Horse Racing

Strong gains in attendance and handle have bolstered Santa Anita Park's figures as the 90-year-old oval heads into the final six weeks of its Classic Meet, the track said in a release on Wednesday. On-track attendance is up over 9% from last season, hosting more than 203,000 visitors through last weekend. The handle bet on-track is up 4% from last year. Overall, the total all-sources handle to date is over $268-million, which is an increase from last year. The addition of horses from Northern California horses has been impactful, with...

The most recent shifts in Northern California horse racing have prompted The Big Fresno Fair Board of Directors and Fair Management to make the decision to postpone horse racing in 2025, according to a press release from the operator on Wednesday. Factors cited by the fair include, the uncertainty regarding the availability of horses, increased financial risk and the lack of a racing management collective for Northern California fairs. The decision allows for continued in-depth industry analysis to assess the viability of horse racing at the site before making any...

Bidding is now open on the Fasig-Tipton Digital platform for the "Soul of an Angel Flash Sale," a one-horse online auction of Eclipse Champion Female Sprinter Soul of an Angel (Atreides--Factor One, by The Factor), which will close Tuesday, Mar. 4, at 6 p.m. ET, the auction company said via a press release on Wednesday. Soul of an Angel clinched Eclipse Champion Female Sprinter honors after she won the GI PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar last fall. With a strong turn of foot, she...

Thoroughbred racing at Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Oklahoma is set to open for its spring season after a tornado hit the track after last year's meet concluded, according to a press release from the organization on Wednesday. Will Rogers's barns were heavily damaged during the storm. New structures were completed back in January and the track reports that they are already at capacity for the season. "It's incredible to see the resiliency of this property and the hard work put in by the staff to build it...

A Florida-based veterinarian has found herself in the crosshairs of a state law barring her from obtaining a license issued by the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) having already been employed by the agency within the prior two-year period--a rule that has some industry stakeholders scratching their heads at a time when many jurisdictions are already struggling to find enough regulatory and practicing veterinarians, including in Florida. "I have no job right now because I came down here to take that job and moved over to Tampa," said veterinarian Christine...

Still dealing with the effects of the winter weather which caused the cancellation of four racing days last week, Mahoning Valley has shifted its racing schedule for the coming week. The card drawn for Monday will instead be run next Saturday, while Tuesday's card will be run Sunday. First post for both cards will be 12:15 p.m.

Luxor Cafe (American Pharoah) held off a late surge from the slow-starting and previously unbeaten Promised Gene (Jpn) (Nadal) to take out Sunday's $244,745 Listed Hyacinth Stakes over the one-turn mile at Tokyo Racecourse. The victory was good for 30 points on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby in a race that was won by the colt's champion full-brother Cafe Pharoah some five years ago. The $1.80 (4-5) favorite had the services of Rachel King, runner-up in Friday's International Jockeys' Challenge in Saudi Arabia, and was away fairly before...

RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA -- For the second time in the last three runnings, America's reigning champion sprinter dominated in the desert, as MyRacehorse's Straight No Chaser (Speightster) asserted in the final furlong to prove a much-the-best winner of the Riyadh Dirt Sprint. The 1200-meter dash was upgraded to Group 2 status for the first time, had its purse hiked to $2 million and just this past Friday was named a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. Champion Elite Power (Curlin) won the 2023...

Japanese-based horses had taken three of the first five renewals of the G3 Saudi Derby and went within a half-length of a fourth, and for the majority of Saturday's 1600-meter contest, it appeared they might add to that record. But although he required most of the long straight at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, Dubai raider Golden Vekoma (Vekoma) called on his class to grab Japan's dirt debutant Shin Forever (Complexity) with just under 100 meters to race and inched away to add to his prior success in the G3 UAE 2000...

When Iowa-bred Cyclone State (McKinzie) breaks out of the starting gate for Saturday's $1.5-million G3 Saudi Derby, part of the Saudi Cup undercard at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, odds are that the loudest cheers will be emanating from halfway across the world at the Iowa State University (ISU) Equine Farm. That is where the colt, bred by Allen Poindexter, was born on April 29, 2022. It's an evening foaling that Nikki Ferwerda, a faculty member of the ISU Animal Science department and manager of the university's equine facilities, still...

The new Maryland Jockey Club (TMJC) has hired veteran John Banno as Director of Racing Surfaces, the organization said in a press release on Friday morning. Previously the superintendent at Thistledown, Banno brings over 30 years of industry experience to the role. He will oversee the TMJC track team as they maintain the dirt surfaces at Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, and the brand-new training center at Shamrock Farm. "John is the perfect fit for the Maryland Jockey Club," said President and General Manager Bill Knauf. "He has a proven...

RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA -- Fourteen horses with Grade I or Group 1 form from America, Argentina, Dubai, Hong Kong, Japan and even Uruguay will take their chance at the winner's share of the $20-million gross purse for the world's richest horse race, Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. And few of them are without some sort of chance. Susumu Fujita's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) returns to the Saudi capital 12 months on from a last-lunge success in the G3 Saudi Derby and looks to...