Horse Racing
GSW Magic on Tap (Tapit) is celebrating his first foal--a filly out Sea Gazer (Tiznow)--who arrived just after midnight Jan. 17 for breeder Scott Miller, Pleasant Acres Stallions said in a Thursday release. Sea Gazer's dam Seafree (Chief Seattle) collected four wins including the GII La Canada S. and was third in the GI Santa Margarita Invitational H. She produced MSW Interest Free (Exchange Rate) who is responsible for SW Market Analysis (Honor Code). Seafree is a half-sister to GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. runner-up Fly Down (Mineshaft)....
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will host the second annual "Countdown to the Triple Crown" fundraising event on Saturday, Feb. 3, the repository said in a release Thursday. Scheduled exactly three months prior to the 150th GI Kentucky Derby, the museum benefit will feature dozens of silent auction items. An online auction full of unique pieces and experience packages will also be offered. Guests can attend the event in person at the museum from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET. or bid on special packages online....
GSW Il Miracolo (Gun Runner) led the 2023 list of Florida-based champions, as he was named the top 3-year-old colt by the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (FTHA), according to a press release from 1/ST Racing on Thursday. The FTHA annually recognizes horses who compete year-round in South Florida. All winners raced and won during the non-championship meets from April to November. Based at Gulfstream with trainer Antonio Sano, Il Miracolo amassed $465,025 in winnings last year. He is joined by Time Passage (Tunwoo), who was named Florida's champion 3-year-old filly...
Led by the July 20 running of the $1 million GI Haskell S., Monmouth Park is set to offer $8.05 million in stakes races when the track kicks off its 79th season on Saturday, May 11, the venue said in a release Thursday afternoon. This year's race meet, which runs through Sept. 15, will feature 48 total stakes, including 10 graded events, and 11 stakes restricted to New Jersey-bred horses. Along with the featured race, the Haskell Day program will once again sport an undercard with four graded stakes races,...
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a job fair on Wednesday, Feb. 21 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, the first in a series of events to support the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course, the association said in a release Thursday. The job fair will be held on the first floor of the 1863 Club at Saratoga Race Course. Interested applicants should enter through the Wright Street entrance (Gate 8) with parking available in the 1863 Club lot. "The 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing...
A bill that would have extended annual purse subsidy payments made to New Jersey's Thoroughbred and Standardbred tracks was vetoed Wednesday by Gov. Phil Murphy. The bill called for the $20 million subsidy, which is split between the two breeds, to continue through 2029. The money has already been approved for 2024. The extension was to run from 2025 through 2029. Murphy vetoed 12 bills in all, using what is called a pocket veto. That type of veto applies only to bills sent to the governor's desk in the final...
GISW Olympiad (Speightstown) has his first foal--a filly--who arrived Jan. 18, Gainesway Farm said in a Thursday release. Out of the mare, Sophie Sophie (Unbridled's Song), a half-sister to GISW and millionaire Seattle Smooth (Quiet American), the filly was bred by Dr. Oscar Benavides and born at his Montesacro Farm. "I am very happy with my filly," said Dr. Benavides. "She looks racy and has great conformation as we expected being by Olympiad." Olympiad, a five-time graded stakes winner, posted eight wins in 13 career starts for earnings of $3,027,560...
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) have named dynamic broadcaster Tom Hammond as the recipient of this year's Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence, the NTRA said in a press release Thursday. Hammond will receive the honor at the 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards Dinner and Ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 25. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Hammond has enjoyed a much honored and remarkable career as one of the nation's top broadcasters, most...
1/ST, owned by the Stronach Group, will partner with Equine MediRecord (EMR) to digitize equine welfare protocols for this year's running of the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park Jan. 27, the Irish technology company said in a release Thursday morning. The added measure will enhance the stringent equine health and safety protocols, and make the process even easier as EMR representatives will be onsite to help log each horse's information into their system. The platform allows for the full veterinary history of the horse to be collected digitally and...
As we approach the opening of the 2024 breeding season, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why. Today we caught up with Williams S. Sparks of Monroe, Louisiana. Originally from Arkansas where he grew up attending Oaklawn races with his grandfather, Sparks has assembled a band which reflects his philosophy of breeding to race. "I'm really deeply committed to breeding a sound racehorse who is going to do what they do best--run," said...
I retired in 2019 as the most prolific bugler in horse racing history with over 60,000 performances of "First Call" at a record-setting 51 racetracks in 23 states and Canada. My herald trumpet, which I used at NYRA for most of my time there, has been on display at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame for the past three years. Of this, I am very proud. But this is not the subject of my email. The subject is betting on horses, and I had some success in...
6th-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 1-14, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:11.68, ft, 1/2 length. MYSTIFYING (f, 3, Curlin--Puzzling {SP, $127,312}, by Ghostzapper) debuted with Lasix and as a 7-1 shot here. The homebred hustled for the lead to the inside of a pair of competitors up the backstretch. Poking her head in front around the far turn, the filly continued to pour on the speed at the top of the lane and she gamely held off the favorite Bedazzle 'Em (American Pharoah) to graduate by half a length. "Jose [Ortiz] worked her out...