Pat McKenna

Wednesday's four flat races carded for the grass at Saratoga will be contested on the main track, according to a tweet from the New York Racing Association. The third race for state-bred 2-year-old filly maidens will retain its original distance and be run over 5 1/2 on the dirt. Originally scheduled for a mile and three furlongs an optional claimer/second-level allowance will now be run at a mile and a quarter on the main track as race four. Race six for open 2-year-old filly maidens will go at 5 1/2...

There are plans to significantly enhance opportunities for fans to experience the Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm Tour package the New York Racing Association, Inc. announced Friday. Expanded due to its popularity in 2022, the Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm Tour will be offered this year every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the Saratoga meet and will now feature two active thoroughbred breeding farms, Song Hill Thoroughbreds and Old Tavern Farm. "Last year's inaugural Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm package was such a huge success that we have expanded it...

Fifty-four stakes races worth $15.57 million in total purses will highlight the 40-day Belmont spring/summer meet, which is scheduled to open Thursday, May 4 and continue through Sunday, July 9, the New York Racing Association announced Wednesday. Highlighted by the 155th running of the $1.5 million GI Belmont S. presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday, June 10, the spring/summer meet will include 12 Grade I races, with nine of those contests scheduled during the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from Thursday, June 8 through Saturday, June 10. The Thursday-through-Sunday event...

NYRA's annual "Toys for Tots" day of giving will take place on Saturday, Dec. 3, GI Cigar Mile Day, at Aqueduct Racetrack. The event is being offered in partnership with the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation. Toys for Tots collects and distributes new, unwrapped toys to local children in need each holiday season. There will be several ways to contribute during the weekend of giving--at donation boxes at the Turf and Field entrance, the Clubhouse lobby by the escalator at Aqueduct, and online as well. Online donations are...

Saratoga's seventh race Sunday, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for maiden juvenile fillies, was declared a no contest after a mechanical issue with the starting gate tractor caused an outrider to attempt to stop the field on the backstretch (click for replay). While the starting gate was ultimately moved in time and the majority of runners finished the race, several were pulled up prematurely. Towhead (Malibu Moon), a third-time starter stretching out off a pair of on-the-board efforts on the Churchill dirt and part of a 5-1 entry, battled back...

The New York Racing Association and trainer Marcus Vitali have reached a settlement regarding NYRA's effort to exclude the trainer from participating at its three tracks. According to NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna, the agreement requires that the terms of the settlement remain confidential. The TDN reached out to both Vitali's attorney Brad Bielly Friday in an attempt to gather more information. By mid-afternoon, he had not responded. Vitali told the TDN that he was not aware of the terms of the deal. In September, NYRA announced that it would begin...

A year and a half after being signed into law, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is expected to kick into action Friday, meaning a new uniform set of medication rules and safety standards that everyone can abide by--that, at least, was the plan. The execution has somewhat thrown those intentions to the wind in the near term, with a piecemeal approach to implementation that has seen the anti-doping and medication control arm of the program pushed back to early next year, and several other features of the law--such...

Six trainers, including Wayne Potts and Juan Vazquez, have been informed by NYRA officials that they will no longer be allowed to stable at Belmont Park and that their horses must be off the grounds by Wednesday. However, all six will still be permitted to race at the NYRA tracks, at least for the time being. The story was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's David Grening. NYRA's decision to not outright ban the trainers stems from a ruling issued in the Bob Baffert matter last July by the...

Single-day general admission tickets for the 2021 Saratoga race meet will go on sale July 1 at 10 a.m. through ticketmaster.com. General admission tickets may also be purchased on the day of the event at all track admission gates. Single-day grandstand admission is $7 and Clubhouse admission is $10. General admission tickets for the  Aug. 28 GI Runhappy Travers S. are $15 when purchased in advance. Tickets may also be purchased at the gates on the day of the event for $20, pending availability. A limited number of Clubhouse admission...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced three new hospitality areas at Saratoga Race Course set to debut during the upcoming 2021 summer meet. The Spa Verandas at the Top of The Stretch, Tailgate at the Turn picnic area and the newly expanded section of The Stretch will be available for the first time Opening Day, Thursday, July 15. Reservations for all three areas will be available beginning Thursday, June 24 at 10:00 a.m. at www.NYRA.com/Saratoga. "As we prepare to welcome fans back to the Spa for the first...

Jockey Katie Davis has alleged that the NYRA racing office has been telling trainers not to ride her because of a New York State Gaming Commission rule that requires that horses running in the same race ridden by a husband and a wife must be coupled. Davis recently married Trevor McCarthy and both are riding at Aqueduct this winter. The comments were originally made on Twitter Friday and were repeated to the TDN the following day. Because of the rule, any time McCarthy and Davis compete in the same race...

NYRA is no longer accepting wagers from customers using computer assisted wagering (CAW) programs on its Empire Six wager. The new policy took effect Feb. 4. The Empire Six joins NYRA's Late Pick 5 and the Cross Country Pick 5 as pools that are now closed to a group of bettors who use computer algorithms to place their wagers and are known for betting huge amounts, particularly when there is a large carryover in a pool or a mandatory payout day. This was the second step in a process that...