Mr. Money is a surprise visitor to Indiana this weekend to contest the $500,000, 1 1/16 mile Indiana Derby. He’s the ultra-impressive winner of two straight stakes – Pat Day Mile, Matt Winn Stakes – both at Churchill Downs, his home track. Regular rider Gabriel Saez will be in the […]
Del Mar the Latest to Give Legendary Horse Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer the Boot
The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club reportedly is banning trainer Jerry Hollendorfer from its facilities. Del Mar, a hugely popular summer stop on Southern California’s horse racing circuit, follows Santa Anita operator The Stronach Group (TSG) and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) in barring the 73-year-old Hall of Fame trainer […]
No Triple Crown Contender, Santa Anita Deaths Dampen US Horse Betting Numbers
Overall wagering handle on all US Thoroughbred races in June 2019 fell back by 6.99 percent, according to newly released figures from Equibase. Equibase is the sports statistical record keeper for entries, results, breeding and a wide variety of other analytics related to the sport. Statistics further reveal a 3.01 […]
Horse Racing’s Three-Year-Old Division Readies for a Shake Up
Rumblings out of Southern California – not the earthquake variety – indicate Triple Crown winning trainer Bob Baffert may be rolling out his three-year-old star Game Winner Saturday at Los Alamitos. Baffert has yet to confirm his exact plans. Entries for the race are taken Wednesday. If he runs, expect […]
Trainer Chad Brown Holds Top Hand in Saturday’s Belmont Derby
Belmont Park soon passes New York’s Thoroughbred torch to Saratoga Race Course, upstate. But, before that happens fans and bettors Saturday will be enjoying the track’s Stars and Stripes Racing Festival. That’s the highly competitive and extremely lucrative stakes series for top runners on both turf and dirt. The Saturday […]
Where Turf Meets Surf: Del Mar Prioritizes Equine Safety in New Season
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) is now undertaking extensive new safety initiatives. The popular seaside race meet in Northern San Diego County starts on July 17. Track leaders say they’ll build on the track’s series of safety protocols and initiatives from previous years. They’ll do this by adding additional layers […]
About Face: New York Racing Association Turns Against Hollendorfer
Hall of Fame Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is now banned from stabling or entering horses at New York Racing Association (NYRA) racetracks. The move marks a reversal of NYRA’s previous position allowing the trainer to compete in New York. The Belmont meeting ends Sunday. The Saratoga summer season starts July 11. […]
Country House Jockey Flavian Prat Also Wins Canada’s $1 Million Queen’s Plate
One Bad Boy, the California invader, is the winner of the 2019 $1 million Queen’s Plate. The race is historically important because it’s the oldest continuously run race in North America, first contested in1860. And for jockey Flavian Prat, it was another big win — this time without the controversy […]
Breeders’ Cup Officials Decide Santa Anita is Safe Enough for Now
The 2019 Breeders’ Cup World Championships is remaining at Santa Anita Park. That’s the decision Thursday from Breeders’ Cup officials. But, they are expecting to continue grappling with the extensive fall-out from the Los Angeles-area race track’s outbreak of training and racing mishaps. Thirty horses have succumbed from racing or […]
We the North: All Eyes on Canada Saturday for Historic Queen’s Plate
The $1 million Queen’s Plate, Canada’s most important horse race, is being contested for the 160th time Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack, near Toronto. It’s the oldest continually run race in North America, dating back to 1860. A full field of 14 are contesting the race. The early 5/2 post time […]
Match Made in Horse Heaven: Winx Heads to Top Aussie Sire I Am Invincible
Winx the Aussie super mare, is ready to visit her nation’s top sire I Am Invincible. The goal: produce another champion. Winx retired just a few months ago with her history-making 33-race win streak from May 2015 through April 2019 still intact. She retires with a record of 37 wins […]
California Legislature Boosts Horse Racing Board’s Regulatory Muscle
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) will soon have increased authority over Thoroughbred racing in the state. The State Legislature unanimously approved a bill (SB 469) Monday newly empowering the regulatory body with the ability to suspend or move racing days without a 10-day public notice period. The Senate version […]
Santa Anita Bans Top Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer After Latest Horse Death
Jerry Hollendorfer, the Hall of Fame Thoroughbred trainer, has been ruled off at Santa Anita and all Stronach Group tracks. This, after a horse under his care became the 30th equine fatality at the Los Angeles-area track during the Winter/Spring season concluding Sunday. The death is the fourth horse from […]
Santa Anita Equine Work Force: “Protect Our Horses, Protect Our Jobs”
Backstretch employees at Santa Anita Park are asking to be heard. The beleaguered Thoroughbred racing plant is wrapping up a truncated winter/spring racing season on Sunday. Backstretch workers, largely Latinos, rallied Thursday. They’re asking to be part of the conversation when animal activists and politicians call for a halt or […]
Historical Horse Racing Machine Legality Heads Back to Kentucky Supreme Court
The Kentucky Supreme Court says it is again examining the legality of historical horse racing machines. The move follows an appeal from the Kentucky Family Foundation. The organization seeks to overturn a lower court decision on the slot machine-like terminals. An opinion is expected to be fast tracked. But, exactly […]
Sir Winston, Global Campaign Join Horse Racing’s Growing Injury List
Racing’s growing injury list is bringing to mind the late trainer Charlie Whittingham. This time of year, the oft-quoted truism from the late Hall of Fame conditioner is never far from recall in the zany world of Thoroughbred racing: “They (horses) are like strawberries, They spoil very easily.”  That’s […]
Ohio Derby at Thistledown: Hough Horse Global Campaign Ready to Fire
The Ohio Derby at Thistledown Saturday is coming up big with the appearance of Peter Pan winner Global Campaign. He’s the horse last seen just a week after the Kentucky Derby, May 11 in New York besting Belmont Stakes victor Sir Winston at 1 1/8 miles. Because dominance in the […]
Chaos Abounds in Horse Racing’s Three-Year-Old Division
Things aren’t going as planned for Maximum Security or Country House. These are the equine combatants at the center of this year’s Kentucky Derby controversy. New contenders, such as Mr. Money, Mucho Gusto and King for a Day, are now clearly ready to take advantage of the upheaval in Thoroughbred racing’s […]
Move Over Snooki, Jersey Shore’s New Star Maximum Security Returning Sunday at Monmouth Park
The highly anticipated Kentucky Derby encore for Maximum Security is now set for Sunday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Maximum Security, the disqualified Kentucky Derby runner, first to the finish but set down to 17th position because of interference, is now part of the field for the 1 1/16 […]
Ramping Up Safety Measures at Santa Anita as Deadly Meet Nears End
When racing resumes at Santa Anita a new set of enhanced safety measures for horses will be in place. Only six racing days remain on the track’s winter/spring schedule. Racing concludes June 23. The track, with the support of various horsemen’s groups, are declining Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request that the track […]