West Point Thoroughbreds

Okay, so probably we're just running these animals in sufficient circles for the squeaking of the hamster wheel eventually, randomly, to yield something that seems curiously meaningful. But there are times when horses give the impression that they are participating in some mysterious wider scheme in human affairs. Last week, however inadequately, I joined the many in our community grieving the abrupt loss of one of its great horsemen, and gentlemen. The very next day, at Fair Grounds, a colt saturated with the legacy of John Shirreffs missed Olympiad's track...

It was a good year for the new management team at the Maryland racetracks, where the average daily handle at Laurel was up 13.49 percent and average per-race handle increased by 14.29 percent. To talk about what went right for Maryland racing last year, the future of the GI Preakness Stakes, the decision to form a circuit with Colonial Downs, and to report on the rebuild of Pimlico, Bill Knauf, the president and general manager of the nonprofit Maryland Jockey Club, joined the team for this week's TDN Writers' Room...

Super Corredora (Gun Runner), a front-running, upset winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, will launch her sophomore campaign in the GIII Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita Feb. 1, according to trainer John Sadler. She returned to the worktab with a three-furlong bullet in :34.60 (1/9) in Arcadia Dec. 12. "She had her little vacation and she's doing really well," Sadler said. "She had her first work Friday. Right now, the plan calls for her to go in the Las Virgenes and have one more prep, whether it's...

The fourth annual Holiday Giving Campaign, run for the benefit of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), is set to run the month of December to raise funds, the group announced Friday morning. Designed to raise awareness for accredited Thoroughbred aftercare and to support those organizations that ensure retired runners enjoy a good quality of life after their first career, the initiative raised $240,000 last year. This year the goal is to continue making a meaningful impact for Thoroughbreds in need and build on prior success. "We are thrilled to kick...

OwnerView has named influencer and content creator Griffin Johnson as their 2025 New Owner of the Year, the organization said in a press release on Thursday morning. The award, sponsored by 1/ST RACING, was given to Johnson because of his work with America's Best Racing. The social media star became a part-owner in GISW Sandman (Tapit) with West Point Thoroughbreds and in 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Ewing (Knicks Go). As an ambassador for the sport, Johnson exposed millions of young people to horse racing. His behind-the-scenes videos with...

In a battle worthy of a big stage, Cugino (Twirling Candy--Adorable Miss, by Kitten's Joy) threw down the gauntlet in the lane and fortune smiled on him as he claimed the GII Red Smith Stakes by the slimmest of noses. Quite consistent in his career, Cugino showed up when they called on him, but kept coming just a bit short of claiming that elusive first graded win. He lost a desperately close photo in the GIII Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland in Spring of 2024 when MGSW Neat (Constitution) got the...

Grade I winner Vahva (Gun Runner--Holiday Soiree, by Harlan's Holiday) has been entered in Book 1 of the November Breeding Stock Sale on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Lane's End, agent, will consign Vahva, who is cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect. She will become the first Grade I-winning daughter of Gun Runner to be offered at public auction, according to a Keeneland release Tuesday. Vahva is nominated to the GII Thoroughbred Club of America on Saturday during Fall Stars Weekend on Keeneland's opening three days. "Vahva is a high-class competitor...

Third in the GII Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes last year, Gal in a Rush (m, 6, Ghostzapper--Hudson River Gal, by Dynaformer) went one better in 2025, capturing the Friday evening feature with aplomb. Away from the winner's circle for the past 14 months despite adding several black-type placings to her CV, the Miguel Clement trainee emerged from Friday night's fray with a dramatic inside bid to capture her first win since the 2024 GIII Hendrie Stakes at Woodbine. A closing Ellen Jay (Constitution)--the stakes-winning daughter of Eclipse champion Covfefe...

The GI Spendthrift Farm Hopeful Stakes is carded as the anchor for Monday's Labor Day festivities, which marks the last set of races for the season upstate. A scan through the past winners of the top-level affair over the past 25 years include a strong list of future sires. How about for starters Sky Mesa (2002), First Samurai (2005), Shanghai Bobby (2012) and Competitive Edge (2014)? More recently Practical Joke (2016), Mind Control (2018), Basin (2019), Jackie's Warrior (2020), Gunite (2021) and Forte (2022) got their picture taken before heading...

The sixth installment in the 2025 OwnerView webinar series was held Aug. 12 and covered buying horses at sales and on digital platforms, according to a press release on Thursday from the series. Guests included Leif Aaron, director of digital sales, Fasig-Tipton; Conrad Bandoroff, vice president of Denali Stud; Cormac Breathnach, director of sales operations, Keeneland; and Jon Green, owner of D.J. Stable LLC. Hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and presented by Bessemer Trust, Keeneland, and Stoll Keenon Ogden, the panel was sponsored...

Mike Renfro caught 28 touchdowns during his eleven seasons in the NFL playing for the Houston Oilers and the Dallas Cowboys. Like most athletes, even after all these years, he misses those Sunday afternoons, the camaraderie with his teammates and the thrill of competition. But what would fill the void when he walked off the field for the last time in 1988? To Renfro, that's a very easy question to answer. He discovered horse racing. Thirty-seven years later, Renfro is part of the CJ Thoroughbreds ownership group, which has its...

3rd-Saratoga, $90,000, (S), Msw, 8-13, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:45.16, fm, 6 lengths. SHE'S COUNTRY (f, 2, Combatant--Lunar Affair, by Malibu Moon) became the second winner overall and first on this circuit for her sire (by Scat Daddy), who sadly left behind just one crop after succumbing to colic while on dual-hemisphere duties in Chile in 2022. Sold for $80,000 at this year's OBS April sale after breezing an eighth of a mile in :10 1/5, the Mar. 20 foal bounced neatly from gate four and took up a spot...