Richard Heysek

It's the trendline industry eggheads are tracking with dread: a foal crop that has dropped nearly 60% from 1990, with wave-sized ripple effects. The number of races in the country has fallen a comparable amount over the same period. Some estimates have put the number of shuttered racetracks at about 50 since 2000. Nor is the U.S. alone. Over in the United Kingdom, modeling by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association projects the foal crop to fall by around 25% between just 2022 and 2026. A one-quarter drop in four years. Hardly...

In a vote by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association board of directors, Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) has been crowned the 2023 Florida-bred Horse of the Year. The result was announced Monday night at the FTBOA Awards Gala. Bred by Richard Heysek's Caperlane Farm, who was also presented with the Needles Award recognizing the Small Thoroughbred Breeder of the Year in Florida, the Bob Baffert runner also took home the awards for champion 3-year-old colt and champion male sprinter. In 2023, Speed Boat Beach won the GI Malibu S....