Category: News

Updated September 24: Chunk of Gold is now the 2 to 1 morning line favorite for the Grade 2 Lukas Classic on Saturday, September 26, and enters the race just $48,489 short of $1 million in career earnings. Churchill Downs also reports that McAfee and Original Sin are scheduled to scratch for the Goodwood Cup at Santa Anita, which would reduce the Lukas Classic to five starters.

Churchill Downs will close its September meet with a strong older horse test as Chunk of Gold, Banishing, Tiztastic, Dragoon Guard and This Is Uscar headline the Lukas Classic picture.

The $500,000 race is scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on dirt and will go as Race 10 on an 11 race program. First post for the card is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, with the Lukas Classic scheduled for 5:29 p.m.

Banishing brings proven class

Banishing enters as the most accomplished runner in the field. The six year old son of Ghostzapper has earned more than $3.2 million and owns 11 victories from 32 starts. Earlier this year he won the Grade 2 Godolphin Mile at Meydan, adding an international success to an already deep dirt resume.

His latest start came in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic, where he finished second. That performance keeps him firmly among the leading older dirt runners heading into the final stretch of the 2026 season.

Seven older horses meet at Churchill

The Lukas Classic gives Banishing another major test before the autumn championship picture fully takes shape. Churchill Downs confirmed a seven horse field for the race, which shares Saturday billing with the Grade 3 Ack Ack and the $300,000 Bourbon Flight.

The race also adds another important older horse event to a weekend already packed with major racing around the country. Belmont Park hosts the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Flower Bowl, Vosburgh and Gallant Bloom on the same afternoon.

A meaningful closing weekend target

The Lukas Classic has become an important late season dirt race at Churchill Downs. Its position on the calendar gives established older horses another opportunity to strengthen their form before the major championship races later in the fall.

For Banishing, Saturday offers a chance to turn his Charles Town runner up finish into another graded stakes victory. His combination of recent form, international success and experience makes him the central figure in the race, but a seven horse field leaves little room for mistakes.

OTB Bet will continue following the closing weekend stakes action and will update the racing picture when official results are confirmed.

Related OTB Bet coverage

Read more from Churchill Downs in our Consequent Seneca Stakes recap and Conceit Dogwood Stakes recap. For Saturday coverage from New York, see our Joe Hirsch Turf Classic preview.

Source: Churchill Downs official stakes advance, published September 19, 2026.

Beauty Reigns gets another opportunity to turn consistent graded stakes form into a breakthrough stakes victory when she lines up in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom at Belmont Park on Saturday, September 26.

The $250,000 sprint for fillies and mares is contested over six and one half furlongs on dirt. It is Race 4 on an eleven race card that also includes the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, the Flower Bowl and the Vosburgh Stakes. First post Saturday is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. Eastern.

Beauty Reigns looks ready for another stakes test

Beauty Reigns has yet to win a stakes race, but her record says she belongs in this company. The Bill Mott trainee has finished in the top three in ten of fourteen career starts and enters from a closing third in the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga on August 29.

That Ballerina effort followed an allowance victory at Saratoga in July, when Beauty Reigns defeated two rivals she will meet again Saturday, Senza Parole and Munnings Express. Junior Alvarado rides from post 6.

The four year old daughter of Into Mischief has also placed in the Grade 1 Test, giving her two top three finishes at the highest level. Saturday offers a shorter distance than the seven furlong Ballerina and another chance to add an important graded stakes victory to her record.

R Disaster returns to defend her title

Beauty Reigns will have to get past a proven Gallant Bloom winner. R Disaster returns for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. after winning this race last year by three and one half lengths.

R Disaster also won the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs in May and owns nine victories from seventeen career starts. Her latest race produced a sixth place finish in the Ballerina, the first time in her career that she finished outside the top three.

Jose Ortiz rides R Disaster from post 5. Her established speed and record at this level make her one of the central figures in the race.

Munnings Express and Senza Parole add depth

Munnings Express arrives after winning the Johnstone at Saratoga in her stakes debut. The Linda Rice trainee has never finished outside the top three in twelve starts, with six victories, three seconds and three thirds. Manny Franco rides from post 1.

Senza Parole gives Chad Brown another serious contender. She defeated multiple stakes winner With the Angels in an allowance race at Saratoga on September 2 and has four victories from ten career starts. Flavien Prat has the mount from post 2.

Paradise City gives Joseph a second runner. She won the Saylorville at Prairie Meadows in July before finishing fifth in the Ballerina. Dylan Davis rides from post 4.

Queen Jubilee completes the six horse field. She enters her first stakes race after an eight and one half length allowance victory at Colonial Downs. Edgard Zayas rides from post 3 for trainer Whit Beckman.

What to watch in the Gallant Bloom

The central question is whether Beauty Reigns can finally convert her strong graded stakes form into a victory. She has repeatedly shown that she can compete with accomplished sprinters, but R Disaster brings proven Grade 1 quality and the advantage of already winning this race.

Munnings Express is particularly interesting because of her consistency, while Senza Parole enters with recent winning form. Queen Jubilee is the least experienced stakes runner but comes into the race after the most decisive victory of her career.

The Gallant Bloom also gives Saturday’s Belmont card another high quality dirt sprint alongside the Vosburgh. With major turf races later on the program, the card offers a broad look at several divisions as the fall championship season approaches.

Gallant Bloom details: Saturday, September 26 at Belmont Park. Grade 2. Purse $250,000. Six and one half furlongs on dirt. Fillies and mares age three and older. Race 4. First post for the card is 12:05 p.m. Eastern.

The Grade 3 Vosburgh brings an accomplished group of dirt sprinters to Belmont Park on Saturday, September 26, with more than the $250,000 purse at stake. The seven furlong race is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, giving the winner an automatic place in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland.

Buttah arrives with momentum for trainer Ilkay Kantarmaci. The New York bred has won two consecutive races, including the John Morrissey at Saratoga on August 6, and Javier Castellano retains the mount from post 9. A victory would also give Kantarmaci his first graded stakes win under his own name.

A deep sprint field

The challenge goes well beyond Buttah. Senior Officer enters for Brad Cox after finishing in a dead heat for second in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga. Crazy Mason was close behind in fourth in that same race and already owns a Grade 2 Carter victory.

Contrary Thinking has produced consecutive career best Beyer Speed Figures of 99 in his recent Saratoga campaign, while Doc Sullivan has extensive experience at seven furlongs and finished fourth in both the Grade 1 Forego and the Vosburgh last year.

The field also includes Moonlight, El Grande O, Bring the Smoke, Ignite the Light and T Kraft. That variety creates a race with several plausible paths to victory rather than a single obvious controlling favorite.

Why the Vosburgh matters

The Breeders’ Cup Sprint consequence gives this race national importance. A win at Belmont provides an automatic route to Keeneland and offers a late season opportunity for a sprinter to establish championship credentials.

The Vosburgh is Race 9 on Saturday’s 11 race program. It comes immediately before the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Grade 2 Flower Bowl, giving Belmont one of the strongest cards of its new fall meet.

OTB Bet has already previewed the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and the Flower Bowl, two major turf races on the same September 26 program.

Source: New York Racing Association. Race details and field information were verified against NYRA’s official Vosburgh stakes advance.

The road to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf runs through Belmont Park on September 26, when a deep field of fillies and mares meets in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl.

The $500,000 race covers 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf and offers the winner an automatic place in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland. That makes the Flower Bowl one of the most consequential races on a Belmont card that also includes the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Vosburgh and Gallant Bloom.

Sunlit Uplands gets another major chance

Sunlit Uplands arrives after a narrow second in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga. She saved ground before making her challenge and missed by only a neck. Trainer Stuart Williams has kept her in New York, where she has continued preparing for this longer assignment.

Her recent form gives the race an important international angle. Before coming to the United States, Sunlit Uplands won the Group 3 Stuten Meile at Hamburg by three lengths.

Fionn adds proven American turf form

Fionn brings an accomplished domestic record into the Flower Bowl. The Brad Cox trainee has earned more than $2 million and owns seven victories from 12 starts. Her biggest success came in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, and her record also includes graded victories at Churchill Downs, Kentucky Downs and Belmont at the Big A.

Fionn returned from a lengthy break in August at Saratoga. The Flower Bowl gives her an opportunity to move forward while stretching back out over a distance that should better showcase her established turf ability.

Gezora gives the field Breeders’ Cup quality

Gezora supplies one of the strongest credentials in the field. The Bill Mott trainee won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf last season and now seeks her first victory since that championship performance.

Mott also sends Opulent Restraint, a multiple Grade 1 placed runner. Other notable entrants include Evershed, who won the Grade 3 Waya in her latest start, Silvology and Favorite Memory.

A major piece of Belmont’s September 26 card

The Flower Bowl is scheduled as the final race on an 11 race program. It follows a major sequence that includes the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Gallant Bloom and Vosburgh.

The automatic Breeders’ Cup opportunity raises the stakes beyond the purse. With proven Grade 1 performers, improving international runners and established American turf form in the same field, the Flower Bowl can materially reshape the division heading toward Keeneland.

OTB Bet will continue tracking the major Belmont races and the wider Breeders’ Cup trail as the championship fields take shape.

Sources: New York Racing Association official Flower Bowl advance and Belmont Park stakes schedule.

Belmont Park will stage one of the strongest turf races of its opening fall stretch on September 26, when seven older runners meet in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

The $500,000 race is contested over 1 1/2 miles on the Widener turf course and brings together an unusually international group. Godolphin runner El Cordobes leads three European based entrants into the field, giving the race a global profile at an important point of the autumn season.

El Cordobes returns to the United States

El Cordobes has already shown that he can compete at the highest level in North America. He finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar last year and now returns for another Grade 1 assignment.

His most recent start came in the Group 2 H. H. The Amir Trophy in Doha, where he finished fifth. The twelve furlong distance is familiar territory, with eight of his last nine starts coming at approximately this trip.

International depth shapes the race

The presence of three European based runners gives the Joe Hirsch a different tactical dimension from many domestic turf races. The seven horse field also arrives at a time when leading turf horses are trying to establish their autumn form ahead of major international targets.

There is an additional incentive attached to the result. The winner is eligible for a Japan Racing Association bonus if selected for and then competing in the 2026 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.

Why the Joe Hirsch matters

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic has long been one of New York’s major tests for older turf horses. This year’s renewal also helps establish the new Belmont Park as a destination for international racing only days after the track reopened.

For OTB Bet readers following the wider championship picture, the race fits directly into the build toward the Breeders’ Cup and follows a Belmont opening weekend highlighted by Forever Young’s Jockey Club Gold Cup victory.

The Joe Hirsch is scheduled for September 26 on a Belmont card that also includes the Flower Bowl, Gallant Bloom and Vosburgh. OTB Bet will continue to follow verified developments as race day approaches.

Source information: New York Racing Association stakes advance and official Belmont Park stakes schedule. This article is original OTB Bet editorial coverage.