Horse Racing

Saratoga Notebook Presented By NYRA: Whitney The Race Repole Really Wants To Win

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--The cell phone rang, and, on the other end, Mike Repole was rolling. "I've won the Alabama twice, I've won the Jim Dandy three times ... I have to pinch myself," Repole, his rat-a-tat-tat all-Queens accent working in overdrive, said from his summer home in New England. "I've won the Coaching Club (American Oaks) twice. I've won the Hopeful ... to win the Travers once in your life is one in a million. I've won it twice, so it's one in a billion!" And a pause. In the...

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Blue Hen Puca To Be Offered At Fasig-Tipton's 'Night Of The Stars'

Puca (Big Brown), the dam of the classic winning full-brothers Mage (Good Magic) and Dornoch, will be offered at Fasig-Tipton's 'Night of the Stars' Nov. 3, John Stewart told Ron Flatter on his podcast on Horse Racing Nation on Friday. Stewart, the owner of Resolute Racing, told Flatter that Puca had not gotten into foal this year. "She's 13 [and] she's empty. The broodmare of the year, we're taking her to the Night of the Stars, and we'll see what happens." Stewart said on the podcast that he expected a...

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Clay Named As Thoroughbred Club Of America's 2025 Honor Guest

Robert N. Clay has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America (TCA) as the 2025 Honor Guest, the organization said via a Friday press release. A former president of the TCA, Clay will be feted at the 94th Testimonial Dinner, which will be held at Keeneland on Saturday, Nov. 15. Current TCA President W. Chapman Hopkins said, "Mr. Clay's impact on the Thoroughbred industry has spanned decades. From managing influential stallions, to owning and breeding multiple graded stakes winners and most recently leading Grandview...

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Owner Mike Pegram Named 2025 Winner Of Pincay Award

Mike Pegram, a horse owner and racing executive on the national scene for more than three decades, has been named the 21st recipient of the Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award, according to a press release from Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on Friday morning. Pegram will be honored at the track on Sunday, Aug. 10, which is the same afternoon as the 57th running of the GIII Sorrento Stakes. The race launched the Hall of Fame career of Pegram's filly Silverbulletday (Silver Deputy). A Kentucky native who first got into horses in...

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Summer Breezes Sponsored By OBS: Saturday, August 2, 2025

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced juveniles from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes, sponsored by OBS Sales, highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, including links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga, Del Mar and Ellis Park. Saturday,...

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Repole Joins UFL As Investor, Promises 'Aggressive Moves' Ahead

The group behind the United Football League (UFL), which includes RedBird Capital Partners, FOX, ESPN, Dany Garcia and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, has gained a new investor in Thoroughbred owner Mike Repole. The story first appeared in The Athletic. In a statement Thursday, the spring football league said Repole's private equity firm, Impact Capital, "will lead the league's business operations" going forward. A UFL spokesperson declined to specify how much Repole paid for his ownership stake, but he did confirm that the billionaire is one of the league's top three...

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Nicely Bred Good Magic Colt Debuts Long at Niigata

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 Niigata Racecourses: Saturday, August 2, 2025 8th-CKO, ¥29,890,000 ($203k), Allowance, 3yo/up, 1200m T O ELVIS (c, 3, Volatile--Stopshoppingdebbie, by Curlin), a good third to the very talented Natural Rise (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) in the Cattleya Stakes (allowance) at...

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Modernist Filly Grazie Dominates On Saratoga Debut

6th-Saratoga, $90,000, (S), Msw, 7-31, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:12.85, my, 4 1/2 lengths. GRAZIE (f, 2, Modernist--Ascot Walk, by Daaher) became the fourth North American winner from the first crop of her sire (by Uncle Mo) with a convincing debut success at soggy Saratoga. Off as the 14-5 second choice, Grazie was part of a four-way scramble for the lead through the opening furlong before poking through from between rivals to take up the running heading into the turn. Chased around the bend by 1.15-1 favorite Tuthilltown (Classic Empire), Grazie...

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Summer Breezes Sponsored By OBS: Friday, August 1, 2025

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced juveniles from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes, sponsored by OBS Sales, highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, including links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Friday at Saratoga, Ellis Park and Del Mar. Friday,...

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Weekly National Regulatory Rulings, July 24-30

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, Angel Sanchez-Pinero was suspended 30-days for a phenylbutazone positive stemming from February-the latest action amid a series of alleged offenses facing the trainer. This includes another pending violation issued against Sanchez-Pinero this week concerning the alleged breach of rule 3230(b)(2), related...

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Saratoga Notebook, Presented by NYRA Bets: Joseph Hoping For A Rebound From White Abarrio In Whitney

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Two years ago, the GI Whitney Stakes was a whiteout. As in White Abarrio (Race Day), who crushed the field by 6 1/4 lengths. Fast forward to now and White Abarrio is back for another run in Saturday's $1 million Whitney, the premier race for older horses at the 40-day meet at Saratoga Race Course. The 6-year-old horse will look to shrug off a disappointing fourth place finish in the GI Met Mile last month and prove to his trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. that he deserves...

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Lake George entry Aterradora
Aterradora Humanely Euthanized After Lake George Stakes Injury

Two days after the running of the GIII Lake George Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday July 26, the Mike Maker-trained Aterradora (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) was humanely euthanized at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, the New York Racing Association said via a press release on Wednesday. The 3-year-old owned by Pura Vida Investments LLC, who was making her eighth career start, was pulled up by jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the gallop out after finishing fifth and was immediately attended to by on-track veterinarians. The filly was transported to...

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