Sobhy Sonbol

I've read every HISA annual metrics report since the first one landed in 2024. All three of them. Cover to cover, footnotes included. And every year I've come away with the same feeling: something is missing. Not from the effort. The effort is real. HISA has built the most comprehensive equine health database in the history of American racing. Seven million veterinary treatment records. Treatment histories that follow horses across state lines for the first time. The infrastructure is extraordinary. What's been missing is statistical depth. Year after year, the...

Every year, about 17,000 Thoroughbreds are born in North America. Let's assume half of them are colts: 8,500 male horses bred with ambition in their blood. Of those, maybe 50--if we're being generous--will ever make it to stud. The fillies often retain value as broodmares, but even then the industry quietly accumulates thousands of horses every single year whose careers end without a clear path forward. And for far too many of them, that path ends at the slaughterhouse. We talk about racing fatalities in terms of breakdowns on the...

The horse racing industry will gain access to advanced machine vision technology through a new partnership between Equius AI and global surveillance provider IREX AI, the former said via a Thursday press release. The collaboration will deliver video intelligence platforms designed for racetracks, training facilities, and equine operations, utilizing IREX's existing security infrastructure currently deployed across 30+ countries at airports, government facilities, transportation networks, and major sporting venues. The technology suite includes real-time security analytics, fire and smoke detection, crowd monitoring, and biometric access control. Racing-specific applications will encompass individual...

I love the yearling sales. There is something that just feels electric from the moment you set foot on the grounds. It's not just the horses; it's the people, the familiar faces you reconnect with, and the new friendships you strike up. It's the stories shared under the shade of a tree while you wait for your turn to look at a horse. And of course, nothing beats the thrill of the hunt, the grind and the search for The One; that special horse that stops you in your tracks....