There is a distinct sense that Aidan O’Brien feels Mendelssohn will run a big race in this year’s ClassicIt was a stop-and-stare moment at Churchill Downs on Thursday morning as a 15-strong cortege of runners from Aidan O’Brien’s stable made their way from the quarantine barn to the dirt track for some light exercise. Mendelssohn, who runs in the Classic, led the way with the trainer’s son Donnacha in the saddle, followed by a long line of runners with obvious chances in their respective races, including Sergei Prokofiev (Juvenile Turf Sprint), Just Wonderful (Juvenile Fillies’ Turf), Anthony Van Dyck (Juvenile Turf), Happily (Mile), Gustav Klimt (Mile) and Magical, who will be a significant opponent for Enable in Saturday’s Turf. Related: Breeders'...
Matchroom’s managing director sees dangers for boxing while Kid Galahad’s rise continues and Ireland’s Michael Conlan attracts an unlikely comparisonEddie Hearn has always been someone who can read a trend, a trait he learned from his astute father, Barry. So, when he agrees with Bob Arum that Showtime will follow HBO out of boxing within a year, it’s worth listening.The business is changing faster than anyone would have imagined even a month ago, when HBO ended 45 years of jostling with Showtime as boxing’s biggest cash cow, and, as Hearn said of octogenarian Arum on Sirius XM Boxing Radio, “I have to agree with his point on Showtime. The money moving in the circles of boxing is crazy.” Continue reading...
Former quarterback’s stand is a reminder the injustice highlighted by raised fists 50 years ago has not gone awayLast week Colin Kaepernick became one of eight new recipients of the W E B Du Bois Medal, presented by Harvard University to those it considers to have made significant contributions to African‑American history and culture. The award, of which recipients have included Maya Angelou, Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali and Ava DuVernay, is named after the writer and civil rights pioneer who explored the notion of “double consciousness”. Du Bois, the great‑great‑grandson of a slave, believed that being black and being American could be conceived “as leading neither to assimilation nor separatism but to proud, enduring hyphenation”.Receiving the award, the former San...
Backed by a new streaming service and $1bn, the promoter is taking on his biggest challenge yetOn a breezy Saturday evening in Chicago, Eddie Hearn parked his tanks firmly on American boxing’s lawn and declared: “The war is on.” Thus the first shots were fired in the sport’s latest – and most intriguing – turf war.Six months ago, Hearn would not have a hope. Not against the muscle of Showtime and Top Rank. But now he comes armed with the financial equivalent of a Gustav Gun after signing a $1bn (£760m) eight-year deal with the streaming service DAZN (pronounced Da Zone) to stage 16 shows in the US every year and another 16 from the UK. And global ambitions. Related:...
Gamesmanship? Maybe. But the unbeaten Dagestani had no time for his tardy opponent ahead of Saturday’s UFC title showdownKhabib Nurmagomedov wasn’t about to wait for the pomp and circumstance of a video package to accompany him to the stage.He certainly wasn’t going to wait for Conor McGregor to show up. Related: UFC ignores Conor McGregor's troubles as it targets Nurmagomedov payday Related: Why the UFC's 'sportswashing' of Chechnya’s dictator is a problem Continue reading...