Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup's Christopher McNamara has been elected to the Visit Horse Country Board of Directors by vote of the sitting board. The senior vice president, corporate partnerships for Breeders' Cup, McNamara has a long professional history working in creative and strategic marketing in New York with Havas Life and then in Lexington, Kentucky at Cornett marketing agency. "Positive fan development for our industry is a shared goal of the Breeders' Cup and Horse Country," said McNamara. "I'm honored to be elected and look forward to getting started." McNamara joins Price...
Graded stakes winner Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby), previously trained by the now-indicted Jorge Navarro, will be joining the Steve Asmussen barn in May, according to a report in Paulick Report. The 4-year-old blitzed to a 12 1/2-length victory in last year's GII Amsterdam S. in just his third career start. He was narrowly beaten when third in the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. and second in the GI Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. and hasn't started since finishing second behind champion Mitole (Eskendereya) in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint last November....
In a letter to fans and supporters Thursday, Breeders' Cup President & CEO Drew Fleming said the organization remains committed to running this year's World Championships on schedule Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland. "The health and safety of the racing community, including its athletes, fans and workers, has always been Breeders' Cup's top priority. As we collectively navigate this uncharted and difficult time, I want to assure you that we are closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and working with Keeneland, relevant government authorities and public health experts to assess its potential...
As an organization with enormous interests in both the racing and sales worlds, Keeneland has been quick to act in response to the coronavirus pandemic, canceling its April 2-Year-Old Sale and Spring Meet in the early days of the sport's shutdown. They also were quick to reassure nervous buyers and sellers of yearlings that this year's marquee September Yearling Sale would proceed as scheduled, Sept. 14-26. President and CEO Bill Thomason joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday, calling in via Zoom from his home as the Green...
It's a sobering fact of life that the act of raising a child is a largely unacknowledged affair. For sure, birthdays, holidays and other celebratory moments garner plenty of photographs and Facebook likes. But beyond the narrow confines of the family nucleus, there's only very limited patience for whether little Billy shoved a battery up his nose, or whether darling Annie, dressed as a lobster, stole the show in her elementary school production of Moby Dick. But rarely--only very rarely--do the formative exploits of individual children garner universal interest. Think...
Fasig Tipton, Keeneland, Breeders' Cup offer emergency support to Visit Horse Country as Virtual Tours Spike Worldwide Attention on Kentucky's Horse Industry Two weeks ago, operations at Horse Country HQ switched tracks, along with many others, as we and our members began to absorb the realities around COVID-19. Faced with growing warnings about transmission, travel interruptions, and event cancellations or postponements, experiences at member locations became deprioritized in favor of caution and best practices. That Wednesday, Mar. 11, was the last day of normal operations before we began a record...
Tickets to the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Nov. 6-7 are now on sale to the general public. The Breeders' Cup also announced that the 2020 event will incorporate several special elements and offerings, including expanded luxury seating spaces and an attendance cap of 45,000. To review seating options and purchase tickets online, fans can visit BreedersCup.com/Tickets now. "We eagerly anticipate returning to Lexington for the 37th running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships," said Drew Fleming, President and CEO of Breeders' Cup. "In collaboration with our partners...
Champions and Breeders' Cup winners Vino Rosso (Curlin) and Mitole (Eskendereya) both had their first mares confirmed in foal. Shine Time (Malibu Moon) checked in foal to Vino Rosso Feb. 25 for breeders Pam and Jim Robinson of Brandywine Farm. Strike Accord (Smart Strike) checked in foal to Mitole Feb. 28 at Frankfort Park Farm.
The Breeders' Cup Board of Directors met during a regularly scheduled meeting in February to discuss future business plans for the company, including next steps in advancing safety measures and purse levels for the two-day World Championships. The Breeders' Cup Board continued its commitment to using the organization's leadership position within the industry to encourage the adoption of increased safety requirements within and beyond the World Championships. Beginning at the 2020 World Championships, the Breeders' Cup will adopt all six recommendations from Dr. Larry Bramlage's report, (pages 18-21). These process...
While the GI Kentucky Oaks will always be overshadowed by the GI Kentucky Derby, this year's Oaks has nothing to apologize for. Through the early round of prep races, it appears that the 2020 Oaks will include one of the deepest and most talented lineups in the race's history. That's still the case after the tragic loss of Taraz (Into Mischief), who had to be euthanized after suffering an injury in a workout Monday at Oaklawn Park. The early round of preps have produced some outstanding performances and several top...
Undefeated British Idiom (Flashback), recently crowned champion 2-year-old filly of 2019, will make her sophomore debut in Saturday's GII Rachel Alexandra S. at Fair Grounds, where she'll meet Finite (Munnings), winner of four straight, and five other rivals in the 1 1/16-mile test. Bought for $40,000 as a Fasig-Tipton October yearling, the chestnut debuted in a maiden race at Saratoga restricted to purchases of $45,000 or less and posted a 3 1/2-length pace-pressing success. Shipped to Keeneland and stretched out to two turns, she blew away her competition to the...
Deep enough to be split into two divisions with a combined 23 horses, Saturday's GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds is nevertheless short on household names. The exception is Peter Redekop's Anneau d'Or (Medaglia d'Oro), a close second in the GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile who will kick off his 3-year-old campaign as a favorite in the latter division of the annual stepping stone to the GII Louisiana Derby at the New Orleans oval. Selling for $480,000 as an OBS April 2-year-old, the bay debuted going a mile on...