thoroughbreds

When it comes to winning Breeders' Cup races, no rider does it better than "Big Money" Mike Smith. His 27 wins leads all jockeys and is seven wins better than runner-up John Velazquez. With the Breeders' Cup quickly approaching, Smith sat down with the team at the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland and took us on a trip down memory lane. The Hall of Famer was the Guest of the Week. Of the 27 wins, is one his favorite? "It would have to be Zenyatta [in the 2009...

Three Chimneys's Gun Pilot will take up stud duty alongside his sire, Gun Runner, for the 2025 breeding season, the farm said in Wednesday press release. A five-time stakes entrant, Gun Pilot's highest achievement came this year on the Derby undercard where he took home the GI Churchill Downs Stakes. The homebred will be making his final start in the GI Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar, which comes off a runner-up performance in the GI Forego at Saratoga. A stud fee will be announced following the Breeders Cup. "I...

A Planning Commission Public Hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 17, at 1:30 p.m. ET at City Hall in Lexington, Kentucky to discuss the completed draft of the Urban Growth Master Plan, according to a press release from the Fayette Alliance on Wednesday. Residents of Lexington-Fayette County are encouraged to provide public comment and input on the draft plan during this time. The Planning Commission will then reconvene on Thursday, October 31, at 1:30 p.m. ET at City Hall to review any proposed revisions and consider adoption as an element...

Angel of Empire (Classic Empire--Armony's Angel, by To Honor and Serve), who took home the GI Arkansas Derby, has been retired and will join the roster at Taylor Made Stallions for the upcoming breeding season, according to a press release from the farm on Wednesday. The 4-year-old, who last raced in 2023 when he finished third in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, will stand for $7,500 LFSN. Breeders will have an opportunity to earn a lifetime breeding right to the millionaire earner of more than $1.4 million. "We're...

Turfway Park, whose Holiday meet begins Dec. 4, has raised the purses for maiden special weights to $80,000 and allowance races will be up to $86,000, Churchill Downs Inc. reported via a release on Wednesday. Registered Kentucky-breds in maiden special weight races are now increased by $10,000 from last year's amount of $70,000. Allowance races will range from $82,000-$86,000, up from the 2023 rate of $72,000-$80,000. "We're excited to offer top-tier racing opportunities at Turfway Park this winter and continue building on Kentucky's strong year-round circuit," said Tyler Picklesimer, director...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) will host an Eclipse Awards Charity Golf Tournament, which will directly benefit the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), on Thursday Jan. 23 in advance of the 54th Annual Eclipse Awards ceremony, the organization said in a Wednesday press release. The NTRA will match proceeds to make a contribution to the TAA on behalf of the Thoroughbred racing industry and intends to make a presentation on the red carpet at the awards ceremony. The tournament will be held at the Ocean Course at the Breakers Palm...

Seize the Grey (Arrogate), the winner the GI Preakness Stakes and GI Pennsylvania Derby, will point directly to the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Saturday Nov. 2 at Del Mar, the Daily Racing Form first reported on Tuesday, Oct. 15. After taking home his second Grade I score, Seize the Grey's Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas left the door open to go to the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, but after conferring with ownership groups MyRacehorse and Gainesway Farm that the Dirt Mile would...

Pre-entered fields for the 2024 Breeders' Cup World Championships will be named live on FanDuel TV and on the Breeders' Cup website, official Mobile App, and Facebook, X, and YouTube channels on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 9:00 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. ET., the Breeders' Cup said via a press release on Wednesday. Pre-entry is the first of a two-step process for all owners intending to start a horse in one of the 14 Breeders' Cup World Championships races on either Nov. 1 or Nov. 2. The entry stage then takes place...

Marathon specialist Next (Not This Time) worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 Wednesday morning at Turfway Park and, as long as things stay on track, he will start in a Breeders' Cup race, reports trainer Doug Cowans. It was Next's first work since his 10-length romp in the Sept. 21 Greenwood Cup at Parx. "The update is that he breezed well this morning," Cowans said. "We'll see how he comes out of the work and if all goes well he'll be nominated to both the [GI Longines Breeders' Cup] Turf and...

Keeneland has catalogued 209 horses to the November Horses of Racing Age Sale to be held Nov. 14, the day after the conclusion of the November Breeding Stock Sale, the auction company said in a Wednesday press release. The sale will start at noon ET., which will enable trainers and racing entities to complete their morning activities. The majority of horses in the catalogue will be stabled at Keeneland in Barns 18-26 with some horses offered remotely from their training locations. The catalogue comprises 42 juveniles, 106 3-year-olds and 59...

Darley America has released its fee schedule for its stallion roster and leading the way is Medaglia d'Oro (El Prado {Ire}) at $75,000, while the amount for Nyquist (Uncle Mo) will be named after this year's Breeders' Cup, according to Jonabell Farm's management in a Wednesday presser. After Medaglia d'Oro, Horse of the Year Cody's Wish (Curlin) is tabbed at $65,000, while multiple Eclipse champion Essential Quality (Tapit) and sire of sires Street Sense (Street Cry {Ire}) both come in at $50,000. "The 2024 breeding season was one of our...

Uptowncharlybrown Stud is relocating Pennsylvania's leading active sire Uptowncharlybrown (Limehouse--La Iluminada, by Langfuhr) and GSP Eastwood (Speightstown--Fifth Avenue Ball, Deputy Minister) to Mountain Springs Farm in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, the stallion management company said in a release Wednesday. In 2023, the now-17-year-old Uptowncharlybrown set Pennsylvania's all-time record for combined stallion and breeder awards in a single season at $868,885. As for Eastwood, the current 14-year-old was the Keystone state's leading stallion in average earnings at $44,623; black type horses at 27.3%; and winners to starters at 82%. On Oct. 15 via...