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Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher on Oct. 17 sent out a quartet of workers targeting the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1)—Fierceness, Mindframe, Antiquarian and Locked—on the Oklahoma dirt training track at Saratoga Race Course.

Grade 1 winner Kilwin has been supplemented to the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale catalog, and a 25% share in grade 3 winner Bracket Buster has been added to the Keeneland Championship Sale.

Blue Grass Farms Charities' sixth annual Relics and Rarities from the Bluegrass Region online auction will begin at noon Oct. 23, lasting until 7 p.m. Oct. 26.

With the conclusion of Book 3 Oct. 17 in Newmarket, the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale hit the finish line inching past last year's record gross while blowing by the record median.

Field of Gold bids to bounce back from his shock defeat in the Sussex Stakes (G1) but those closest to the leading miler know he will have to be at his brilliant best to overcome a wide draw in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) Oct. 18 at Ascot.

Presenting data Oct. 16 during the monthly meeting of the California Horse Racing Board in Sacramento, Calif., CHRB equine medical director Dr. Jeff Blea said regulatory protections for certain aspects of horse welfare are working well in the state.

A strong draft from the Aga Khan Studs headlines this year's Goffs Autumn Horses In Training Sale, which takes place Nov. 3.

Embroidery and Kamunyak, winners of the first two legs of the Japanese Filly Triple Crown, square off in the final leg, the Shuka Sho (G1) Oct. 19 at Tokyo Racecourse.

The Challenge, presented by Gainesway

Grade 1-winning 2-year-old filly Iron Orchard sold for $2.5 million to KatieRich Farms in the two-horse Fasig-Tipton Digital Fall Flash Sale. The other entry, graded winner Haulin Ice, was bought back on a final bid of $875,000.

Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa announce Oct. 16 the stud fees for its 2026 stallion roster, led by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, one of the most preeminent sires at stud today.

Spun to Run shuttled twice to Chile and has since been sold to a farm in South Korea.

Two horses, including the dam of multiple graded stakes winner Final Score, have been supplemented to the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which begins Nov. 4.

Unlike other races this fall at Del Mar, current plans do not call for computer-assisted wagering groups to be excluded from win wagering inside two minutes to post during the two-day Breeders' Cup.

Keeneland announced Oct. 16 that the catalog for the second Championship Sale is live and features a curated selection of elite racehorses, breeding stock, stallion shares, and breeding rights.

Aidan O'Brien is ready to ignite the rivalry between the Delacroix and Ombudsman camps for one final time in a blockbuster Champion Stakes (G1) at Ascot Racecourse Oct. 18.

New York-bred 2-year-old filly Iron Orchard (Authentic), who ran her record to a perfect three-for-three with a victory in the GI Frizette Stakes at Aqueduct on Oct. 4, was sold to Larry and Karen Doyle's KatieRich Farms for $2.5 million as part of the Fasig-Tipton Digital Fall Flash Sale, according to release from the company late Thursday evening. Bidding opened on Oct. 10.

A romping debut winner in a restricted Saratoga maiden on July 3, the dark bay–whose most recent trip through a sales ring saw her bring $500,000 at this year's OBS April Sale–made it two straight with a 6 3/4-length success in the Seeking the Ante Stakes for state-bred juvenile fillies at the Spa Aug. 22. Just short of 5-2 for the Frizette, she covered ground on the turn and held on to take the one-mile event by a nose. Her earnings to date stand at $352,000.

“She's a young, Grade I winner and there is plenty of upside there,” said Larry Doyle, who confirmed that Iron Orchard is being pointed for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar on Oct. 31. “She's a half-million dollar New York-bred, we vetted her from head to toe, she's very good-looking and she'll make a nice broodmare down the road.”

Doyle said that Danny Gargan, who consigned the filly as agent to the sale, will continue to train Iron Orchard in the near-term. In the immediate aftermath of the Frizette, Gargan was non-committal about going on to the Breeders' Cup.

“What a sale!,” enthused Leif Aaron, director of digital sales for Fasig-Tipton. “It has been a thrill to offer an undefeated Grade I-winning and Breeders' Cup-bound filly in Iron Orchard for her connections. We wish KatieRich the best of luck with her and will be rooting her on in the Breeders' Cup and beyond.”

The second of the two horses offered in the Fall Flash Sale was Haulin Ice (Coal Front), who punched her ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint with a victory in the GIII Princess Rooney Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Consigned by Taylor Made, the 4-year-old was unsold on a final bid of $875,000, but remains available for purchase post-sale.

“While we were disappointed to have not sold Haulin Ice, she is a quality filly and still available for purchase post-sale through our platform,” Aaron said.

Fasig-Tipton's next digital sale is the December Digital Sale scheduled for Dec. 4-9. Entries close Nov. 19.

The post Iron Orchard Sells For $2.5M In Fasig-Tipton Digital Fall Flash Sale; Breeders’ Cup Next appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

The two-minute win pool cutoff for computer-assisted wagering (CAW) bets that was implemented at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club over the summer in an effort to stabilize late odds fluctuations won't be in effect when the Southern California track hosts the Breeders' Cup Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, a spokesperson for the championships confirmed to TDN on Thursday.

Back on July 29, in response to growing clamor among non-CAW bettors about the outsized role that CAW players had in driving a spate of marked late odds changes at Del Mar during the first two weeks of the meet, Del Mar president Josh Rubinstein said in a press release that the implementation of the cutoff was “part of an overall effort to ensure an optimal wagering experience for fans on-track, at simulcast locations and those playing via our advanced deposit wagering partners.”

As TDN's Dan Ross reported at the time, the controversy involving CAW players typically surrounds the major edge they wield over regular gamblers because of their use of sophisticated technologies and specialized pool access that allows them to place massive wagers across nearly all pools in the final seconds of betting, as well as the attractive rebates offered to them that are unavailable to the average horseplayer.

Other tracks, like those run by the New York Racing Association (NYRA), have had similar CAW policies in place since 2021.

While Del Mar's cutoff only applies to win pools, (the most visible of all wagering pools), non-CAW horseplayers have hailed the decision as at least a step in the right direction toward mitigating the influence of CAW money.

When Santa Anita Park opened for its fall meet last month, it continued the two-minute cutoff that Del Mar had initiated on the same circuit.

On Oct. 16, when Rubinstein appeared before the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to discuss the track's licensure for the upcoming meet, CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales asked him if the CAW win-pool cutoff policy would extend into the track's upcoming late-fall meet that includes the Breeders' Cup championships.

“So that will continue for our fall meet,” Rubinstein said. “Related to the Breeders' Cup, that is a decision that they will need to make.”

Considering that the two-day championships are just two weeks away and that such a significant logistical decision had likely already been made, TDN reached out to the Breeders' Cup to get better clarity.

A Breeders' Cup spokesperson replied with the following statement, which was not attributed to any specific Breeders' Cup executive:

“Fortunately, due to the substantial liquidity in our multi-million-dollar wagering pools, the late odds fluctuations that frustrate horseplayers have not been an issue at the World Championships, including last year at Del Mar.

“In addition, the competitive nature of our races–with full fields of the best runners from around the globe–has historically provided recreational players with great betting value and opportunities for generous returns.”

On social media, non-CAW horseplayers have been opining and debating for weeks whether or not the two-minute ban at Del Mar would apply to the Breeders' Cup championships, with some bettors suggesting they might not wager on the races if no cutoff will be in effect.

The post No 2-Minute CAW Cutoff In Win Pools For Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Two-time Horse of the Year Curlin (Smart Strike) and his champion son Good Magic will stand the 2026 breeding season for $225,000 and $125,000, respectively, at John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, the Lexington area nursery announced Thursday.

Curlin, who turns 22 in 2026, remains the only stallion to have supplied three Breeders' Cup winners on a single program and the only sire to account for four Eclipse Award winners in the same year. Good Magic, who was represented by a quartet of $1-million yearlings in 2025, is the sire of Classic winners Mage and his full-brother Dornoch from his first two crops.

Army Mule (Friesan Fire) is set to be represented in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf by the undefeated Ground Support and will return to $25,000 for the 2026 breeding season, up from $20,000 this past year. From his 133 winners to date, no fewer than 20 have struck at the stakes level, with Ground Support the most recent of his four graded scorers.

Former 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) was 'the most popular horse ever' to retire to Hill 'n' Dale and his fee remains at $30,000 for 2026. A stud fee for Charlatan (Speightstown) will be determined at a later date.

“Our goal has always been to offer the best stallion value in the breeding business,” said Sikura. “We feel our 2026 fees will allow breeders to be competitive with the progeny of our stallions. Despite a very robust auction market, we have held our fees to provide value.”

The remainder of the Hill 'n' Dale stud fees for 2026 are as follows: Kantharos (Lion Heart, $10,000); Loggins (Ghostzapper, $5,000); Maclean's Music (Distorted Humor, $30,000); Violence (Medaglia d'Oro, $30,000).

The post Army Mule Gets Slight Bump, Curlin, Good Magic Remain at Six Figures at Hill ‘n’ Dale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Whisper Hill Farm homebred JUST ALOOF (f, 2, Justify–Aloof {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) came running late down the center of the Aqueduct turf course to take her debut Thursday. The 8-1 shot, who spent much of the race in a mid-pack fifth, had to fan out wide with a quarter-mile left but rallied to get by race favorite and stablemate Market Hours (Practical Joke) in the final yards for the win. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0.

O/B-Whisper Hill Farm; T-Chad Brown.

The post Whisper Hill Homebred Just Aloof All Business In Her Aqueduct Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.