thoroughbred racing

The nine-day Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Los Alamitos kicks off Friday, June 20 and will run through Sunday, July 6 with three stakes worth a combined $400,000 serving as the highlights, the track announced via press release Monday afternoon. Racing is set to be conducted Friday-Sunday (June 20-22; June 27-29; and July 4-6) all three weeks with post time scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The richest of the stakes races, the $200,000 GII Great Lady M. Stakes, will run Saturday, July 5 as the last of the black-type on...

The 1,116-page bill the House passed early Thursday morning could have a profound effect on the horse racing industry. Currently, horse owners can only write off 40 percent of the cost of a race horse once it enters service. Under the Trump bill, the write-off, known as bonus depreciation, will be 100% for five years. With the bill now headed to the Senate, there is some speculation that the 100 percent deduction will be made permanent. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 increased bonus depreciation to 100% until...

Rubick, the sire of multiple Group 1 winner Jacquinot and The Everest hero Yes Yes Yes, has been sold to continue his stallion career in China. He will be based with Huayu Horse Industry, which belongs to leading Chinese owner Huang Qing Cai. A three-time winner for the Gerald Ryan stable, notably winning the G2 Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield, Rubick was retired to stand at Coolmore Australia in 2015, with Yes Yes Yes emerging from his very first crop. In 2021, the son of Encosta De Lago moved to Swettenham...

The Oaklawn Park live racing season wrapped up last Saturday, and it delivered with strong numbers across the board, with over $56-million in purses distributed over 621 races, the track announced Monday evening. With an average of 10 races a day, and a daily purse distribution of $903,338, the racing remained competitive with an average of 9.32 starters per race. The average daily handle surpassed $6.73-million while the meet handle reached well north of $417-million. Participation from horsemen remained strong, too, as 2,030 individual horses made at least one start...

Trevor McCarthy is only 30 and a winner of 1,871 races, which suggests he had many good years left in the saddle. Instead, McCarthy, who last rode on Aug. 15 at Colonial Downs, has retired and has gone into the real estate business. It was his way of escaping a job that was not only making him unhappy but bringing about mental health issues that he knew he had to find a way to get under control. "Mostly, this was about my mental health and my happiness," said McCarthy, who...

Sunday's eight-race card at Aqueduct was abandoned due to 'unacceptable noise levels' from an event being held at the neighboring Resorts World Casino, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced via press release. The 'March Madness Auto and Bike Show' reportedly generated noise levels which would potentially create unsafe racing conditions, and despite repeated attempts from NYRA to rectify the problem, the casino was unable to make the necessary adjustments to allow racing to continue. There was no advance notice that the event could become an issue. As a result,...

A bill that would authorize fixed odds betting on Thoroughbred and greyhound racing was filed Monday in the West Virginia Senate. If enacted, 5% of each licensee's adjusted gross wagering receipts from fixed odds wagering would go to a fund to supplement purses for Thoroughbreds and greyhounds. The money bet via Thoroughbred fixed odds would go to Thoroughbred purses; the greyhound revenue would be earmarked for greyhound purses. According to the text of Senate Bill 576, "Any content authorized for fixed odds wagering on horse races from West Virginia, or...

Live racing was canceled at Penn National Race Course Thursday evening due to the ongoing effects of winter weather in the area. Racing at the Pennsylvania oval is set to resume Friday with the first of 10 races scheduled to go off at 5:45 pm. Thursday's canceled 10-race Penn National card will now be run in its entirety next Wednesday and the track will race Wednesday through Friday next week. Also forced to cancel live racing Thursday, Mahoning Valley abandoned the card after the third race due to track conditions....

The number of Thoroughbred trainers who started at least one horse in North America declined in 2024, dipping from 4,058 in 2023 to 3,886 in 2024, a reduction of 4.2%. The slippage is largely in step with the fall-off of the annual foal crop and the closure of racetracks across the continent. Using year-end historical statistics posted on Equibase to make comparisons, the number of North American trainers has dropped 21.5% from five years ago, when 4,955 conditioners were active in 2019. Ten years ago, in 2014, there were 6,262...

1/ST TECHNOLOGY has partnered with Tier-1 operator bet365 to deliver horse racing to that company's U.S. customers via 1/ST BET, The Stronach Group said in a Wednesday release. The partnership will power the stateside launch of bet365's Advance Deposit Wagering on horse racing, across web and mobile app channels, in U.S. jurisdictions where ADW is accepted. "This is a tremendous opportunity to partner with one of the premier brands in sports betting and for 1/ST BET to showcase its best-in-class pari-mutuel horse racing wagering experience to bet365's customers," said Keith...

Wagering on U.S. races dipped 2.85% in February, with 11 fewer racing dates, in year-to-year comparisons released Tuesday by Equibase, while through two months of 2024, wagering is down 6.83% with 59 fewer race days than the same period in 2023. Wagering in February totaled $838,195,585, compared to $862,782,585 in February, 2023. Through two months, a total of $1,618,055,698 was wagered in U.S. races. That figure was $1,736,625,054 after two months of 2023. While available purse money increased 6.44% to $86,413,218 in February, that figure year-to-date is down 4.03% to...

Picture waking up to a world where our beloved industry doesn't exist. This thought isn't just a scare tactic; it's a serious wake-up call about what's at stake--our jobs, our skills and the legacy many families have built over generations. Our industry, known for its grit and passion, is facing serious threats, both from inside and out. And yet, we've been too comfortable, too stuck in our ways, too scared to change. We've heard the tough feedback, and it's not all unwarranted. Claims that we lack emotional maturity and are...