Dan Blacker

Trainer Dan Blacker, who has been charged by the California Horse Racing Board with failing to comply with regulations that require that a horse undergoes a veterinary exam within 72 hours of a workout and that the work is entered into a CHRB database, has issued a statement in which he said he takes "full responsibility" for not following the rules. The issue came to light when an unraced Blacker-trainee named Animae (Speightstown) suffered a fatal injury after a July 1 workout at Santa Anita. The CHRB investigated and found...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN also posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These include decisions from around the country. California Track: Los Alamitos Date: 09/15/2023 Licensee: Kent Desormeaux, jockey Penalty: Three-day suspension Violation:...

Like the wildfires fanned by this summer's hot winds, doomsday predictions of horse racing's demise have raged through the mainstream and trade press this year, fueled by a sickening spate of high-profile equine fatalities on the sport's highest-profile stages--tracks armed with some of the most stringent safety guardrails. This means these horses passed before the eyes of a slew of experts--from the riders to the trainers to the veterinarians and the regulators--deemed among the best in the business. If they can't single out these horses before catastrophe happens, who can?...

With Hurricane Hilary approaching from the south over the next 24-48 hours, officials at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced early Saturday morning that the live racing program scheduled for Sunday would be canceled. "For the safety of everyone involved--our horses, our riders and all the workers, staff and fans--we have made the decision to cancel Sunday's races," DMTC President and COO Josh Rubinstein said Saturday morning. "Unfortunately, the forecast calls for substantial rain and winds that appear to be headed our way. We are hopeful this will only be...

A recent PET scan at Santa Anita revealed an "area of concern" in the left front fetlock of graded-stakes winner Straight No Chaser (Speightster), trainer Dan Blacker said Thursday. The 4-year-old colt will be sent to the farm for a 90-day break. He was last seen at Pimlico for the GIII Maryland Sprint on the Preakness S. undercard May 20 where he won by an impressive 7 1/2 lengths. Straight No Chaser had not worked since the Maryland Sprint. Blacker said the 4-year-old Speightster colt recently underwent a medical examination...

Last year, we conducted a popular Q and A series called 'Smaller But Still Super,' where we featured veteran trainers who have built a competitive racing stable with relatively small numbers (click here to view the archive). This year, we will highlight trainers who have already cut their teeth as novice trainers, but now have a few years of experience under their belt and are looking to make a name for themselves as they grow their stable. We'll talk about the challenges that come with hanging out your single, advice...

Hit the Road (More Than Ready), winner of the prestigious GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita last March, has been given some time off following an eighth in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 26. "He's at Kingfisher [Farms] in Solvang [in the Santa Ynez Valley] and he'll be back in the summer," confirmed trainer Dan Blacker. "To win Grade I's you have to have a horse 100 % and he wasn't quite 100 % [at Gulfstream]," Blacker said. "He'll have a couple...

As is the case in the day's feature event on the main track, Gulfstream's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational highlights a returning champion in the form of Robert and Lawana Low's Colonel Liam (Liam's Map). Following a neck win in the 2021 renewal of the nine-furlong test, the Todd Pletcher trainee added a win in the GII Muniz Memorial Classic at the Fair Grounds in March before finishing on even terms with Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in...

Hit the Road (More Than Ready), aiming for the Jan. 29 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park, worked five furlongs in :58.40 (1/1) over the Santa Anita turf Sunday. The 5-year-old, trained by Dan Blacker, capped a four-race win streak with a win in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. last March. He has been off since a third-place effort in the GII City of Hope Mile S. last October. The nine-furlong Turf Invitational will be Hit The Road's first start beyond a mile. Also working...

Grade I winner Hit the Road (More Than Ready) has been scratched from Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Mile due to a fever, trainer Dan Blacker announced via Twitter Friday. "Sad to report we have to scratch Hit The Road from Breeders' Cup Mile as he has a fever," Blacker tweeted. "So disappointed for his great group of owners. Unbelievably bad timing and bad luck. We will get him healthy, regroup and point for the next race." Winner of the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile and GIII Thunder Road S. earlier...

by Dan Ross and Jessica Martini  The third time proved the charm for the Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings Sale, which produced the strongest results in its short three-year history with a session of lively bidding in Pomona Tuesday. "Today was the most encouraging day we have had in California in a sales environment in the last three years that we've been  involved here," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "There was a dramatic increase in the average and the median doubled from the sale last year and the RNA rate was...

The winner of four straight races and six of nine overall, including a first-ever Grade I triumph for his trainer last out, progressive Hit the Road (More Than Ready) will travel outside of California for the first time in his career to face eight rivals in a competitive renewal of the GI Maker's Mark Mile Friday at Keeneland. Capturing his first two turf tries, the latter coming in the Zuma Beach S., as a 2-year-old, the bay ran seventh before being disqualified to last in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile...