Blood-Horse

Letters to the Editor, Feb. 26 edition of BloodHorse Daily

For a Green Bay Packers fan like Paul Farr, it was hard to watch his team squander an 18-point lead and lose to the Chicago Bears in the NFL playoffs. A month later, on the frozen tundra of Aqueduct Racetrack, he suffered another heartbreaking loss.

While Churchill Downs Inc. reports some mixed results for 2025, its live and historical racing segment enjoyed an increase in adjusted earnings—including a revenue and adjusted earnings increase for Churchill Downs racing operations.

Graded stakes winner Litmus Test battles past foe Blackout Time in the March 1 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, plus a slew of 3-year-olds he has yet to face, led by local stakes winners Silent Tactic and Strategic Risk.

The TPA, founded in 1951, is comprised of approximately 100 Thoroughbred racing publicists and marketing executives at racetracks throughout North America with the shared goal of promoting the sport of Thoroughbred racing.

Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) winner Plutarch is off the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail, per Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, Churchill Downs publicity announced Feb. 25. 

Manolo Bling topped the Inglis Digital February (Late) Online Sale, which closed Feb. 24, when selling to Highgrove Stud's Ron Gilbert for AU$275,000.

Litmus Test, trained by Bob Baffert, is one of the favorites for the March 1 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park. It's one of the classic prep races that highlight this week's radio/TV coverage of racing.

A lawsuit filed by the State of Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area seeks court intervention barring Churchill Downs Inc. and its advance-deposit wagering platform, TwinSpires, from taking bets on horse racing in the Lone Star State.

Constitution Hill will not run in next month's Champion Hurdle after Nicky Henderson ruled his stable star out of a jumps return, with his future now lying solely on the flat.

An eight-time stakes winner, primarily against California-bred competition, Grand Slam Smile enters off back-to-back stakes wins for trainer Sean McCarthy.

Three-year-olds who have just one career start at this point in the year are usually not viewed as Triple Crown prospects. However, Iron Honor's dazzling Dec. 13 career debut was anything but typical.

With the usual approach of welcoming a massive crowd for the Preakness Stakes (G1) not an option for this year as the event moves to Laurel Park, 1/ST Racing will market this year's race as an exclusive event when seats go on sale Feb. 25.

Vazquez won his 500th race at Oaklawn Park Feb. 20, becoming just the 11th rider to reach that number of local wins. His total of 13 wins for the week vaulted him to the top of the Oaklawn jockey standings.

The Fasig-Tipton's February Digital Sale closed Feb. 24 with gross sales of $5,881,500 for 189 horses sold, led by Neom Beach, who sold for $300,000 to Amy Moore.

CDI's eighth historical horse racing entertainment venue, Marshall Yards, is set to open to the public Feb. 25. The Calvert City, Ky., venue features 225 state-of-the-art historical racing machines and a retail sportsbook.

Godolphin's undefeated Bella Ballerina leads a list of 89 3-year-old fillies nominated to the 152nd running of the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks (G1), May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Stonegate Stables reported the most recent foal, a filly out of Pharoah's Fortune. Another filly bred by Little Rose Farm out of San Pantaleo was born Feb. 1 in Kentucky.

The "Race to the National Horseplayers Championship," a series of 25 free handicapping contests exclusively for subscribers of Race Lens, Equibase's interactive past performance product, concluded Feb. 21.

Explora headlines a packed field of 10 3-year-old fillies in the $750,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) March 1 at Oaklawn Park, Road to the Kentucky Oaks race.