Horse Racing
We are all the products of our environment. Tim Thornton could see as much, when he saw a foal that had been delivered at sea trying to walk on dry land for the first time. "He was, like, six weeks old," he recalls. "It was so funny to see him get off that ship, rocking everywhere, giving it the sea legs." But then that's pretty well how Thornton himself might have felt, as one born and bred for horses, had he ever been torn away to work in some other...
Patricia's Hope LLC, Phillip Sagan and Madaket Stables' Two Phil's (Hard Spun--Mia Torri, by General Quarters), a two-time graded winner and runner-up in the GI Kentucky Derby, has been officially retired from racing after suffering an ankle injury during the June 24 GIII Ohio Derby. Daily Racing Form was first to confirm the news. Bred by Sagan from his dual-stakes winning mare Mia Torri, Two Phil's graduated at second asking at Colonial Downs last July before romping by nearly 10 lengths in the Shakopee Juvenile at Canterbury Sept. 17. A...
The stakes schedule for the Keeneland Fall Meeting was released Wednesday, featuring 22 events worth a record $9.05 million in prize money. The richest event is the $1-million GI Coolmore Turf Mile, while the purse for the GI Darley Alcibiades S. has been increased by $100,000 to $600,000. The Franklin S., raised to Grade II status for this running, will receive a $50,000 boost to $350,000. Of the 22 added-money events, 12 are slated for the turf and 10 on the dirt, with six programs offering multiple stakes. The Kentucky...
As we approach the beginning of the Thoroughbred yearling sales season, it is worth reflecting on the process used by buyers to select their racing and sales prospects. Part of the process includes veterinary scrutiny of the radiographs of yearling's' joints. Veterinarians review the radiographs, note any abnormal findings, and then are called upon to assign a level of risk for racing and / or resale that the findings may represent. Another layer of due diligence in recent years has been ultrasound examination of horses' limbs for soft tissue abnormalities,...
Dangerous air quality conditions caused by wildfires in Canada have forced the cancellation of the live racing programs at Hawthorne Race Course in suburban Chicago and at Horseshoe Indianapolis further to the south and east. "Based on the poor air quality in Indiana today's races have been canceled," a tweet from the track read. "This decision was made mutually with our horsemen based on the safety of the participants in our racing program coming first. A decision on bringing today's races back will be made shortly." Track announcer John Dooley...
The fan-voted G1 Takarazuka Kinen drew no fewer than eight Group 1 winners, but the spotlight was squarely on Silk Racing's world number one Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), who was making his first start since decimating a world-class field in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in late March. At the end of 2200 metres in front of a reported crowd of 45,000 at Hanshin Racecourse Sunday afternoon, the baldy faced 4-year-old did not disappoint, overcoming a wide trip that was very much by design before holding...
Fan favorite Rated R Superstar (Kodiak Kowboy), a 13-time winner of over $1.8 million in a career that spanned nine seasons at the racetrack, has been retired and will take up residence at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, according to a series of tweets from Allison Caldwell, the wife of trainer Danny Caldwell. Rated R Superstar began his career in the barn of Ken McPeek and was third to Brody's Cause (Giant's Causeway) in the 2015 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity before finishing unplaced behind Nyquist (Uncle Mo) in the...
The Belmont at the Big A Fall Meet will offer 40 added-money events worth nearly $8.8 million, officials from the New York Racing Association announced Saturday. Due to ongoing capital improvements at Belmont Park, the fall meeting will be staged for the second straight season at Aqueduct from Thursday, Sept. 14 through Sunday, Oct. 29, and will feature three Grade I events and a half-dozen 'Win and You're In' qualifiers in a variety of Breeders' Cup divisions. The GIII Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks over 11 furlongs on turf, the final...
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 weekend running at Hanshin and Tokyo Racecourses. The weekend's main event takes place Sunday at Hanshin, where the world's top-rated racehorse Equinox (Jpn) returns in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen: Saturday, June 24, 2023 4th-HSN, ¥10,480,000 ($73k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m TOMODACHI (c, 3, Mendelssohn--Grace...
The final Group 1 of the first half of the year in Japan is set for Hanshin Racecourse Sunday afternoon, where Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), the world's top-rated racehorse on the heels of an imperious front-running victory in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic back in March, squares off against seven fellow elite-level scorers in the Takarazuka Kinen, an event which earns the winner a spot in the field for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Nov. 4. The flashy 4-year-old is the 1.30 (3-10) mortal early doors, but the...
Tom Ludt joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the creation of the National Thoroughbred League and the organization's plans for the future.
Lion Heart (Tale of the Cat--Satin Sunrise, by Mr. Leader), a Grade I winner at two and three and runner-up to Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality) in the 2004 GI Kentucky Derby, has passed away in Turkey, where he stood stud since 2011. He was 22 years of age and died from a circulatory disorder caused by heart failure. A $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic yearling turned $1.4-million Fasig-Tipton Florida juvenile, the Sabine Stable-bred Lion Heart was trained for the Coolmore connections by Patrick Biancone and capped a perfect 2-year-old campaign with a...