Gary Hartunian

Turf Paradise had to cram them in on the day of the GI Kentucky Derby Day. Every seat in the track was sold out and, including those who bought general admission tickets, the estimated crowd was 7,500. While most tracks draw big crowds for the Derby simulcast and live racing, this was something new for Turf Paradise. The facility had grown into such disrepair that no one had wanted to come. Things were so bad that, according to new GM Tom Ludt, most people living in the Phoenix area did...

With Turf Paradise in the process of a racing permit transfer to a new leaseholder that puts the 69-year-old track on the cusp of a possible regime change, stakeholders who spoke about the longer-term future of racing in greater Phoenix were cautiously optimistic during Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting. But representatives of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) did articulate short-term concerns that at times vacillated between glass-half-full and glass-half-empty, echoing a nagging tone of uncertainty familiar to anyone who has followed the ups and downs of...

Following a tweet from Rockingham Ranch owner Gary Hartunian that he was sending the horses he had with Jorge Navarro to trainer Brad Cox, Cox told the TDN that he would not be accepting the horses. "It's not true," Cox said of Hartunians's tweet. "After everything that has been going on the last day and a half, I don't feel comfortable accepting any of the horses that are involved in this situation." Cox's statement came after Hartunian tweeted the following Tuesday morning: "All of my horses with Jorge are being...