New York

As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to suefinley@thetdn.com "The best moment from 2023 was the confirmation that the state of New York would be loaning NYRA nearly half a billion dollars to build a modern Belmont Park. I'd rate this occurrence as possibly the most positive development in the sport since the founding of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. The seeds of this were planted in the years before VLT revenue started flowing in New...

McMahon and Hill Bloodstock purchased Provocateur (Into Mischief) for $200,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November Sale and Mike McMahon raced the 5-year-old four times this year before retiring him to stud at New York's McMahon Stud. A $600,000 yearling purchase, Provocateur won the Hutcheson S. at Gulfstream Park at two and was third in the GI Woody Stephens S. the following year. In a 14-race career, he compiled earnings of $240,000. "He's a very, very good-looking horse, very correct," said Joe McMahon. "And of course everyone knows Into Mischief-he's the...

Many of you may have seen that last week a bill was introduced in Congress to repeal the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, better known as HISA. I want to set the record straight as to what this legislation does or doesn't do, assure you that the bill isn't going anywhere in Congress, and stands no chance of becoming law. First things first-it's important to remember that any member of Congress can introduce a bill. They write the language, file the bill, and voila it's been introduced. Just in the...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the state of New York asked the Supreme Court of New York Aug. 18 to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two residents that is attempting to block the $455 million state loan to NYRA that will renovate Belmont Park. In addition, both the state and NYRA want to quash a motion for preliminary injunction that the plaintiffs initiated back on June 22 to try to halt any state money for the project from flowing to NYRA. The Belmont renovation was approved back in...

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) has launched a brick pathway fundraising campaign at the Wallkill Correctional Facility in Wallkill, New York, the organization said in a release Thursday. Honoring the flagship location of the TRF Second Chances Program and their partnership with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the fundraiser will commemorate 40 years of "Saving Horses and Changing Lives." To support its mission, a brick pathway will be constructed on the horse farm near the historical Walstein Childs House. Bricks will be available through the...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has not won the GI Ogden Phipps S. since 1996, the year the legendary Serena's Song (Rahy) got the job done when the race was contested as the Hempstead H. The 87-year-old will hope that streak comes to an end when he saddles 2022 GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Secret Oath (Arrogate) in this year's Phipps, one of nine elite-level races slated to take place during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. The winner earns a spot in the field for the GI Breeders' Cup...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. New York Track: Belmont Park Date: 05/21/2023 Licensee: Caitlin Owen,...

Jockey Manny Franco captured his fourth winter meet riding title at Aqueduct, posting 63 wins at the meet that ran from Jan. 1 to March 26. Linda Rice paced all trainers with 37 wins, while Windylea Farm secured their first NYRA-circuit owners title with 12 wins. "It means a lot to me. This is what we're here for," said Franco, who is represented by agent John Panagot. "I want to be one of the top riders here on the New York circuit, and I work hard to make it happen....

What does the most recognizable jockey of the nineteenth century have in common with a young rider from the 1970s-turned-modern-day playwright? This seemingly disparate pair might be divided by over a century along the continuum, but their experiences, told in a fresh biographical treatment of Isaac Murphy by historian Katherine C. Mooney and through Robert Montano's self-penned and deeply-personal play, have much to tell us about the perilously-seated life in the irons. What they both encountered is particularly instructive for us, especially after the sudden and tragic losses of jockeys...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has canceled live racing on Friday and Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack due to high winds and frigid temperatures forecast to impact the New York metropolitan area. The National Weather Service (NWS), which aligns with forecasts provided by NYRA's independent weather services, is calling for wind chill values between zero and 10 degrees on Friday with wind gusts up to 37 mph, while Saturday's forecast includes wind chill values between eight and 10 degrees with sustained high winds throughout the day. As a result,...

Howard (Howie) Tesher, a winner of 1,302 races, including several Grade I events, and a popular figure around the New York racetracks for decades, passed away Friday. He was 90  years old. According to his niece, Jodie David, Tesher passed away at the Majestic Memory Care Center in Hollywood, Florida, and had been there for about five years dealing with dementia. David said the cause of death was pneumonia. "He was happy right up to the end," David said. "There was no patient there like him. He was always grabbing...

MGSW & GISP Independence Hall (Constitution) sired his first reported foal when a colt out of the winning Distorted Humor mare Seascape was born Monday, Jan. 16 at Mahoney Eden Manor Farm in New York. The colt was bred by Mahoney Eden Manor, Dark Horse Racing Stable and Cutair Racing. "He's a very leggy, racy-looking colt, just what you imagine when you look at Independence Hall," said Britt Wadsworth. "If they come out looking as such, we're all in good shape." From the first crop of leading sire Constitution, Independence...