Horse Racing
Shackleford (Forestry--Oatsee, by Unbridled), the 2011 GI Preakness S. winner, has been sold to continue his stud career in Korea, officials at Darby Dan Farm confirmed Thursday afternoon. Bred and raced by Mike Lauffer and Bill Cubbedge and trained by Dale Romans, the blaze-faced chestnut defied big odds to finish second in the GI Florida Derby and set the majority of the pace in the GI Kentucky Derby before settling for a close fourth-place effort. He defeated Derby winner Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) two weeks later and would go on...
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 coming Sunday and Monday running at Nakayama and Kyoto Racecourses: Sunday, January 12, 2020 1st-NKY, ¥9,680,000 ($88k), Maiden, 3yo, 1200m DETROIT TESORO (f, 3, Speightstown--Bella Traviata, by Indian Charlie) ran with credit to be third, each time at less than 4-1, in seven-furlong...
Taylor Made Farm will offer the largest consignment at next week's Keeneland January Sale and today, Mark Taylor is our Green Group Guest of the Week on the Writers Room horse racing podcast. The possible closing of Arlington Park, economic indicators for racing and Eclipse Award finalists are among the topics we discuss.
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 9th-FG, $40K, Msw, 4yo/up, a1mT, post time: 5:22 p.m. ET BOTSWANA TAPS (Distorted Humor), a $400K acquisition out of the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, gets his career underway in this two-turn test on the turf. The gray's now 23-year-old dam Unacloud (Unaccounted For) is the dam of nine winners from 12 to race, including GI Arkansas Derby hero and sire Overanalyze (Dixie Union) and GISW Meadow Breeze (Meadowlake)-the dam of GISP Royal Copy (Bodemeister). Botswana Taps is also kin to GI Florida Derby runner-up Majesto...
A newly developed virtual reality experience that allows users to experience horse racing through the eyes of a jockey or harness driver is available to attendees of the Pennsylvania Farm Show. The 360-degree virtual reality experience--using real video filmed during actual Thoroughbred and harness races in Pennsylvania--allows individuals wearing a virtual reality headset to look left, right, and behind them as they race against other horses toward the finish line. To complete the Thoroughbred racing experience, users can even experience the simulated virtual reality race while riding on an Equicizer,...
It's no secret that racing had a tough year in 2019. We asked a cross-section of participants what their number one goal is to make racing better in 2020. (Want to participate? Email suefinley@thetdn.com) H. ROBB LEVINSKY, FOUNDER & RACING MANAGER, KENWOOD RACING, LLC We are literally under siege from many directions, in large part due to our own collective inability to address the very real problems we face in terms of racetrack safety, medication issues, proper regulation, and mechanisms for the removal of the bad actors in the sport...
It's no secret that racing had a tough year in 2019. We asked a cross-section of participants what their number one goal is to make racing better in 2020. (Want to participate? Email suefinley@thetdn.com) PATRICK CUMMINGS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THOROUGHBRED IDEA FOUNDATION Despite the raft of negativity that has surrounded the sport in North America, racing on this continent suffers from a general malaise that can best be described as follows--we simply don't take our sport seriously enough. If we did, many of our smaller problems, head-scratching status-quo situations or even...
World of Trouble (Kantharos--Meets Expectations, by Valid Expectations), a Grade I winner on turf and dirt and who stands his first season at stud in 2020 at John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farm in Lexington, will shuttle to Cornerstone Stud in South Australia for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season. The deal, brokered by de Burgh Equine, will see World of Trouble command a fee of A$22,000 (including 10% GST). A first-out graduate by 14 lengths as a summer 2-year-old, World of Trouble set a Tampa track record in making the...
As the only member of the freshly minted 3-year-old crop--male or female--with three Grade I wins securely on her CV, Bast (Uncle Mo) is impossible to overlook in the GII Santa Ynez S., which is worth $200,000 and 10 points toward the GI Kentucky Oaks on the first Friday in May. A $500,000 purchase for Baoma Corp. at the FTSAUG sale, Bast was a close second in her sprinting debut at Del Mar Aug. 11, then blew the doors off the field to break her maiden in the Aug. 31...
The New York Racing Association's 2019 all-sources handle was $2,108,126,369. Also, for the first time in history, the Saratoga meet generated more than $700 million in all-sources handle at $705,343,949. Inclement weather forced the full cancellation of seven race days and partial cancellation of six cards during the year. As a result, there were 217 race days in 2019 at NYRA tracks with average daily handle of $9,714,868 compared to 2018 when 219 days of racing resulted in a daily average of $9,650,267. The 2019 season featured 2,000 races at...
The Breeders' Cup appointed John Keitt as Chief Operating Officer and Rogers Beasley as Chief Strategy Officer. "We are excited to welcome John and Rogers to the Breeders' Cup team," said Drew Fleming. "With decades of experience outside and inside the Thoroughbred industry, John and Rogers bring to our organization extensive knowledge and expertise as well as proven track records of success and innovation. We are confident that they will instantly become indispensable assets to our team as we continue to grow and evolve our long-standing sport." As Chief Operating...
The Fair Grounds stewards cancelled Friday's race card due to heavy rains and safety concerns at the NOLA track. Live racing will resume Saturday with a 10-race card that kicks off at 1:30 p.m. EST.