Price Bell

Elite winners are always cause for celebration. With racing at the highest levels quickly ramping up for 2026, we continue to spotlight some of the special Grade I producers of the last several months. Up today, we get a glimpse into a quartet of mares who produced homebred stars. Stormy Welcome, dam of Raging Sea "Great families might sleep, but they don't die, and she's a great example of that," said Mill Ridge's Price Bell last summer when musing over the unraced Stormy Welcome (Storm Cat), a now-20-year-old mare whose ninth...

What will racing look like in 10 years? We asked some of racing's best and brightest to give us their predictions. Want to submit an answer? Email suefinley@thetdn.com T.K. KUEGLER, WASABI STABLES I have optimism and think there are real chances for positive change to the game. My thoughts are therefore reflective of that perspective:   - You will see the Mid-Atlantic come into focus as one of the anchor areas of the game. Over the next decade, the regional states will learn that they can become a dominant force...

"I think this filly's cheating on me." Well, if that was the opinion of a Hall of Fame trainer, who could argue? Least of all a woman, in the male-dominated Bluegrass of the mid-1970s. But Headley Bell remembers that when Frank Whiteley Jr. sent Nicosia (Gallant Romeo) home to Mill Ridge, his late mother Alice Chandler was not ready to give up. After all, this was a daughter of Nicoma (Nashua), whose previous foal had just won a Grade I; and Alice's husband, Dr. John Chandler, suggested that maybe the...

Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy--Devine Actress, by Theatrical {Ire}) will stand for $60,000 in 2026, up from $45,000 this season, according to a Mill Ridge Farm release Wednesday. The 11-year-old stallion is expected to serve a limited book of approximately 170 mares (140 foals) in 2026. "Oscar Performance had another exceptional year led by Grade I winner World Beater, owned by Pin Oak Stud, trained by Riley Mott and bred by Dr. John Chandler," said Mill Ridge's Price Bell. "Remarkably, he is ranked #2 on the General Sire List with GSH...

Robert Hunt, a respected veterinarian at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, passed away Thursday after a bout with cancer. Dr. Hunt graduated from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in 1984. From 1984 to 1987 he worked at the Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Santa Ynez, California. He returned to the University of Georgia in 1987 to complete his surgical training and graduate degree in cardiovascular physiology. He paid his way through school by taking a job as a farrier. Dr. Hunt remained on faculty and became a...

Calvin Nguyen always figured that he and his brother Joey Tran had found their once-in-a-lifetime horse right out of the gate. In 1999, they claimed their very first runner for $32,000. Freedom Crest turned that gamble into a 13-race in-the-money streak, climbing his way into graded company and making it to the 2001 Breeders' Cup Classic. But two decades later, a filly who was never supposed to run in their silks has proven that she is worth her weight in silver—literally. The grey Twirling Candy filly named Ag Bullet has...

A turf horse launching his stud career at the age of nine might go against the stallion market grain in Kentucky, but Mill Ridge Farm has already shown a knack for bucking those trends and doing so successfully. After all, it was only three years ago that Oscar Performance was standing for just $12,500 and bred only 63 mares. This year, the 2024 leading third-crop sire of graded stakes winners by percentage of starters has a sold-out book heading into the season as he commands a fee of $45,000. So...

It has been just over a year since Light Up Racing (LUR), inspired by the Australian-based initiative Kick Up for Racing, was launched in an effort to 'illuminate the path to transparency, awareness and accountability in horse racing' in the United States. As Light Up Racing's pilot year has come to a close, it's safe to say the grassroots initiative has not only become a necessary voice in changing the industry narrative, but also in bridging the gap between those within the industry and those outside of it. "As an...

Light Up Racing has launched a Spanish translation feature on their website with the intent to make resources even more accessible to the entire horse racing community, the organization said on Thursday in a press release. The Spanish version can be accessed by clicking the flag icon located in the top right corner of the screen on the website. By offering this option, Light Up aims to bridge language barriers across the industry. "At Light Up Racing, we're focused on empowering industry members to confidently engage in tough conversations," said...

Mill Ridge Farm extends an invitation to join them starting on Thursday, Nov. 7 through Nov. 14, for their stallion open house from 12:00 to 2 p.m. ET daily, the farm said via a press release on Thursday. The three horse roster on display features MGISW Oscar Performance (by Kitten's Joy), whose stud fee is listed at $45,000 LF. The third-crop sire stands alongside millionaire GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Aloha West (by Hard Spun), who is listed at $8,500 LF. Newly-added to the slate this year is four-time Grade...

Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), a two-time winner of the GI Fourstardave H. at Saratoga and GI Jaipur S. at Belmont Park, will command a $10,000 stud fee in his first season at stud at Mill Ridge Farm in 2025, it was announced Thursday. "He showed up for every race and was beaten only once more than four lengths in his (28) graded stakes--what a brilliant racehorse and one who will contribute to our breed," said Mill Ridge's General Manager Price Bell. With five graded stakes winners this year, Oscar Performance...

When Jon Clay bought Strong Incentive for his Alpha Delta Stables for $2.15 million at last year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale, she had already produced Grade III winner and track-record holder Highly Motivated (Into Mischief), now a stallion at Airdrie Stud; two-time Grade III winner Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}); and an up-and-coming `TDN Rising Star' named Ways and Means (Practical Joke), who had run second in the Grade I Spinaway Stakes. Within a month of his purchase, Surge Capacity won the Grade I Matriarch, and by the following summer, Ways and...