A federal court in Kentucky on Wednesday issued a declaratory judgement in a lawsuit brought by Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority (HISA), ruling that assessment fees based on a purse-weighted methodology that the Authority used between 2022 and 2024 were “arbitrary and capricious, and therefore unlawful.” However, the [...]

by T.D. Thornton-Last Saturday's news that the No. 1-ranked Paladin (Gun Runner) will miss the GI Kentucky Derby with a non-displaced condylar fracture of his right front ankle created a vacancy atop this list. Any set of Derby rankings abhors a vacuum, but it wasn't easy deciding which of several worthy candidates out of the [...]

1) We still have one more Saturday of nine-furlong qualifying stakes for the GI Kentucky Derby, but it's a safe bet the GI Florida Derby will be the odds-on choice for being the prep race most likely to yield the winner on the first Saturday in May. Commandment (Into Mischief), The Puma (Essential Quality), and [...]

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Hector Soler, who worked as the head starter at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course between 2020 and 2025, have entered into a settlement agreement in which NYRA will pay Soler two separate sums, one which the parties agreed to keep confidential in exchange for Soler [...]

Roger Attfield, 86, a member of both the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the United States National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, is retiring from training after a 54-year career, although he plans to remain involved in the sport as an owner, breeder and consultant. The news was announced via press [...]

A federal judge on Monday ended a nearly two-year-old lawsuit by dismissing seven of the eight counts in litigation initiated by two Iowa horsemen who alleged unconstitutionality of the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) and the way the HISA Authority collects assessment fees. The eighth count, which pertained to an order from the Federal [...]

This coming weekend's nine-furlong stakes at Oaklawn and Gulfstream have the potential to usher in a major shake-up within the rankings, with seven of the Top 12 listed below entered in either the GI Arkansas Derby or the GI Curlin Florida Derby. 1) PALADIN (c, Gun Runner–Secret Sigh, by Tapit) O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, [...]

It can be hazardous to one's betting bankroll to drink the hype-flavored Kool-Aid that flows freely when an undefeated sophomore with limited experience wins a nine-furlong prep for the GI Kentucky Derby in eye-catching fashion. Yet despite the well-documented risks against backing horses who have made only two lifetime starts prior to the first Saturday [...]

Last year the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) approved the establishment of maximum statewide ages at which horses can race–10 years old for winners and five years old for maidens. On Wednesday, the CHRB voted unanimously to tweak that rule, raising the max age for maidens to six, with the stipulation that such horses would [...]

We edge inside the two-month mark to the GI Kentucky Derby with a well-bunched Top 12 hurtling toward more lucrative qualifying points races at longer distances. 1) PALADIN (c, Gun Runner–Secret Sigh, by Tapit) O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter M. Brant, Brook T. Smith, and Summer Wind Equine, LLC; B-Summer Wind Equine [...]

Back in 1988, attendance for the GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Race Course was 7,372. By 2002, the Preakness crowd at the renamed Laurel Park had more than doubled, to 15,917. Of course, those figures from decades ago weren't for the in-person, live running of the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Those head counts [...]

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Thursday voted down a pair of dates allocation requests for spring and summer meets at Red Bluff (Tehama District Fair) and Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair), meaning that no Thoroughbred racing is likely to occur in 2026 on the state's once-vibrant Northern circuit that has been dark since December [...]