Blood-Horse

Churchill Downs Inc. announced Feb. 12 the grand opening of Owensboro Racing & Gaming, the company's seventh premier historical horse racing entertainment venue in Kentucky.

Charges against a burglary-theft ring that struck the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2013 neared a conclusion when three men were found guilty by a federal court jury Feb. 7.

The 2024 California-bred Horse of the Year will be announced at the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Awards Dinner and Annual Meeting March 3 at Le Meridien Hotel in Arcadia, Calif.

Good Cheer, one of three undefeated graded stakes-winning 3-year-old fillies from the Brad Cox barn, is set to make her season bow in the $300,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds Race Course.

Keeneland will open ticket sales for its 2025 spring meet, to be held April 4-25, on Feb. 18 at 9 a.m. ET. A variety of ticket options for dining, grandstand reserved seating, and general admission will be available.

Juddmonte homebred Laurel River, co-winner of the 2024 Longines World's Best Racehorse award last month, will miss an intended start in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse Feb. 22.

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races has canceled live racing Feb. 12 due to the winter storm that impacted the area Feb. 11 into the early morning hours Wednesday.

Reigning Eclipse Award winner Flavien Prat won the Sam F. Davis Stakes aboard John Hancock Feb. 8, then flew to Santa Anita Park Feb. 9 where he won the Sweet Life Stakes aboard Casalu.

Equibase aims to cast a wide net as it begins to work on a ratings system that will serve as an option for racing secretaries in setting future racing conditions while perhaps providing an alternative to claiming races.

An expanded racing radio and TV schedule from America's Best Racing now includes individual stakes coverage.

Maiden Watch: Week of Feb. 3-9

In a question-and-answer session with ABR's Tom Pedulla, owner Richard Rigney discusses why he struck out on his own with Rigney Racing, his working relationship and friendship with private trainer Phil Bauer, and surviving a plane crash.

Out of the shadows of his stablemates, Getaway Car is the favorite for trainer Bob Baffert in the $400,000 Sunland Park Derby.

Grand Job, since coming over from the United Kingdom last year, has two gate-to-wire wins that exhibited her speed. She will try to stay perfect in the United States in the Royal Delta Stakes (G3).

Joe Saumarez Smith, British racing's senior leader as British Horseracing Association chair from June 2022 until late last month, has died aged 53.

Byron King's Top 12 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, presented by Spendthrift Farm.

Citizen Bull has been tabbed as the 6-1 individual favorite in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager while the pari-mutuel field of "All Other 3-Year-Olds" is the overall 9-2 favorite for the three-day pool, which runs Feb. 14-16.

The sale average was AU$94,257, up from AU$93,658 last year, with the median the same at AU$70,000. A total of 574 horses sold for AU$54,103,500. This came from 574 lots sold compared with 591, with the clearance rate dropping from 84 to 79%.

The Horse Racing Women's Summit has evolved into the Horse Racing Women's Association, marking a significant shift from being an annual event to a year-round association dedicated to empowering women in the horse racing industry.

Following a hard-fought victory Feb. 8 in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, CHC and WinStar Farm's John Hancock has joined the Top 10 in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Top 3-Year-Old Poll released Feb. 11.