Today's Edition:  Record-Setting $1.4M Justify Filly Leads The Way at OBS · Baeza Set for Summer Showdown · Royal Ascot Coverage 2

Horse Racing

PET Scan Installed at Rood & Riddle

Edited Press Release Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is pleased to announce the installation of an equine positron emission tomography (PET) scanner at the Lexington, Kentucky, hospital. This modality is used for diagnostic imaging in select lameness cases and can be used in standing, sedated horses. It does not require general anesthesia. The scans result in quantitative, three-dimensional, cross-sectional images that can help accurately pinpoint the location and severity of a problem. Any area on the limb from the foot to the carpus (knee) and tarsus (hock) can be imaged....

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Rotknee A New Stakes Winner for Runhappy in Damon Runyon

The progressive Rotknee (Runhappy) took his current winning streak to three, running out an easy winner of Sunday's Damon Runyon S. at the Big A. Drawn widest in a field of five, the homebred showed the best early speed and angled over to the fence in the opening furlong, forcing odds-on Best Idea (Honor Code) to be checked for half a stride. Going strongly on the engine beneath Manny Franco, Rotknee turned them in a couple of lengths to the good and kept on gamely to become the seventh stakes...

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Upstart Filly Runs To The Money, 'Rising Star' Honors

Sent off a mortal lock at odds of 2-5, Team Valor International's Green Up (Upstart) improved off a big-figure debut second for previous connections and galloped her six overmatched rivals into the ground, earning 'TDN Rising Star' honors for a 6 3/4-length tour-de-force. Having dramatically outrun odds of 25-1 to be runner-up at Churchill Downs last May behind the subsequently stakes-placed Ontheonesandtwos (Jimmy Creed) for owner Leonard Mattingly and trainer Chris Melton, the $10,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling graduate was acquired by these high-profile connections a short time thereafter, according...

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How 'Sweet' It Is For Dolce Zel in Florida Oaks

Making her U.S. debut as the 3-1 second-elect, Dolce Zel (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) fell into a golden trip from a perfect draw and pounced late to narrowly defeat stablemate Spicer (Quality Road) in Saturday's GIII Florida Oaks. It was a second straight Florida Oaks winner saddled by trainer Chad Brown and keyed a one-two finish for the second time in the day's graded events. Away without incident from the three hole, the bay filly--adding Lasix for her first stateside appearance--secured a cozy spot at the fence as Spicer prompted soft...

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Fonner Barn Quarantined Following EHV-1 Positives

Barn R on the backstretch at Nebraska's Fonner Park has been placed under a 21-day quarantine after a pair of horses tested postive for equine herpes virus (EHV-1). Both horses were subsequently euthanized. On Wednesday, Mar. 9, a horse residing in Barn R had a high temperature and was displaying mobility issues. A first round of testing at NVLS in Ames, Iowa, returned results that were inconclusive, requiring an additional sample to be drawn. A second horse began displaying similar symptoms the same day. On the evening of Mar. 11,...

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Former Ballydoyle Charge Set For Hong Kong Debut

Call Me Teddy (Uncle Mo), who won the Listed Doncaster S. when trained by Aidan O'Brien as Lipizzaner, is set to make his Hong Kong debut in Saturday's Class 3 Tai Mei Tuk H. over the straight 1000-metres at Sha Tin Racecourse. Bred in Kentucky by the Irish Lights Syndicate, the bay gelding was runner up in a paid of Naas maidens in the spring of 2020 before a low-odds fourth behind The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) and Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) in the G2 Norfolk S....

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Greatest Honour Returns in Challenger

After finishing behind the likes of future graded winners Olympiad (Speightstown), Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) and Known Agenda (Curlin) in his first three starts, the homebred followed up on a Gulfstream maiden win in late 2020 to take the GIII Holy Bull S. and GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. in his next three appearances. He makes his first start since finishing a well-beaten third behind Known Agenda in the GI Curlin Florida Derby last March. (Click for more from trainer Shug McGaughey in Steve Sherack's APB series) Also on...

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Alittleloveandluck a Dual-Surface Threat in Florida Oaks

With a near 100% chance of precipitation in greater Tampa, Saturday's GIII Florida Oaks is at the mercy of Mother Nature, but whether the race remains on the grass or is transferred to the main track, the Mike Dini-owned and -trained Alittleloveandluck (Arrogate) stands an excellent shot of getting her picture taken post-race. The gray tried open company in her first three appearances, rounding out the triple in a one-mile Parx maiden in October before besting her fellow Florida-breds by a nose in a sythetic-track test at Gulfstream Nov. 12....

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Classic Causeway Looks To Hold Serve in Tampa Bay Derby

Currently ranked number one on the TDN Triple Crown Top 12, Kentucky West Racing LLC & the Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust's Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) will attempt to further cement his position as a chief protagonist of the 2022 sophomore crop when he jumps a warm favorite in Saturday's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on what projects a pretty wet afternoon on Florida's Suncoast. One of three from the final crop of the 'Iron Horse' and one of two in the race, the blaze-faced chestnut made the...

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Notable US-Breds in Japan: Mar. 12-13, 2022

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 Chukyo Racecourse. Sunday's G2 Kinko Sho at Chukyo pits the Group 1-winning 5-year-old mares Lei Papale (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Akai Ito (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) against the likes of Potager (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn} x Ginger Punch) and the...

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U.S. Wagering, Purses Climb in February

Total wagering on U.S. races topped $911 million and purse money exceeded $75 million in the month of February, according to statistics released Friday by Equibase. Compared to the $840.5 million wagered on U.S. races in 2021, the current figure represented a healthy gain of 8.39% while purse money rose by a whopping 22.09%. The number of U.S. race days and number of races run each increased by double digits, though average field size and the average wagering per race day declined modestly. Average purses per race day were $295,009,...

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FTC Approves HISA Safety Program Rules, Accreditation Standards

Edited Press Release The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today approved the rules and accreditation standards that comprise the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Racetrack Safety Program, a major milestone in HISA's mission to protect the wellbeing of equine and human athletes along with the integrity of the sport. With FTC approval, HISA will now move forward with robust industry education efforts ahead of the program's July 1, 2022 implementation date. "The Racetrack Safety Program's multi-faceted approach will enable veterinarians, horsemen and all racing participants to optimize the safety of...

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