Breeders' Cup
The world-renowned Keeneland September Sale has been a long time coming this year. With the coronavirus pandemic canceling and postponing much of the sales season, all eyes are on Lexington this week as Keeneland hosts its first live in-person auction since COVID-19 first hit American shores. Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Wednesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss the obstacles faced by the company in conducting the sale and his early impressions of the trading. "We've...
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), an official charity of the Breeders' Cup, has been named the official aftercare partner of the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships, to be held at Keeneland Nov. 6-7. The TAA is asking connections of Breeders' Cup runners to pledge a percentage of their championship day earnings to the TAA, which awards annual grants to accredited non-profit Thoroughbred aftercare organizations to retire, retrain, and rehome Thoroughbreds. "It is our privilege to see Thoroughbreds at their finest moments in the Breeders' Cup World Championships and it is...
The opening day of Santa Anita's Autumn season will be pushed back a week until Friday, Sept. 25 due to the impact of the Bobcat Fire on the air quality and surrounding community. "Our local community has been deeply impacted by the Bobcat Fire burning for more than a week in the mountains behind us," said Aidan Butler, Executive Director of California Operations for The Stronach Group. "The current weather pattern has kept the smoke in the valley and the air quality is quite poor right now. The Red Cross...
Group 1 winner Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who won the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. at The Curragh on Sunday for Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez, is under consideration for the G1 Dewhurst S. on Oct. 10, trainer Joseph O'Brien revealed on Monday. The bay graduated at first asking for breeder Anne Marie O'Brien at The Curragh on Aug. 9, before being purchased privately. "We were very happy with him," said O'Brien of the 'TDN Rising Star'. "It was a bit of a messy race, but he showed a great turn...
MGSW Safe Voyage (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}), who won the G2 Boomerange S. at Leopardstown on the first day of Irish Champions Weekend, is a likely starter in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile in November. Trained by John Quinn, the 7-year-old gelding added the Listed Investec Surrey S. to his haul second up on July 4 and was fourth in the G2 Qatar Lennox S. later that month at Goodwood. Back on top in the G2 Sky Bet City of York S. on Aug. 22, the Ross Harmon colourbearer struck...
The Breeders' Cup will return to Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. as the host site for the 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships, the Breeders' Cup announced Saturday. Keeneland, which is also scheduled to host this year's World Championships Nov. 6-7, will hold the 39th Breeders' Cup Nov. 4-5, 2022. It will be the third time the Breeders' Cup has been held at Keeneland since 2015. Del Mar will remain the host of the 2021 event. The announcement of Keeneland as host of the 2022 championships was made in conjunction...
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club outlined its fall stakes schedule consisting of 16 stakes worth $2,250,000 and will be presented through its 15-day Bing Crosby Season, beginning Oct. 31. Del Mar has added a pair of California-bred sprint stakes for juveniles that were not on its agenda the past two seasons. Nine of the 16 fall stakes are graded; nine of the 16 stakes will be run on turf; seven of the stakes--all of them on grass--will be presented over the track's extended closing weekend which begins Thanksgiving Day, and continues...
OwnerView's seventh Thoroughbred Owner Conference, presented by Breeders' Cup, Bessemer Trust, and Dean Dorton, will be conducted in a virtual format in Lexington, Kentucky, Nov. 3-4. The conference originally planned for July 19-22, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "We are committed to offering the owner conference in a safe format for attendees, so we made the decision to move our event online given the COVID-19 pandemic," said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. "Registrants will be able to watch nine panels on a range of topics relevant to Thoroughbred ownership and...
Shadwell's speedy MG1SW Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) is being considered for a start in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 7, if he exits the Oct. 4 G1 Prix de l'Abbaye in good form. A winner of the GI King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot in June, they grey took his fourth G2 King George Qatar S. at Goodwood on July 31 and won the G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe S. at York on Aug. 21. "He's only had three runs this year," said trainer Charlie Hills to Sky...
Arrogate's first book of 143 mares, a who's who of some of the top breeding stock in the country, reflected the jaw-dropping career of North America's richest racehorse. Dual Eclipse Champion Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) was one of several champions sent to Arrogate during his first year at stud. "Arrogate's first book was incredibly special," said Juddmonte's Stallions Nominations Manager Leif Aaron. "Half of the book was graded stakes winners or graded stakes producers, and a quarter of it was Grade I winners or Grade I producers. Breeders brought their very...
The Breeders' Cup launches the $10K Derby Spin to Win, a new fan contest. Now live via BreedersCup.com/derby, the digital campaign grants fans the chance to win $10,000. Open now until 7:00 p.m. Sept. 5, the contest invites fans to spin a digital wheel that assigns them a horse running in the Kentucky Derby. After the drawing, fans are encouraged to watch the race on NBC this Saturday to see if their assigned horse is the winner. Entrants whose horse wins will then be entered into a pool from which...
The trainer originally best known for many high-class jumps winners that has made an eye-catching advance on Flat racing's top contests in recent years will share her thoughts with the TDN on a monthly basis in this most unusual of seasons. It is an understatement to say that it has been a very strange year. In Ireland we managed a few meetings behind closed doors before racing shut down completely, and we then had some uncertainty over when it was going to start again. We eventually accepted the fact...