thoroughbreds

Weekly National Rulings, June 11-17

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Dates: 06/15/2026 Licensee: Gerald Bennett, trainer Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on June 16, 2026; Disqualification of Covered Horses' Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender...

[ Read More ]
Pujals Retires As HIWU's General Counsel, Winston Named Successor

Edited Press Release The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) has named Janelle L. Winston as the successor to general counsel Michelle Pujals who has retired from the post, the organization said via a press release on Wednesday. Pujals worked for HIWU for four years after spending two decades with the NBA's legal department, where she oversaw the development and administration of anti-drug programs for NBA players, coaches, and trainers. She was a member of the NBA/National Basketball Players Association Prohibited Substances Committee and the NBA Crisis Management Team. "Michelle...

[ Read More ]
Keeneland Turns 90 With Fall Meet Stakes Schedule Worth $10.7 Million

Before Keeneland hosts the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the fourth time, the track will celebrate its 90th birthday with a 17-day Fall Meet from Oct. 2-24 featuring 22 stakes worth $10.7 million, the outfit said in a Wednesday press release. Keeneland, which was developed on property owned by John Oliver "Jack" Keene, opened Oct. 15, 1936 for nine days of racing. Over the course of the Fall Meet, 12 stakes will be run on the turf and 10 stakes will be on the dirt. The Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund...

[ Read More ]
NMRHOF Celebrates 50th Museum Ball Aug. 7

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (NMRHOF) will celebrate its 50th annual Museum Ball on Friday, Aug. 7, according to a press release from the repository on Wednesday. The esteemed black-tie gala has been held continuously since 1977 and remains the Museum's largest fundraising event and one of the most prestigious social affairs of the Saratoga racing season. Click here for ticket information.

[ Read More ]
Keeneland Serves As Co-Title Sponsor Of HRWA For 2026

Keeneland has signed on as the co-title sponsor of the Horse Racing Women's Association (HRWA), alongside FanDuel TV, for the remainder of 2026, the women's organization said via press release on Wednesday. "Keeneland is honored to partner with the Horse Racing Women's Association as a co-title sponsor this year and support its efforts to foster connection, mentorship and professional growth for women throughout the Thoroughbred industry," Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. "A strong future for horse racing depends on cultivating talent, encouraging collaboration and creating pathways for leadership....

[ Read More ]
$410k Early Voting Colt Leads Strong OBS June Opener

OCALA, FL - With a colt by Early Voting topping the day's results, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded its first of three sessions Tuesday with an average and median ahead of last year's record-setting figures. During Tuesday's session, 163 horses sold through the ring for a gross of $9,066,000. The average was $55,620--up 26.5% from last year's opening session--and the median of $30,000 was up 15.4% from the corresponding 2025 figure. The cumulative average from last year's two-day June sale was $51,107 and the...

[ Read More ]
Letter To The Editor: Responsible Transitions From Racing Can Happen Digitally

A recent article in the TDN, "He Thought His Horse Had Been Retired, So Why Did It Show Up at Chippewa Downs?" has attracted a lot of attention. It should. It's an unfortunate situation: an older Thoroughbred, sold for breeding purposes and believed by its owner to have been retired from racing ultimately returns to racing under new connections, raising understandable concerns about welfare and accountability. Scenarios like this are preventable and can be addressed through an existing protocol. Transferred as Retired from Racing (TRR)--a process available to all owners--should...

[ Read More ]
Collected's Californian Mission In The Collective Interest

A fairly quirky notion, perhaps, but let's just give it a little rein. Because it was in California that Collected reached his peak on the racetrack, including when beaten only by the Horse of the Year in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic; and it is also in California that he has been making his name in his second career. Is it conceivable, then, that his stock may be inheriting some aptitude peculiarly adapted to the demands of the West Coast theater? Regardless, his cumulative resonance among Californian breeders certainly gives...

[ Read More ]
Nominations Open for 2026 Bill Kraatz Thoroughbred Makeover Ambassador Award

Nominations for the 2026 Bill Kraatz Thoroughbred Makeover Ambassador Award are now being accepted online, the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) announced Friday. Named in memory of chief steward Bill Kraatz, the Ambassador Award recognizes a Thoroughbred Makeover graduate horse that exemplifies the athleticism, versatility, and trainability of the Thoroughbred beyond racing. The award celebrates horses that continue to make an impact after the Makeover, serving as ambassadors for the breed in a wide range of disciplines. Eligible horses include any Thoroughbred Makeover graduate, defined as any horse who was registered...

[ Read More ]
Daughter Of Girvin Pickitupthatsgood Debuts A Winner At Santa Anita

PICKITUPTHATSGOOD (Girvin--Heart of Midway, by Stevie Wonderboy) was unveiled as the 4-5 choice here and settled midpack up the backstretch. With good energy around the far turn, the favorite began turn up the heat to the outside as the field entered the lane. The filly fired on all cylinders, seized the lead inside the final furlong and won by four lengths over the 'Insighted' Janie Not Jeanie (Mandaloun). The winner's dam is responsible for 3-year-old filly in-training On Ramp (Beau Liam) and a yearling filly by Complexity. A half-sister to...

[ Read More ]
Friday's Racing Insights: Flightline Colt Set To Buzz The Twin Spires Towers Over Churchill Strip

5th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 2:45 p.m. ET. As TDN's Bill Finley reported earlier this week, Horse of the Year Flightline (by Tapit) has his first foal ready to hit the track at Churchill Downs on Friday. GREENWELL was a $500,000 buy for Greg Tramontin during the 2025 Keeneland September Sale. Sent to trainer Mark Casse, the Flightline colt is out of MGSW Cambodia (War Front), who is a half-sister to the dam of GSW Danse Macabre (Army Mule). Also set for a start is another Keeneland grad in Grand...

[ Read More ]
The Rise Of The Super Sire: Concentration, Book Size And Economics Have Reshaped Thoroughbred Breeding

By the early 2000s, the commercial Thoroughbred breeding industry still resembled a relatively broad ecosystem. Elite stallions mattered enormously, but a wide range of sires maintained meaningful market share, regional programs remained viable, and biological limits naturally constrained how dominant any one stallion could become. That landscape has changed dramatically. A review of sire progeny earnings distributions from 2001 through 2025 reveals one of the clearest long-term structural shifts in modern Thoroughbred breeding: an increasingly small number of stallions now account for a growing share of the sport's economic output....

[ Read More ]
X

Never miss another story from the TDN

Click Here to sign up for a free subscription.