Stuart Janney

It has been more than two weeks since 60 Minutes aired a piece on horse racing and its myriad problems, but it's still a smoldering issue. Many within the industry thought 60 Minutes had been unfair to the sport, presenting a piece that was unbalanced and focused far more on what's going wrong than what's going right. The Jockey Club said they did not ask 60 Minutes to do the segment, but did agree to participate and its chairman, Stuart Janney III, was among those interviewed. So what did Janney...

It is time for Stuart Janney to make his greatest gift to racing. On Sunday afternoon, I received a text from a colleague alerting me that I should tune into 60 Minutes later that night to watch their feature, "Horse Racing Reform?" Never before has it been more clear that as the sun begins to set on 2023, we are well past time to modernize the structure of The Jockey Club to make it accountable to all Thoroughbred industry stakeholders. The Jockey Club ought to be a fair representation of...

The CBS news program "60 Minutes," which aired Sunday evening included a segment that covered horse racing's worst problems, horses breaking down and dying and the use of performance-enhancing drugs on horses. 60 Minutes often reaches as many as 12 million viewers. The segment was hosted by correspondent Cecilia Vega. Though the program gave ample time to Jockey Club Chairman Stuart Janney III, Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority CEO Lisa Lazarus, Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural, and others who have been working to solve the problems, it left no doubt that...

The remains of Hall of Famer Ruffian have been transferred from the infield at Belmont Park to Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, where the legendary filly was born and raised, officials at the New York Racing Association announced Thursday. NYRA has also relocated the plaque from Ruffian's gravesite at Belmont Park to Claiborne Farm. Ruffian was buried Thursday at Marchmont Cemetery on the grounds of the famed nursery, the final resting place of the likes of Damascus, Danzig, Easy Goer, Unbridled, Personal Ensign, her daughter My Flag and granddaughter Storm...

Samantha Randazzo has been named The Jockey Club steward for the New York Racing Association. She takes the place of Dr. Jennifer Durenberger who was appointed as the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Equine Safety & Welfare Director. The appointment was announced by Stuart S. Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club. "We are pleased for Dr. Durenberger in her new role with HISA," Janney said. "Samantha's experience as a steward at Finger Lakes and her many years working in the racing industry make her the ideal person to...

Made the lukewarm 38-10 favorite for Saturday's GII Hill Prince S. at Aqueduct, Stuart Janney III's Celestial City (Uncle Mo) found his best stride entering the final eighth of a mile and outfinished Mackinnon (American Pharoah) for a maiden success at the stakes level. Exiting a local allowance victory Sept. 24, having previously dead-heated for the place spot behind the GI Breeders' Cup Mile-bound 'TDN Rising Star' Annapolis (War Front) in a paceless renewal of Saratoga's GIII Saranac S. three weeks prior, Celestial City bobbled slightly at the start and...

The 56th International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Conference was held Monday in Paris and the focus was on key challenges and opportunities, including the issues of integrity and fan engagement, facing the industry around the globe. "Integrity lies at the foundation of our sport and must inform every decision that we make," said IFHA Chair Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. "The pandemic has inherently changed the way that fans and punters enjoy and participate in horse racing. A good digital customer experience is key, and the general trend of digital evolution further...

Louis A. Cella has been elected to the board of stewards of The Jockey Club, filling the expired position of C. Steven Duncker. Stuart S. Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club, was reelected to the board. Cella has been a member of The Jockey Club since 2017. That same year, he was named president of the Oaklawn Jockey Club, succeeding his late father, Charles J. Cella, and became the third generation of his family to serve on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North...

5th-Keeneland, $109,450, Alw, 4-16, (NW1X), 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.75, gd, neck. LIMITED LIABILITY (c, 3, Kitten's Joy--Hold Harmless, by Blame) had just one rival beat for the opening six furlongs of his July 31 debut over the Saratoga turf, only to shoot past the rest of his rivals to graduate by 2 3/4 good-looking lengths. A pace-compromised third as the odds-on choice behind Coinage (Tapit) in the Sept. 1 GIII With Anticipation S. at the Spa, the homebred raced handier to the speed in the Oct. 3 GII Pilgrim S....

In the face of an end run in the Kentucky legislature, The Jockey Club will rescind its 140 mare cap for stallions, the organization announced in a press release Thursday morning. "The Jockey Club announced today that it is rescinding the following italicized language in Rule 14C of The Jockey Club's Principal Rules and Requirements of the American Studbook that addresses limitations to the total number of mares bred per stallion: The total number of broodmares bred per individual stallion whose year of birth is 2020 or thereafter shall not exceed 140...

Robert "Gus" Koch, died Saturday, March 20, 2021, at his beloved Mt. Carmel Farm, after a 24-year battle with cancer. He was 74. The retired longtime manager of Claiborne Farm, Koch was a Marine and a Vietnam veteran. Koch was the subject of one of the TDN and Keeneland's Life's Work Oral History project, and Chris McGrath's story on him may be read here. Hired when Seth Hancock took the reins at the farm, Koch was at the helm at Claiborne for 31 years, running perhaps the best lineup of...

68th Annual Round Table Conference hosted by The Jockey Club Purses subsidized by gaming revenue and a vastly expanded menu of claiming conditions were initially thought to be positive changes that would be a boon to Thoroughbred racing when racinos changed the North American landscape 30 years ago. Now, decades later, some horse people and industry stakeholders are starting to question whether chasing vastly inflated purses under narrowly defined race conditions is incentivizing a harmful cycle of behavior that over time imperils equine health, creates short fields, cheapens the betting...