Blood-Horse

The first reported foal of 2026 appeared at 2:30 a.m. New Year's Day, when a filly by grade 1 winner Muth was born at Gainesway Farm in Lexington.

Darley stallion Too Darn Hot supplied his 31st global stakes winner and 14th in Australia when Jenni The Fox produced a stylish performance to win Black Pearl Stakes Jan. 3 at Geelong. 

Jockey Alex Birzer recorded his 4,000th Thoroughbred victory Jan. 2 at Delta Downs when he piloted Big Duck to victory in the fifth race. The 52-year-old rider also has 51 wins aboard Quarter Horses.

Santa Anita Park canceled racing Jan. 3 due to anticipated heavy rain. A decision for Jan. 4 racing program will be made early Sunday morning to evaluate the most up-to-date forecast.

Opportune black type awaits some of the five fillies and mares contesting the $100,000 Las Flores Stakes (G3) Jan. 4 at Santa Anita Park.

Nearly may have punched his ticket to the $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) Jan. 31, putting away favored Confessional in midstretch and pulling clear to a 5-length victory in a first-level allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park.

Godolphin set a single-season record in earnings as the leading owner for the fifth consecutive year, and Irad Ortiz Jr. established a single-season record as the leading jockey by earnings according to final statistics released Jan. 2 by Equibase.

Prominent equine veterinarian Dr. Bryan Boone died Dec. 31, 2025, after an 8 1/2-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 62.

Diane Crump, the pioneering Thoroughbred jockey whose riding breakthroughs set the stage for generations of female riders, died Jan. 1 at an inpatient hospice facility in Winchester, Va. She was 77.

Contenders for spots on Dubai World Cup (G1) night made their case as the World Cup Carnival swung into 2026 at Meydan Racecourse Jan. 2.

Multiple grade 1 winner Muth sired his first reported foal Jan. 1 at Gainesway, where the stallion stands for $30,000.

Keeneland announced Jan. 2 three horses in the third round of supplements to the 2026 January Horses of All Ages Sale Jan. 12-13.

FanDuel TV will televise the live announcement of the finalists for the 2025 Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards this Sunday, Jan. 4, at Noon ET.

Racing is in mourning for Ian Balding, who trained the legendary colt Mill Reef, after his death at the age of 87.

BloodHorse has reprised its online year-end survey to ask some of the sport's leading individuals for their opinions on pertinent issues facing the sport.

Fair Grounds will host its inaugural Jockeys Dinner and Awards Jan. 7, highlighted by a public meet-and-greet with members of the Fair Grounds jockey colony. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund.

The 2026 season got off to a surprising start Jan. 1 as Haute Diva pulled a 14-1 upset in the first American stakes race of the year: the $150,000 Cash Run Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Billy Loughnane has broken a 21st-century record in Britain by riding 222 winners in a calendar year, surpassing Kieren Fallon's mark set in 2003.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby will not officially begin in South Florida until the Jan. 31 Holy Bull Stakes (G3). However, the first weekend of the new year will offer an early glimpse of which youngsters might play a role in the series.

Explora, runner-up as the favorite in the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar, kicks off her 3-year-old campaign Jan. 3 in the $100,000 Santa Ynez Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park.