In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...
The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...
Our existing industry "members," for lack of a better encompassing term, need to come together and agree on a unifying mission statement. This could happen around The Jockey Club Chairman Everett Dobson's "big table". Why not a mission statement similar to the Breeders' Cup for our industry, like this: "To provide safe, healthy, fair, and high-integrity environments for our horses and fans, and owners and bettors to compete in, at all levels, of our sports entertainment industry." Why be similar to the Breeders' Cup? The Breeders' Cup is not only...
A floor amendment has been added to HB 904--a sweeping piece of legislation seeking to legalize fixed-odds wagering in Kentucky--that is designed to essentially ensure no limit can be imposed on the number of mares bred to a stallion in the state. It requires that the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation select and use an entity to act as "a registrar of Thoroughbreds" in the state, meaning it could choose an organization other than The Jockey Club, which is the current breed registry for the U.S., Canada and Puerto...
Everett Dobson, chairman of The Jockey Club, pledged to collaborate with horsemen to find solutions to racing's many challenges and ways to grow the sport while delivering the keynote address at the National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association Conference at Oaklawn Park Wednesday. Dobson acknowledged some of the divisions between The Jockey Club and the National HBPA, including The Jockey Club's support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the constitutionality of which the National HBPA is challenging in court. But Dobson stressed the common goals shared by the two...
In the age of social media, I realize that I'm writing this at my own peril. And I'm probably once again spitting in the wind. However, I feel like someone needs to speak up on a few things concerning our latest self-inflicted crisis regarding our lack of unity and dysfunction as an industry. To say that as an industry we continue to be "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" is an understatement. We have been that way for the 40-plus years I've been involved in horse racing. Hence, the reason...