Parx

Without much notice or attention--the way he prefers it--lifelong racetracker John Pimental is easing back into a sense of shedrow normalcy as spring morphs into summer at Monmouth Park. "It feels good to be back to working--making a living again," Pimental told TDN one recent afternoon before feeding time. The 70-year-old trainer has five Thoroughbreds bedded down in the same barn his former outfit of eight occupied on the morning of July 28, 2023, when agents for the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) descended upon the modest racing stable...

A Father's Day event hosted by The National Thoroughbred League (NTL) at Parx drew over 6000 fans, an NTL record, and generating a $1.55 million handle—a 65% increase over last year's Father's Day card at Parx, according to a NTL release Wednesday. The event was hosted by the Philadelphia Stallions, which is co-owned by retired basketball star Julius "Dr. J" Erving. The California Shamrocks won the Philadelphia Cup with the top four teams finishing within 2 points of each other. The New York Knights remain in first place overall at...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 05/20/2025 Licensee: John Servis, trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision by HIWU. Explainer: Medication violation for...

Francisco Martinez, featured in TDN last year when he got his first win at age 30, has returned to riding--and the winner's circle--after spending three months on the sidelines due to injuries sustained in a Feb. 5 spill. He was the leading apprentice rider at Parx in 2024 after kicking off his career in March of last year. "It means a lot to me and my people that follow me and support what I do to get the opportunity to come back like this," said Martinez. "I couldn't wait to...

The National Thoroughbred League (NTL), which is looking to bring the team concept to horse racing, has had more than its fair share of growing pains since it started in 2023. The series starts up again on May 10 at Pimlico and league organizers are confident the 2025 version of the NTL will be the biggest and most successful so far. "We definitely have momentum on our side and we're offering good purses," said NTL co-founder Randall Lane. "It's a win-win. The horses will be  running for good purses and...

Later this week, the 2025 class of inductees for the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame will be announced. Among the eight racehorses included as finalists on the ballot is 2004 dual Classic winner Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality). All eight of the horses have marvelous credentials--obviously, or they wouldn't be on the ballot--but if there was a Hall of Fame for the intangible, Smarty Jones would be a shoo-in at the top of the class. "I think there was this trickle-down effect in what he did that will never...

Kendrick Carmouche has been named the winner of the 2025 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award after a nationwide vote by his fellow riders. The award, which has been presented annually by Santa Anita Park since 1950, honors riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual and for the sport of Thoroughbred racing. "Twenty five years of living as a professional jockey and living as a son to a jockey, this award means that the pavement that I have put down in the industry has been shown to...

Stakes winner Lonesome Boy (Nationhood) was named Washington's Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old at a ceremony held Saturday at Emerald Downs Racetrack. Owned by John Parker and campaigned on the East Coast, the bay colt won the City of Brotherly Love Stakes at Parx last March. Parker repeated as the state's leading owner for the second year in a row. Top 2-year-old honors were shared by Blue Ribbon Racing #23's unbeaten three-time stakes-winning filly Precise Timing (Dialed In) and Dr. Jack and Margaret "Cookie" Root's homebred Big Bowie...

Mahoning Valley Race Course and Parx joined Aqueduct in cancelling live racing as winter weather continued to wreak havoc on the schedule Monday. Mahoning Valley in Ohio also canceled its Tuesday card, while Parx is scheduled to resume racing Tuesday with a first post time of 12:05 p.m. With strong winds and wintry precipitation, Aqueduct was forced to cancel racing both Sunday and Monday. Live racing is expected to resume at the New York oval Friday.

Hosted by the Keeneland Association, the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) annual training and networking conference is marked for Sunday, Mar. 2 through Wednesday, Mar. 5. Central to ORI's mission is the pursuit of integrity and education for its members. By sharing best practices, interactions among investigators creates lasting relationships between jurisdictions. Representatives from every state racing entity will be in attendance, as well as regulators from national and international entities. With sponsors such as the AQHA, Breeders' Cup, NYRA, Parx Racing, PENN Gaming, The Stronach Group and Woodbine, this...

Frigid temperatures and snowy conditions continued to cause cancellations this week, with both Parx and Mahoning Valley abandoning live racing Tuesday. It was the second day in a row both tracks were forced to cancel races as they joined Oaklawn Park in abandoning Monday cards. Turfway Park has moved its Wednesday racing card to Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. ET first post due to extreme cold temperatures. The program will not be redrawn and will run in its entirety on Sunday. Racing at the Kentucky track is scheduled to resume...

Due to extreme weather conditions that are anticipated over the next several days in southeastern Louisiana, officials at the Fair Grounds have announced that the nine-race program originally scheduled for this Thursday, Jan. 23 will be moved to next Monday, Jan. 27. The next scheduled card will now take place on Friday, Jan. 24, with racing to continue Saturday, Sunday and now Monday with a first post time of 12:45 p.m. Central time. Wintry weather on the eastern seaboard resulted in the cancellation of live racing Monday and Tuesday at...