vino is proof that patience pays off. It took him five tries to break his maiden at Oaklawn, but once he figured it out, he figured it out completely — a jaw-dropping 10¾-length romp in the Pegasus Stakes at the exact track that hosts the Haskell. He’s by Vino Rosso, the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, and a grandson of Curlin on top of that, so the stamina pedigree is undeniable. Jockey Paco Lopez, red-hot at Monmouth all June, said the horse simply found another gear turning for home. Trainer Lindsay Schultz has been patient with him from the start, and it’s starting to show. If growth curves mean anything, Baby Vino could be the sleeper of this entire field.

Could this finally be Renegade’s redemption? He drew the rail and got bumped three separate times in the Kentucky Derby, still rallying to lose by just a neck to Golden Tempo. Then in the Belmont, he settled for third, never quite finding a cozy trip. He’s by Into Mischief, arguably the most dominant sire in the sport right now, out of a Curlin mare — the pedigree has never been the question. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. chose this horse over several other Derby options that spring, and trainer Todd Pletcher has four Belmont wins to his name, so the connections aren’t the issue either. Monmouth, with a clean trip and no classic-distance grind, might be exactly where all of that talent finally turns into a win.

Class President has already shown he doesn’t rattle under pressure. In his first-ever try around two turns, he fought off Southwest Stakes winner Silent Tactic in a stretch duel to win the Rebel Stakes by a nose. He’s a late-crop son of the great Uncle Mo, whose résumé includes Nyquist and Mo Donegal, and that classic blood is clearly still producing winners. Jockey John Velazquez has been there for finishes like this before, and trainer Todd Pletcher has been patient with his development all spring. A scratch from the Blue Grass kept him off the Triple Crown trai by @_equestriansociety

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19 days ago

On America’s 250th birthday — the horse didn’t just carry soldiers. It carried a nation. From Paul Revere’s ride to the cavalry charges that shaped history, we owe more than we realize. Happy 4th. 🇺🇸🐴
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#July4th #AmericaAt250 #EquestrianHistory #HorseHistory #patrioticvibes taken in USA by @_equestriansociety

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21 days ago

July 18 is coming. The G1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park means everything for 3-year-olds this summer — and The Puma is on the trail. Meet the contenders. 🏆🏇

Lineup reflects probables as of today and could shift before Haskell day.
Full preview on Substack. 🔗 in bio available on Friday July 6, 2026.

Further Ado closed out the spring exactly the way Spendthrift Farm hoped. After an 11th-place finish as the Kentucky Derby favorite, he rebounded in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes with a confident two-length win — the second-fastest time in the race’s 29-year history, trailing only his own sire. That sire is Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year and one of the most dominant classic-distance stallions standing today, and the resemblance in running style is hard to miss. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has been aboard for five of his six career starts, and trainer Brad Cox has already used the Matt Winn-to-Haskell pipeline once before, with Cyberknife in 2022. The pedigree, the connections, and the recent form line all point in the same direction. Further Ado looks like a horse peaking at exactly the right time.

Full disclosure: I am deeply biased about this horse. The Puma lost the Florida Derby by a nose — a single, agonizing nose — after grinding down the stretch against Commandment in one of the toughest photo finishes of the year. That’s not a loss, that’s a fight, and it’s exactly the kind of resolve I want to see going into a race like the Haskell. He’s a first-crop son of Essential Quality, the 2021 Belmont Stakes winner, and he’s guided by the same trainer-jockey-owner combination that engineered Mage’s 15-1 Kentucky Derby upset in 2023. Gustavo Delgado and Javier Castellano know exactly how to bring a horse like this to peak form on the big stage. I’ll say it now: watch The Puma. 🐆🤍

Crude Velocity arrived at the Woody Stephens undefeated in three starts, including a stakes-record win in the Pat Day Mile, and left with his first loss — a runner-up finish in his Grade 1 debut. He’s by Beau Liam out of a Lemon Drop Kid mare, a pedigree built for speed that’s translating into real class as he stretches out. Bob Baffert never intended to rush him; the Haskell was by @_equestriansociety

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25 days ago

Man o’ War: The Horse Who Defined an Era.🏆🏇
He won 20 of 21 career starts, setting seven speed records while routinely carrying handicap weights of 130 pounds or more—up to 138 pounds designed to slow him down. Sired by Fair Play out of the Rock Sand mare Mahubah, he won the Belmont Stakes by 20 lengths and went on to sire Triple Crown winner War Admiral, with his bloodline now running through barely a pedigree in current North American racing that does not carry his name. Known for his enormous stride and explosive turn of foot, he didn’t just dominate his era — he became the foundation nearly every great Thoroughbred since has been built on.
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Full story on Substack 🔗
#ManOWar #ThoroughbredHistory #FamousHorses #EquestrianSociety #HorseRacing taken in Lexington, Kentucky by @_equestriansociety

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a month ago

The horse world lost one of its greatest architects on June 28, 2025. 🏆
D. Wayne Lukas — known simply as “Coach” — spent six decades reshaping thoroughbred racing from the inside out.
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Read the full tribute on our Substack — link in bio.🔗

Before he ever set foot in a winner’s circle, D. Wayne Lukas was coaching high school basketball in Wisconsin and riding at tracks in South Dakota. 🏀
It wasn’t until 1968 that he turned to training racehorses full time — and the sport was never the same. The classroom became the barn, and the lessons he carried never changed.

Long before the Kentucky Derby, Lukas built his foundation in Quarter Horse racing — producing 24 world champions over a decade, including the legendary Dash For Cash. 🏇🤠
His fondest memories, by his own admission, were those early days at Goliad, Sunland Park, and Ruidoso. The Thoroughbred world would eventually come calling — but the Quarter Horse world made him who he was.

Lukas earned 15 Triple Crown race victories across his career, a record that defines the upper limits of what a trainer can achieve at racing’s biggest stage. 🏆👑
He sent out four Kentucky Derby winners, three Belmont winners, and three Preakness winners across different decades and different eras. 🌹🌼💐
In 1999, he came agonizingly close to a Triple Crown with Charismatic — a horse he had claimed and elevated to greatness.

When Lukas retired in June 2025, his record stood at 4,953 wins and $300,548,290 in purse earnings — along with 222 Grade 1 victories and four Eclipse Awards. He was the first trainer in history to condition earners of $100 million. 🏆🏇
Numbers like these don’t just reflect a career — they reflect a standard no one else has reached.

Among Lukas’s most enduring contributions to the sport is the generation of trainers he shaped — Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Bob Baffert, Kiaran McLaughlin, George Weaver, Mike Maker, and others. 🏇
The Coach gave riders chances, called audibles, and bet on people others overlooked. His legacy isn’t just in the record books — it lives in every trainer who still hears his voice in the barn at dawn.🏆🤍👑

Rest well, Coach.🤍🏆🏇
Dive deeper into his legacy — full taken in Lexington, Kentucky by @_equestriansociety

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a month ago

132 years. Countless champions. One city’s racetrack. Today, The Big A runs its last race. Farewell, Aqueduct. It was a good run. 🏇🏆🤍
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#AqueductRacetrack #TheBigA #ThoroughbredRacing #HorseRacing #FarewellAqueduct
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@thenyra @americasbestracing @bloodhorse @horseracingnation @breederscup taken in Aqueduct Racetrack by @_equestriansociety

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a month ago

Five horses. Five stories. One summer crown.🏆👑

Stephen Foster G1 at Churchill Downs is exactly what championship racing should look like — the reigning Horse of the Year, the veteran who already beat him this year, the Dubai World Cup winner, a Grade 1 contender with a point to prove, and a front-runner who’ll make everyone work for it.

Swipe through to meet the field before the gates open. 🏇

#StephenFoster #ChurchillDowns #HorseRacing #Sovereignty #thoroughbredracing

Reigning Horse of the Year and 2025 Kentucky Derby winner, Sovereignty took the Belmont, Jim Dandy, and Travers in the same season — five graded stakes wins in total. He begins his 4-year-old campaign having already been beaten by White Abarrio in the Oaklawn Handicap, a result he’ll be looking to reverse tonight on home turf.

Sire: Into Mischief — the dominant sire of his generation, renowned for elite acceleration and tactical intelligence across all distances.
Dam Sire: Bernardini — a Belmont and Preakness winner who adds staying power and physical presence, a pedigree built for championship routes.

Seven years old and still impossible to dismiss — White Abarrio has won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and two Pegasus World Cups across a career that refuses to slow down. His two-length victory over Sovereignty in the Oaklawn Handicap this April announced that he remains as formidable as ever.

Sire: Race Day — a Tiznow son known for passing on toughness and dirt class at distance.
Dam Sire: Into Mischief — the same sire behind Sovereignty, closing a fascinating genetic loop between tonight’s two biggest rivals.

Magnitude controlled the Dubai World Cup from the front and held off Forever Young by a length — arriving tonight on a three-race win streak. Trainer Steve Asmussen has won the Stephen Foster twice before with Dubai World Cup horses: Curlin in 2008 and Gun Runner in 2017.

Sire: Not This Time — a Giant’s Causeway son associated with grit, dirt speed, and competitive fire.
Dam Sire: Bernardini — the same bottom line as Sovereignty, a fascinating pedigree parallel between two of tonight’s top contenders.

Third in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont last year before winning the Pennsyl taken in Lexington, Kentucky by @_equestriansociety

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a month ago

Some horses never made it to the gate. One lost a shoe before the first turn and couldn’t run at his full potential. This is for all of them. 🌹

Five scratches. One honorable mention. Six stories the Derby didn’t get to tell (fully).

Full breakdown on Substack — link in bio. 🐎
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#KentuckyDerby2026 #HorseRacing #Thoroughbred #RunForTheRoses #EquestrianSociety
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Full transparency — Emerging Market has been my horse since I saw him in person at the Louisiana Derby. The way he battled Pavlovian that day? I was done. People say he looks wiry, too feminine. I say he looks like a fighter. Biased? Absolutely. Apologizing? Never. 🌱
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Were you rooting for any of these horses? taken in Lexington, Kentucky by @_equestriansociety

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a month ago

Beneath the Eiffel Tower, six riders chased one crown. 🏆

The Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Paris delivered everything the sport promises — technical precision, split-second decisions, and a jump-off that had the Champ de Mars holding its breath.

Max Kühner and EIC Up Too Jacco Blue stopped the clock at 38.36 seconds, earning a golden ticket to Riyadh and reigniting the 2026 championship battle. With Monaco next on the calendar, the season is just getting started.

Full story on The Equestrian Society Substack — link in bio. 🔗

Follow @_equestriansociety for more stories celebrating the horse world. 🐴

Media rights belong to their respective owners. We do not claim ownership of any media featured unless otherwise stated. Please support and follow the original creators, photographers, videographers, and organizations featured in this post
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#ShowJumping #LonginesGlobalChampionsTour #LGCTParis #EquestrianSport #GrandPrix taken in Paris, France by @_equestriansociety

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a month ago