NYRA

Linda Rice continued to assert her dominance on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit when capturing the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet training title with 23 wins at the 45-day meeting which ran from Jan. 1 through Mar. 30. Rice has now won the training title at six of the last seven NYRA meetings, along with year-end honors last year as the circuit's top trainer with a record-tying 164 wins. She also came out on top at last year's Big A winter meet with 37 wins. "It's great," said...

Highlighted by the 155th GI Travers S. Aug. 24 and the GI Whitney S. Aug. 3, the 40-day Saratoga meet features 19 Grade I races as part of 71 stakes worth $20.75 million in total purses, the New York Racing Association said concerning the release of the schedule on Friday. Following the four-day opening week, which starts on Thursday July 11, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from closing week, when the 2024 summer meet will conclude on Monday, Sept. 2. Saratoga Live, the...

With a strong coastal storm predicted to impact the New York metropolitan area Friday evening and into the majority of Saturday, Aqueduct has moved the Saturday card to Sunday, officials at the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Thursday. Highlighted by the $100,000 Biogio's Rose S., Saturday's eight-race card will move in its entirety to Sunday, while the original Sunday races will be carded as extras beginning Thursday, Mar 28. First post Sunday will be 1:20 p.m. EDT. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcasting on Saturday.

Reserved tables in the Saratoga Race Course picnic paddock will be sold exclusively through a random drawing for Belmont Stakes Day on Saturday, June 8, the New York Racing Association, Inc. announced Thursday. As is the case during the 40-day summer meet, the vast majority of Saratoga's backyard picnic tables -- approximately 700 -- will be available on a first-come, first-served basis throughout the four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Fans may enter the picnic paddock random drawing at BelmontStakes.com beginning Monday, Mar. 25. Approximately 100 picnic tables will be available...

Season tickets and passes for the 2024 Saratoga summer race meet will become available to the general public Wednesday, March 20. The sale, announced by NYRA Monday, will begin at 10am and includes admission along with reserved seating in the clubhouse or grandstand. Season passes grant access to the track for all 40 race days including the GI Travers S. and can be purchased for $95. "Season ticket plans allow fans to secure some of the best seats in the house for all 40 days of the Saratoga meet," said...

Michael F. Prunetti, a veteran NYRA employee, passed away March 15 at the age of 77. Remembered by his NYRA colleagues in a note released Saturday, Prunetti spent over 40 years as a racing official around New York tracks including time as the Assistant Racing Secretary. "What a kind gentleman he was," recalled NYRA Stakes Coordinator Andrew Byrnes. "Mike took the time to teach me how to do things the right way. I learned a tremendous amount under him. He was one of the best. He was a jewel." Prunetti...

The annual state budget proposed by the New York State Assembly includes an initiative that would establish a new partnership between Cornell University and the New York Racing Association, Inc (NYRA) to enhance equine safety through the use of advanced imaging technology. The budget calls for NYRA to make an initial investment of $2 million to purchase the necessary equipment. The ongoing project will be funded by assessing the most successful out-of-state ADW platforms. The racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law will be amended by adding a new section 902-a...

The Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga Race Course will open Thursday, Apr. 18, officials at the New York Racing Association (NYRA), with the barn area opening to licensed trainers and staff from Monday, Apr. 15. As Saratoga prepares to host the 2024 Belmont Stakes Fesitval June 6-9, the main track will open one month earlier than customary on Monday, May 6. Due to the ongoing construction at Belmont Park, there will be significant changes to the usual NYRA training schedule. The Belmont main track will remain closed for training through...

New York-based trainer Leah Gyarmati voluntarily surrendered her license Mar. 1 and subsequently had her stalls at Belmont revoked by NYRA following separate incidents, according to a story first reported by DRF. Stewards scratched horses she had entered last weekend at Aqueduct and the 12 horses under her care were transferred to her former assistant trainer Marcelo Arenas, who took out his own license in 2021. Gyarmati told the DRF's David Grening that she failed a breathalyzer after she was awakened by NYRA security when found sleeping in her truck,...

Edited Press Release New York Governor Kathy Hochul provided a project timeline and additional updates Monday on the construction of new racing facilities at Belmont Park. The New York Racing Association, which will oversee construction, also released a series of architectural renderings to bring the project's vision to life. Expected to be completed in late 2026, the multi-year project to build a new Belmont Park will generate $1 billion in construction-related economic impact and create 3,700 construction-related jobs. Following the return of thoroughbred racing to Belmont in 2026, additional racing...

New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB) named their nominees for the Empire State's divisional champions of 2023, the organization said in a Friday morning release. A panel of New York turf writers, broadcasters, handicappers, racing analysts and photographers will vote on each division and for the New York-bred Horse of the Year. The winners will be announced at the NYTB Awards Dinner sponsored by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund on Monday, May 13 from 6-9 p.m. ET. at Sacred Saratoga on the property of GMP Farm in...

The period of the quarantine of Barn 15 at Belmont has been extended by two days by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) due to another horse in that barn, Willful Desire, developing a fever. The 4-year-old filly, trained by Gustavo Rodriguez, developed a fever on Monday. Nasal swabs and blood samples were immediately sent to Cornell University for analysis, which were returned on Tuesday afternoon as negative for EHV. In accordance with standard protocols, Barn 15 will remain under quarantine...