Horse Racing
It was a performance worth waiting for. Rescheduled from the end of last Friday's rain-cancelled card, the GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. finally got its day on course as 'TDN Rising Star' Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) drove right on past his opposition to pick up his first graded-stakes win. Second by a head on debut Jan. 21 to another 'Rising Star' in GI Belmont Derby winner Far Bridge (English Channel), the Chad Brown trainee responded with 8 3/4-length rout over the Gulfstream green...
OGMA Investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH's GI Kentucky Derby hero Mage (Good Magic) turned in his penultimate breeze ahead of his anticipated appearance in the Aug. 26, GI Travers S., going six furlongs in 1:12.98 over the Saratoga main track Friday morning under exercise rider J. J. Delgado. According to Daily Racing Form, Mage galloped out seven furlongs in 1:26.31 and was up the mile in 1:40.66. It was a stiffer breeze than last week, when he covered five furlongs in 1:01.03 over a track with a high...
Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at both Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. To follow are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga, Ellis Park and Del Mar and including any already-raced...
5th-Saratoga, $88,000, (S), Msw, 8-10, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:11.93, ft, 3 lengths. MISS D'OR CHERIE (f, 2, Bolt d'Oro--Above Fashion {SW & GSP, $188,590}, by Paddy O'Prado) was drawn widest in a nine-strong field for Thursday's state-bred maiden at Saratoga and turned in a most professional debut effort to open her account at first asking. Outsprinted through the opening exchanges by Snarky (Redesdale), who won the break from the rail, the $300,000 OBS April acquisition showed ample early pace to sit right off the leader's flank from second. Inching closer...
In horse racing, the betting public counts on owners and trainers trying to win within safe and lawful parameters. A critical component associated with both is the private veterinary practitioners they employ to help prepare the horse for competition. To date there is no evidence that the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Act and the private corporation Authority (both known as HISA) that the legislation birthed has given any thought to the role of the private practitioner except to mandate onerous and dubious vaccinations, piling on bureaucratic duties and counterproductive medication...
Editor's Note: This week, we start a series in the TDN where we attempt to clarify a HISA regulation that has been the subject of confusion in the early days of the rollout. This week, we discuss the test barn, where we have received letters to the editor saying that sample collection personnel may not be practicing proper hygiene, nor wearing gloves. What do the rules say, and what should you do if you observe this? HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus answers us below. Sample collection procedure requirements in the test...
Six of North America's prominent Thoroughbred aftercare organizations will be featured on-site Sunday as part of Thoroughbred Aftercare Day at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming, the track said in a Thursday release. After post time at 11:45 a.m. (CDT), fans will be invited to learn more about Thoroughbred retirement at several booths set up on the concourse by Friends of Ferdinand, New Vocations, Second Stride, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Thoroughbred Charities of America and Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. The six participating Thoroughbred aftercare organizations will be featured in the Jeff Hall Winner's...
Growing up in Queens, Bobby Montano eventually became an actor and a dancer, a career he was happy to follow. But before that, his path took him in an entirely different direction. Montano, who was so small as a child that he was bullied, discovered horse racing and decided he wanted to be a jockey. On March 2, 1977, his dream came true as he rode in his first race at Aqueduct. He only rode in seven races and did not have a winner, but he left the sport with...
3rd-Saratoga, $88,000, (S), Msw, 8-9, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f (off turf), 1:06.12, ft, 4 3/4 lengths. TRICKY TEMPER (f, 2, Into Mischief--Winter Book {MSW, $148,299}, by Any Given Saturday) went off as the 6-5 favorite in this off-the-turf debut that saw half of the field scratch following heavy rains earlier in the week. The bay rated to the outside up the backstretch, three off the lead. Tricky Temper was still in chase mode around the far turn, but at the top of the lane, she flashed her speed down the...
The Secretariat Center will hold its annual fundraising event, "Bluegrass Brunch and Bubbles" at Godolphin's Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET, the organization said in a release Wednesday. Bidding on everything from vacation packages and experience tickets to artwork, halters, saddles, sports memorabilia and more, will go live Oct. 1 and will close at Noon on the day of the event. All proceeds go toward supporting the Secretariat Center's mission of preparing off-track Thoroughbreds for post-track careers through rehabilitation and retraining. "Support...
Per agent Ron Anderson, Joel Rosario is off his mounts Wednesday at Saratoga as he still has soreness in his mouth after requiring stitches Saturday when Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) tragically broke down in the GI Test S., NYRA's Keith McCalmont said in a tweet Wednesday. Rosario will aim for a return to riding on Thursday, Anderson added. Per agent Ron Anderson, Joel Rosario is off his mounts Wednesday at Saratoga as he still has soreness in his mouth after requiring stitches Saturday. Joel will aim for a Thursday...
Trading in horsepower is second nature to Nathan McCauley. For many years his father Ron owned a big Toyota franchise in Lexington, and McCauley showed a precocious flair for the same game when opening his own dealerships in Tennessee. And since quitting automobiles for Thoroughbreds, McCauley has discovered a couple of niches largely unexplored by those horsemen whose own transitions, from one generation to the next, tend merely to consolidate familiar commercial conventions. In fact, since opening River Oak Farm for business in 2019, he reckons to have bought and...