Horse Racing

For half a century, Arthur Boyd Hancock III has called Stone Farm home. It is a tract of land where, as the nursery's website succinctly states, the team is 'trying to raise you a good horse.' To say they've achieved that goal over the years would be an understatement of monumental proportions. The list of animals that have grown up on that stretch of Bourbon County Bluegrass include stakes winners too numerous to mention; horses from A to Y, including Classic-winning and Classic-placed runners like Gato del Sol, Risen Star,...

She knew her horse didn't have a chance in the 1970 Kentucky Derby and so did everyone else, but, still, Diane Crump couldn't avoid the spotlight as the race approached. At least she was used to it. Fifteen months earlier, Crump became the first female to ride in a pari-mutuel race. Now, she was set to make history again, as the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby. "That whole week, the whole atmosphere, it was just amazing," said Crump. "If this is the sport you love, nothing beats...

A house divided against itself cannot stand. We have all sensed that, surely, in this time of more or less ungrudging solidarity with the wider world. For the rest of our lives, however, we'd be very grateful if the first Saturday in May can mean exactly what it has reliably meant before today. In recent weeks, we've all been buying into the idea of sacrifice for the greater good. In the process, we've been reminded how precious are those routines and rituals, such as Derby day, we previously took for...

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 Tokyo and Kyoto Racecourses. Group 1 action continues in the G1 Tenno Sho-the spring version over two miles-on Sunday, but two of American Pharoah's Japanese winners and a third from the family of another also see action: Saturday, May 2,...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association compiled a summary of benefits available to owners under the latest federal COVID-19 legislation. Benefits available to horse owners includes: Tax Benefits: Owners may be entitled to some new tax benefits that allow them to file amended returns for prior years and get cash in the form of tax refunds. Net operating losses can now be carried back for up to five years. This applies to C corporations and individuals who generate net business losses. The IRS is currently accepting faxed refund requests in order...

The pickings are reasonably slim during this period of virus-restricted racing, but horses carrying the silks of Aron Wellman's Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners have prospered in recent weeks at Oaklawn Park, with placings in some of the tracks major stakes events. The suddenly fragmented Racing Festival of the South kicked off Apr. 18 with the running of the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H., won for the third time by Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), and the GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 18. Eclipse's Point of Honor (Curlin), wide-trip winner of the GII Black-Eyed...

The 2020 renewal of FWD Champions Day was conducted on a misty and overcast Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, atmospheric conditions befitting the current state of racing in Hong Kong. A recent spike in coronavirus cases has led to a re-tightening of social distancing requirements, meaning just a smattering of connections at the track on a day that typically draws upwards of 50,000 racegoers and meaning that foreign horses--in particular, those based in Japan--were unable to contest a meeting at which they have tasted considerable...

It takes a lot of prospecting, a lot of false leads, a lot of patient drilling. When you do strike oil, however, the fulfilment of a single moment will suddenly indemnify all the barren endeavour in between. And that's equally true whether you are a geologist, trying to read the complexion of the land above mineral deposits; or a horseman, trying to find that latent seam of class beneath the surface hints of pedigree and conformation. Al Stall, Jr., having filled both roles in his time, recognizes the analogy. "Oh,...

FWD Champions Day at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse is annually a miniature version of December's Longines Hong Kong International Races, with three Group 1 races offering prize money of HK$63 million (£6.6 million/US$8.1 million) and only a top-level race over 2400 metres missing from the mix. At least some of the buzz about this year's event has been dashed owing to the coronavirus pandemic, which has rendered Champions Day a wholly domestic raceday, but the beat goes on, with the vast majority of the jurisdiction's top gallopers set to...

During the Great Depression, horse racing developed into one of America's favorite pastimes as it became a welcome distraction from the hardships and fears of the economic climate gripping the country. Horses like Seabiscuit, Equipoise and War Admiral rose to prominence as they captured the imagination of a nation seeking a break from the challenges and uncertainties of everyday life. Unfortunately, starting in the 1960's, racing began its slow trajectory towards becoming a niche sport. Unlike the NFL, NBA, NCAA or even PGA, it did little to integrate the advances...

6th-Gulfstream, $40,640, (S), Alw (NW1X), Opt. Clm ($16,000), 4-23, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:35.23, ft. UNTITLED (c, 3, Khozan--Cindy Says, by Elusive Quality) dismantled a field of state-bred juveniles by 11 lengths on debut Dec. 14 (98 Beyer) for Brent Fernung and Mike Sebastian after which Gary Barber purchased a majority interest, with Sebastian retaining a small piece. Fourth as the 7-5 favorite behind Mischievious Alex (Into Mischief) in the GIII Swale S. Feb. 1, the bay was a sound second to 'TDN Rising Star' Gouverneur Morris (Constitution) in a two-turn Tampa...

In his final year of training in Hong Kong, the legendary John Moore will saddle two of the three favourites on Sunday's FWD Champions Day program at Sha Tin. Thursday's barrier draw only enhanced the chances of the stable's two-time Horse of the Year Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock {Aus}) and rising star Aethero (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}), who each drew gate five for the G1 FWD Champions Mile and G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize, respectively. Beauty Generation became the first horse in Hong Kong racing history to crack the HK$100...