Kenwood Racing

Gulfstream Park's likely end as a Thoroughbred facility (TDN Jan. 16) makes clear that our industry as presently structured is simply no longer viable. In a relatively short time, major tracks have closed in New England, Northern California, Illinois and many other formerly vibrant racing venues. Racing is on life support in Southern California, Florida, Delaware, Pennsylvania, etc. and exists almost everywhere else only with the support of non-racing revenues from slots, casinos and state supplements. Instead of embracing innovative ideas to make the sport more attractive to a new...

At a time when there's so much negative news in the Thoroughbred industry (and sadly, the entire world it seems) some of the good people in the game merit a few words. On August 29th, veteran rider Jose Ferrer celebrated his 4500th career victory on our filly Tracy Ann's Legacy (Shackleford) at Monmouth Park. The video from that win is priceless; you can hear Jose's wife, Steffi and their two kids screaming and cheering as she comes down the stretch seven lengths in front. Seeing Jose's face as he brings...

'Condemning' Tom Van Meter's mind-numbingly horrible racist comments is next to worthless, an example of empty industry PR. The only worthwhile response from anyone in the thoroughbred industry is an outright refusal to conduct any business with him, period. As owner Robert Masiello stated "If you buy a horse from Tom VanMeter in September, you are part of the problem. End of story,". The same goes for sales companies, racetracks, farms, owners, vets, jockeys, agents, etc. If you work with this man in any fashion, you share in his guilt...

Dear Friends & Fellow Horsemen Our industry stands at a crossroads; if we continue to accept the status quo, it could very well mean the end of Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. as we know it in the next few years. It's time for tangible changes to finally put the welfare of our horses and the experience of our owners and racing fans first and foremost.    We propose four key areas of reform as detailed below to revitalize our sport. Each of us signing this letter has different perspectives; we...

As a New Jersey-based owner, the FBI indictments of 27 people including Monmouth Park leading trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro resonated particularly strongly with me. I put together my first racing partnership in 1981, as a teenager in love with the horses and the sport. As is the case in any endeavor involving people and money, there have always been and will always be those who attempt to come out ahead by dishonest means. The difference between thoroughbred racing and other sports - businesses, is that our industry has...

Tired of all the bad news? So were we. So, in our new series, we focus on the positive, asking people from non-horse racing families two questions: how they get hooked, and how they'll hook someone else on horse racing this year. ROBB LEVINSKY, KENWOOD RACING What was the experience that made you fall in love with horse racing? I was first introduced to horse racing at age 14 when I was living with my aunt and uncle for the summer in Lincoln, Nebraska and I went with my aunt...