Today's Edition:  Record-Setting $1.4M Justify Filly Leads The Way at OBS · Baeza Set for Summer Showdown · Royal Ascot Coverage 2

thoroughbreds

Secretariat Center To Hold Annual Fundraiser Oct. 14 At Godolphin's Jonabell Farm

The Secretariat Center will hold its annual fundraising event, "Bluegrass Brunch and Bubbles" at Godolphin's Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET, the organization said in a release Wednesday. Bidding on everything from vacation packages and experience tickets to artwork, halters, saddles, sports memorabilia and more, will go live Oct. 1 and will close at Noon on the day of the event. All proceeds go toward supporting the Secretariat Center's mission of preparing off-track Thoroughbreds for post-track careers through rehabilitation and retraining. "Support...

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Rosario Off His Spa Mounts Wednesday; Camacho Set To Return Friday at Monmouth

Per agent Ron Anderson, Joel Rosario is off his mounts Wednesday at Saratoga as he still has soreness in his mouth after requiring stitches Saturday when Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) tragically broke down in the GI Test S., NYRA's Keith McCalmont said in a tweet Wednesday. Rosario will aim for a return to riding on Thursday, Anderson added. Per agent Ron Anderson, Joel Rosario is off his mounts Wednesday at Saratoga as he still has soreness in his mouth after requiring stitches Saturday. Joel will aim for a Thursday...

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River Oak Moving Through The Gears

Trading in horsepower is second nature to Nathan McCauley. For many years his father Ron owned a big Toyota franchise in Lexington, and McCauley showed a precocious flair for the same game when opening his own dealerships in Tennessee. And since quitting automobiles for Thoroughbreds, McCauley has discovered a couple of niches largely unexplored by those horsemen whose own transitions, from one generation to the next, tend merely to consolidate familiar commercial conventions. In fact, since opening River Oak Farm for business in 2019, he reckons to have bought and...

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Jockey Club's Gagliano: HISA Is Necessary

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." --Daniel Patrick Moynihan Letters to the editor are, by definition, opinions. You can disagree with an opinion, but you can't exactly say it's wrong. But when "facts" that are not facts are offered in support of an opinion, that is disinformation. The writer of the July 26, 2023, Thoroughbred Daily News letter to the editor slamming HISA could be the poster child for that. Over the past week I reviewed his criticisms with executives with HISA and HIWU...

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Maltese Falcon Spies Graded Prize In La Jolla Win

A six-start maiden, Maltese Falcon (Ire) (Caravaggio) was nevertheless dispatched as the public's choice for Sunday's GIII La Jolla H. and duly obliged with a perfect-trip graduation. Neatly drawn in stall three in a field of eight in this final prep for the GII Del Mar Derby, the 105,000gns Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training purchase found a good spot at the fence right on the back of a sedate tempo set jointly by Agency (Bolt d'Oro) and Justin's Legacy (Justify). Juan Hernandez was content to allow Maltese Falcon to bide...

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Julias Dream Gives Flameaway His First 'TDN Rising Star' At Del Mar

Set for a debut at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on Sunday afternoon, Julias Dream (Flameaway) gave her freshman sire something to cheer about as she came home a newly-minted 'TDN Rising Star'. Taking to the grass, the chestnut filly at 6-1 odds shot to the lead up the backstretch and held sway around the far turn. Into the stretch, Julias Dream went on comfortably to win by 5 1/2 lengths and stop the clock at :56.97 over fellow first timer Avoir (More Than Ready). The winner's dam is a half-sister...

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Klaravich Homebred Ways And Means Cast As 'TDN Rising Star'

by Bill Finley and J.N. Campbell Ways and Means (Practical Joke) romped in her debut Sunday at Saratoga, running away to a 12 3/4-length win in the day's second race, a $136,5000 maiden special weight race run for fillies at six furlongs. Her game effort earned her 'TDN Rising Star' credentials. "She blew us away," winning owner Seth Klarman said. With the bettors making the juvenile filly the 7-10 favorite, the word was out, but few could have expected just how dominant she would be. Patiently ridden by Flavien Prat,...

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Technology, Engagement, and the Future the Focus of Annual Round Table Conference

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - A panel on computer-assisted wagering (CAW) and its pros and cons, and another on trainers' reactions to the new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) regulations, took center stage at the 2023 Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing held in Saratoga Springs, New York on Thursday. Patrick Cummings, the moderator of the panel on CAWs, is the Executive Director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, a racing-industry think tank. Cummings took the panel through a brief history of parimutuel wagering and the changes...

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Friday's Graded Turf Stakes Get The Weekend Started Early

With the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a bevy of graded stakes--marked by Saturday's GI Whitney S.--plus, the annual Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale which begins Monday, Upstate New York once again makes its case as the Thoroughbred fulcrum. To get the weekend started early, we have a pair of Friday graded turf stakes scheduled which will crown winners. First, the $400,000 GIII Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. for 3-year-old fillies serves as the middle sparkler in NYRA's Fasig-Tipton Turf Tiara series. Since Aspen Grove (Ire) (Justify) has elected to take on the...

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Whitney Day Fundraiser For Local Breast Cancer Support Planned

Pink will be the theme of Whitney Day Aug. 5 at Saratoga Race Course in recognition of local breast cancer survivors, the track said in a release Thursday. To Life!, a Capital Region non-profit organization that provides personalized breast cancer education and support services, will be accepting donations and sharing information at a trackside table inside Gates B and C. "It is an honor for To Life! to be at Saratoga Race Course on Whitney Day," said Executive Director Eileen Howe Bird. "Celebrating the strength and courage of breast cancer...

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Jockey Romero Asked To Explain Actions In Controversial Belterra Finish

The stewards at Belterra Park have asked jockey Gregory Romero to explain why he appeared to not persevere with his mount while on the lead in the final few jumps before the finish of Wednesday's fourth race there, which led to that 9-1 horse getting beaten by a neck by the hard-charging 6-5 favorite. Reached by phone just prior to the start of Thursday's races, the three Belterra stewards--Ron  Herbstreit, Vincent Clark, and Raina Paucar--told TDN in a speaker phone call that they would not discuss what was said at...

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Thursday's Insights: War Front Juvenile Seeks Brevet In Del Mar Maiden

1st-DMR, $82K, Msw, 2yo, 5fT, 5:00 p.m. EISENHOWER (War Front), a juvenile homebred colt for Ramona S. Bass and Perry R. Bass II, debuts for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella in the Del Mar opener. Ridden by Ramon Vazquez, the bay is out of GSW and MGISP My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song), who counts GI Florida Derby champ Materiality (Afleet Alex) as a half brother. In addition to Eisenhower, she is also responsible for his full brothers: GISW Annapolis, who is also campaigned by Bass Racing and Alpha Delta...

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