Thoroughbred Daily News

Jockey Angel Cordero won 7,057 races during his Hall of Fame career. He is the undisputed “King of Saratoga” after winning the riding title at the Spa 14 times. Kentucky Derby? Preakness? Belmont? Been there, done that. He has rubbed elbows with a president, clowned around with Muhammad Ali and hung out with Bob Marley. An interesting life, for sure, Angel Cordero Jr. has lived. He shared some of it with the TDN. Here is the Saratoga Q&A.

TDN: Do you miss riding?

Angel Cordero Jr: I used to miss it a lot. A long time ago. Now, I'm 82. I don't miss it. I used to get on horses (in the mornings) for Todd (Hall of Fame trainer Pletcher) and he kept asking, 'are you going to ride a horse?'

TDN: It's out of your system now?

AC: Yes. The last horse I got on was Uncle Mo (in 2011). We went to Kentucky with him, and he scratched the morning of the Derby.

TDN: I remember covering you when you rode. You were always known as a fierce competitor. Do you agree with that?

AC: I guess. To be a good athlete, you have to be fearless. In any sport. If you don't have that on your inside, you won't be on the top. To be on the top, you have to have no fear of getting hurt or getting fired.

TDN: You had plenty of injuries over your career. How many bones did you break?

AC: I broke my ankle, both of my knees, my back … my hands are the worst. I broke my collarbone. Believe it or not, I just had a shoulder operation for my rotator cuff. The doctor told me it would take six months. I told him I didn't even do six months when I got hurt on a horse (smiles). The longest I was ever out was four months.

TDN: Every time you got hurt you could not wait to get back riding. (In 1978, he fractured his vertebra at Hollywood Park; in 1986 he lacerated his liver and fractured an arm in a spill at Aqueduct).

AC: Twice, I almost died. I was once in a coma for a week. I woke up and the doctor was next to me, and he asked how I was feeling. I said, 'I feel ok. When can I ride again?' (smiles) He said I don't even know if I am going to make it through life and I am asking that!  It's like any other athlete. You don't think about the danger. I was never afraid to die. I was afraid to get paralyzed. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I am a big believer in God. Whatever He has for us, that's it.

TDN: If you saw a hole, it didn't matter how small it was, you were going for it.

AC: If I thought I could make it, yes. I never tried for a hole if I didn't think I was going to make it. Whenever I went for it, I knew I was going to make it. It's like driving a car. You know you are going to clear the car behind you in time. Riding a horse is the same.

Angel Cordero aboard Flower Alley | Sarah Andrew

TDN: You have to be brave to do it.

AC: You have to be brave to ride horses. All the jockeys have it. You have to have good judgement in where you are running into and who you are running into.

TDN: With all the horses you rode, is there one that sticks out?

AC: The best horse I ever rode was Seattle Slew. By far. The best filly I ever rode was Waya. She beat all the colts. I don't ever remember getting beat with her. She was the smartest horse I ever rode, and she taught me a lot. I learned how to ride European horse through her.

TDN: Is there a rider out there now that reminds you of you?

AC: Irad (Ortiz Jr.) a little bit. Johnny (Velazquez) a little bit. Johnny is like a son. I taught him since he was a bug boy. I am proud of him that he is still so good. Usually, in our game, the longer you ride, when you get older, your body doesn't hold. To me, Irad and Johnny and Jose (Ortiz) are outstanding. That doesn't mean the other ones aren't no good. To me, those three. Jose is more conservative. Irad is more aggressive. Johnny is very conservative, a very clean rider. I was a rough rider; I wasn't going to drop anybody, but I took my chances.

TDN: You would do anything to win.

AC: Yeah. When I got on a horse, in my mind, it was to get there first. No matter what. I remember when I was living with (soon to be wife, the late jockey Marjorie Clayton Cordero) and we were riding together, and I said I am going to give you piece of advice: don't ever run on my inside. She always would leave that little hole; we would call it the soccer hole. Someone goes down in there and when the time comes, you block it. The first time she ran in there, when I saw the shadow of the horse, I started going in and she said, 'Angel it's me.' I let her have it first right away. She was crying. And I said, 'listen, jockeys and cowboys don't cry.' I said I told you not to run on my inside.  She said she was already there. I said you weren't there; you were trying to get there. Then you announced yourself. Don't announce yourself. If you are going to go for the hole, go. Don't go, 'hey, I'm here.' You don't do that.

TDN: You cut the hole off.

AC: Oh, yeah. Two or three times.

TDN: I know you love boxing. Ever meet Ali?

AC: Yes. I met him like four times. He was very kindhearted. If he liked you, he spent time talking to you. He talked to everybody but if he liked you, he would spend a little more time with you.

TDN: Did he like you?

AC: Yes. He kept asking me, 'did you ever win the Derby?' The first time I met him I said I had won it once. The second time, I had won it twice. He said, 'did you ever win the Derby?' I said, 'yeah, I already told you.' And he said, 'do I have a problem with you?' (raises fists, mimicking Ali). I said, 'no, I thought you remembered (laughs).' I really admired him. He was my idol.

TDN: You met Howard Cosell too, right?

AC: Cosell was nice to me, I don't know why, but he was. He always came to my defense. He came to my house twice. He said he never went to anyone's house for an interview, but he came to my house. Twice. He came to my defense with Codex (Cordero won the 1980 Preakness with him over the filly/Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk. Cordero was accused of intentionally pushing Codex wide and impeding the filly, perhaps even striking her with his whip. Claims of foul were disallowed).

TDN: You were probably getting a lot of hate mail after that one.

AC: A lot of it. They were going to kill me. They were going to blow up my house, my car. It was a very unfair situation. Every time they showed the film from the outside and the angles were different. I told the press you have to watch the real race on film. The film that counted was the one that was on the outside. We went to court twice. They made it like I was hitting in the race like twice. Every time I would tell my lawyer, don't let them show you the film that someone else took. Tell them you want to see the film that the stewards made the decision from. That film was clear. There was always daylight between me (and Genuine Risk). The reason they didn't take me down was because when I passed two horses, I stayed where I was. That was my choice. And he (jockey Jacinto Vasquez on Genuine Risk) came around me and when we both made the turn outside, but I never touched him. (Vasquez) said I hit the filly with the whip, and I bumped her. It was a long inquiry. They could not see what he said. I caught a lot of heat. I caught a lot of heat everywhere.

TDN: Was it because you were Angel Cordero Jr.?

AC: Probably. When someone does it now, it's race riding.

TDN: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be?

AC: Muhammad Ali has to be one of them. I never met him, but I am a big fan of Michael Jordan. He is a special guy. The other one? How about Jennifer Lopez? (laughs).

TDN: If there is a movie made about your life and you can pick the actor to play you, who are you going with?

AC: Years ago, I used to like Denzel Washington. I like Robert DeNiro. I liked Jack Nicholson. But those two can't play me because they are big and they're white!  To have a story about me riding, they would have to use old races. There might be someone that is my size. They have a lot of talented young guys who are small.

TDN: During your heyday, when you were on top, you must have met a lot of famous people.

AC: I did

TDN: Who were some of them, besides Ali?

AC: I went to the White House and met Ronald Reagan. I was surprised. I used to kid around all the time saying I wanted to go to the White House. People would say, 'oh yeah, sure, you are going to go to the White House!' I finally got invited. The first time I got invited, the morning of the event, the plane got cancelled. I missed going and I was so upset. Two weeks later, they were honoring somebody who was president of a country who was named Cordero (Leon Febres Cordero of Ecuador). They were having a dinner for him and I got invited. That time, I went the night before. I got to meet a President.

TDN: How did that go?

AC: It was like nine of us. They said we were going to go in alphabetical order and you go shake the President's hand and walk out. I brought some flowers – three dozen roses for his wife (Nancy). When I was in the line, she came and thanked me for the beautiful flowers. I was shocked! When I got to him, I said, 'nice to meet you Mr. President' and I walked away. But he held my hand, and he said, 'let me ask you something.' He said he had taken lessons for two years to ride a horse to make movies. And he asked me if horses had tonsils! There were 100,000 thousand questions that he could have asked me, and he asked me a question that I had no answer. He talked to me for quite a while.

Angel Cordero aboard Seattle Slew | Horsephotos

TDN: (Trainer) Dale Romans said you met Bob Marley. What was he like?

AC: He was nice.

TDN: Did he sing?

AC: No, no no. I was riding in Hialeah and I had this friend who was a friend of his and he worked for Bob Marley. After the races, I used to take a taxi to the airport and catch a 5:30 (p.m.) flight. He was waiting for me outside and asked where I was going, and I said I was going home. I told him I was going to take a taxi but he said said, 'no, I will take you.” He had a white Rolls Royce and he let me drive it. I was so scared. My plane was delayed and he said he would take me for something to eat. Well, I wasn't hungry because I just finished riding. I said, 'I know you don't smoke, but do you think you could get me a joint?' If I could smoke a little, maybe I would get hungry, you know?

TDN: I think I know where this is going.

AC: He said he would take me somewhere and we drove for 15 minutes, and he came to a house. Guy came out with flip flops and dreadlocks and t-shirts. I didn't know him We went into the house, and he made one for me and one for him. He said, 'how was your day?' I said 'my day was good, how was yours?' He said he was just chilling. He asked where I lived, and I said Long Island. He said he had a house in California, Jamaica and Florida. He asked me how my business was going, and I said, 'good.' He said his business was good, too. My friend started laughing and I asked him why. He said because he doesn't know who you are and you don't know who he is. He said, 'this is Angel Cordero, the jockey and this is Bob Marley. He said, 'man, I follow your horses, I bet on you all the time!' And, he said, 'let's do another one (joint)! We talked for about 15 minutes. It was cool. I never thought I was being taken to Bob Marley's house!

TDN: You've had a wonderful life.

AC: I can't complain. I've got hurt a lot, but I've had a beautiful life.

TDN: Do you like being a jockey agent (he represents Jose Gomez)?

AC: No. It's one thing that I never thought I would be. I have groomed, I have cleaned stalls, pony horses, gallop horses, ride horses, train horse, own horses, breed horses. Never, never, never did I think I would be an agent. You go begging for people to ride you. You can have a good rider, but if he doesn't have a name and you don't have a stable to back you up, it's hard.

TDN: In football, they say Tom Brady is the GOAT. In basketball, it's Michael Jordan. Is Angel Cordero the GOAT of jockeys?

AC: I don't know. You always think you are the best at what you do. If I ask you who is the best in your profession, who are you going to say?

TDN: I am going to say me!

AC: Of course you are. You are going to laugh at this. Last year, I was talking to (trainer), Tom Morley and he said, 'the GOAT!” And I thought he was making fun of me. I said, 'come on Tom, I like you, why are you being like that to me?' He said he wasn't being mean; said I was the GOAT of the sport. I thought he was calling me a goat, like the animal. I didn't know what it meant in sports.

TDN: Now you do. So, are you? Are you the GOAT of horse racing?

AC: I don't know. Could be. But I'm not the only one. There are a lot of GOATS.

The post Saratoga Q & A: Angel Cordero Jr. appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

2nd-Del Mar, $82,200, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($40,000), 8-3, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:09.14, ft, 6 1/2 lengths.

FORMULA ROSSA (f, 3, Vekoma–Fay Na Na, by Majestic Warrior), named a 'TDN Rising Star' in a four-length debut Feb. 21 going six furlongs at Santa Anita–which netted a 91 Beyer Speed Figure–hadn't been seen since, even skipping the worktab entirely in April and May. Resuming timed works in June, she reappeared here as the 1-5 choice. Ears pinned after bumped from both sides out of the gate, she emerged from the fray in front, set :22.04 and :45.16 fractions, and suddenly widened on the turn all on her own. With Antonio Fresu sitting quietly and taking a peek under his right arm in the stretch, Formula Rossa kicked well clear and crossed the wire 6 1/2 lengths the best while geared down as the easiest of winners. Veteran Wishtheyallcouldbe (Grazen) closed from last to garner runner-up honors.

Fay Na Na, Formula Rossa's unraced dam, has a 2-year-old Yaupon filly, who RNA'd for $250,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old sale, and a yearling Cyberknife filly. She was bred to Good Magic for 2026. Sales History: $130,000 Ylg '23 KEEJAN; $270,000 Ylg '23 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $84,600. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

FORMULA ROSSA ($2.40) destroys the field in the 2nd at @DelMarRacing. @Antonio1Fresu coasted home aboard the three-year-old Vekoma (@spendthriftfarm) filly for trainer Mark Glatt. Where will we see this undefeated filly next? pic.twitter.com/fiSuU0RBxv

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) August 3, 2025

The post ‘Rising Star’ Formula Rossa Returns a Winner, Stays Unbeaten appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — There have been some days for trainer Chad Brown. Some real big days.

Remember Arlington Million day in 2019? He won all four graded stakes races, including all three GI races. He has won a bushel full of Breeders' Cup races in his career; more than once he has had multiple winners. Brown has a pair of GI Preakness Stakes on his resume.

What happened Saturday might just trump them all. At his hometown track, Brown blitzed his competition, winning four races, capped off by the biggest of them all, the $1-million GI Whitney Stakes.

Sunday morning, a relaxed Brown reflected on the monster afternoon of the day before. The star of the show, Whitney winner Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) was chilling in his stall, basking in the glow of his one-length win in Saratoga's premier race for older horses.

“This is way up there,” Brown said outside his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track Sunday morning. “Definitely one of the most memorable days I have had in racing. My family–my mom, my dad, my kids, my brother, my nephew–were all there. To win the race I had not won yet with the greatest horse I have ever trained…all those factors made it one of the most memorable days in my career for sure.”

The wonderful Whitney came on the heels of a frustrating, disappointing Friday when Brown's Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) won the GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes and then was put down to fourth after a controversial disqualification.

Although clearly not happy with the decision, Brown kept quiet.

“The day before was very challenging with the DQ,” he said. “I didn't agree with it, but that's horse racing and that is professional sports. It comes with the territory. Certain things are out of your control, but I think our team handled it the right way, very professionally and with class.”

Instead of squawking and making a scene, Brown took the high road, accepted the steward's decision and moved on.

“We were due for a good day [Saturday],” he said. “You just have to keep moving forward and focus on the next day. I thought we had some good karma coming by not getting bogged down by [the disqualification] or trying to blame people. With the good group of horses we had running Saturday, I did not want to get distracted. I have to train horses, but I also have to be a leader. I can't allow everyone to lose focus and to dwell on getting into some debate as to what happened.”

Nobody was talking about the disqualification Sunday morning. It was all about Sierra Leone, last year's champion 3-year-old and GI Breeders' Cup Classic champ.

What looms next for Sierra Leone–owned by Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook Smith–could be a rematch with Mindframe (Constitution), who is at the top of the older division with three straight wins.

Mindframe beat Sierra Leone by a length in the GI Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs at the end of June. That could come in the $1-million GI Jockey Club Gold Cup on Aug. 31.

“Mindframe is a really top horse and trained by a really top trainer (Todd Pletcher),” Brown said. “I'm looking forward to potentially the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the GI Breeders Cup (Classic). When you are racing at the top in any division, you've got to beat them all.”

World Beater eyes his flowers | Sarah Andrew

A blanket of flowers was draped over the rail at the shedrow at Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's barn Sunday morning, but they weren't for him. They belonged to his 33-year-old son, Riley, who notched his first graded stakes training win when World Beater (Oscar Performance) upset the GI $750,000 Saratoga Derby on Saturday.

“I could not have written it up any better,” Riley Mott said outside his dad's barn Sunday after World Beater won by a half-length at odds of 11-1. “Ever since I was this tall (holds right hand a few feet off the ground), I've thought about this. You hope you do it, but you are not sure it will ever happen. This is like my Super Bowl.”

World Beater, owned by Jim and Dana Bernhard's Pin Oak Stud LLC, beat eight others in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby on the grass. Included in that group was Capitol Hill

(Into Mischief), trained by his dad.

As the race was unfolding, it was clear who Tina Mott, Bill's wife and Riley's mom, was rooting for.

“Are you kidding me? She was jumping all over me,” Bill Mott said about his wife's reaction in the clubhouse box. “I had to hold her down and say, 'Whoa!' She always tells me I should scratch my horse (when running against Riley).”

“She is on both teams,” Riley Mott said with a smile. “Ever since I started (training in 2022 after serving as an assistant to his father), I think she leans in my direction.”

Riley Mott said he had a brief conversation with his dad right after the race and the family all met up later for pizza. Bill Mott, ever the competitor, did not want anyone's sympathy.

“I was doing everything I could to beat his ass, but he won the race and I'm happy for him,” Bill Mott said. “When I get beat, I don't even want to talk about it; it's over.”

Riley Mott, who has 60 horses in training, said he was going to ship World Beater back to his base at Keeneland on Sunday and wait before deciding on his next start.

Rick Pitino | Sarah Andrew

It wasn't exactly Madison Square Garden and the Big East Championship game, but there was still a lot of hooting and hollering going on in the Saratoga winner's circle after Sunday's second race.

A 2-year-old colt named Johnny's Red Storm (Twirling Candy) had just broken his maiden in his first try for jockey Kendrick Carmouche and trainer George Weaver. The ownership group, led by John J. Cronin Jr. and RAP Racing was leading the cheers.

RAP is Richard Andrew Pitino, also known as the head basketball coach at St. John's University. He wore a wide smile and accepted congratulations from the large group in the winner's circle. He and Cronin have been friends for years.

“Obviously, basketball is life and death with me,” Pitino, a Hall of Fame coach and the first to lead three different schools (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville) to the Final Four. “When we lose, I am up all night figuring out why we lost and what we could have done different. In horse racing, if you lose, you smile and move onto the next race.”

Pitino, a longtime horse owner, could not remember the last time he won a race at Saratoga. He comes to the Spa often and ranks Saratoga No. 1 on his list of favorite tracks with Keeneland and Del Mar completing his trifecta.

Pitino had another horse–Aggelos the Great (City of Light)–that he owns by himself on the card. He rallied late and finished second in the seventh race.

After that, he was heading back to Queens for his real job.

“We have (summer) practice at 8 a.m.,” he said.

Last year, St. John's finished 31-5 in Pitino's second season and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Arkansas.

“I am thrilled for a young coach starting out like me,” the 72-year-old Pitino, who has been coaching since 1974.

He said he plans to be back in Saratoga for the Travers and also for the 70th birthday of close friend Roddy Valente, a prominent horse owner.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — You knew this wouldn't last much longer.

Chad Brown's Saratoga barn has too much young talent inside of it. Eventually, the trainer was going to find his way to the winner's circle with one of his juvenile runners. That day was Saturday when Brown's Capital Partner (GB) (Kingman {GB}) unleashed a furious closing kick to win the second race at the Spa, a $100,000 maiden special weight for 2-yeasr-olds.

With jockey Flavien Prat doing the steering, Capital Partner flew down the stretch in the 1 1/16-mile race on the Inner Turf Course and won by a half-length as the 9-5 favorite.

Brown, who has been the leading trainer at Saratoga seven times, including the last four summers (he shared the title with Linda Rice in 2023), had started six 2-year-olds in $100,000 maiden special weights at Saratoga prior to Saturday. He had two seconds and a third.

Then, Capital Partner got him on the board.

“We have had some other horses that have really run well,” Brown said of his youngsters. “We have had really good performances that were not quite good enough first time to get there.”

For a while, it looked like Capital Partner, owned by Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables, might be one of them. The son of Kingman would have no part of that as he and Prat began to roll in upper stretch and then gobbled up the turf with gigantic strides.

He passed British Invasion (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the shadow of the wire and got the narrow score in his first career start.

Seth Klarman and trainer Chad Brown in the winner's enclosure | Tod Marks

“The horse needed a real kick, and he got it,” Klarman said. “Another Kingman! They have been great for us. Chad though the horse was training really well. He needed some experience, and he got it today.”

Last year, when Brown won the training title with 45 wins, 10 of them came with his 2-year-olds in 37 starts. According to Equibase, Brown won five of 17 2-year-old starts on grass last year.

“We had high expectations for him, but you never know the first time out at Saratoga,” Brown said. “Dirt, turf, long, short–everyone brings their best and there are a lot of great trainers here and well-bred horses.”

Brown and bloodstock agent Mike Ryan picked Capital Partner out at the 2024 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. He went for $484,088. Brown said he and Ryan have been attending the sale in England every year.

“Mike does a fantastic job of shortlisting the horses and zeroing in on the ones he wants,” Brown said. “Often times, I am in agreement. He is great at what he does, and we have a great partnership.”

Before coming to Brown's barn, Capital Partner was at Stonestreet Training Center in Ocala, Fla with farm trainer Ian Brennan. Brown said he went to visit his young horses there in March and got rave reviews from Brennan when it came to Capital Partner.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Stonestreet and Ian Brennan,” Brown said. “He was very high on this horse. He rated him at the top of the male turf horses that I had there, and he was right. We have done a lot of work together through the years. He knows how to grade them based on previous horse that have gone through the program. (Capital Partner) got straight As.”

Capital Partner was timed in 1:44.55 and paid $5.90, $3.50 and $2.60. Brown said he was not sure what might be next for his first 2-year-old winner of the meet.

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A debut winner for John Sadler out at Santa Anita in gate-to-wire fashion June 1, Hey Nay Nay shipped in from California to Monmouth Park and outclassed this field from the first jump to take the Tyro Stakes. A rocket from the gate, the 1-5 favorite was in charge of the tempo from the start and played catch me if you can with this field who was run off their feet. Sir Newtons Laws (Accelerate) stuck around early but quickly faded as Hey Nay Nay turned for home and began the procession to the wire. Win N Juice closed from last to pick up second but it was all Hey Nay Nay who drew off to pick up the stakes win.

“This is a mature 2-year-old,” said Sadler. “I didn't want to keep him in the barn and I thought he had the personality to ship cross country so we landed on this spot. We originally talked about laying second (before Monster scratched) and then when that horse scratched I thought he would probably be in front the way he was. Even winning as easily as he did I thought he got more experience out of this. He looked straighter and stronger in his second start compared to his first, so he showed improvement to me. It was a good race for him. This horse I'm hoping ends up in the Breeders' Cup.”

The half-brother to MGSP Global Storm (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), Hey Nay Nay was a $300,000 Keeneland September buy for Hronis Racing and Iapetus Racing. Travel, who is herself a half to MGSW and GI Kentucky Derby runner up Eight Belles (Unbridled's Song), has a yearling filly by Churchill (Ire) and a filly born this year by Pinatubo (Ire).

#5 HEY NAY NAY ($2.60) dominated in the $100,000 Tyro Stakes at @MonmouthPark. The juvenile No Nay Never colt was piloted by @Pacolopez1018 for trainer @sadlerracing.@Hronis_Racing pic.twitter.com/hBxnQqMYJH

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) August 2, 2025

TYRO S., $98,000, Monmouth, 8-2, 2yo, 5fT, :56.87, fm.
1–HEY NAY NAY (IRE), 118, c, 2, by No Nay Never
            1st Dam: Travel, by Street Cry (Ire)
            2nd Dam: Away, by Dixieland Band
            3rd Dam: Be a Prospector, by Mr. Prospector
($300,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Hronis
Racing LLC and Iapetus Racing LLC; B-Lynch Bages, Camas Park
& Summerhill B/S (IRE); T-John W. Sadler; J-Paco Lopez.
$60,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $96,000. *1/2 to Global
Storm (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), GSW-UAE, MGSP-Eng,
$400,182.
2–Win N Juice, 118, c, 2, Win Win Win–Famous, by Vindication.
($30,000 2yo '25 OBSMAR). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Daugherty
Racing LLC; B-Ocala Stud (FL); T-Nolan Ramsey. $20,000.
3–Red Lad, 118, c, 2, American Pharoah–Colorado Class,
by Declaration of War. O-Jeremiah Kane and Richard
Donworth; B-Jerry Kane (KY); T-Paul McEntee. $10,000.
Margins: 7, 1, 1 1/4. Odds: 0.30, 3.40, 13.60.
Also Ran: Sir Newtons Laws, Efata. Scratched: Black Volt, Jeremiahtwentynine, Monster, Schwarzenegger, Thunder Chuck. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Hey Nay Nay Stays Perfect In The Tyro Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

There is nothing fast or precocious about developing a good wine, and certainly not for the Italian wine producer Ornellaia, one of the leading creators of Super Tuscan wine in the famous Bolgheri region.

But when Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing teamed up with the Memo partnership to buy the sale-topper at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale this May for $1.1 million, he was not looking to let her age quietly before popping the cork.

Off slowly in Saturday's sixth race at Saratoga, Ornellaia (Girvin) the filly came with a late rush and won going away by 2 1/4 lengths in her debut and was named a `TDN Rising Star.'

Joorabchian was attending a family event on Saturday and was unable to be present, but, when reached by phone minutes after the race, said, “I have watched it twice already!”

He admitted to some resignation after watching her awkward start in what figured to be a key maiden race.

“When she broke slowly, I was watching with my son and a whole team of us, 15 of us,” he said. “Before the race, everyone was saying it was one of the hottest maidens of the year. When you miss the break like that and are that far behind, the chances of catching up in a race like that are almost zero. So, we said, `well, that was really very unfortunate, but she'll gain some experience from it,' because we always liked her. We said there was no way she could catch them from there. But the stride on her! We saw her coming and then, for a second, the feed went out, so we missed the second where she went from behind the pack to catching up to the pack, and then of course went right on past them. I have seen other people's horses do that, but I haven't ever seen one of mine do that, ever, so that was quite impressive.”

By the time she ended up in Amo and Memo's hands-their first pairing on a horse–Orneillaia had already sold twice previously. She was a $180,000 Keeneland November weanling, and resold as a yearling by Paramount Sales for $240,000 to Ciarian Dunne's Wavertree Stables for a pinhooking partnership. “We loved that filly from the day we saw her,” Dunne told the TDN's Jessica Martini in May. “She's never done anything but get better and reinforce the opinion we had of her. Hopefully, she can reward (the buyers).”

She has now done just that.

“I loved her as a yearling, and she was obviously in very good hands with Ciaran Dunne,” said Joorabchian. “He did an amazing job with her, and we teamed up to get her. To get an early two-year-old in America, this is exactly what I've been wanting. To be fair, Ben (McElroy) and Alex (Elliott) and KerrI were absolutely in love with the horse. Her price tag was obviously big, but she's now worth it.”

She is now the second filly Joorabchian has owned with the same name, following his now-four-year old Orneillaia (GB) (Night of Thunder {Ire}). “I had a horse in the U.K. called Ornellaia, who was third in the G1 Moyglare Stakes,” he said, “and unfortunately, she got injured and retired to stud. Kerri told me she had reserved the name for me in America. I love the wine.”

Shortly after the race, he received a call from Chad Brown. “Chad just called me and he said, `we've got a live one here.'”

The pair will enjoy this one for a bit and regroup before deciding what's next.

“To be honest, we haven't discussed anything,” said Joorabchian. “There are no plans for her. It's too early.”

The post Saratoga Maidens, Presented by Keeneland: Orneillaia A Vintage Unto Herself in Impressive Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}), a perfect three-for-three this term, headed by a win in the GI American Turf S. at Churchill Downs, will be heavily favored in Friday's GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S., a one-mile inner turf test for sophomores at Saratoga.

A winner of six-of-seven career starts, the lone blemish on Zulu Kingdom's resume is a seventh-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar. The 6-5 morning-line favorite, campaigned in partnership by Madaket Stables LLC, Michael Dubb, William Strauss and Michael J. Caruso, enters off a win in the GIII Manila S. at the Spa July 4.

“I think two-turn turf races at the middle distance there's always a lot of close finishes, but he has a lot of natural heart and ability,” said trainer Chad Brown, who looks for a record-extending eighth victory in this event. “He's a natural competitor when it comes down to the wire.”

Brown continued, “A mile, mile and a sixteenth–right now–is what I think he wants to do. We'll see as he gets a little older (about stretching out). He's coming into the race great. He's training well.”

Luther (GB) | Sarah Andrew

Luther (GB) (Frankel {GB}) cuts back in distance after rallying for third while making his U.S. debut for trainer Charlie Fellowes in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. at Saratoga July 4.

Clever Again (American Pharoah), a sharp, front-running winner of the Hot Springs S. at Oaklawn Mar. 30, switches to grass for trainer Steve Asmussen after an eventful ninth in the GI Preakness S. May 17 and disappointing sixth in the GIII Ohio Derby June 21.

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Full Serrano (Arg) (Full Mast), unraced since springing a 13-1 upset in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar Nov. 2, is nearing a return.

“We're hoping we see him at Del Mar,” owner Kosta Hronis said. “If there's a race for him there that he fits in, that's what we're gonna shoot for. We'll see how he does and go from there. The focus is Breeders' Cup. If he can handle the Classic, that would be the ultimate goal.”

Full Serrano has posted four workouts for trainer John Sadler since returning to the worktab this summer, most recently breezing four furlongs in :48.40 (17/51) at Del Mar July 28.

“He just had some little issues that came up,” Hronis said. “Nothing big. Just for his own good we thought, 'it's probably the perfect time of the year to give him a nice break since our focus is Breeders' Cup. Let him get back and good and healthy.' He never left the barn. He didn't have to go any place. He's been under John's care the whole time.”

Kosta Hronis | Benoit Photo

A listed stakes winner and also graded stakes placed for former trainer Diego Pena in his native Argentina, Full Serrano made three starts on these shores last term. An optional claiming winner in his U.S. debut going a two-turn mile at Del Mar Aug. 3, the dark bay ran very well in defeat staying on for second while stretching to 1 1/4 miles in the GI FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic S. Aug. 31. He trained up to the Breeders' Cup after spiking a fever and missing an intended start in the GI California Crown at Santa Anita.

“John has a good relationship with those people there and (Full Serrano) became available,” Hronis said. “So, we jumped on him. He was modestly priced and we thought we'd take a chance with him. Turned out to be a really really good racehorse. He had a little tiny issue and missed the Awesome Again, so we decided to cut him back to the Mile for the Breeders' Cup. He did his job there and showed everybody he's a racehorse. We're probably back on that same pattern hoping to go to the Classic.”

Full Serrano wins the $1 Million @bigassfans #BreedersCup Dirt Mile! Congrats to all connections! #BC24 pic.twitter.com/bFDCtg3olx

— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 3, 2024

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Heavy rain showers and thunderstorms in the Wilmington area caused officials to cancel the remainder of the races at Delaware Park Thursday. Racing was abandoned following the fifth of nine scheduled races at the track.

Live racing is scheduled to resume at Delaware Park Friday.

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Grade I winner Preservationist (Arch–Flying Dixie, by Dixieland Band) died in Korea July 19, according to Korea Racing Authority records. The news was first reported in the U.S. by Paulick Report.

Racing for Centennial Farms and trained by Jimmy Jerkens, Preservationist won the 2019 GI Woodward Stakes and GII Suburban Stakes. He hit the board in nine of 11 starts, with six wins and earnings of $1,084,550.

He began his stud career at Airdrie Stud and sired 2024 GIII Peter Pan Stakes winner Antiquarian, who has gone on to finish second in this year's GII Suburban Stakes and GIII Blame Stakes.

Preservationist is also the sire of stakes winners In a Jam, Band of Gold, and Diakonissa. His son Chunk of Gold earned a spot in this year's Kentucky Derby with runner-up efforts in the GII Louisiana Derby and GII Risen Star Stakes. He was also second in the GIII Ohio Derby.

The 12-year-old Preservationist relocated to Korea last December.

“We were blind sided by it,” Airdrie's Bret Jones said of news of the stallion's death. “I didn't know it until Don Little [from Centennial] reached out, having just read an article. I reached out to the agent who did the deal and she said the horse was doing fabulously in Korea, he had bred 80 mares or so. He colicked and had to go in for surgery and tragically did not make it. We are very sorry for Don and the Centennial team and Jimmy Jerkens. He was a horse who had a lot of people that loved him. A very sad day for everyone who loved a very special horse.”

The post Preservationist Dies in Korea appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country.

The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) “pending” and “resolved” cases portals.

Among this week's rulings, Angel Sanchez-Pinero was suspended 30-days for a phenylbutazone positive stemming from February-the latest action amid a series of alleged offenses facing the trainer.

This includes another pending violation issued against Sanchez-Pinero this week concerning the alleged breach of rule 3230(b)(2), related to “Causing a Covered Horse to Violate its Provisional Suspension.”

The horse in question is 3-year-old filly, Laguardia. HIWU provisionally suspended the then Sanchez-Pinero trained Laguardia after the filly had tested positive for bronchodilator Formoterol (Aformoterol)–a banned substance–after finishing second at Parx Racing Mar. 26. HIWU officially posted this notice June 11.

Laguardia has since then started twice at Mountaineer-a track that being in West Virginia falls outside of HISA's jurisdiction–for trainer Juan Vazquez.

When asked about the nature of Sanchez-Pinero's alleged breach of rule 3230(b)(2) with Laguardia, a HIWU spokesperson wrote that “Sanchez-Pinero oversaw a breeze by Laguardia while she was Provisionally Suspended. A Covered Horse cannot complete a Timed and Reported Workout (i.e., breeze) while Provisionally Suspended.”

Sanchez-Pinero is facing six other separate pending violations under HIWU, five of which concern alleged Anti-Doping rule violations involving banned substances, and a separate controlled medication positive.

On May 8, HISA issued Sanchez-Pinero a provisional suspension and notice of violation, arguing that there was “clear and convincing evidence” the trainer's actions or inactions “present an immediate threat of serious injury or death” to licensed horses and riders.

Resolved ADMC Violations
Date: 07/29/2025
Licensee: Jamie Grubbs, trainer
Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Diclofenac–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Halloween, who won at Belterra Park 6/13/25.

Date: 07/28/2025
Licensee: Justin Evans, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision of HIWU.
Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Dantrolene–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Big Beauty 6/20/25.

Date: 07/25/2025
Licensee: Jonathaniel Badillo, trainer
Penalty: 15-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on July 26, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $2,500; imposition of 2 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violations for the presence of Capsaicin–a Class B controlled substance–in a sample taken from Spotten Bull, who finished fourth at Parx Racing 6/15/25.

Date: 07/24/2025
Licensee: Jeff Mullins, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision of HIWU.
Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Betamethasone–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Sparta F.C. 6/5/25.

Date: 07/23/2025
Licensee: Kelli Martinez, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning July 24, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $1,000; imposition of 2 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Cannabidiol (CBD)–a class B controlled substance–in a sample taken from American Sue, who finished second at Prairie Meadows 6/14/25.

Date: 07/23/2025
Licensee: Angel Sanchez-Pinero, trainer
Penalty: 30-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning July 24, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $2,500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision by internal adjudication panel.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone–a controlled substance (Class C)–in a sample taken from Dynamitendiamonds, who finished fifth at Aqueduct 2/1/25.

Pending ADMC Violations
07/30/2025, Timothy Murphy, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone and Methocarbamol-both Class C controlled substances-in a sample taken from More Vino, who finished second at Finger Lakes 5/12/25; and for the presence of Methocarbamol–a Class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Tacony Road, who won the George W. Barker Stakes at Finger Lakes 5/26/25.

07/29/2025, Hernan Parra, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone–a Class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Mischievous Han, who finished fifth at Gulfstream Park 6/29/25.

07/29/2025, Patrick Ashton, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Dexamethasone–a Class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Max Forward Speed, who won at Parx Racing 6/7/25.

07/29/2025, Calixto Juarez, trainer: Pending medication violation for the possession of banned substance Ethanol, and for the attempted use of Ethanol on an event dated 6/4/25.

07/29/2025, Maria Pinzon, trainer: Pending medication violation for the possession of Isoxuprine–a banned substance–for an event dated 4/4/25.

07/28/2025, Tito Felix Moreno, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Flunixin–a Class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Terpeye, who finished second at Belterra Park 6/14/25.

07/25/2025, Lane Johnston, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Acepromazine–a Class B controlled substance–in a sample taken from Denington on 6/30/25.

07/25/2025, Daniel Steve Harvey, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Caffeine–a Class B controlled substance–in a sample taken from Leopardi, who finished second at Tampa Bay 4/16/25.

07/24/2025, Gene Jacquot, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Dantrolene–a Class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Annie One Sock on 6/23/25.

07/24/2025, Ralph D'Alessandro, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Methocarbamol–a Class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Signifying Nothing, who won at Finger Lakes 6/17/25.

07/24/2025, Angel Sanchez-Pinero, trainer: For the alleged breach of rule 3230(b)(2), “Causing a Covered Horse to Violate its Provisional Suspension.” A more detailed description of the alleged violations can be found above.

07/23/2025, Kieron Magee, trainer: Pending vet's list medication violation for the presence of Omeprazole (Gastrogard)–a Class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Love to Eat 6/17/25.

Violations of Crop Rule
Delaware Park
Jorge Francisco Hernandez–violation date July 24; $250 fine, one-day suspension.

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The Inglis Digital USA July Sale closed Wednesday with a pair of stakes-winning juveniles heading up the trade, topped by Good Civilian (Good Samaritan–Lei It On Me, by Benny the Bull), who was secured by Flurry Racing for $240,000.

An impressive winner by 11 ½ lengths at Horseshoe Indianapolis June 14, the gelding followed up with a score in the Prairie Gold Juvenile Stakes at Prairie Meadows. Good Civilian was previously raced by Southwest Racing Stables Inc.

Good Civilian was consigned by trainer Genaro Garcia, who made the horse available for inspection from his barn at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville, Ind.

“I'm glad we were able to get him,” said Staton Flurry of Flurry Racing. “He'll head to (trainer) Cipriano Contreras. I'm the biggest 'Cippy' fan there is, and he's stabled in Indiana. We'll point toward the Indiana-bred stakes with him and just see where we go once that meet is over.”

Bred in Indiana by Dawn Martin, Good Civilian is out of the Benny the Bull mare Lei It On Me, who is already responsible for a pair of winners.

Stakes-winning 2-year-old Border Czar (Beau Liam–Adalee, by Street Boss) was the second highest priced offering of the day, going to Zhenxi Li for $185,000. The filly, who won on debut at Woodbine on June 7 returned to take the July 12 My Dear Stakes.

Barbara Minshall, Border Czar's owner and trainer, consigned the filly from her base at Toronto-area Woodbine.

“I had a very good experience selling on the Inglis Digital USA sale platform,” Minshall said. “They were very helpful and informative as to what was required, and they kept me well informed as to the progress of the sale. Daily info sheets were sent, and I felt my horse was given excellent exposure. I would definitely choose to sell again with Inglis Digital USA.”

Border Czar, bred in Kentucky by Southern Comfort Farm, is out of Adalee, whose three winners from four runners also includes SW Feelgood Factor and multiple winner Sassy and Bold.

Wednesday's auction closed with 27 horses sold for revenues of $537,500, and an average sale price of $19,907.

“We knew going into the sale that the 2-year-olds were going to be popular, and we weren't disappointed,” said Kyle Wilson, Senior Director of Sales and Recruiting for Inglis Digital USA. “We had some good trade at a number of levels, which we are pleased with. It was a solid sale, and we'll look forward moving into the fall sale season.”

Entries are now open for the Inglis Digital USA September Sale, and they will be taken through Monday, Aug. 25. The catalog will be released Friday, Aug. 29, and bidding will close on

Wednesday, Sept. 3.

To enter a horse in the September sale, register as a bidder, or make a bid on an RNA horse from the July sale, visit www.inglisdigitalusa.com.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Two years ago, the GI Whitney Stakes was a whiteout. As in White Abarrio (Race Day), who crushed the field by 6 1/4 lengths.

Fast forward to now and White Abarrio is back for another run in Saturday's $1 million Whitney, the premier race for older horses at the 40-day meet at Saratoga Race Course.

The 6-year-old horse will look to shrug off a disappointing fourth place finish in the GI Met Mile last month and prove to his trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. that he deserves a place among the elite of the older horse division.

“You just have to have a short-term memory and move forward,” Joseph said Wednesday morning at his Saratoga backstretch barn about White Abarrio's performance in the Met Mile. “He has been in that position before and has rebounded.”

White Abarrio, owned by C2 Racing Stable, Gary Barber and La Milagrosa Stable LLC, started the year with a resounding 6 1/4-length win in the $3 million GI Pegasus World Cup.

He followed that up with another score at his home track of Gulfstream Park, winning the GIII Ghostzapper Stakes by 5 1/4 lengths.

Then came the head scratcher in the Met Mile. The race was billed as a showdown between White Abarrio and Fierceness (City of Light), but they were both defeated by the since retired Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief).

This was the second straight year that White Abarrio tossed in a clunker in the Met Mile. Last June, he was fifth, beaten 10 1/4 lengths by National Treasure (Quality Road).

Since that race, Joseph said that White Abarrio, who will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., has trained well and looked like a horse about to give a solid performance.

Skippylongstocking paddock schools with Bobolo Ureña | Sarah Andrew

“When he comes off a race that is below par, you are always a bit suspect,” Joseph said. “You are like,'what did we miss?' We are happy with him. At the quarter pole [in the Whitney] we will know if he is moving forward.”

Joseph will also run Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) in the Whitney. The main goal for the 6-year-old, owned by Daniel Alonzo, is the $1 million GII Charles Town Classic Aug. 22 in West Virginia. It's a race he has captured the last two years.

Before winning the Charles Town last year, Skipplongstocking finished fifth in the Whitney. He will be ridden by Jose Ortiz on Saturday.

Make no mistake, Joseph is not using the Whitney as a prep race.

“If we did not think we could compete, we would not be running in it,” he said. “Is it a tough race? Yeah, it's a really tough race. Of course, you would like it to be easier, but he is here. He has run fast enough on some days to win a Grade I. This kind of Grade I? It's unlikely, but you've got to be in it to win it.”

Following Mo Plex's (Complexity) fourth place finish in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes, trainer Jeremiah Englehart will be in no rush to bring his New York-bred back to the races.

His landing point could very well be Parx Racing for the $1 million GI Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 20.

“If I had to choose from a timing standpoint, that is perfect,” Englehart said while sitting in his office at his barn at the annex across from the Oklahoma Training Track Wednesday morning. “That would give him almost two months.”

Mo Plex between Sandman and Hill Road | Sarah Andrew

Mo Plex set the pace in the Jim Dandy before fading and being beat 10 1/2 lengths by Sovereignty (Into Mischief). Owned by Rick Higgins and Howard Read (R and H Stable), Mo Plex had won the GIII Ohio Derby in his prior start and that gave the group reason to try the big boys in the Jim Dandy.

Englehart hasn't given up on the idea that Mo Plex can compete with the better horses in the division. He said he does not want to run Mo Plex in the $200,000 Albany Stakes against state breds Aug. 21.

“He came out of [the Jim Dandy] fine,” Englehart said. “I don't think I want to run him back in three and a half weeks. I just want to be real smart with the next start.”

Englehart did some homework when researching the Pennsylvania Derby. The last two winners of the race, Seize the Grey (Arrogate) and Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) ran in the Jim Dandy before heading to Parx.

Seize the Grey was fourth in last year's Jim Dandy and Saudi Crown finished second in 2023.

Englehart said he would change his mind about the Pennsylvania Derby if Sovereignty or GI Haskell Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) decided to head that way. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott has not indicated any desire to go to the Pennsylvania Derby and Michael McCarthy has not said which way Journalism is going.

Sovereignty wasn't the only horse Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott had his eye on last Saturday. The stable star did his thing when he rolled to his third straight win in the GII Jim Dandy.

About three and a half hours before Sovereignty won the Jim Dandy by a length, Mott saddled Arthur's Ride (Tapit) for his first start since last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic when he finished 12th out of 14.

Stars and Stripes | Sarha Andrew

Mott was not happy with what Arthur showed him. The 5-year-old horse finished third in a 1 1/8-mile multi-conditional allowance race. He was defeated by 8 1/4 lengths as the 1-2 favorite.

“That was not acceptable, not happy,” Mott said.

Mott said he could not comment on what might be next for Arthur's Ride until he talks with the horse's owners.

Arthur's Ride is owned by Glassman Racing LLC (Karl and Cathi Glassman). He won four of his first nine starts, the biggest being last year's GI Whitney Stakes, his first graded stakes try. He was then fifth in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup before the Breeders' Cup.

Another horse from the Mott Barn, Stars and Stripes (Not This Time), opened some eyes when he won an allowance race at Saratoga by 7 1/4 lengths July 17. That came after he broke his maiden at Aqueduct June 15 by 10 1/2 lengths. That was his second career start.

Owned by Frassetto Stables LLC, Stars and Stripes might not be seen for a while, Mott said.

“He grabbed a quarter pretty good in the [July 17] race,” he said. “I don't have anything picked out for him.”

The post Saratoga Notebook, Presented by NYRA Bets: Joseph Hoping For A Rebound From White Abarrio In Whitney appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Two days after the running of the GIII Lake George Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday July 26, the Mike Maker-trained Aterradora (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) was humanely euthanized at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, the New York Racing Association said via a press release on Wednesday.

The 3-year-old owned by Pura Vida Investments LLC, who was making her eighth career start, was pulled up by jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the gallop out after finishing fifth and was immediately attended to by on-track veterinarians. The filly was transported to the aforementioned medical facility for further evaluation and treatment.

Radiographs taken that same day revealed a slab fracture of the right knee, which was followed by a CT scan to allow for surgical planning. At the time of surgery, the extent of the injury was found to be more severe and complicated than previously identified. As a result, and upon the recommendation of attending veterinarians, Aterradora was humanely euthanized.

According to the NYRA release, since the beginning of the summer meet July 10, Aterradora is the lone fatality during racing. There have been two equine fatalities during training–National Secret (American Pharoah) and Dazzle d'Oro (Bolt d'Oro).

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The finalists and runners-up for the 2025 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards have been chosen in the seven categories as the program celebrates its 10th anniversary, according to a Wednesday press release posted on co-sponsor Godolphin's website.

The 2025 ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Lexington, Kentucky. Finalists and their guest will enjoy a variety of activities, including a tour of a local horse farm, a stallion show, the ceremony dinner with an afternoon of racing the following day at Keeneland.

The shortlist judging panel–the first of two–met on Tuesday, July 29, to determine the finalists that will make the trip to Kentucky, along with two runners-up in each of the categories. Their meeting was again hosted by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. The second and final stage of judging will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 21st, when finalists will meet with the judges for in-person interviews.

The panel chair Joe Clancy, said, “The quality of nominees was very strong, across the board, and we sincerely appreciate those who took the time to nominate their champions. I also express sincere thanks to the National HBPA, TOBA, The Jockey Club, Keeneland, Breeders' Cup, and Godolphin, without whose underwriting and support of these awards would not be possible. Also, a heartfelt thanks to media partners–The Thoroughbred Daily News, The Saratoga Special, BloodHorse Publications, Daily Racing Form, FanDuel, Real Players Inside the Backstretch, Paulick Report, Fox Sports, and America's Day at the Races–for helping spread the reach of the awards.

“In addition, the efforts of Roberto Rodriguez, Director of DRF en Espanol and Carlos Morales, Producer and Host of Agentes 305, deserve special thanks for informing the Spanish-speaking community,” he said.

TIEA category sponsors include Hallway Feeds, NTRA, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and 1/ST Racing along with new sponsors, NYRA BETS and Kentucky Downs/KHBPA, who will handle all travel.

The winners of the Katherine McKee Administration, Dedication to Breeding, Dedication to Racing, Managerial, Dr. J. David “Doc” Richardson Community, and Support Services Awards will receive a prize of $7,500, with two finalists receiving $3,500. Two runners-up in each category, separate from the winners and two finalists, will receive $2,000 each.

The winner of the Newcomer Award will receive $5,000, with two finalists receiving $2,500 each. Separate from the winners and two finalists, two runners-up will receive $1,000 each.

The 2025 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards finalists are:

Katherine McKee Administration Award, sponsored by Keeneland

• Maria Isabel Escobar, Todd Pletcher Racing Stable
• Vicki Forbes, The Thoroughbred Daily News
• Sandy Martin, Race Track Chaplaincy of America

Runners-up

• Lacey Coler, Barton Thoroughbreds
• Lauren Monnet, National HBPA

Support Services Award, sponsored by 1/ST Racing

• Lynne Hewlett, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute
• Robert Richardson, KatieRich Farms
• Nathan Stephens, Stephens Farrier Service, LLC

Runners-up

• Mary Perkins, Keeneland Association
• Steve Peterman, Gulfstream Park

Dedication to Breeding Award, sponsored by Hallway Feeds

• Sara Patterson, Cedar Run Farm
• Juan Piedra, Stone Bridge Farm
• Mario Ponce, Coolmore America

Runners-up

• Luis Sanchez, Kenneth McPeek Racing Stable
• Alan Shell, Kenneth McPeek Racing Stable

Dedication to Racing Award, sponsored by NYRA BETS

• Carlos Alarcon, D/M Racing Stables
• Jackie Dayutis, WinStar Farm
• Fiona Goodwin, Jena Antonucci

Runners-up

• Rafael Fernandez, Herringswell Stables
• Lee Vickers, Miguel Clement Racing Stable

Managerial Award, sponsored by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute

• John Motaung, Sequel Bloodstock
• Jesus Pinales, Mulholland Springs
• Duane Reed, Coolmore America

Runners-up

• Kali Kleinfelt, Stone Bridge Farm
• Edwyn Kiely, Hunter Valley Farm

Newcomer Award, sponsored by New York Racing Association

• Braden Heath, Three Chimneys Farm
• Kinnon LaRose, Tom Amoss
• Ivanna Rabii, WinStar Farm

Runners-up

• Madison Jackson, Churchill Downs
• Maxine Pina, Taylor Made Sales Agency

Dr. J. David “Doc” Richardson Community Award, sponsored by Churchill Downs

• Peter Drumstra, Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program
• Nancy Turner, This Old Horse, Inc.
• CJ Wilson, Win Place Home

Runners-up

• Victoria Mangini, Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Assoc.
• Caroline Tatum, Secretariat Center

The post Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards Finalists Named, Includes TDN’s Vicki Forbes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Caroline Stautberg has been selling her yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale for three decades now, but the Maryland breeder will record a personal first when the boutique auction opens next week. Through the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services consignment, Stautberg's Willow Oaks Stable will offer the very first horse through the ring Monday when bidding starts at 6:30 p.m. Hip 1 is a daughter of Vekoma out of Tapit's World (Tapit) and a half-sister to graded winner Il Miracolo (Gun Runner).

“It's been 30 years since my first Saratoga sale and I haven't missed a year, but I've never been in the first 10 [hips],” Stautberg said with a laugh. “So I guess it was my turn. Thankfully, she is a filly with a nice page and I think she will sell herself. And this is a sale that people are pretty well there when it starts. It's not like some of those sales that start at nine in the morning and you know nobody is there. I'm not jumping up and down about it, but it could be worse.”

In addition to her graded-winning half-brother, the yearling is a full-sister to a now 2-year-old filly who sold to Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation for $575,000 at the 2024 Saratoga sale. The trio are out of graded-placed Tapit's World, who was acquired for $175,000 at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Stautberg admitted that purchase a decade ago harkened back to the mare who provided her with her biggest success as a breeder, Fun Crowd.

Stautberg and her late husband, Jerry, purchased Fun Crowd for $115,000 at the 2002 Keeneland November sale. Eleven yearlings sold out of the mare for over $2 million, including Grade I winner Funny Moon (Malibu Moon).

“What a mare, that Fun Crowd,” Stautberg said. “She was really a great mare. When she died, I got the prettiest tree that I could find and had a stone made and she is buried on the farm with a really, really pretty tree marking her stone. She was something else. I just didn't have any idea, really, of how lucky I was. Davant Latham found her for me. And he is still helping me pick out broodmares. She wasn't that expensive because she hadn't raced. But she had a great pedigree and, man, did she produce.”

Latham recalled that purchase when he and his client were bidding on Tapit's World in 2015.

“Davant and I watched her in the ring,” Stautberg said of Tapit's World. “He said, 'The only reason you love her is because she reminds you so much of Fun Crowd.' And she did. She was a chestnut with a white blaze and a couple of white socks. She went through and she RNA'd, so I said, 'Come on.' We ran back to the barn and we offered the price they wanted and they took it.”

Funny Moon | Horsephotos

With just seven broodmares, Stautberg will offer almost her entire foal crop–four yearlings–at the two-day Saratoga sale next week.

“I sold one at the January sale and [Fasig-Tipton] accepted all five I had left,” Stautberg said. “But one of them had an abscess, so she is going to have to wait until fall.”

The group, all consigned by Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services, includes four fillies and one colt.

“For the last two years, I've had all fillies and only one colt,” Stautberg explained. “It happened again this year. You feel so sorry for that colt all by himself. I live in Monkton, Maryland, so he has to ship up by himself. My farm manager, Darin Martin, is bringing up the fillies, but he can't come with them. He has to have his own transportation.”

Other than the filly out of 15-year-old Tapit's World, the other yearlings in Willow Oaks' Saratoga offerings are out of mares Stautberg has acquired in the past two years. Hip 64 is a filly by Uncle Mo and is the first foal out of stakes-placed Champagne Ivy (Shackleford). She was purchased in utero for $210,000 at the 2023 Keeneland November sale.

Hip 74 is a filly from the first crop of champion Epicenter out of graded winner Cosmic Burst (Violence). Stautberg acquired Cosmic Burst for $260,000 at the 2023 Keeneland January sale.

Rounding out the group is a colt by Mandaloun (hip 147) out of multiple stakes winner Lucky Stride (Declaration of War). Lucky Stride was purchased for $170,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November sale.

“I am 84, almost 85, and I keep saying I don't need to buy any more, but I just can't resist,” Stautberg said of the recent purchases. “I get the catalogue and I see something and I say, 'I think I will hang around for that one.' I keep adding, but I think maybe this is it.”

Stautberg sends her mares to Kentucky to foal and be bred back before mares and foals return to Maryland.

“I have watched them all grow up,” Stautberg said of the yearlings she will offer at auction next week. “You get very attached to them. I went over this morning to Oklahoma [training track] and saw one that I sold last year, a Twirling Candy filly, and she's so happy and doing so well. And that just makes you feel so good.”

Stautberg and her late husband used to raise Black Angus cattle and steeplechasers on their 600-acre Willow Oaks Farm in Monkton, but a trip to Saratoga in the mid-1990s changed the trajectory of their operation.

“[The late steeplechase trainer] Tom Voss was a neighbor,” Stautberg recalled. “My husband and I came up and stayed with Tom and [his wife] Mimi. “We went to the horse sale and ended up buying a yearling that Tom had picked out to be a steeplechaser. In the meantime, the Bluegrass Thoroughbred partners had a party where I met John Stuart and Peter Bance. So all of a sudden I said, 'I know a bloodstock agent'–this was probably 1994–and I said, 'Let's buy one.' My husband was an automobile dealer and he said, 'No, one won't do it. We need more than that.' So we ended up with four. I think my first sales were in '95.”

Willow Oaks will be offering its 30th class of yearlings–beginning with the first hip through the ring–at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale next week and Stautberg's love affair with the upstate New York town is still going strong.

“I usually come up before the sales,” Stautberg said. “I love the racing and I love the people and I love the restaurants. I love everything about it. You are a person here, not just a number. I think the Fasig-Tipton people do such a good job and I am very happy here.”

The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday at the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion. Bidding commences each day at 6:30 p.m.

The post After 30 Years, a Fasig-Tipton Saratoga First for Stautberg appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Many involved with the sport probably know little about trainer Librado Barocio. But that could be about to change. His small stable has been on fire as of late and it recorded a milestone when Lovesick Blues (Grazen) upset his better known rivals to win the GI Bing Crosby Stakes Saturday at Del Mar. For the trainer who has been training off and on since 1999, it was his first Grade I win.

How did it feel? That was among the questions our team asked Barocio when he joined us on this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. Barocio was this week's Gainesway Guest of the Week.

“It's a blessing and it's a big blessing for my family,” Barocio said. “I consider myself an underdog who is trying to play in this arena. I found a horse that was an underdog, too. The horse did it all. For him just to accomplish that, it means a lot for my family. It means a lot for my parents.”

Lovesick Blues is a 7-year-old veteran on the California circuit whose best surface appeared to be the grass. Barocio approached his owner, Nick Alexander, about purchasing another horse, Desmond Doss (Grazen), but when told that horse was not in serious training, he decided to buy Lovesick Blues.

The Bing Crosby is a “Win and You're In” race for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, but Barocio will still need to pay $100,000 to get in the race because the horse was not nominated for the Breeders' Cup.

Barocio said he was not sure which way to go until his son intervened. Also called Librado Barocio, the son is an assistant coach for the UCLA football team. He talked his father into committing to the Breeders' Cup.

“He said, 'Dad, you made it to the Super Bowl,'” the elder Barocio said. “Right now he's at UCLA, but two years back he was with the Washington Commanders and Coach Rivera. And of course, their goal was to get to the Super Bowl. And when he played football at UCLA, their goal was to get to the national championship game. He said, 'Dad, you're in the Super Bowl.' He equated this victory with the Super Bowl. I agreed with him. The Breeders' Cup is the Super Bowl of racing. He said, 'You have to go,' and I said, 'absolutely, you are right.'”

Barocio, who says he divides his time between racing and his business as film maker, had his best year in 2023 when he won 24 races. This year, he is 16-for-65, good for a win rate of 25%. Barocio won his first graded stakes race in 2024 in the GIII Senorita Stakes with Visually (Enticed).

“I have to give all credit to my help, my workers, my assistants,” he said. “They work endlessly and they don't miss a beat. They do everything and sometimes they do it twice a day. We work on horses twice a day. I think the horses respond to that.”

In our “Fastest Horse of the Week,” segment which is sponsored by WinStar, the team went over the many reasons there are breed to WinStar stallion Heartland. The fastest horse of the week was none other than Lovesick Blues, who got a 105 Beyer for his win in the Bing Crosby.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by 1/ST Racing, 1/ST TV, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, and West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss reviewed the big effort by Sovereignty (Into Mischief) in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes and lamented the fact that he skipped the Preakness in a year where he might have won the Triple Crown.

As for the 2-year-olds, 'TDN Rising Star' Brant (Gun Runner) was a hot topic. A horse that cost a record $3 million at OBS March, he romped at first asking in a Del Mar maiden race, earning a 101 Beyer figure, the fastest number run by any 2-year-old this year.

The team also reviewed the GI Whitney S., which attracted possibly the best field of older dirt horses assembled this year. The consensus was that Fierceness (City of Light) is the horse to beat.

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

The post Librado Barocio Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Everett Dobson has officially been elected by the board of stewards to be the next chair of The Jockey Club. Dobson succeeds Stuart Janney, III, who has served as chair of the organization since August of 2015.

“It's a great privilege to follow Stuart as chair of The Jockey Club,” Dobson said. “Stuart has been an integral part of The Jockey Club as we strive to improve Thoroughbred breeding and racing. I will continue with our endeavor to develop initiatives that support and grow the sport.”

Dobson has been a member of The Jockey Club since 2014. He served as a steward from August 2017 through August 2021 and was elected again in 2024. A longtime owner and breeder of Thoroughbreds, the Oklahoma native is owner of Candy Meadows Farm and races under Cheyenne Stables.

He serves on the executive committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and is immediate past chairman of the American Graded Stakes Committee. Dobson also serves as a member of the Breeders' Cup, in addition to being a trustee of the Keeneland Association.

Dobson is the executive chairman of Dobson Fiber, a telecommunications company based in Oklahoma City. He is also an investor in the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder team and serves on its board of directors.

Janney will continue to serve on The Jockey Club's board of stewards.

“It has been an honor to serve as the chair of The Jockey Club these past 10 years,” Janney said. “I could not be more pleased with the accomplishments that have been made in the industry with the support and leadership of The Jockey Club. I have no doubt that, with Everett as chairman, The Jockey Club will continue to pave the way forward for our wonderful sport.”

Dobson will serve as the 11th chair of The Jockey Club since its establishment in 1894.

The remaining stewards are William S. Farish Jr. (vice chair), Ian D. Highet (treasurer), William M. Lear Jr. (secretary), Louis A. Cella, Gary Fenton, Terry Finley, David O'Farrell, Marc Holliday, Stuart S. Janney III, Bret Jones, and Vincent Viola.

The post Everett Dobson Officially Elected Chair of the The Jockey Club appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Graded races at Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park have been renamed in honor of the late trainers D. Wayne Lukas and Christophe Clement, 1ST, which operates both racetracks, announced Wednesday.

Beginning in 2026, the GII Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita will be renamed the D. Wayne Lukas Stakes, while the GIII La Prevoyante Stakes at Gulfstream Park has been renamed the Christophe Clement Stakes.

“D. Wayne Lukas and Christophe Clement were not just generational horsemen, they were top-class people,” said 1/ST President Aidan Butler. “Santa Anita and Gulfstream were blessed to be their homes for many years. It is an honor to salute them for years to come at our tracks by renaming races that helped launch their success stories.”

Lukas saddled Flack Flack to win the 1980 Santa Monica, then run as a handicap. It was the trainer's first Grade II race at Santa Anita Park and just his ninth graded stakes win since transitioning to Thoroughbreds from Quarter Horses. Lukas would go on to add five more Santa Monica's to his extensive resume with Parsley (1980), Bara Lass (1984), Pine Tree Lane (1987 and 1988) and the Hall of Fame filly Serena's Song (1996).

Only trainer Bob Baffert's seven wins bests Lukas's record in the seven-furlong race, which has been contested since 1957.

Lukas, who began his successful career based at Santa Anita Park in the 1970s-1990s, passed away June 28, less than three months before his 90th birthday.

The 1992 La Prevoyante provided Clement with just the second graded stakes win of his young career when Irish-bred Sardaniya won for His Highness the Aga Khan, coming less than a month after his first graded win at Gulfstream Park.

Currently run at Gulfstream over 1 1/2 miles on the grass for fillies and mares, the 1992 running at Calder was the first of Clement's six wins in the race, followed by Tampoli (1994), Caretta (1998 and 1999), Irish Mission (2014) and Beautiful Lover (2022).

Clement passed away May 24 at age 59.

The post 1/ST Renames Races in Honor of Lukas, Clement appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Retro payment checks for racing conducted at Golden Gate Fields from Dec. 26, 2023 through June 9, 2024 are ready for distribution, according to a release from Thoroughbred Owners of California.

The statement read, “As a result of a thorough review, it has been determined that a total of $670,455 was underpaid to the purse account. This resulted in an 8.04% retroactive payment to all participants who earned purse money in overnight races during this period.”

Eligible owners can log into their InCompass Horsemen's accounts to view the exact amount they are entitled to receive.

The post Golden Gate Fields Retro Payments Available appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.