When it comes to horses suffering severe injuries, there are those that fall into a gray area. They may be seriously hurt and unable to resume their racing careers, but that doesn't mean they can't be saved. However, that usually means expensive surgeries, long rehabilitation periods and no guarantees that they will ever be able [...]

This wasn't easy. Since Hawthorne last ran a Thoroughbred race, checks have bounced to harness horsemen, the Illinois Racing Board pulled the plug on last year's Standardbred meet, the owners have declared bankruptcy, and there still has been no concrete news on when or how a casino might be built at the track. Way back [...]

The show “BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing” begins at the breakfast table as a quiet middle-aged Hispanic man is slowly eating his breakfast. Then the camera pans to his clock. It reads 1:56. The message is clear: even at this hour, this is a man who has to be somewhere. He must be [...]

Not a day goes by when Dana Bernhard doesn't think of her late husband, Jim, and his passing at age 71 in November after a brief illness. “It's still an extremely profound loss,” she said. But something has come along to lift her spirits: the recent success of Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) and Albus (Yaupon). Incredibolt [...]

Owners Gary Barber and C2 Racing Stable have filed a suit in a California Superior Court alleging that defendants Breeders' Cup Limited, the California Horse Racing Board, and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club engaged in intentional interference with prospective economic relations, negligent interference with prospective economic relations, violation of California business & professions code, gross [...]

The prep season for the GI Kentucky Oaks came to a conclusion last week and the field looks more or less set. It should be a quality, competitive race with no clear standout. The big story last week was the win in the GI Ashland Stakes by Percy's Bar (Upstart). It was a powerful, eye-opening [...]

In what was no doubt a difficult decision, jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. has committed to riding GI Arkansas Derby winner Renegade (Into Mischief) in the GI Kentucky Derby. Ortiz was also the regular rider of GI Blue Grass Stakes winner and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Further Ado (Gun Runner). It's possible that the [...]

According to figures released Monday by Equibase, all-sources pari-mutuel handle fell by 12.35% during the month of March. A total of $816,171,590 was wagered as compared to $931,156,615 in 2025. The month-over-month decline in handle was the worst since December 2024, when handle fell by 14.44%. In the category of average wagering per race day, [...]

With Further Ado (Gun Runner) crushing his rivals in Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, Irad Ortiz Jr. continued one of the most spectacular runs through the preps for the GI Kentucky Derby that any jockey has ever had. It was his fifth win in a Derby prep, including three races that award [...]

It will be very hard for the racing industry to replace what FanDuel TV meant to the sport with its wall-to-wall coverage of races from across the country and its ability to attract new fans to the sport. But according to Tony Allevato, NYRA's chief revenue officer and the president of NYRA Bets, his team [...]

The long run of preps for the GI Kentucky Oaks will come to a close this weekend as the last of the 3-year-old filly preps will be run. All eyes will be on Keeneland Friday as the track will host the only Grade I prep for the Oaks, the GI Ashland Stakes. The favorite will [...]

With the first major 2-year-old sale, OBS March, now in the books, and the next round, the OBS April sale, right around the corner, it's time for some predictions. We asked the experts who their pick is for leading freshman sire and also asked them for a “sleeper pick,” or a stallion that will perform [...]