The Jockey Club

The rate of fatal injury in equine athletes for 2024 was 1.11 per 1000 starts, the lowest rate since the creation of the Equine Injury Database (EID) back in 2009, according to the initial data analysis from the 16th year of reporting to the EID. Based on the 2024 data, 99.89% of all flat racing stats at racetracks participating in the EID were completed without a fatality. Analysis of the EID, released Wednesday by The Jockey Club, was provided by Dr. Euan Bennett of the University of Glasgow and Professor...

A new service for breeders that provides a complimentary race record for Thoroughbreds foaled in 2025 and later that is updated after each domestic or international start will be offered by The Jockey Club, according to an organization release Wednesday. Breeders can subscribe to the daily service by providing their email address during the registration application process via Interactive Registration at www.registry.jockeyclub.com. Upon subscribing, breeders will receive an email with a link to all eligible horses, each linking to an Equineline.com Product 9 (Lifetime Starts in Past Performance Format) report....

The National Hunt Chase staged at the Cheltenham Festival has been permanently named in honour of HRH The Princess Royal, the Jockey Club announced on Sunday. The oldest contest staged at the meeting, it will now be known as the Princess Royal National Hunt Chase. In 2025, it will take place on Tuesday, March 11, the opening day of the Festival. Guy Lavender, CEO of Cheltenham Racecourse, said, "It is a tremendous privilege for us to announce today that the National Hunt Chase will now honour HRH The Princess Royal...

Michael O'Sullivan will be honoured at this year's Cheltenham Festival with the opening Supreme Novices' Hurdle set to be run in his memory, the Jockey Club and Sky Bet announced on Thursday. The Grade 1 event, the first race of the meeting on Tuesday, March 11, will be staged as the Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices' Hurdle, paying tribute to the National Hunt jockey who died after being seriously injured in a fall at Thurles on February 6. He was 24. It was in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle that...

It was announced on Wednesday that Ascot Racecourse, the Jockey Club and Churchill Downs have agreed an extension of the 'wild card' entry initiative launched last year that ties together Royal Ascot, the Betfred Derby Festival at Epsom and the Kentucky Derby meeting at Churchill Downs. Last year a runner from each of the GII Edgewood Stakes for three-year-old fillies and the GII American Turf Stakes for three-year-old colts received an entry for the Betfred Oaks and Betfred Derby, respectively. That will again be the case this year, while an...

OwnerView, an effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the TOBA, is hosting its first virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference panel to be held Tuesday, March 11, at 2:00pm, with a discussion pertaining to accounting, legal, and insurance considerations. Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, will moderate the panel with guests Chapman Hopkins, chair of Stoll Keenon Ogden's Equine Litigation group; Joe Daugherty, public accountant for Dean Dorton, leading equine tax practice; and Mike Levy, founder of Muirfield Insurance. "The OwnerView webinar series is the industry's leading effort to educate and...

Later this week, breeding sheds across the Lexington region will open their doors to mares, but in the lead-up to the start of the 2025 mating season, there is an underlying feeling of unease in the Bluegrass. Several farms have already--and quite publicly--announced discounts off their initially posted stud fees, while others are either fighting hard to attract mares, or shopping private deals or fee reductions. The fear among many in town is that in 2025, the industry has reached some sort of tipping point--either due to the economy, a...

Naming AI will provide assistance to owners naming their horses, The Jockey Club announced Tuesday. The new technology enables users to generate five or 10 name options with a choice of one-, two-, or three-word names. Customers can use the tool to generate names based on words of their choosing or based on a foal's pedigree. The tool adheres to the naming rules outlined in Rule 6F of the Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book, but as with all names being claimed or reserved, those generated by...

It was announced in a joint statement on Monday that representatives of the Thoroughbred Group and the Racecourse Association (RCA) have undertaken a commitment to work together to pursue the signing of an industry-wide commercial partnership structure. These partnerships would see a commercial link formed between participants and racecourses to share the revenue that is generated by the sport. This is agreed to be a critical requirement if the industry is to reward owners and provide racegoers and bettors with competitive and engaging racing. In turn, it is hoped that...

Simon Tonge will be the new general manager of Haydock Park Racecourse, The Jockey Club announced on Thursday. He will begin his new role in April of 2025 and succeeds Molly Day, who has left Haydock for a new opportunity in the U.S. Tonge has served as executive director of Bath Racecourse since 2022. Dickon White, regional director at The Jockey Club, said, "We are delighted to welcome Simon to the team at Haydock Park. His leadership and experience make him the ideal person for this role. April is the...

Katie Margarson will join The Jockey Club as a trainee clerk of the course next month. Having served as the longtime assistant to multiple Group race-winning trainer and father George Margarson at Graham Lodge Stables in Newmarket, in recent years Katie has broadened her experience in the racing industry by working as an assistant to the clerk of the course on race days at Goodwood and by working as a presenter for Ladbrokes. In her new role as a trainee clerk of the course, Margarson will be working at Huntingdon...

Through an international exchange program, Cody Watkins, a steward of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), will serve as The Jockey Club-appointed steward at the New York Racing Association (NYRA) racetracks beginning in early January 2025, according to a Wednesday press release from The Jockey Club of America. "This is an exciting opportunity for Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. and abroad," said Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of The Jockey Club. "Racing is an international sport, and sharing ideas and information through programs such as this can only make the sport...