Should we call him The California Kid? It trips off the tongue, certainly. Like The Great Gambino. Or The Iceman. If Journalism's nickname needs more than just a nice phonetic ring to it, then The California Kid seems fitting for a horse who appears to embody the sun- bleached Pacific Coast ideal. The surfer dude, [...]

At first glance, Jay Hovdey's latest literary output, “The Oak Tree Story: A History of Racing's Most Generous Benefactor,” might seem an exercise in nostalgia only, recounting as it does the origins, lifespan and ignominious death of an organization that last put on a show nearly fifteen years ago. The Oak Tree Racing Association came [...]

On Wednesday came the news that Fasig-Tipton will offer a digital auction, to run Aug. 14 through Aug. 19, of 90 horses owned and bred by the late John Harris, who passed away in July aged 81. Harris leaves behind a towering legacy of Thoroughbred breeding and ownership in the state. The sale signifies a [...]

After growing clamor among horse players about the role that Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) players had in driving a spate of marked late odds changes at Del Mar this summer, track officials announced Tuesday that starting this Thursday, they would close CAW access to its win pools at two minutes before the off time. “I'm [...]

Thistledown Racino's firing this week of track superintendent Sean Wright followed reports of alleged safety issues with the track's one-mile dirt surface that led to lost days of training and racing. There have also been multiple racing and training equine fatalities since the meet began Apr. 21. The ongoing autopsy on these events has raised [...]

In discussing the evolution of his StrideSAFE wearable sensor, Dave Lambert turns to a tufty-haired German philosopher called Arthur Schopenhauer, who described new truths as a play in three parts. “First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident.” Lambert has had the rejection and a little bit of [...]

The United States Supreme Court punted on Monday the constitutionality of the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) back down the legal ladder, requiring three different federal appeals courts to reconsider their earlier decisions on the matter in light of a fresh ruling by the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court's Friday decision [...]

The version of President Donald Trump's “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by the Senate earlier this week contains a tax provision that could prove prohibitive to gamblers, with ramifications for horse racing's bottom line. In the Senate's version of the bill, deductions for gambling winnings will be limited to 90% of annual losses. Currently, gamblers can [...]

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday a budget package that includes a continuation to, and in certain ways a redistribution of, the incentives and promotions that lawmakers have funnelled towards the state racing and breeding industries in recent years. The budget includes the following details: $15 million to Gulfstream Park and $5 million [...]

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)'s “pending” and “resolved” cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 06/20/2025 Licensee: Edward Barker, trainer Penalty: 7-day [...]

Tuesday's immigration raid at Delta Downs–which resulted in the reported apprehension of 84 undocumented individuals–reminds industry stakeholders once again of a frustrating conundrum. On the one hand, they must navigate an environment of ramped-up immigration enforcement, and the potential that what happened at Delta Downs could happen at any other racetrack around the country. On [...]

An immigration raid at Delta Downs racetrack Tuesday morning resulted in the apprehension of 84 undocumented individuals, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The surprise morning raid at Delta Downs—currently in the middle of a Quarter Horse meet—involved multiple law enforcement agencies including ICE, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Louisiana State Police, the [...]