thoroughbreds

Old Friends has welcomed 2015 Eclipse Award Champion Grass Horse Big Blue Kitten (Kitten's Joy) to the farm on Thursday, Apr. 24, according . The 17-year old stallion was donated to Old Friends courtesy of Calumet Farm. "We are so excited to welcome this robust, battle tested late bloomer to Old Friends," said President and CEO of Old Friends John Nicholson. "His accomplished career, his impressive connections and his pleasant demeanor will make him a favorite with our thousands of visitors. We are deeply grateful to Calumet Farm for allowing...

Trainer Michael McCarthy has pledged to make a donation to 501(c)(3) aftercare organization Win Place Home if presumed favorite Journalism (Curlin) takes the GI Kentucky Derby this Saturday. "Michael has supported us for years, and notably, he has donated more horses to our program than any other trainer," said CJ Wilson, founder and lead trainer. "What's more, he ensures every horse he sends to us comes with a financial donation from the owners--a practice that sets a powerful standard for responsibility in the industry." Wilson said that McCarthy's pledge is...

AUBURN, Wash.--The headline in the local edition of The Seattle Times on Wednesday, June 19, 1996 was full of elan as it fired off a bold prediction the day before the opening, "Racetrack Will Help Put Auburn On The Map." The building of Emerald Downs, which replaced the venerable and beloved oval at Longacres, was set to anchor development in the region and usher in a new era for the city which the paper said would attract "gamblers, shoppers and spectators." Some folks quoted were optimistic about the wiping away...

Laurelin (Ire) (Zarak {Fr}) issued a well-timed move down the lane to stroll home in the Memories of Silver Stakes at Aqueduct on Sunday afternoon. The Goffs September Yearling Sale grad who was picked out by Form Bloodstock donned cap and gown by 1 1/2 lengths on debut during the Belmont At The Big meet Oct. 13. Trainer Graham Motion then sent the filly into the Tepin Stakes over the same turf course Nov. 17 and the chestnut visited the winner's circle again. Taking a break, the 3-year-old went off...

7th-Aqueduct, $71,340, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 4-27, 3yo, 1m, 1:36.58, ft, 3 1/4 lengths. GARAMOND (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Blue Watch, by Tapit) broke his maiden by 1 3/4 lengths on debut at Tampa Bay Jan. 25. The colt ran third to Flood Zone (Frosted) in the GIII Gotham Stakes Mar. 1 before going off as the 5-2 second choice here in a field that scratched down from eight to three. The homebred rolled from the word 'go' and gave 'TDN Rising Star' Cornucopian (Into Mischief) a dose of his own...

The European Athletics Championships of 1966 constituted the first major international sporting event where human athletes were officially drug tested. Driving this watershed moment was growing alarm that more and more athletes were turning to performance-enhancing drugs with near impunity and no small amount of personal risk. Several amphetamines were found in the system of Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen after he collapsed mid-race at the 1960 Rome Olympics, fracturing his skull. He later died in hospital. Seven years after that, British cyclist Tommy Simpson collapsed and died during the...

Kentucky Oaks hopeful and 'TDN Rising Star' Quietside (Malibu Moon), winner of the GII Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn, and the Kentucky Derby-bound Grande (Curlin), runner-up in the GII Wood Memorial Stakes at the Big A, worked at Keeneland on Friday. Quietside was clocked in :48.20 for a half-mile with her Oaks jockey, Jose Ortiz, in the saddle. "Jose and I had a plan to give her just a half-mile and easy gallop out just to keep her on her toes from here on out," trainer John Ortiz said. "She worked...

Built (Hard Spun) will bypass the GI Kentucky Derby and point to the GII Pat Day Mile, according to a Friday post on X by owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. A $260,000 OBS April purchase, Built worked five furlongs in :59.40 (1/9) at Churchill Downs Thursday. "It's a huge honor to have qualified for the Kentucky Derby, but we have opted for the GII $600k Pat Day Mile, a race we believe is better suited for Built," the post read. "Thanks to our wonderful Eclipse TBP & Cat Racing Stable for...

On a night that saw Patches O'Houlihan (Reload) take home both Canadian Horse of the Year and Male Sprinter honors, Kevin Attard finally ended the 13-year consecutive streak of dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse when he won Outstanding Trainer by a single vote at the 50th Sovereign Awards presented by The Jockey Club of Canada which was held outside the city of Toronto, the organization said in a press release late Thursday. Besting Casse 135 to 134 in the tally, Attard pushed the outside of the envelope in what...

8th-Keeneland, $120,000, Alw, 4-24, (NW2L), 3yo, 6f, 1:11.19, ft, 2 3/4 lengths. ANCIENT WORLD (g, 3, Into Mischief--Thirteen Arrows {MSW, $277,375}, by Indian Charlie) used a well-timed move down the lane at Fair Grounds Mar. 13, which put him across the wire and into the winner's circle at first asking. Ready to clear an allowance condition before the conclusion of the Keeneland meet and once again serving as the even-money favorite here, the gelding was not the swiftest out of the blocks. However, chase mode suited the 3-year-old up the...

9th-KEE, $140K, OC100K/N3X, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 4:38 p.m. ET. UNMATCHED WISDOM (Cairo Prince) posted a 98 Beyer figure after a muddy debut score during the Belmont At The Big meet last summer and was promptly pinned with a 'TDN Rising Star.' The colt's year also included a win in the Curlin Stakes at the Spa in mid-July. Finishing off the board in both the GI DK Travers and in the GI Pennsylvania Derby, now the Klaravich-owned dark bay is set to make his 4-year-old debut. Out of unraced dam Glide...

The Thoroughbred racing industry joined forces on Saturday, Apr. 19 for the seventh annual PDJF Telethon to raise over $445,000 for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), the organization said through a Wednesday press release by FanDuel TV. The fundraiser was presented by Lane's End Farm and broadcast on both FanDuel TV and America's Day at the Races on the FOX Sports family of networks. "This event is one that we all look forward to every year," said FanDuel TV's General Manager of Racing Andrew Moore. "This event showcases the...