Keeneland

Wesley Ward is busy gearing up for the upcoming race meet at Keeneland, but in recent years the seven-time leading trainer at the historic track keeps himself further occupied in the springtime with his side gig as a stallion owner and manager. GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Hootenanny resides at Ward Ranch just across from the Keeneland grounds. The son of Quality Road was Ward's first Breeders' Cup winner in 2014. When the bay needed a new home in 2019, his former trainer didn't hesitate to take him in....

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 Hanshin Racecourse. Japanese Horse of the Year Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) kicks off his 4-year-old season in Sunday's G1 Osaka Hai, while mercurial American-bred Reframe (American Pharoah) returns to group competition in Saturday's G3 Lord Derby Challenge Trophy at Nakayama,...

TVG, the New York Racing Association, Keeneland and Santa Anita will team with Hall of Fame jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild and other prominent racing personalities to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) Sunday, Apr. 10 for the fourth annual telethon to raise money for the PDJF. The event will be broadcast on both TVG and America's Day at the Races on FS2 in collaboration with NYRA and FOX Sports. After missing 2020 due to the pandemic, the popular event returned in 2021 and...

Keeneland recently announced that its April Horses of Racing Age Sale will take place on closing day of its spring meet, April 29, at the conclusion of the day's racing. Not to be confused with their prior April two-year-olds-in-training sale, there will be no breeze show, and breeding stock and stallion shares will also be accepted. The sale will, according to Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy, be a mostly traditional "live" sale with a "hybrid" aspect, offering sellers the opportunity to offer their horses from wherever they already are....

Tickets for the 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships will go on sale to the public Monday, May 9, at noon ET at BreedersCup.com/2022, Breeders' Cup announced Monday. The best horses from around the world are set to return to historic Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Nov. 4 and 5 for the 39th annual running of the year-end championship meet. This year will mark the third time the World Championships have been held in the Horse Capital of the World following the event's first running at Keeneland in 2015 and...

The Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy will celebrate 50 years of racetrack ministry May 2 at the Louisville-based track with its annual Race for Grace banquet. It is the primary fundraiser for the organization and the money generated allows the Chaplaincy to continue their mission to minister to the fundamental and spiritual needs of the horsemen and women working at the racetracks and training centers in Kentucky and Southern Ohio. With over 7,000 licensees and three chaplains across five tracks, the group serves the stable workers, jockeys, starting gate crew, and...

Keeneland CEO and president Shannon Arvin has been elected chair of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). The organization held it fourth quarter board meeting for its 2022 fiscal year Thursday, the first under the NTRA's new president and CEO, Tom Rooney. Arvin, a Lexington native and the third generation of her family to be Keeneland management, is the first female chair in the 23-year history of the NTRA. In other NTRA business at the meeting, the board approved the 2023 fiscal year budget, which runs from Apr. 1, 2022...

A lightning strike ignited a fire which claimed three horses at a Lexington barn owned by trainer Wesley Ward. The trio included Strike the Tiger (Tiger Ridge), who gave Ward his first victory at the Royal Ascot meeting when he won the 2009 Windsor Castle S. Also killed was the 5-year-old maiden winner Modesto (Uncle Mo) and a Hootenanny 2-year-old gelding. "The investigators just left and they determined that lightning hit the main service pole and it sent all the electricity right to the box in my barn and caused...

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 Saturday running at Hanshin Racecourse. Sunday's action at Nakyama features the sophomore debut of last year's champion 2-year-old male Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) in the G2 Yayoi Sho over the metric mile and a quarter. Last year's G1 Asahi Hai Futurity...

Former trainer William "Buff" Bradley, known in particular for his work with two-time champion Groupie Doll (Bowman's Band), GISWs Brass Hat (Prized) and Divisidero (Kitten's Joy), and charismatic MGSW The Player (Street Hero), has been named Associate of Sales Development for Keeneland. The newly created position will concentrate on sales of breeding stock and horses of racing age. Bradley will officially begin his new role Feb. 28. "We are excited to have Buff join the Keeneland sales team to further strengthen our outreach to horsemen and their participation in our...

Keeneland is inviting people who are interested in working at the track during the 2022 Spring Meet from Apr. 8-29 to apply for available positions in one of three ways: Attend the Job Fair Mar. 19, stop by the Hiring Center during March or apply online. Keeneland is looking to fill more than 2,000 positions for the Spring Meet in Concessions, Culinary, Dining, Guest Services, Parking, Retail, Security, Track Kitchen and other areas. On-site interviews for all positions will be conducted at the Job Fair and at the Hiring Center....

The 10th Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit will take place June 22, 2022, in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced Feb. 28. The previous summit, held in June 2020, was a virtual webinar due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The event will be free and open to the public as well as being streamed online. The agenda will include a review of the Thoroughbred industry's implementation of safety recommendations developed at the first summit in 2006 as well as a presentation by Dr. Tim Parkin...