MASAF

1/ST CONTENT, a provider of North and South American horse racing content, and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MASAF) have joined forces ahead of the Breeders' Cup. The deal now opens gateway local pool betting on North American, South American and Turkish racing in Italy - and was soft-launched over last month's 100th edition of the Hambletonian at The Meadowlands, NJ. The agreement kicks off with the Breeders' Cup on October 31 and November 1. Other races that will be shown to Italian audiences include: the...

It doesn't take too deep a dive into the pedigree of Northern Dancer to understand the Italian influence in so many racehorses in training these days. Italy's significance in the annals of racing and breeding history reaches beyond Nearco of course, but in recent years there has been a very real fear that the country is losing its place in the Thoroughbred world order.  Indeed, its black-type races have been gradually downgraded. The Derby Italiano and Oaks d'Italia lost Group 1 status in 2009 and 2007 respectively, and Italy lost...