thoroughbreds

Tickets for Keeneland's 2024 Fall Meet, slated for Oct. 4-26, will go on sale to the public on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 9 a.m. ET., the track said in a press release on Thursday. A variety of ticket options are available, and all tickets must be pre-purchased via Keeneland's Official Online Ticket Office. Keeneland has increased the purses for five stakes races during the 2024 Fall Meet by a combined total of $800,000, which brings the total purse for all 22 stakes races held over the 17-day meet to a...

An interval of 136 years between Apollo and Justify, followed by one of just five to Mage, tells us all we need to know about the way modern trainers can (and increasingly prefer to) prepare their Derby prospects. So these remain very early days for the freshmen sires, nowadays responsible for such a large portion of every juvenile crop. In this era of monster books, especially, even the rookie with most action to date has barely scratched the surface. At the moment that's Vekoma, who lies second in the freshman...

The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) is rolling out the Makeover Champions program by inviting members of the Thoroughbred industry to demonstrate public support for former connected horses who are headed to the 2024 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, the RRP said in a press release on Thursday. Former connections, including breeders, owners, trainers, and stallion farms are eligible to participate in the program. Makeover Champions will share updates about their former connected horses throughout the event. Additional participation options include volunteering at the Thoroughbred Makeover, attending to cheer on their...

The National Thoroughbred League (NTL) will begin its second season with a stop at Kentucky Downs on Sunday, Sept. 1, the track said in a Thursday release. Launched last year, the NTL tour adds a competitive component for its teams based on the outcome of races. At Kentucky Downs, that will involve a five-race sequence culminating in the $500,000 National Thoroughbred League Handicap. There are no nomination, entry or starter fees for the scheduled handicap, though horses must be nominated by Aug. 19, with declarations to be made by Aug....

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the GI Travers Stakes three times, could be going for No. 4 in this year's Midsummer Derby Baffert, speaking from his summer base at Del Mar in California, said that one of his 3-year-olds--Parenting (Justify) or Muth (Good Magic) who were both tabbed as 'TDN Rising Stars'--could represent him in the $1.25 million race at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 24. "Potentially," he said. Parenting, owned by Wathnan Racing, was a $750,000 purchase at the 2023 Ocala 2-year-olds in training...

The Jockey Club will rebrand its wholly-owned commercial subsidiaries--The Jockey Club Information Systems, The Jockey Club Technology Services, and InCompass Solutions Inc.--under a single commercial brand called TJC Innovations, according to a late afternoon Wednesday press release from the organization. "To more efficiently meet the evolving demands of customers looking for comprehensive datasets and solutions that span the entire breadth of our businesses from breeding to racing to sales to retirement, TJC Innovations can service the customer with one call," said James L. Gagliano, president and COO of The Jockey...

"My friends thought I was nuts when I got back into the horse business," says Maynard Thompson. "But when those babies are about three to five days old, and you take them outside and turn them loose for the first time, every one of them thinks he's the toughest thing out there. And if that doesn't put a smile on your face, you're not breathing." Which is why Thompson perseveres on 15 acres of gently undulating terrain, a few miles south of Tama on the Iowa River. "I'm 71 years...

The Virginia Racing Commission has appointed Waqas Ahmed to serve as its executive secretary, effective Aug. 10, the commission said in a Wednesday press release. Most recently, Ahmed served as the deputy executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC). In that role, he carried out several strategic initiatives, including the launch and implementation of sports wagering. Prior to that, Ahmed served as the KHRC's director of pari-mutuel wagering and compliance, and oversaw the launch of several tracks, historical horse racing facilities as well as advance deposit account wagering...

Monmouth Park will host a $500 onsite and online handicapping contest on Saturday, Aug. 3, with two NHC seats, two BCBC spots and cash available for contestants, the track said in a release Wednesday. Online options to participate are TVG, 4NJBETS and Xpressbet. Onsite registration will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET on Saturday on the first floor of the Clubhouse. For TVG and 4NJBets online player registration ends at 3 p.m. ET on Friday. Xpressbet players can register through 12:50 p.m. ET on Saturday. There is a...

Elinor Wolf is joining the team of Starlight Racing and StarLadies Racing as their new director of marketing, partner relations and recruiting, the syndicates said in a release on Wednesday. Wolf has spent the past few years studying abroad and working. During that time she completed the Irish National Stud Course in 2021, graduated from the Godolphin Flying Start Program last year, and for the past six months ran Thoroughbred Country in Ireland. "I am thrilled to be relocating to the U.S. and joining Starlight Racing and StarLadies Racing full-time,"...

The Texas Thoroughbred Association has catalogued 207 yearlings for the Texas Summer Yearling Sale beginning at 10 a.m. CT Aug. 26 at the sales pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park, the organization said in a Wednesday release. The sale, which includes 91 Louisiana-bred yearlings, along with 48 Texas-breds, 32 Arkansas-breds and 18 Oklahoma-breds will also include a special dispersal of horses consigned by CS Sales, agent for Three Feathers Farm. The dispersal, which includes weanlings and broodmares, brings the total number of horses entered in the sale to...

The New York Gaming Commission (NYGC) has released its 2023 report regarding the high rate of fatalities upstate last year. Between May 26, 2023 and September 4, 2023, there were 17 equine fatalities at Saratoga Race Course, which again put the track's Thoroughbred safety record under scrutiny. Several suggestions were made by the NYGC, none more surprising than the recommendation that NYRA should install a synthetic track at Saratoga. With the Spa already having two turf courses and main dirt course, it remains to been seen if there's any room...