On the racetrack, Godolphin is enjoying a record-breaking season after becoming the first ownership group in history to win the G1 1,000 Guineas, G1 2,000 Guineas, GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks all in the same year. Off the racetrack, the international operation founded by Sheikh Mohammed is celebrating a banner year in a [...]

Knowing when a horse is ready to take a step up and when it's time to take a step back–it's one of the fundamentals of training. Get it right and you get rewarded. Get it wrong and, well, you'll likely know pretty quickly. Some trainers just seem to have a feel for where that line [...]

In a sport built on speed and stamina, the people behind the scenes rarely stop moving. And for the horsewomen who are also mothers, the pace is even demanding—but so is the purpose. They're used to remarks like, “I don't know how you do it all,” “Do you ever sleep?” and “You're like superwoman!” “I'm [...]

LOUISVILLE, KY– Two months ago, trainer Dale Romans and California Horse Racing Board vice chairman Oscar Gonzales traveled to Washington, D.C. with the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) to join more than 150 business leaders in a push for bipartisan immigration reform. On Thursday, May 1 after training hours concluded at Churchill Downs, the pair [...]

Two years ago, Godolphin came into the Kentucky Oaks with a serious threat in Wet Paint (Blame). The homebred was undefeated as a 3-year-old and looked every bit the part in the days leading up to the big event. She went off as the 8-5 favorite, but when the fillies hit the wire it was [...]

LEXINGTON, KY–During a Speaker Series focusing on HISA, one question opened the door to an in-depth discussion. How do we catch the bad actors in horse racing without placing a financial burden on the good guys? Trainer Dale Romans, the President of the Kentucky HBPA and a member of HISA's Horsemen's Advisory Group, was the [...]

In the TDN's new Breeders' Cup Breakthrough series, we catch up with the six trainers who celebrated their first win at the Breeders' Cup in 2024. We discuss the road to securing that victory, what the breakout win meant to them personally and what they hope to accomplish from here. We start with Kenny McPeek, [...]

Lonnie Briley's first starter at Churchill Downs came three years ago in the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes on the Thursday of Derby week. Although his trainee Cool Spirit (Mor Spirit) broke a step slow and finished last, the experience left Briley with lasting memories of Louisville. “I tell you, when the horses took off running, it [...]

Just seven years into his own stud career, the continually climbing Hill 'n' Dale sire Good Magic already has four Grade I-winning sons standing in Kentucky. The team at Darby Dan Farm believes that with their new son of Good Magic, value is the distinguishing factor. Standing for $12,500 in his debut season, Blazing Sevens [...]

Resolute Racing's farm manager Noel Murphy is not one for interviews, especially when they take place in front of a camera, but when the topic of conversation is Goodnight Olive? Well okay, he will kindly acquiesce. For Murphy, the story of Goodnight Olive has always appealed to him. A $170,000 yearling purchase campaigned by First [...]

Running a breeding shed efficiently and effectively takes a certain level of teamwork. Really, it takes a lot of the same characteristics found in any strong relationship. So it's no surprise, then, that the husband-and-wife duo of Roberto and Leticia Vera manages the shed at Pleasant Acres Stallions with such ease, proving that both professionally [...]

Trainer Kelsey Danner has traditionally based her stable at Palm Meadows in Florida every winter, but this year she decided to shift her focus to Turfway Park and already, the decision is paying dividends. Following a career-best year in 2024 thanks in part to a lucrative Holiday meet at Turfway in December, Danner is now [...]