Horse Racing

When it was announced by The Stronach Group (TSG) earlier this month that it had the blessing of the group representing horsemen in South Florida to push for the decoupling of the track's racing and casino licenses it looked like TSG had scored an important victory. To have the horsemen on its side would no doubt make it easier to convince legislators to make the necessary changes that would allow the track to focus its attentions on building a new, full-service casino on the track grounds and eventually shut down...

The first foal by the Grade I-placed 'TDN Rising Star' Loggins (Ghostzapper--Beyond Blame, by Blame), a colt, was born Jan. 23, 2025, at Endeavor Farm in Midway, Kentucky. The bay is the fourth produce from his dam, Coal Creek Farm's 12-year-old My Heart Goes On (Albertus Maximus), a two-time stakes winner of better than $132,000. Third dam One for You (Dayjur) produced a pair of black-type winners, including the filly Una Palabra to the cover of Ghostzapper's 'Rising Star' son McCraken, and was herself a half-sister to two full stakes...

Saffie Joseph, Jr. has had some big days since he came to the U.S. from his native Barbados in 2011, but perhaps none bigger than last Saturday at Gulfstream Park. He had three stakes wins, including a score with Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhahaarar ({GB}) in the GII Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes and a win with Mystic Lake (Mo Town) in the GII Inside Information Stakes. But the one that really mattered was the victory by White Abarrio (Race Day) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes....

Johannes Brahms (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), runner-up as the favourite in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes before filling the same spot in the G2 Gimcrack Stakes while under the care of Aidan O'Brien in 2023, is among a full field of 14 for the first leg of the 4-year-old Classic series in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Classic Mile. The HK$13-million event anchors Friday's Chinese New Year meeting at Sha Tin. Acquired privately after finishing third in the Weatherbys Scientific £300,000 2YO Stakes at Doncaster in September 2023, the Tattersalls October...

Tickets for Kentucky Derby Week and the entire 43-day Spring Meet, which spans nine weeks from Apr. 26-June 29 at Churchill Downs, go on sale Thursday at noon (all times Eastern), the track said in a release on Wednesday. Tickets for the 151st Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby May 2-3 are available by clicking here or by calling (502) 636-4447. Churchill Downs also provides a secure, official resale marketplace to purchase Derby and Oaks tickets via the Churchill Downs Ticketmaster Ticket Exchange, which can be found here. Derby Week general...

The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) and the Jockeys' Guild agreed to a new scale of mount fees for jockeys who ride at NYRA tracks which will take effect Feb. 1, according to a Wednesday release from the Guild. Under the new fee agreement, jockeys will receive a minimum of a $125 losing mount fee for races at all NYRA racetracks as well as a $500 minimum fee in races with purses of $1 million or more. This scale also includes a 4th place incentive. "We have come to...

3rd-Chukyo, ¥10,600,000 ($68,720), Maiden, 3yo, 1900m, 2:01.3, ft. RHINO (JPN) (c, 3, Into Mischief--Princess Noor {'TDN Rising Star', GISW, $363,500}, by Not This Time) was not disgraced when fourth in a pair of starts on the turf to begin his career, but was switching to the surface for which he was bred this time around and looked a different proposition altogether. Sent forward from gate one, Rhino was content to allow a rival to take up the running and sat a comfortable stalking trip from second down the backstretch. Awaiting...

Hallandale, FL--As recently as last June, C2 Racing Stable, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Antonio Pagnano's White Abarrio (Race Day) was running for the come-backing Rick Dutrow Jr. after departing the Saffie Joseph Jr. barn. For Joseph, it was a tough pill to swallow given the striking grey had won a pair of graded stakes for him, including the 2022 GI Florida Derby. Give a second chance last summer to train the Grade I winner, Joseph made the most of the golden opportunity, landing Gulfstream's marquee test...

A horse that frequently fires a big shot when fresh up, Spirit of St Louis (Medaglia d'Oro) was steered off heels and widest in upper stretch and powered home down the center of the course to take out Saturday's $1-million GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The New York-bred, off at odds touching 8-1, broke fairly and took up a spot in the third flight of horses, sat a centerfield trip as the rail-drawn GI Hollywood Derby hero Formidable Man (City of Light) cut out the...

Among several notable workers for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday morning at Santa Anita was Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), who this week was named the 2024 champion 2-year-old male. With rain expected later in the day and continuing through the weekend, it was a busy training session on both the main track and training track as 229 horses recorded timed workouts ahead of the weather. Citizen Bull worked in company with older horse Pilot Commander (Justify), who most recently was fourth in the GI Malibu Dec. 26....

Hallandale, FL-After rounding out the 2024 season with a pair of graded victories, Mike Ryan's 'TDN Rising Star' Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) picked up right where she had left off last season, winning Saturday's GII Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park. Given a 7-1 chance to record her third straight victory, and only the fourth of her career, the 5-year-old showed a good turn of foot in the early going of the 8 1/2-furlong test, keeping leader and stablemate In Our Time (Not...

WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s Rapture (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Positively Royal, by Bernardini) had to be used some early on to gain a forward position from an awkward draw, but settled nicely from there just off the speed and responded when asked to finish off his race to graduate by 6 3/4 lengths in his two-turn debut Saturday at Oaklawn Park to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors. A debut second as the favorite to subsequent strong-figure Tampa allowance winner Vassimo (Nyquist) on his one-mile unveiling at Gulfstream Park Dec. 14,...