Breeders' Cup

White Abarrio (Race Day), the winner of the 2023 GI Breeders Cup Classic, is close to his first workout after being given a freshener by his connections. However, co-owner Mark Cornett reports that the now 5-year-old horse will not be ready in time to defend his title in this year's Breeders' Cup. "The Breeders' Cup Classic is not in our plans," Cornett said. "We're not going in that direction. There's no way he can be ready for that and we want to get a good race in him off this...

This year's Woodbine's Turf Champions Day, held Saturday, Sept. 14, saw a 9 percent increase in total wagering from last year. The all-sources handle for the day, which was headlined by the GI Rogers Woodbine Mile and a trio of Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' races, was $13,339,206, up from last year's $12.1 million. The $13.3 million handle is also the second highest ever for a Woodbine Mile card. Additionally, wagering in the local Ontario area also saw an 8.9 percent increase from the previous year and a strong...

Maria Borell, known for training Eclipse Champion Sprinter Runhappy (Super Saver) in the lead up to his win the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, has been issued a trainer's license in the state of California. The Daily Racing Form first reported the news Friday. In 2016, Borell and her father, Charles, were charged in Kentucky with 43 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. The charges against her were dropped last year and the DRF noted that Borell plans to train for several clients in California. According to CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten, Borell...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Knelman family's Farfellow Farm, which had a memorable Keeneland September sale three years ago with a million-dollar yearling followed by a $700,000 session topper in Book 3, could have another Book 3 star on its hands with a colt by Good Magic (hip 1301). The yearling received the most timely of updates when his full-brother Mixto captured the Aug. 31 GI Pacific Classic. "The Mixto full-brother is making everybody's list and then we have others that are hitting, so knock on wood, it should be an...

They say that once horse racing gets in your blood, it never leaves. Lee Vickers has no doubts about that. For him, a passion for the sport was practically embedded into his genetic code. Both his father and his grandfather were jockeys in his native England and Vickers was riding racehorses himself by age 12. Over the past three decades since, Vickers has ridden dozens of top-level horses on both sides of the Atlantic. This year, the assistant trainer and exercise rider for Christophe Clement is enjoying the ride with...

Legendary trainer Aidan O'Brien joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss City of Troy and other Breeders' Cup-bound trainees. Plus, we learn he moonlights as a dog sitter.

A filly by Into Mischief (hip 210) was the second to break the seven-figure mark early in Tuesday's second session of the Keeneland September sale when bringing a final bid of $1.5 million from bloodstock agent David Lanigan, acting on behalf of Scott Heider. Out of GI Breeders' Cup F/M Turf winner Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect), the bay is a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing (Speightstown). She was bred and consigned by Gainesway, which purchased Shared Account, with Sharing in utero, for $625,000 at the...

Eight races with purses and awards totaling more than $1.5 million will be offered as part of the Breeders' Cup undercard weekend according to an announcement Tuesday from Breeders' Cup Limited and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. In addition to travel incentives, owners and trainers of contenders participating in the undercard races will receive race day seating, parking, and a range of other premium benefits. Five undercard races on the Nov. 1 program bolster Future Stars Friday, highlighted by the $200,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes for 2-year-olds at 1 mile on...

Del Mar concluded its 85th summer racing season Sunday as the seaside track once again recorded strong field sizes and average daily handle as well as the highest daily purses in the state of California. Del Mar averaged 8.6 starters per race and $831,000 per day in total purse distribution. Total wagering for the meet was $502,985,000, a slight decrease from last summer after Del Mar implemented new restrictions on computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players in 2024. Average daily handle was $16,225,000. Track officials indicated that the handle figures were in...

May Day Ready (Tapit) put it all together once again in her second career start to claim the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies Stakes. A winner on unveiling Aug. 4 at Saratoga as the second longest shot on the board in a roughly run maiden on the grass, she shipped south from that productive contest which also yielded Ballerina d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), who won an allowance earlier on the same card. Sent away here at 9-2, she tracked the action in front of her from sixth and raced along from cover...

When Japanese horses take their show on the road to places like Australia, the Middle East, Hong Kong, the U.S. and even Europe to an extent, they are to be taken very seriously. It is also no wonder that when horses from the Land of the Rising Sun make the comparatively short trip over to Korea, they have more or less dominated the nation's two biggest and most important races--the G3 OBS Korea Cup (1800m) and OBS Korea Sprint (1200m). That trend looks set to continue this weekend at Seoul...

The X-Ray Files, now in its second year and presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders' Association, uses conversations with buyers and sellers to contribute to the dialogue on the sales and training process. Craig Rounsefell of Boomer Bloodstock has purchased top-level winners all over the world, from his native Australia, to England and the U.S. He purchased 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Obviously (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) at the Tattersalls October sale, while 2021 GI Frank Kilroe Mile winner Hit the Road (More Than Ready) was acquired...