Today's Edition:  Record-Setting $1.4M Justify Filly Leads The Way at OBS  ·  Baeza Set for Summer Showdown  ·  Royal Ascot Coverage

Horse Racing

Friday Insights: Keeneland Gets Rolling With Two-Turn Turf Maiden

2nd-KEE, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, post time: 1:32 p.m. ET One need look no further than the rail for the fanciest pedigree in this field of 12, as SCORPIUS (Into Mischief) is the full-brother to Mandaloun, who overcame an eventful trip on his six-furlong debut at this track to become a 'TDN Rising Star' during the fall meeting in 2020 and went on to win the GII Risen Star Stakes before going on to be promoted to the victory in both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Haskell Stakes in...

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Keeneland Fall Opens With Alcibiades On Massive Graded Stakes Weekend

Tickets, please! Keeneland's fall meet has the turnstiles primed Friday and that means the featured GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes will fill the apron on what promises to be massive weekend with some 30 graded races across North America--half of which have Breeders' Cup implications. The signature top-level race at the site of the Old Keene Farm was named for a foundational mare who was bred at Hal Price Headley's Beaumont--where modern-day Mill Ridge resides. Alcibiades won the 1930 Kentucky Oaks for Headley, who was one the Keeneland Association's founders and...

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Pricey Connect Filly Candy Quest Professional On Big A Bow

8th-Belmont The Big A, $90,000, Msw, 10-3, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:09.68, fm, 2 lengths. CANDY QUEST (f, 2, Connect--Candy Crush, by Candy Ride {Arg}), a $225,000 Keeneland September yearling who was the priciest of her sire's 31 yearlings reported as sold in 2023 (43 ring), set her sights on heavily favored Tam I Am (Authentic) entering the final eighth of a mile and kicked past with relative ease to graduate in very professional fashion at first asking Thursday afternoon. Live on the board at 9-2 from a 5-1 morning line,...

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'Rising Star' Donegal Momentum All The Way in Gio Ponti

Donegal Racing's Donegal Momentum (Uncle Mo), who was named a 'TDN Rising Star' for a towering debut victory sprinting over a muddy local main track May 16, remained perfect in two tries since switching to turf routes and earned his first black-type success in Thursday's $135,000 Gio Ponti Stakes at Aqueduct. Sent off at odds of 22-5 to build on a stalk-and-pounce allowance victory at Saratoga Aug. 24, the $375,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was given a positive ride away from the gates by Kendrick Carmouche and he looked to...

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Racetrack Chaplaincy To Host Breeders' Cup Night Of Faith

The Racetrack Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) invites everyone to an evening of "Faith, Hope and Love" at the Breeders' Cup World Championships on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the non-profit said via a release on Thursday. Held in the Palio Room at Del Mar, the evening will include a meal, music, the premiere of this year's White Horse Award video, and a celebrity panel with Hall of Fame jockeys Mike Smith and Ramon Dominguez, plus racing executive Janet VanBebber and California-based rider Kyle Frey will speak. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and...

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Well-Related Quality Road Filly Debuts at Tokyo

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Saturday running at Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses. Sunday's runners will appear in Saturday's TDN Saturday, October 5, 2024 4th-KYO, ¥13,720,000 ($93k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400m DRAGON WELDS (c, 2, Frosted--Little Dipper, by Eskendereya) fetched $72,000 as a Keeneland September yearling last fall and was...

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Canada's Alberta Yearling Sale Saw Increase In Gross

The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Alberta Division) held a yearling sale at Westerner Park in Red Deer on Friday, Sept. 20, and gross sales were up by 15%, the division said in a release on Thursday. With 79 head catalogued, this year saw an increase in gross sales, with $700,000 spent on 56 yearlings--a 15% rise from the $607,800 spent on 43 yearlings in 2023. While the average price per yearling slightly decreased to $12,482 from $14,135 last year, the median held steady at $9,850. The upper end of the...

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Equibase Adds Enhanced Option To Premium Past Performances

Equibase has enhanced its premium past performance product to include conditional formatting, the online source for horse racing data said in a release on Thursday. In addition to traditional past performances, the new version includes key points such as the highest speed figure in the race, the highest win percentage in the race for the trainer and jockey, and the highest lifetime earnings. "Traditional past performances can be overwhelming, especially for new handicappers," said Chris Dawahare, vice president of data operations and digital services for Equibase. "The new enhanced option...

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Gaming Shows Benefit Of A Positive View

Some people only look for difficulties. Others seek solutions. Between those categories, it's not hard to place Joe Pickerrell and his wife Courtney. Having attended a couple of family weddings in South Africa, and been blown away by the venue each time, they struggled to find anywhere remotely comparable when planning their own nuptials back in Florida. Well, they thought, that was not just frustrating. Might it also be a business opportunity? So they found this amazing 1850 barn in Canada, dismantled it, and had it shipped and reassembled, beam...

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Breeders' Cup Classic Scheduled Mid-Card As Post Times and Wagering Menu Released

Breeders' Cup Limited has rolled out its broadcast coverage schedule, post times, and wagering menu for the Championships, which will take place on Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California, and the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic has been moved to the middle of the Saturday card, the organization said in a release on Thursday. Shown live domestically across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV, the event will featuring 14 Grade I races and more than $34 million in purses and awards. New this year,...

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Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Calendar Contest Winners Named

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance hosted its fourth annual calendar contest and a dozen winning photos of Thoroughbreds were selected to be featured in the 2025 edition, sponsored by the Churchill Downs Foundation, the non-profit said in a release on Thursday. All the photos feature a registered Thoroughbred that is either in residence at or was rehomed by a TAA-accredited organization. The grand prize winner was Isabella Norrid. Her shot entitled, "A Gentle Touch," captures a young boy with autism interacting with a Thoroughbred. Click here to see a complete list...

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Season-Long Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge On TwinSpires Returns

The official betting tournament of the 'Run for the Roses'--the Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge (KDBC)--is returning to TwinSpires.com with a guaranteed prize pool of $250,000, Churchill Downs said in a presser on Thursday. The first official KDBC Qualifier Tournament will take place on Sunday, Oct. 27 featuring the opening day card of the fall meet at Churchill Downs and a series of feeder tournaments will begin on Saturday, Oct. 12. Leading up to the Kentucky Derby Day program, the schedule will include 24 KDBC qualifier events, with each qualifier supported...

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