retirement

Edited Press Release from Oaklawn Park Trainer William H. 'Jinks' Fires will saddle his final runner in a career that has spanned 50 years when House Trick contests the second race at Oaklawn Park on Friday afternoon. According to Equibase statistics, Fires, the older brother of Hall of Fame jockey Earlie Fires, has sent out 1,502 winners from 11,400 runners. Arguably the best horse Fires trained was Archarcharch (Arch), who won the GIII Southwest Stakes and GI Arkansas Derby en route to an appearance in the 2011 GI Kentucky Derby....

A pair of jockeys who have been mainstays at Gulfstream Park have announced their stepping away from the South Florida riding colony. Jockey Luca Panici, after riding over 15 years in Florida, retired from riding at the conclusion of Sunday's program at Gulfstream, while Edgard Zayas shift his tack to New York after the Championship Meet's closing day. Panici, 52, has ridden 943 winners in the U.S. A son of Italy's leading jockey in the 1970s and 1980s, the Italian native rode more than 500 winners in Europe. "I feel...

Roger Attfield, 86, a member of both the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the United States National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, is retiring from training after a 54-year career, although he plans to remain involved in the sport as an owner, breeder and consultant. The news was announced via press release Mar. 25 by Woodbine Racetrack. Attfield enjoyed much of his success on the Ontario circuit, where he won the Sovereign for Outstanding Canadian Trainer eight times and conditioned six Canadian Horses of the Year...

After finishing fifth and seventh, respectively, in Saturday's GII Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park, Tracy Farmer's La Cara (Street Sense--Cara Caterina, by Bernardini) and Shortleaf Stable's Quietside (Malibu Moon--Benner Island, by Speightstown) have each been retired. La Cara, a homebred for Farmer conditioned by Mark Casse, won both the GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes and GI DK Horse Acorn Stakes in 2025, in addition to the 2024 GIII Pocahontas Stakes and last year's Suncoast Stakes. The now-4-year-old bay made two starts in 2026, finishing off the board each time. She...

The New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program will move through a period of transition with founder Dot Morgan stepping down from her role as executive director and Anna Ford taking the reins as the organization enters a new chapter. Morgan's personal mission to ensure racehorses a future beyond the track has grown into a national aftercare model in the 34 years since its start. Currently, New Vocations operates nine facilities across multiple states and serves more than 600 horses annually, providing rehabilitation, retraining, and rehoming services to both Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds....

German legend Andrasch Starke has retired from the saddle, Galopp Online reported on Friday morning. The most successful German jockey of all time, Starke has at least 2,853 victories to his credit on record during his time in Europe and several more in Asia. Although he won eight Deutsches Derbys and was crowned a champion in Germany 10 times, Starke is best remembered as the partner of the indomitable German Horse of the Year Danedream. The daughter of Lomitas won the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2011 and...

The 2026 accreditation application process is now open and can be accessed online, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) announced Monday. Nonprofit Thoroughbred aftercare organizations that are interested in applying for accreditation during the 2026-27 term must submit the completed application by Apr. 1, at 6:00p.m. EDT. All organizations that were accredited in 2023 or any new organizations need to apply for accreditation this year. Others that were accredited in 2025 need not apply as their current accreditation extends through 2026. Accredited Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance organizations are eligible to receive financial...

Northview Stallion Station has pensioned Great Notion (Elusive Quality) ahead of the 2026 breeding season. A top stallion in Maryland, Great Notion, who will turn 26-years-old Jan. 1, sired 55 stakes winners led by MGSW Future Is Now, MGSW Havelock and millionaire GSW Coastal Mission. On the track, the son of Elusive Quality broke his maiden on debut at Churchill Downs for Silverton Hill and trainer Darrin Miller. Silverton Hill, who purchased Great Notion as a yearling at Keeneland September in 2001 for $82,000, raced him across the country, winning...

Spendthrift Farm's Kopion (Omaha Beach--Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop), who posted three Beyer Speed Figures in excess of 107 in a season which included a blowout victory in the GI Derby City Distaff Stakes, has been retired, according to a report from the Daily Racing Form. Bred by Ivan Dalos's Tall Oaks Farm, Kopion was a $270,000 Keeneland September yearling and won a pair of stakes over seven furlongs at three, a 5 3/4-length success in the GIII Santa Ynez Stakes and a 2 3/4-length score at odds of 37-1...

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) will not take part in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. The news was announced Saturday morning on social media by David Grening. Trainer Ken McPeek told Grening that "the reason they said was [he] responds to flexion left ankle." This is the second scratch from the McPeek barn in as many days with 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Blackout Time (Not This Time) scratching Friday from the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Mystik Dan will retire to Airdrie Stud for the 2026...

Frankie Dettori left the Del Mar backstretch on Wednesday morning after riding his Breeders' Cup Mile mount Argine and refused all interviews as he departed the stable area. "There will be plenty of news tomorrow," he said.  But tomorrow appears to have come a day early as by lunchtime the legendary jockey had posted a statement on social media to announce his retirement from American racing after the Breeders' Cup meeting. He will also be in action across the two days aboard Wimbledon Hawkeye and Aspect Island for James Owen...

Before we can solve the Thoroughbred aftercare problem, we must first define it--and understand its full scope. For this discussion, aftercare refers to the rehoming, retraining, and retiring of Thoroughbreds who: never make it to the racetrack; are not fast enough to race; have finished their racing careers and lost commercial value; can no longer perform as sport horses; or no longer serve useful breeding purposes. When I first began asking industry insiders what it would truly cost to provide lifetime care for all Thoroughbreds that need it, I could...