Europe

Levy income to the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) for the year ended March 31, 2026 is projected to be around £110 million. If confirmed, this would represent the highest total since the Levy collection reforms of 2017/18, marginally surpassing the 2024/25 figure of £109 million. The expected total is based on provisional end-of-year submissions received from the majority of Levy-paying bookmakers, which are currently undergoing HBLB's standard validation processes. Throughout the year, HBLB considered that, based on evidence to date and forecasting the rest of the year, the most...

Declarations for Epsom's G1 Betfred Derby and G1 Betfred Oaks were confirmed Wednesday morning with 14 standing their ground for Saturday's Blue Riband and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Precise (Starspangledbanner) the only notable absentee from Friday's Oaks. Last month's G3 Chester Vase winner Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) is joined by Aidan O'Brien stablemates Action (Frankel), Christmas Day (Camelot) and Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) as the trainer seeks to enhance his record haul of 11 in the Derby. Other leading contenders Ancient Egypt (Frankel), Bay Of Brilliance (New Bay), Maltese Cross (Sea...

Owner Paul Byrne and trainer Emmet Mullins have launched themselves head first into arguably their most exciting challenge yet with the purchase of recent G3 Gallinule Stakes runner-up Zia Zabel (Ghaiyyath), who the pair will try to make up into a National Hunt stallion.  Whether it has been eye-watering gambles or plundering some of the game's biggest prizes, Byrne and Mullins have made a habit out of making the extraordinary look ordinary. Their latest big-race success had all the hallmarks of their combined genius when Soldier In Milan belied his...

3.18 Nottingham, Mdn, 2yo, f, 5f 8yT SENORITA BONITA (IRE) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) topped the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale at 900,000gns and debuts for Victorious Forever and Simon and Ed Crisford in the maiden won in the last three years by Zelaina, Leovanni and Beautiful Diamond. Jaber Abdullah's Queen Of Christmas (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) also makes her debut, with the Karl Burke-trained €305,000 Arqana Deauville October purchase a half-sister to the Listed-winning dam of last year's Prix du Moulin de Longchamp hero Sahlan (Wootton Bassett).   5.40 Curragh, Mdn, 2yo,...

Thursday, Baden-Baden, Germany, post time: 16:35, 48TH KRONIMUS BADENER MEILE-G3, €55,000, 3yo/up, 8fT Field: Next Mine (Ger) (Dabirsim {Fr}), New Emerald (Ger) (Protectionist {Ger}), Sir Tommy Cen (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), Sommersby (Ger) (Amaron {Ger}), Aster (Ger) (Outstrip {GB}), Ayada (Ger) (Areion {Ger}). TDN Analysis: Eckhard Sauren's uber-consistent Next Mine was 1 1/2 lengths off a victory when third in Saint-Cloud's G2 Prix du Muguet at the beginning of May and last term's G2 Premio Vittorio di Capua hero is one of the protagonists in this return to domestic action....

Aktem will bid to throw down a marker with its first-ever breeze-up sale taking place at Maisons-Laffitte on Wednesday, where 81 juveniles will go under the hammer. The sales company's Daniel Cooper has outlined hopes for the breeze-up sale to grow and revealed that there could be considerable scope for a much bigger catalogue in the future provided Wednesday's first foray into the market goes well. Hot off the heels of Aktem's Grand Steeple Selection Sale, which saw prices as high as €510,000 paid for talented National Hunt prospects, the...

Forty-five years on from the success of the Ian Balding-trained Glint Of Gold in the Paul Mellon silks forever synonymous with Mill Reef, Andrew Balding emulated his late father at Milan's San Siro Racetrack on Tuesday as the blue-blooded Venetian Prince (St Mark's Basilica) emerged victorious in a pulsating finish to the G2 143rd Derby Italiano. German challenger Salitos (In Swoop) and last month's G3 Premio Parioli (Italian 2,000 Guineas) hero Grand Son Of Dark (Dark Angel), bidding to keep the prize on home soil, looked to have the race...

Connections of Calandagan (Gleneagles) will keep a close eye on ground conditions at Epsom before making a final decision on his participation in Saturday's G1 Coolmore Coronation Cup. Following rainfall totalling 25 millimetres overnight and into Tuesday morning, the official going on the Derby course was changed to good, good to soft in places, with further rain forecast for the rest of the week. Nemone Routh, manager of the Aga Khan Studs in France, conceded that the situation is "not ideal" for the world's highest-rated turf horse, who is unbeaten...

The birdsong is briefly interrupted as a pair of colts gallop by. Nothing too strong now, for the major work is done. Maltese Cross and Tenability breeze on up Newmarket's Al Bahathri, giving rise to some contented muttering from the father-and-son team watching on. Sam Haggas was only three years old and was "left at home" the day that Shaamit won the Derby for his parents William and Maureen 30 years ago. He plays a different role these days, as the buyer of his father's fifth Derby runner and racing...

Saint-Cloud's Prix Chapeau Rouge maiden had gone the way of subsequent top-level performers Zulu Kingdom (Ten Sovereigns), Alcantor (New Bay) and Arapaho (Lope De Vega) in recent years and Christopher Head trainee Avec Toi (No Nay Never) added his name to an illustrious list with a TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard, performance in Tuesday's latest renewal of the seven-furlong newcomers' test. Coolmore and Westerberg's Kentucky-bred becomes the 14th Rising Star for his sire. "This is our first two-year-old winner of the year, I think he's a very good colt...

In our second trainee blog, Emma Dillon, from the 23rd Godolphin Flying Start class (2025-2027), examines the different ways that horse racing should be trying to actively engage new audiences. Horse racing is a captivating sport, from the social day out to experiencing the thrilling speed and elegance of thoroughbreds. What's not to love about a day out racing? Support of horse racing from novice, casual and diehard fans is so important to continue its development and sponsorships. If I was in charge of racing I would invest in marketing...

3.05 Saint-Cloud, Mdn, unraced 2yo, c/g, 7fT Coolmore and Westerberg's hitherto unraced AVEC TOI (No Nay Never) is a Kentucky-bred son of G1 Yorkshire Oaks and G1 Prix Vermeille third La Joconde (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), herself kin to G1 Irish Derby hero Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}). The Christopher Head trainee is opposed by 10 fellow debutants in a heat won in recent years by subsequent elite-level performers Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}), Alcantor (Fr) (New Bay {GB}) and Arapaho (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). 3.40 Saint-Cloud, Mdn, unraced 2yo,...