Horse Racing

The Jockey Club of America has released the list of mares in the 2026 Mare Incentive Program, which waives registration fees for certain 2027 foals of mares that meet the criteria, the organization said on Friday. The list of mares in the 2025 pilot program was searched more than 3,100 times and 228 mares were bred as part of the program. "We were pleased to see how many searches were performed and how many mares were brought back into production," said James L. Gagliano, president and COO, The Jockey Club....

WatchandWager.com has renewed agreements with Monarch Content Management Group and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) to accept wagers on their racetracks in 2026, according to a press release from the betting outfit on Thursday. The renewals with Monarch allow WatchandWager players to place bets at 19 racetracks, including Gulfstream and Santa Anita, while the NYRA deal gives those horseplayers access to 17 racetracks, which includes Saratoga. WatchandWager has obtained renewals of all of its state-by-state ADW licenses for 2026. Among those individual licenses are California, Colorado, Kentucky, New York...

The Keeneland Library once again has fielded an ambitious and educationally-minded schedule to start 2026 which includes tours, the Starting Gate Storytime program and its Library Lecture Series, the repository said in a press release on Thursday. The library continues to offer free year-round exhibit tours and a host of other programs geared towards all facets of the Thoroughbred industry's past and present. The popular lecture series includes authors who conducted research at the facility. Tickets are now available for these winter events: 21: Gary O'Dell, Reinventing the American Thoroughbred;...

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 and Hanshin and Nakayama Racecourses: Saturday, December 20, 2025 4th-NKY, ¥14,250,000 ($92k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m EXMOUTH (f, 2, Practical Joke--Lighthouse Bay, by Speightstown) looks to become the fifth winner from as many starters from her dam, winner of four...

Pyromancer (Jpn) (Pyro) extended his career record to three wins from as many starts with a narrow victory in Wednesday's $458,745 Listed Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse, earning 20 points on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby in the process. Content to stalk the early pace just outside of Idaten Shacho (Goldencents), the 13-10 second pick had favored and previously unbeaten Best Green (Jpn) (Smart Falcon {Jpn}) just off his flank and was outmoved by the 9-10 chalk nearing the straight. Boxing on gamely from between horses, Pyromancer...

7th-FG, $56K, OC50k/n2x, 3yo/up, 6f, 4:45 p.m. ET. In last year's Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds, BUILT (Hard Spun) went gate to wire and won by 6 3/4 lengths for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. After running through the rest of the Louisiana series, the colt bypassed the Derby and opted for the GII Pat Day Mile, finishing well-beaten. Now ready to return to the races in New Orleans he will have the services of Jareth Loveberry. Initially an $82,000 Keeneland September grad, Eclipse acquired Built for $260,000 at the 2024...

The 2025 Thoroughbred season at Woodbine concluded with a weather-shortened afternoon of racing Sunday, Dec. 14, with jockey Rafael Hernandez, trainer Mark Casse and owner Bruno Schickedanz finishing the meet as leading jockey, trainer and owner, respectively. A native of Puerto Rico, Hernandez rode 148 winners and was taking out the jockeys' premiership for the second time in his career, having topped the standings in 2020. He was also on top by purse earnings with US$6.4 million and was the leading rider of stakes winners (23), including 11 at the...

If you are looking to back a runner who can confidently operate under center, shoot the A-gap and get to the next level, streak like a gazelle along the sidelines and tip-toe ever so elegantly for the score, then look no further than Louisiana-bred Touchuponastar (Star Guitar), who took home his fourth Champions Day Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds on Saturday--the mark surpassed his stellar sire and moved him closer to $2-million in career earnings. The 6-year-old's ride for brothers Jake and Jeff Delhomme took them to new heights earlier...

The topic of the diminishing North American Thoroughbred foal crop (estimated 17,000 for 2026) came up several times during last week's Global Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program in Tucson. This is often referred to as our industry's "horse shortage" problem. I try to avoid that term in my reporting unless I am directly quoting someone who says it. Instead, the sport has long been dealing with an "owner shortage." Breeders stand ready and willing to start producing more racehorses if only more...

A powerful winner of his three most recent appearances against softer competition, Tomoya Ozasa's T O Elvis (Volatile) made the very most of his first crack at stakes level with a visually stunning, five-length victory in Sunday's G3 Capella Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse. Perhaps a half-step slowly to begin, the lanky dark bay took up an inside position behind midfield after departing gate four and traveled hard against the steel, with jockey Katsuma Sameshima doing his level best to harness the colt's energy. Held together for the run into the...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has canceled live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack on Sunday due to a winter storm impacting the New York City area, the track said in an early morning press release on Sunday. The message said that South Ozone Park remains under a winter weather advisory with forecasts calling for continued snow, low wind chill values and high winds. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcasting, and online wagering is available via NYRABets.com. Live racing will resume following the holiday break on Friday, Dec. 26...

By Alan Carasso & Adam Houghton Sunday's Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting at Sha Tin Racecourse attracted each of its four defending champions from 2024, and when the dust had settled on the event, three of those four--Romantic Warrior (Acclamation), Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress) and Voyage Bubble (Deep Field)--successfully repeated, each spectacularly in their own way. The fourth of them, Giavellotto (Mastercraftsman), was forced to settle for a gallant second to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe third Sosie (Sea The Stars). "To see a horse in Romantic Warrior...