TD Thornton

In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...

At the last two sales at Arqana, October and December, things got a little simpler at the former Haras de la Reboursiere et de Montaigu, or at least for those English-speaking salesgoers looking to remember the name of the popular French consignor. In October, the farm and consignment reverted to its original name and will now be simply known as Haras de Montaigu. Other changes are afoot as well at the century-plus owned family operation. Montaigu, long known for breeding its own and raising and selling for a select group...

The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...

By T.D. Thornton With the only business voted upon at Wednesday's New York Racing Association Reorganization Board of Directors meeting being rubber-stamp unanimous approvals certifying the slate of NYRA officers and the roster of peace officers, the talk among board members touched on topics related to bolstering big days on the circuit and whether or not Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) could be incentivized to compete in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga Race Course. "We are trying our best," said NYRA chief executive officer and president...

Canterbury Park in Minnesota has emerged as the latest track to take a stab at wooing Triple Crown champion American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). According to Eric Halstrom, Canterbury's vice president of racing operations, track management is considering completely overhauling and raising the purse of an existing non-graded stakes race by a factor of 10 to lure America's most sought-after horse. Halstrom said the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby at one mile on the turf Aug. 29 would be moved to 1 1/8 miles on the dirt for a purse of...