TOC

Last week's news that FanDuel TV is gradually winding down its product through 2027 has ripped through the industry like a tornado. In response, some, like the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, have urged the company to reverse course. "Should there be a viable path to reconsider this decision, we urge FanDuel and Flutter Entertainment leadership to explore it. We also encourage consideration of a sale of the network to an entity willing to continue regular operations. The infrastructure, audience, and brand equity built over decades represent valuable assets," the...

Samantha Siegel has been named this year's recipient of the Ed Friendly Industry Service Award, also known as the TOC Chairman's Award, the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) announced on Tuesday. The annual award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Thoroughbred racing industry. Siegel, who races as Jay Em Ess Stable, is an active owner and breeder whose family has been involved in California Thoroughbred racing for more than five decades. Her late father, Mace, was a founding member of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. Jay Em...

Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) named seven new directors Wednesday afternoon, according to a letter to TOC membership from TOC President and CEO Bill Nader. Nominations for the ballot closed Mar. 1 with seven qualified candidates for seven open positions, giving each one the position without the need of an election and saving the organization approximately $18,000 in election expenses. The new board, which will be seated July 1, follows: Gary Barber, three-year term: Chairman and CEO of Spyglass Media Group, LLC, TOBA's National Owner of the Year (twice), and...

As California horse racing enters one of its most consequential years yet, the California Horse Racing Board's (CHRB) first meeting of the year this Wednesday includes a proposal for 19 weeks of fair racing in the North of California this year. The National Horseman's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) has also weighed in, offering its support for a live racing circuit in NorCal at the behest of a group of Northen California owners and trainers, according to a letter the organization sent to the CHRB Jan. 7. "We recognize under...

The board of directors of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) unanimously voted to appoint owner of Hill 'n' Dales Farms John Sikura to fill the vacant seat of Nick Alexander, subject to full board ratification at the upcoming Jan. 30 meeting, the owners group said via a Friday press release. "I have a great love for California racing dating to my youth attending Santa Anita with my father when Charlie Whittingham was our trainer," said John Sikura. "I currently have horses with Bob Baffert, and I can think of...

California-breds have long been the backbone of California racing. Since 2014, they've represented between 45% and 50% of all starters at Thoroughbred race meets in the state. Over half of all horses currently stabled in Southern California tracks are understood to be Cal-breds. A shrinking foal crop in the state, however, means that racing secretaries will have to rely on fewer of them than is currently the case over the next few years. Modeling performed for the TDN suggests there will be a combined 290 fewer Cal-bred runners competing in California...

California-breds have long been a staple of the state's racing product. Since 2014, CA-breds have represented between 45% and 50% of all starters at Thoroughbred race meets. Since the consolidation of racing in the south of the state, that trend has continued. From the start of the Santa Anita winter meeting through mid-March, Cal-breds made up about 47% of all individual starters, which includes both open races and those restricted to northern trainers. But with last year's foal crop (now yearlings) currently sitting at just below 1000 amid a breeding...

Kosta, Stephanie, and Pete Hronis of Hronis Racing have been named the recipients of the 2025 Ed Friendly Industry Service Award, also known as the TOC Chairman's Award, according to the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC). The annual award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Thoroughbred racing. Not only did Hronis Racing lead all California owners in wins in 2024, but they have regularly campaigned top horses around the nation, including 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline, and are dedicated philanthropists. "The Hronis family truly embodies the spirit...

A pair of Del Mar programs, "Ship & Win" and the maiden dirt bonus, again will enhance the summer meet purses when racing resumes for the seaside track's season starting Friday, July 18. The unique "Ship & Win" plan, presented for the 15th consecutive year, serves as a strong incentive for horses from out of state to race locally and intensify the track's reputation as one of the country's top facilities for field size. Nearly 3,000 horses have used the program since its beginnings in 2011 with the vast majority...

Following the announcement that the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) will not apply for 2025 race dates and that CARF and Alameda County Fair have decided to end Pleasanton stabling Mar. 25, stakeholders in southern California will now intensify efforts to develop a single circuit to create a positive platform for Thoroughbred racing at Santa Anita, Del Mar and Los Alamitos, the Southern California Stabling and Vanning Committee said in a press release late on Thursday. The new version of California Thoroughbred racing will continue to offer suitable racing...

The New Year marks a brave new world for California racing, with one circuit largely consolidated in the South. On New Year's morning, the TDN sat down with Bill Nader, president and CEO of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), to discuss this new landscape. In part one, Nader shared, among other things, how simulcasting monies redirected from the North could benefit tracks and purses in the South to the tune of $20 million annually. Here in part two, Nader discusses expectations about horse inventory, impacts on California's breeders, and...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) named John Stewart's Resolute Racing as a title sponsor of the 54th Annual Eclipse Awards, which will be held on Thursday, January 23, at The Breakers Palm Beach, the organization said in a press release on Wednesday morning. The multi-year partnership between the NTRA and Resolute will include not only the title sponsorship of the awards ceremony, but also the event's after party. "I love this sport because it demands excellence," said John Stewart, president and CEO of Resolute Racing. "As we at Resolute...