Keeneland

Before Keeneland hosts the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the fourth time, the track will celebrate its 90th birthday with a 17-day Fall Meet from Oct. 2-24 featuring 22 stakes worth $10.7 million, the outfit said in a Wednesday press release. Keeneland, which was developed on property owned by John Oliver "Jack" Keene, opened Oct. 15, 1936 for nine days of racing. Over the course of the Fall Meet, 12 stakes will be run on the turf and 10 stakes will be on the dirt. The Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund...

Marette Farrell outbattled Donato Lanni in a war of phone bids at opposite ends of the pavilion to acquire a filly by Justify (hip 428) for an OBS June record $1.4 million on behalf of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's Speedway Stable. Farrell did her bidding on the phone with OBS's Andrew Fernung sitting in the back of the pavilion, while Lanni was on the phone with Wade Cunningham in the auction stand. Justin Holmberg, sitting directly next to Cunningham, egged his fellow auctioneer on several times during the bidding,...

Keeneland has signed on as the co-title sponsor of the Horse Racing Women's Association (HRWA), alongside FanDuel TV, for the remainder of 2026, the women's organization said via press release on Wednesday. "Keeneland is honored to partner with the Horse Racing Women's Association as a co-title sponsor this year and support its efforts to foster connection, mentorship and professional growth for women throughout the Thoroughbred industry," Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. "A strong future for horse racing depends on cultivating talent, encouraging collaboration and creating pathways for leadership....

GI Jaipur Stakes winner Reef Runner (The Big Beast) will get some space between races and will most likely target the GII Troy Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 9 as his next start. The son of The Big Beast began his 2026 with an electric victory in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in mid-February, and checked in fourth a month later at Meydan in the G1 Al Quoz Turf Sprint. Sent home after those jumps, he denied defending champion Ag Bullet (Twirling Candy) in his first start...

Jockey Corey Lanerie will call it a career at the conclusion of the Churchill Downs spring meet Sunday, June 28 following 35 years in the saddle, the track announced Friday. Lanerie will leave the sport having totaled more than 5,000 victories and earning north of $172-million in prize money with at least 1,244 wins at Churchill alone. The mark ties him in second all-time behind Hall of Famer Pat Day, who claims 2,482 trips to the winner's enclosure in the shadow of the Twin Spires. The Louisiana native began his...

5th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 2:45 p.m. ET. As TDN's Bill Finley reported earlier this week, Horse of the Year Flightline (by Tapit) has his first foal ready to hit the track at Churchill Downs on Friday. GREENWELL was a $500,000 buy for Greg Tramontin during the 2025 Keeneland September Sale. Sent to trainer Mark Casse, the Flightline colt is out of MGSW Cambodia (War Front), who is a half-sister to the dam of GSW Danse Macabre (Army Mule). Also set for a start is another Keeneland grad in Grand...

The fourth installment in the 2026 OwnerView webinar series, held on June 9, focused on various tools and programs that enhance the experience of purchasing Thoroughbreds at auction. The conference was hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Keeneland, and Dean Dorton Equine, and this panel was sponsored by Juddmonte and Muirfield Insurance. A Q&A was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, and attendees were able to ask questions through a Q&A link. Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, moderated the...

On a day when seven horses tied for the fastest furlong work, a filly by the late Uncle Mo (hip 220) stood out when she worked the quarter-mile bullet of :20 2/5 during Wednesday's second session of the under-tack preview of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Consigned by Tom McCrocklin, the juvenile is out of stakes-placed Corey (First Samurai), who is a half-sister to graded winner Happy Farm (Ghostzapper). Wednesday's work was the filly's second at OBS this spring. She worked a quarter-mile in :20...

What kind of sire will Horse of the Year Flightline turn out to be? The first hints are right around the corner. Greenwell (Flightline) will make his debut Friday at Churchill Downs in the fifth race for trainer Mark Casse. He will be the first offspring of Flightline to start in North America. The next day, the filly House Boat Party (Flightline), will run in the sixth race at Churchill for trainer Brian Lynch. She will be the first Flightline filly to start in the U.S. Both races are at...

MY GUN'S LOADED (Gun Runner--Strive {SP, $130,327}, by Congrats) was well-beaten on debut for trainer Steve Asmussen at Oaklawn Park Dec. 27, then was transferred to Chad Brown's care in the spring. Overlooked at 18-1 here, the filly chased what was a hot pace up the backstretch and through the far turn. My Gun's Loaded tipped to an outside lane for the drive home and steadily cut into the margin of favorite and new leader Cold Spell (Gun Runner). The longshot ran right by her target inside the final furlong...

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but for the reigning queen of the GII Bed O' Roses Stakes, it proved to be figurative weight she could valiantly bear en route to her title defense. Ways and Means (Practical Joke) looked to be beaten at the head of affairs, but gamely re-rallied in the final yards to nail a wildly unlucky Grand Job (Justify) by a nose in an exciting 2026 running at Saratoga. The Chad Brown trainee has had a very short career the last two seasons--her 2025...

Michael Iavarone builds his stable with one primary objective: to compete on racing's biggest days. With Bentornato (Valiant Minister), that mission has already been accomplished and there are still bigger goals on the horizon. In the seven months since he bought a 25% share in the talented sprinter for $1 million at the Keeneland Championship Sale, Iavarone has gone to the winner's circle for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint and traveled to Dubai to watch his horse put in a tenacious runner-up performance in the G1 Golden Shaheen. This weekend,...