racing

The 2025 edition of The Jockey Club's Fact Book is now available in the resources section of the organization's website, according to a press release from that entity on Friday. The online Fact Book is a statistical and informational guide to Thoroughbred breeding, racing, and auction sales in North America, which is updated quarterly. Later this year, many of the statistics will begin to be updated on a weekly basis, and new statistics will be added. The Jockey Club is continually seeking ways to provide information in novel formats concerning...

To David Heckerman's thought-provoking list of Defining Developments might be added another profound change which has occurred in the years since your first visit to Ellis Park. Six decades ago, most Americans had some familiarity with equines of many breeds, not only in the countryside but in towns and cities. This was becoming increasingly rare, of course, but, as a youngster in the 1950s, I remember horse-drawn ice wagons on the streets of New York, and carriage horses and riding stables on the West Side. (Interestingly, television Westerns were at...

My first trip to a Thoroughbred racetrack came in the summer of 1961 at Ellis Park. At the time, I was 16, closing in on 17, and Kelso was four, closing in on the second of five consecutive Horse of the Year titles. Kelso never raced anywhere near Ellis, but his enduring class was such that he ranked among the sporting world's most recognizable heroes of the day. The New York Yankees' pinstriped pair of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, in their pursuit of Babe Ruth's single-season home run record,...

Dear Readers, If you are reading this, you are likely already involved and educated enough to understand the challenges and struggles our beloved industry faces. Conversely, I would like to focus on a few of the amazing things that the Thoroughbred racing industry offers. I will then challenge others to bring to light more positive news from our industry. Unfortunately, much too often, the only Thoroughbred news that reaches the mainstream media is negative. We, as an industry, must share, educate and enlighten others, both inside and outside of our...

The Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority (HISA)'s 150-Day Layoff Report rule is scheduled to go into effect Thursday, Dec. 5, the group announced Saturday afternoon. Announced back in July but beginning on the aforementioned date, any horse who has not raced in 150 days (approx. five months) or more must have a report submitted prior to race entry. It is recommended that said report be uploaded 10-14 days prior. Trainers will be notified when a horse has been off for 140 days. A live demonstration and Q&A will be hosted...

Nominations are now open for OwnerView's 2024 "New Owner of the Year" Award, sponsored by 1/ST RACING. The award, which honors a new Thoroughbred owner who has been successful in the sport and has had a positive impact on the industry, has previously gone to names such as Jim and Dana Bernhard, Alexander Bregman, and MyRacehorse. To qualify, nominees must have made their first start as a Thoroughbred owner in the past four years (since 2021), had an ownership stake in a horse at the time it won a stakes...

Del Mar concluded its 85th summer racing season Sunday as the seaside track once again recorded strong field sizes and average daily handle as well as the highest daily purses in the state of California. Del Mar averaged 8.6 starters per race and $831,000 per day in total purse distribution. Total wagering for the meet was $502,985,000, a slight decrease from last summer after Del Mar implemented new restrictions on computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players in 2024. Average daily handle was $16,225,000. Track officials indicated that the handle figures were in...

July 2024 saw declines across the board compared to the same month last year with only average field size (+0.98%) and average available purses per race day (+3.42%) seeing gains for the month. With race days down to 383 from 423 last year (-9.46%), wagering, available purses, races and starts all saw declines. Race days are down year-to-date (2,173 vs. 2,284) leading to declines in wagering (-3.20%), races (-4.63%) and starts (-3.87%). Available wagering per race day (+1.74%) and average available purses per race day (+8.88 %) both showed gains...

Santa Anita Park concluded the six-month 2023-24 Winter-Spring season on June 16 which, when combined with the six-week Autumn Meet from 2023, produced a 99.97% safety record, making the 1/ST Racing facility the safest track in North America among those with a comparable volume of racing and training according to a release from the track Monday. Since the Opening Day of the Autumn meet on Sept. 29, 2023, through the Closing Day of the Hollywood Meet on June 17, 2024, 6,678 horses ran in races over Santa Anita's main track...

Wyoming-based Cowboy Racing will partner with 1/ST to boost racing, breeding and wagering opportunities in the state, the organizations announced in a joint statement Monday. The newly-planned Thunder Plains Park, a racing and training facility planned for Cheyenne, will welcome 1/ST as its exclusive racing operator through a planned 16 day live-racing meet. "We are excited to expand upon our success and continued support of racing and HHR in Wyoming to lend 1/ST's industry-leading operational experience and passion to Cowboy Racing as they work to develop a new racing and...

A collection of Preakness-inspired artworks are now on display for public voting at The Art of Racing, an online gallery which showcases art by those inspired by racing both on and off the track. Public voting will last two weeks with the winning piece featured on specially-created Preakness merchandise. Proceeds from the sales of the art will support Park Heights Renaissance, a non-profit dedicated to creating employment and housing in the Park Heights community. View the entire collection of The Art of Racing and vote here.

Six new members were elected to the Board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California the organization announced Monday. Owner and trainer Mark Glatt, owner/breeder Ty Green, owner/trainer Ryan Hanson, owner/breeder John Harris, current finance committee member Stephanie Hronis and 2021's California Trainer of the Year Andy Mathis will begin their respective terms July 1, 2024. They will join current members Nick Alexander, Gary Barber, Joe Ciaglia, Tim Cohen, Matthew Dohman, Gary Fenton, Bob Liewald, Terry Lovingier and Samantha Siegel for the 2024-2025 year.