Thoroughbred Daily News

With 17 juveniles sharing the fastest furlong breeze of :9 4/5, a filly by Omaha Beach (hip 74) separated herself from the pack with a nifty pedigree update and a bullet quarter-mile work in :20 4/5 during Monday's first under-tack preview session for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

Hip 74 is consigned by Tom McCrocklin, who signed the ticket to acquire the filly for $400,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale.

“She's a very nice filly, always has been,” McCrocklin said Monday. “She's a big, imposing, physical filly. She has a beautiful stride and she galloped out really, really well. I couldn't be happier with her.”

The dark bay filly is out of Ready for Charm (More Than Ready), a daughter of graded-placed Deb's Charm (Silver Charm) and a half-sister to the dam of Percy's Bar (Upstart), who won the GI Ashland Stakes at Keeneland last Friday.

“She's got the whole package, in my opinion,” McCrocklin said of the filly. “She's got a great physical presence and she's by a really good, up-and-coming stallion. The female family is very, very solid and she showed up on breeze day, which you need to do or else you're going to get your feelings hurt.”

Omaha Beach filly selling at Fasig-Tipton last October | Fasig-Tipton

Consignor Randy Miles sent out three of Monday's bullet furlong workers.

Leading off the trio was a colt by Army Mule (hip 110), who turned in his :9 4/5 work just minutes into the session. Purchased by Faris Breeding for $40,000 at Keeneland last September, the bay is out of Saintly Sister (Saint Liam).

“He is awesome,” Miles said of the youngster. “He is a big and lanky, really just a true professional. We've loved him for the last month or two when we started really asking him to breeze. He's been a star. We just didn't want to mess him up. And I was just so proud when the :9 4/5 came up. He came by me on the backside and he was still rolling.”

Later in the set, a filly by Maclean's Music (hip 117) from Miles's consignment matched that :9 4/5 mark. The $60,000 Keeneland September purchase is out of Sarah Joe (Hard Spun) and from the family of Grade I winner Spain.

“I don't even have any stories for her,” Miles said. “She doesn't get into trouble. You don't know she's in the barn. She's just what you want in a little girl. Just perfection.”

Rounding out the group was a filly by Vekoma (hip 26). Purchased for $125,000 at Fasig-Tipton last October, she is out of Pink Cashmere (Eskendereya).

“She is just a really fast, immature kind of filly who is still going to take some time to grow up,” Miles said of the juvenile. “Just like Vekoma, she is very eager and willing to train and leave it all on the track. She got a little bout of sickness in January, so she was a little behind, so it was always a question of whether we would make April. But she was always so dirty fast, we decided to just go ahead and take her and she didn't let us down.”

Miles added, “All three of those horses are back in their stalls and they came out of the breeze in good shape.”

Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables sent out a pair of bullet furlong workers Monday. A colt by Practical Joke (hip 14) set the mark early in the day. Out of Pearl Pendant (Mineshaft), the dark bay is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner Pearl Tiara (Majestic Harbor). Purchased by Dunne and Paul Reddam's Red Wings pinhooking partnership for $115,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale, hip 14 is named Be a Clown. Dunne said the youngster was “aptly named.”

“We bought him off of Shawhan Place and they just raise a good horse,” Dunne said. “They raise them the old way. They raise them sort of tough. He came into the sale and he'd just run through a fence. He had cuts and scrapes all over him and he's been pretty much that way since we got him. If you can get in trouble, he's going to find a way to do it.”

Dunne continued, “He's a lovely horse. He's happy and inquisitive. We went up there with high hopes and he delivered.”

Matching the bullet mark for Wavertree later in the day was a filly by Charlatan (hip 175). Out of Sociable (Run Away and Hide), she is a half-sister to GI Gamely Stakes winner Keeper ofthe Stars (Midnight Lute). Sociable is a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner The Factor (War Front).

The juvenile was purchased by Mike Akers, as agent for Bregman Family Racing, for $130,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“She was a little bit parts and pieces,” Dunne said of the filly as a yearling. “When they bought her, they said if she does all the things we think she can do physically, she will be a beautiful 2-year-old. And she really has. She has grown up and filled out. Everything has come together. And it's a fabulous pedigree. There will be horses that breeze faster or gallop out faster, but there won't be many in there that are a sister to a Grade I winner from the immediate family of a stallion. For my mind, she is a bit of a collector's item at a 2-year-old sale. She is a filly who looks like she can have a big future and when she's finished on the racetrack, you'd imagine she's a filly that anybody would love to have in their broodmare band.”

Also sharing the furlong bullet Monday were: a colt by Life is Good (hip 15) consigned by de Meric Sales; a colt by Nashville (hip 16) consigned by Envision Equine; a filly by Roadster (hip 17) consigned by Top Line Sales; a filly by Central Banker (hip 20) consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock; a colt by Tale of Silence (hip 32) consigned by Lucan Bloodstock; a colt by Good Magic (hip 38) consigned by McKathan Bros. Sales; a colt by Liam's Map (hip 43) consigned by Scanlon Training & Sales; a filly by Yaupon (hip 75) consigned by Julie Davies LLC; a colt by War Front (hip 122) consigned by Camelot Acres Racing and Sales; a filly by Yaupon (hip 123) consigned by Niall Brennan Stables; a colt by Honor A. P. (hip 133) consigned by Bryan Ford Training Stable; and a filly by Authentic (hip 151) consigned by Kings Equine.

Wavertree had three horses work throughout Monday's session and Dunne said conditions over the OBS synthetic surface remained consistent throughout the day.

“Whatever people want to say about the synthetic, I think it is the most consistent surface from start to finish that we've ever dealt with,” he said. “When I hear people saying, I wish we could go back to dirt, they are not old enough to remember what the dirt was like about 1:00 on an afternoon in the April sale. You had no chance. Once it started to dry out and get loose, it was over. Right before our filly worked :10 1/5 [Monday at 12:47 p.m.], one worked :9 4/5. I think it's as consistent and fair as you're ever going to get for a breeze show.”

With rain coming down late in the afternoon and forecasted into Tuesday, Miles is hoping conditions remain consistent throughout the week.

“It's raining here now,” he said. “So we hope we have a fair track the rest of the week. But today was a great day. It was kind of cool for an April sale and conditions seemed good.”

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning each day at 8 a.m. The OBS Spring sale will be held next Tuesday through Friday. Bidding begins each day at 10:30 a.m.

The post Among 17 Furlong Bullets, Omaha Beach Filly Has Fastest Quarter-Mile at OBS Under-Tack Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

According to figures released Monday by Equibase, all-sources pari-mutuel handle fell by 12.35% during the month of March. A total of $816,171,590 was wagered as compared to $931,156,615 in 2025. The month-over-month decline in handle was the worst since December 2024, when handle fell by 14.44%.

In the category of average wagering per race day, the figure dropped by 12.01%, from $3,540,519 to $3,115,159.

In March 2025, racing was held on five Saturdays. There were only four Saturdays during the month in 2026. With Saturday cards producing the highest handle of the week, that is one factor that no doubt contributed to the poor March numbers.

Owing in large part to March's discouraging figures, handle on the year through the first quarter is down 7.11%. If handle continues to fall at the rate of 7.11 percent throughout the year, the total handle in 2026 will be about $10.25 billion. That would be the lowest yearly handle for the sport since 1994, a decline that does not take inflation into account.

There was also some discouraging news in the category of average field size, which dropped by seven percent during the month and is down by 4.27% for the year. The average field size in March was 7.17 starters per race. In March of 2025, it was 7.71.

The decline in handle continues to have a negligible effect on purses. A total of $94,098,566 in purse money was paid out in March, an increase of 0.87 percent from the year before. Through the first three months of 2026, purses paid are down just 1.54%.

Despite the severe winter weather in the Northeast in 2026, the number of races held reasonably steady when compared to last year, falling by just 3.22%.

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Paul Reddam is Canadian, of course, so it was too easy a shot to miss. A horse they owned together ran second; ran great, Erik Johnson thought–and said so. “Erik, this isn't the Olympics,” his partner replied. “No-one cares about second place in horseracing.”

This was a few years back, early in Johnson's Turf career, with the 2010 Winter Olympics still fresh in the memory. The U.S. team had lost the hockey final only in overtime, to the hosts in Vancouver. So Reddam did not miss his cue: no silver medals in this business.

Well, Johnson already knew enough to remind Reddam that they'd be delighted if a filly ran second in a graded stakes. And actually he could also have told Reddam about his first-ever visit to a racetrack, as a kid vacationing in Del Mar.

His buddy explained a show bet: you got paid so long as your horse finished third.

“Wait a minute,” Johnson said. “You can bet on a horse that loses, and still win money?”

This he had to see. So he placed a $2 show bet. “And the horse finished second,” Johnson recalls now. “And I was mad because I thought it had to finish third to win.”

Once told his error, the boy was pretty well hooked. But then hockey happened, and Johnson showed a consistent propensity, the Olympics aside, for finishing first. Literally so, in the 2006 draft; and so often, through a 1,000-match career, that in 2022 he could crown long and devoted service to Colorado Avalanche with the Stanley Cup itself.

In the meantime, around a decade or so ago, he started playing up the winnings to build ERJ Racing LLC. Often hooking up with partners like Reddam, he has campaigned a bunch of classy runners: from Grade I turf miler Bowies Hero (Artie Schiller) to a Saratoga graded stakes winner like Comical (Into Mischief) to Mackinnon (American Pharoah), placed–bronze!–at the Breeders' Cup. And there have been inspired claims, too, above all Brilliant Cut (Speightstown) for $50,000 in 2020. She finished up running second in the GI La Brea Stakes and was sold for $750,000.

It was in the sales ring, in fact, that Johnson discovered a different kind of buzz; and the depth of his love of horses. He started to buy a few mares, boarding with his buddy Walker Hancock at Claiborne, and thought someday he might even buy a little farm of his own.

That ambition moved up the agenda, last October, when Johnson ended an 18-year career. At 37, he had reached the crossroads that can notoriously leave a chronic void in the lives of top-class athletes. But here we are, not six months later, and the only problem is how to juggle the fresh stimulations he has found in life. He's getting rave reviews as an ESPN analyst, which is keeping him engaged with a cherished community and familiar schedule. And he has similarly opened new horizons in the other sport he loves.

A few weeks ago, after working a game in Detroit, he took the hop down to Lexington for dinner with friends. Afterwards, a first: helping to deliver a Domestic Product colt, out of a Distorted Humor mare purchased three weeks previously at the Keeneland January Sale.

“I got to the farm and my nightwatchman says, 'Mare's water just broke,'” he recalls, palpably still energized. “I couldn't believe my timing. So I geared up, got the gloves on, and helped him deliver the foal. It was such a cool moment, just to see the colt come out healthy, the mare okay, and then him standing up nursing in the first hour. I know how much goes into it, how difficult it is just to get to that point. And he's turned into a total superstar. Coolmore came out the other day to take pictures, he's so good-looking. My wife Jackie was with me, too, and we both found it a really magical experience.”

This was precisely the kind of thing Johnson had in mind, when buying the farm just weeks after his retirement. Breaking a journey to Florida to take in a U.K. basketball game with Hancock, he took the prompt to browse the property listings.

“I was thinking that nothing was going to pop up in December,” he recalls. “And then I saw the Timber Town listing. How had I not seen this!? It had been on the market since May. Next day, even as I drove in, I was thinking to myself, 'I have to buy this place.' It was the middle of winter but I thought how stunning all those beautiful trees would look in spring. It just felt like it was meant to be, and we closed three weeks later.”

He enthuses about the counsel he has received: from Hancock, from Doug and Katie Cauthen, and even from another Canadian hockey fan–showing that some of them can be more constructive than Reddam!

“John Sikura has been a huge mentor over the years,” Johnson said. “He came over and said, 'You got to add a paddock here, got to chop all this brush down, I'm going to come plant bulbs and trees for you.' It's been huge to have these friends looking out for me. As everyone knows, in this business you really need people around you that are looking out for you, people you can trust. So it's just been so cool, having this extra time now, to be learning so much stuff that I didn't know.”

He's not getting carried away: what is now Timber Creek Farm was previously just the Sweezey family's yearling division, a 50-acre parcel with a house and barn. But that was no more or less than he wanted, for a boutique broodmare band of seven, as the next stimulus to an inquiring mind that has gradually sharpened its focus by exploring different the avenues of racing, pinhooking, breeding.

“Horseracing is not for everybody, right?” he says with a chuckle. “There's far more lows than highs. I think that's why so many people say the highs are the best adrenaline rush ever. And I can relate to that: when your horse is winning, or you're selling at an auction, it's a pretty similar rush to winning a game or scoring a goal.

“But now just to be there with the mares and the foals, off-the-grid if you will, has really been a blast for me in the first year of retirement. After being so disciplined and scheduled for so long, just to have some extra time on my hands and be around the horses has been incredible.”

While enjoying a less rigorous regime, he quickly recognized the need to stay active. With homes on the sea and in the mountains, that is no ordeal, but the way he is embracing new challenges–behind a microphone, in the foaling barn–actually draws on exactly those attributes that set him apart on the ice.

“There's no perfect science to it, right?” he says. “You can breed the best of the best and still get a complete pig. So it's a long, calculated game and you got to have people in your corner that are trustworthy, and of course you need a lot of luck too. But first and foremost, I just love being around these animals. And I think the biggest thing is that if you just do right by the horse, you're going to be rewarded.”

True, he wants the farm to pay its way. The basic model is to sell the weanlings every November, with due allowance for individuals that may need more time. But Johnson already knows that the rewards of smart commercial operation are not purely financial. What a kick he got, for instance, from Remarqued (Arch), in foal to Nyquist when purchased for $225,000 at the 2025 January Sale. During the ensuing months her value was transformed by her daughter Cy Fair (Not This Time), climaxing at the Breeders' Cup–immediately before she was sent back into the same ring, along with her Nyquist filly.

“We put a $299,000 reserve on the filly,” Johnson recalls. “And she brought $750,000. And a $700,000 reserve on the mare, and she brought $1.2 million. That was the coolest thing ever. I'm probably never going to sell a seven-figure horse again, but I want to try! I realize we got so lucky, but after that you think, 'Okay, let's do this on a bigger level now.'

“I think over time you figure out what really makes you tick. Like I said, I love being hands-on, being around the mares and foals, selecting stallions–obviously with advice from Doug and Katie. But I think the action of watching your horse sell is no different than seeing your horse cross the finish line.”

However positively Johnson has embraced retirement, some things will of course never be replaced. But it feels as though this whole adventure will come close.

“There's nothing better than when you're in the heat of a game, trying to close out, a one-goal lead, out there with your buddies,” he reflects. “And afterwards you're all mobbing your goalie, and then you go for beers and dinner, play cards on the plane. That's the stuff you miss, that camaraderie, the road trips. I was lucky enough to do it almost 20 years, but you snap your fingers and it's over. But I was lucky enough to win a Stanley Cup with all my best friends. To have those memories, and to have played as long as I did, I'm really grateful.

“And thankfully I have a lot of things I'm really passionate about, which has made the transition that much easier. It's been nice just to have that mental clarity, not to be so competitive and hyper-focused all the time. I can't wait to see these foals grow up, go through the ring, and then track their progress. Hopefully they make the farm proud. I'm just obsessed. We've cameras in every stall, and I check the app all the time.     “Whenever I can get to the farm, I just can't wait. My soul just rejuvenates out there.”

As he says, it's the very opposite of parking your money on the stock market.

“You have to love it, or you might as well not be doing it,” he says. “It's a real, hands-on labor of love. I don't take any of it for granted. I know how lucky I am. And this isn't a flash in the pan. I hope to do this till I'm 80 years old. Whether we do anything bigger down the road remains to be seen, but right now we have a little slice of Bluegrass heaven.”

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Sandy Hatfield is one of the most respected stallion managers in the Thoroughbred industry, and was the first woman to serve in that role at a major farm.

In the most recent episode of the Boundless podcast, Dr. Ferrin Peterson sits down with Hatfield, a woman who built her career from the ground up, working with yearlings, mares, and putting in long hours on the farm before earning her place among the sport's elite. Sandy shares her journey from growing up around Quarter horses in Oklahoma to building a life in Kentucky, working at top farms, and eventually managing world-class stallions, including champions like Gun Runner.

Her story isn't just about horses. It's about breaking into a space where women were once not allowed, and earning respect through consistency, patience, and work ethic.

Halfield talks about the reality of working with stallions, the danger and discipline it requires, and why understanding both horses and people is the key to lasting success. She also shares the mindset that carried her through rejection, setbacks, and moments where the path forward wasn't clear: show up, work hard, and when someone tells you no, find someone who says yes.

To watch the show, click here. 

Click here to listen to it on Apple podcasts or on Spotify.

The post Sandy Hatfield Is The Guest on Episode 5 of Boundless appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

So Happy (Runhappy) was in fine fettle the morning after winning Saturday's GI Santa Anita Derby. Saturday's Santa Anita Derby program drew an on-track crowd of 37,562, the highest for Santa Anita Derby Day since 2018.

“He ate good and looked great this morning,” trainer Mark Glatt said. “He seems to be in good spirits.”

The Santa Anita Derby was So Happy's second time racing around two turns. Previously, in the GII San Felipe going 1 1/16, So Happy was up close to sharp pace and yielded late to finish third, 2 ¼ lengths back of winner Potente (Into Mischief), who finished second on Saturday.

“I think that was the biggest part of it, having that two-turn race under his belt,” Glatt said. “I thought Mike [Smith] rode a great race. We were a little more patient with him than last time. Maybe he would have won the San Felipe if he got that same kind of trip. But dealing with Brant that day, combined with first time two turns and having not raced for a couple of months, it all probably caught up with him.”

The Santa Anita Derby victory earned So Happy a berth in this year's Kentucky Derby. However, a trip to Churchill Downs is still to be determined.

“That needs to be thought out a little more than I've had a chance to do at this point,” Glatt said.

On the undercard, Meaning (Gun Runner) and Brooklyn Blonde (Gun Runner), the one-two finishers in the GII Santa Anita Oaks were “both doing well” Sunday morning, according to trainer Michael McCarthy.

“No complaints,” he added.

Meaning bested her stablemate in the Oaks by two lengths with Juan Hernandez aboard for the first time. Previously, Meaning won the one-mile Las Virgenes on Feb. 8. For Brooklyn Blonde, a $510,000 auction purchase by Gun Runner, the Oaks was her first time facing winners. Last month, when stretched out to a mile for her third start, Brooklyn Blonde broke her maiden by 1 ¼ lengths.

“The two fillies had been training well here all winter,” McCarthy said. “Obviously Meaning's reputation has been out there in front of her. Brooklyn Blonde, we've been high on her since last summer. Yesterday she showed the kind of quality filly that she is.”

Meaning will now be on to the Kentucky Oaks on May 1 at Churchill Downs. Brooklyn Blonde, who earned 50 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points, would need some defections to be part of the maximum 14-horse field.

“It will be up to the racing gods how that plays out,” McCarthy said of Brooklyn Blonde. “But there are plenty of options for her. We'll get a work into both of them here first and then play things by ear.”

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Douglas Scharbauer and Three Chimneys Farm's Always a Runner (Gun Runner) collared the pacesetting Pashmina (Constitution) late to win Saturday's GIII Gazelle at Aqueduct. In victory, the Chad Brown-trainee secured the maximum allotment of 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Oaks points on offer to the top-five finishers.

“She looks good this morning,” said Brown on Easter Sunday. “I'll speak to the owners later [Sunday]. I'm inclined to go on to the Oaks with her. She only ran twice, but she looks super this morning. You deal with 14 horses instead of 20, I just don't think there's a whole lot of risk running her in that type of race.”

He continued, “She's very talented and it keeps me on a schedule with her for the summer. I don't see an alternative race that's 'safer for her.' If she comes out of this and trains well, I will ship her over to Churchill. She will have one local work here in about two weeks, and then she'll ship over.”

Named a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' while powering clear to a 6 1/2-length victory in a one-mile and 40-yard maiden at first asking on Feb. 6 at Tampa Bay Downs, she subsequently missed some time due to a temperature.

“I expected her to run well,” Brown said. “I only worked her three times [since her win], three-eighths, two halves, and she won. She is really talented, this horse. I'd say she was 75% fit.”

Runner-up Pashmina picked up 50 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points in the Gazelles to bring her total to 63–good for the 14th and final spot in the starting gate on the first Friday in May at Churchill Downs.

“It's a tough way to get beat. You lead the whole way; you put some more separation like you took off again and then you get nailed,” trainer Rob Atras said. “The way I look at it–the big picture–she ran an awesome race and stepped up and ran the race we thought she could run. I couldn't be prouder of her.”

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Bush Racing Stable's Point Dume (Into Mischief) fended off Champion Male Sprinter Book'em Danno (Bucchero) by a neck on the front end to capture Saturday's GII Carter at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Earning a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, the bay will continue to run in high-level races, although trainer Tim Kreiser still needs to determine a next spot.

“He looked really good this morning, walking around the barn like a soldier,” Kreiser said. “He ran a really good race. They put heat on him early, turning for home, he dispatched that one [Acoustic Ave] and then the big challenger. That's his game. That's how he likes it, he wants to look them in the eye. I think I'd rather go longer than shorter with him, we'll sit down and talk it out.”

As for the beaten favorite, trainer Derek Ryan confirmed the 5-year-old appeared well on Sunday.

“He came out of it fine, no problems. He ate up last night–he's good to go,” said Ryan on Sunday.

Ridden by Paco Lopez, the gelding was making his first start in seven months in the Carter.

“He got bumped pretty good coming out of the gate and was in a little bit of a pocket there, but all in all, we got a good race into him,” Ryan said of Saturday's race. “I'd like to win, but you can't win them all. Considering he was about 85% ready, he'll be 100% for the next one.”

Ryan said the eight-time stakes winner will return to the Spa for a title defense in both the 6 1/2-furlong GIII True North on June 6 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and the seven-furlong GI Forego on Aug. 29. His year-end goal is the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.

“He'll move forward off that race,” Ryan said of the Carter effort. “I was probably one more work from having him where I wanted him. It's the start of the year and the big picture is down the road. We want him 100% come the fall–the Breeders' Cup is the main goal.

“His next spot will be Saratoga on Belmont Stakes Day,” Ryan continued. “He's bigger and stronger this year. We'll have the two races in Saratoga and then the Breeders' Cup. That's the plan at the moment.”

The post Point Dume, Book’em Danno No Worse for Wear After Carter 1-2 Finish appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

A pair of jockeys who have been mainstays at Gulfstream Park have announced their stepping away from the South Florida riding colony.

Jockey Luca Panici, after riding over 15 years in Florida, retired from riding at the conclusion of Sunday's program at Gulfstream, while Edgard Zayas shift his tack to New York after the Championship Meet's closing day.

Panici, 52, has ridden 943 winners in the U.S. A son of Italy's leading jockey in the 1970s and 1980s, the Italian native rode more than 500 winners in Europe.

“I feel good. It's time. I'm 52. I made the decision to retire right now when I still have business,” said Panici, who rode 14 winners during the 2025-2026 session.

Despite the decision to leave riding, Panici will remain at Gulfstream where he will begin working on the track crew.

“I don't know yet what I'm going to do, but I will be on the track crew,” he said. “I'm not going to ride, but I'm not leaving the track.”

A frequent visitor to Gulfstream during the Italian off-season before moving to South Florida full-time, Panici rode his first race in the U.S. in 1997 and won his first race in America Nov. 25, 2005 at Calder Race Course.

Panici won three graded-stakes in his career: Another Romance in the 2012 GIII Azalea, Sole Volante in the 2020 GIII Sam F. Davis and Maryquitecontrary in the 2023 GII Inside Information, the latter at Gulfstream.

At the conclusion of Sunday's card, Zayas rounded out his last day riding full-time at Gulfstream, a track where he won nine meet titles since launching his career in the fall of 2012.

A finalist for the Eclipse Award as champion apprentice of 2013, the popular 32-year-old native of Puerto Rico is moving his tack to New York.

Zayas is named in two races Thursday and one race Friday at Aqueduct, for trainers Wayne Potts, Jose Jimenez and Chad Summers. He has been a year-round force in South Florida since his arrival in the U.S., getting his first domestic win Nov. 17, 2012 at Calder Race Course.

He picked up his 2,000th career victory Nov. 4, 2022 at Gulfstream aboard Miss You Ella, and currently sits at 2,681.

Among his victories are 20 in graded-stakes, from his first in the 2013 GI Princess Rooneyon Starship Truffles to his most recent in the 2025 GII Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf aboard Be Your Best, both at Gulfstream.

Zayas ranked third at the 2025-2026 Championship Meet with 54 wins, to go along with nearly $2.5 million in purse earnings. Highlighting his victories were Mythical in the Any Limit and Destino d'Oro in the Tropical Park Oaks.

“I'm going to miss everyone. I've been a little emotional. This past week, I'm feeling it,” Zayas said. “I'm leaving my family here a little while until we can get settled up there. It's going to be a big change, but hopefully it's going to be the best thing ever.”

The post Luca Panici Retires from the Saddle, Edgard Zayas Heads to New York After Gulfstream’s Closing Day appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Closers are often victim to whatever pace unfolds in front of them, but Parfois (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) missed that memo, and rolled into the lane on this American debut with so much momentum that it took her almost nine wide.

In the end it didn't matter in the slightest as she rolled home by daylight and more than handily earned her stamp of approval as the newest 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'.

Parfois actually had a successful debut at La Teste Buch in France last August where she unofficially defeated a field of maidens in a right-hand contest quite comfortably for trainer Philippe Sogorb. But during the course of the race, where jostling left one competitor in front of her pulled up, she muscled in on a runner herself. She set off a chain reaction that caused the rider of one of the fillies to fall to the course, thus causing her to be disqualified to seventh.

Acquired after that race by her new connections, she was imported to the States and moved into the barn of Chad Brown, where she has steadily amassed a healthy worktab at Payson Park. Running with first-time Lasix here, she was well-received by the betting public and left the gates carrying 3-2 favoritism.

In no rush after the jump, even as a rank early leader posted an opening quarter in :21.78, Parfois watched the action unfold from eighth along the fence. Asked to improve her position after a half-mile in a decidedly slower :46.84 and six panels in 1:12.21, she was rolling with a full head of steam into the far turn. Six wide through there and swung as far as nine off the fence to clear the field turning for home, the leaders never saw her coming. Swamping her competition to her inside, Parfois was green as the lawn in the lane but her margin never stopped increasing over Aporia (War Front). By the time she hit the wire, the victress was 6 1/4 lengths in front and Irad Ortiz Jr. had his hands full in the gallop out as well.

There is historical precedent for this brilliance in Parfois's family, as her dam is a half-sister to no less than five Group winners and runners in Europe with one being placed at the highest level. Alors Quoi (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) has produced two successful offspring thus far as well as a placed gelding in England. Her most recent to come of age is a juvenile colt by Dark Angel (Ire) and she has a yearling colt by Space Blues (Ire) in the wings.

The aforementioned half-siblings to the dam include several black-type producers as well, namely Bikini Babe (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and Zut Alors (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}). The former is mother to an English Group winner named La Barrosa (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and a French Listed-placed filly. The latter sister claims G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Precieuse (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) to her tally as well as also Peut Etre (Ire) (Whipper)–who would emulate her own mother as the dam of Group 1 winner Hypothetical (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}).

Further down the pedigree yields a host of classy runners, including the likes of multiple Group 1-placed Massaat (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and his half-brother G1 Commonwealth Cup victor Eqtidaar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

11th-Tampa Bay Downs, $32,000, Msw, 3-29, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:36.23, fm, 6 1/4 lengths.
PARFOIS (IRE), f, 3, by Kodi Bear (Ire)
                1st Dam: Alors Quoi (Ire), by Siyouni (Fr)
                2nd Dam: Zeiting (Ire), by Zieten
                3rd Dam:Belle de Cadix (Ire), by Law Society
Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $18,240. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Michael Dubb, Steven Bouchey, Thirty Year Racing and Caruso, Michael J.; B-Duncroi Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown.

The post No Question Here: Parfois Blows by Rivals Like a Stiff Wind En Route to ‘Rising Star’ Honors appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Saffie Joseph, Jr. captured his 15th consecutive leading trainer title at Gulfstream Park with the conclusion of the track's Championship Meet Sunday, while Irad Ortiz Jr. finished as leading rider at the meet for a fourth straight time and a record-extending seventh time overall.

It was the fifth straight Championship Meet title for Joseph, a 39-year-old native of Barbados whose string of success dates back to Gulfstream's 2021 Royal Palm stand. He had 45 wins and more than $4.7 million in purse earnings during the 72-day stand.

“Obviously my name is in the program, but it takes all the owners and the staff,” Joseph said. “They do everything. It's a full team, and a lot of people make it possible. We're grateful and thankful to keep it going.”

Joseph's biggest win of the Championship Meet came with Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator), who won the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup over stablemate White Abarrio (Race Day).

“The Pegasus was definitely the highlight,” Joseph said. “To run first and second in that race and have both horses be seven years old, both of them started their careers here at Gulfstream and they're still going. It's amazing. We know we're getting toward the end. I've been thinking about it, to have those two horses in their final year, hopefully we have some young ones coming up to replace them.”

Ortiz won 82 races from 312 mounts at the Championship Meet to take the rider's title. Tyler Gaffalione was second with 68 wins, but led all jockeys with more than $5.3 million in purses earned.

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Cornucopian (Into Mischief) looked like he might be something special very early in his career. While it would ultimately take five tries to garner black-type, the striking colt checked that box in style on Sunday, running off to a scortching victory in Santa Anita's GIII San Carlos Stakes.

Pounded down to 1-5 favoritism for the seven-furlong contest, he was allowed to settle back in third behind Bartholdy (Mendelssohn) and Listenupshance (Shancelot) through an opening quarter in :22.16.

As the pacesetter kept up the pace through a half-mile in :44.03, Cornucopian started to make his move to the outside of the top two. On even terms with Listenupshance straightening for home as the early leader started to weaken along the inside, Cornucopian powered into the clear late and finished 2 3/4-lengths clear of Listenupshance at the wire. Bartholdy held third while GISW Sunsanador (Arg) (Fortify) rounded out the Superfecta. Final time for the seven-furlong race was1:20.71.

“My horse is really good out of the gate, he's fast, but I knew [Bartholdy] had a lot of speed and, breaking from the inside, I knew they were going to try to go,” winning rider Juan Hernandez said. “My horse, he settled really well. He was smart and he listened to me. I was in the clear to the outside and was just tracking until the quarter pole. Once I asked him to pick it up, he broke again passing the quarter pole. He ran really fast today. He's getting better every race.”

A $1.1 million Keeneland September yearling purchase, he kicked off his sophomore campaign with an impressive 5 3/4-length victory in a six-furlong maiden at Oaklawn in February, becoming a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' in the process. Fourth in that season's GI Arkansas Derby, he concluded his 2025 campaign with a runner-up effort in a one-mile optional claimer at the Big A in April.

Set to mark his return to the races in the Dec. 25 GI Malibu, he flipped in the paddock and was forced to scratch. Finally making his debut at Santa Anita, he came from just off the pace and ran away to a three-length win going 6 1/1 furlongs on Jan. 31.

“He's full of energy and now he looks like he's ready for something really big,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “This race really tightened him up. Now we can put him on the road and aim a little higher. I was hoping that he wouldn't have to go that fast, but he is a good horse, he's a beautiful horse. I'm just happy to have a good horse like him.”

Pedigree Note:
Pedigrees don't get much better than that of Cornucopian. The 97th graded-stakes winner for his marquee sire Into Mischief, the $1.1 million Keeneland yearling is out of Magical World, the dam of three-time Grade I winner Guarana (Ghostzapper), Grade III scorer Beatbox (Pioneerof the Nile) and stakes winner and graded stakes placed Magic Dance (More Than Ready).

A half-sister to GISP Pleasant Orb (Orb), Magical World is out of GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold), a full-sister to MGSW and MGISP Country Hideaway, the dam of GSWs Boca Grande and Vacation, in addition to Matlacha Pass, herself responsible for Grade I winners Point of Entry and Pine Island.

Sunday, Santa Anita
SAN CARLOS S.-GIII, $100,500, Santa Anita, 3-29, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:20.71, ft.
1–CORNUCOPIAN, 120, c, 4, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Magical World, by Distorted Humor
                2nd Dam: Pleasant Home, by Seeking the Gold
                3rd Dam: Our Country Place, by Pleasant Colony
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($1,100,000
Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket
Stables, LLC, Stonestreet Stables, LLC, Bashor Racing, LLC,
Determined Stables, Masterson, Robert E., Ryan, Tom J.,
Waves Edge Capital, LLC, Donovan, Catherine and Hill 'n' Dale
Equine Holdings-Lessee; B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC &
Whisper Hill Farm, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez.
$60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $265,400. *1/2 to Guarana
(Ghostzapper), MGISW, $1,078,268; Magic Dance (More Than
Ready), SW & GSP, $191,083; and Beatbox (Pioneerof the
Nile), GSW, $427,248. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Listenupshance, 120, g, 4, Shancelot–Listenupnow, by Hard
Spun. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($10,000 Ylg '23 FTKOCT).
O-Run Fast Racing; B-Al and Michelle Crawford Racing (KY);
T-Doug F. O'Neill. $20,000.
3–Bartholdy, 120, g, 5, Mendelssohn–Blazen Betsy, by
Speightstown. ($120,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $300,000 2yo '23
OBSAPR). O-Haagsma, John R., Knapp, Steve R. and
Vanderdussen, Robert John; B-Robert Slack & Dan Walters
(KY); T-Steve R. Knapp. $12,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, 4HF, 3/4. Odds: 0.30, 12.20, 11.50.
Also Ran: Subsanador (Arg), Judge Miller, Getaway Car. Scratched: Stronghold.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Linda Rice earned her fourth consecutive and sixth overall trainer's title at the Aqueduct winter meet, which concluded Sunday, while also claiming the meet's leading owner honors. Rice trained the winners of 62 races at Aqueduct's final winter meet.

“It feels good, a little happy and sad at the same time as it's our last winter meet at Aqueduct,” said Rice, who was the leading trainer on the NYRA circuit in 2025. “Aqueduct has been a big part of New York racing history, and I'm glad to have been a part of it. We have a lot of fond memories here, so it's special and a little sad at the same time.”

Rice's horses banked $3,014,346 in purses with a win rate of 25.10% and in-the-money rate of 62.35%.

Brad Cox finished second in the trainer standings with 19 wins, while Ilkay Kantarmaci finished third with 15 wins.

Rice was also the runaway winner of the owner's title with 26 wins. Horses owned by Rice banked $1,156,734 in total purses with an overall record of 107-26-23-23 at the winter meet.

“That's a bit of a surprise,” Rice said of winning the owners title, with a laugh. “I'll take it.”

Manny Franco came out on top as the meet's leading rider, landing 65 wins for his sixth Aqueduct winter meet title after taking home top honors in 2018-20, 2023 and 2025.

“I'm happy to do it again,” Franco said. “I'm just thankful to be in this position and want to say thanks to the owners and trainers. Every day, they give me the opportunity to ride these horses and I'm happy to deliver. I work hard for what I love, and I want to thank my agent, John Panagot. He's doing a tremendous job.”

Live racing resumes Thursday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card on opening day of the spring meet. First post is 1:10 p.m. ET.

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At the conclusion of Laurel's Winter Meet, Yedsit Hazlewood, the runner-up in last year's Eclipse Award balloting for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey, easily secured the winter meet's riding title. Hazlewood won 51 races at the meet, 29 more than Angel Cruz.

Originally from Panama, Hazlewood, 18, missed a couple of months due to injuries from an automobile accident, yet still achieved 137 victories in 2025, earning $4,451,869.

He earned his first riding title last summer at the Maryland State Fair Meet in Timonium and finished the racing season as the leader in the standings at Laurel Park's Fall Meeting.

Hazlewood currently ranking second in the nation in wins.

Leading the training standings, Jamie Ness led the winter meet for the fourth consecutive year.

Ness notched 18 victories, three more than Hugh McMahon and Jose Corrales.

Ness, 51, from Heron, South Carolina, has now earned eight training titles in Maryland. He started Sunday's card with 4,952 lifetime victories and became the 16th trainer in history to reach 4,000 wins in North America.

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On Apr. 15–the eighth day of Keeneland's 15-day Spring Meet–the Condition Book offers a new type of race: a “ratings handicap.” Worth $84,000, the 6 1/2-furlong event for 4-year-olds and up is for horses with performance numbers (85-75) derived from previous performances based on speed, finish position, competition and other factors.

Developed by Equibase, the Thoroughbred industry's official database, the ratings system was designed to simplify eligibility requirements, improve race competitiveness and attract larger fields. It differs from Equibase Speed Figures, which measure how fast a horse has run in past races.

“I am excited about having our first ratings handicap at Keeneland,” Racing Secretary Ben Huffman said. “Equibase has put a lot of time and energy into developing the ratings handicap system. Although it is in the early stages, Keeneland is happy to offer a handful of these. We have started with two ratings handicaps and can add a few more if necessary before the meet ends on Apr. 24.”

Entries for Keeneland's first ratings handicap will be taken Wednesday, Apr. 8.

A second ratings handicap (85-75), a 6-furlong race for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, is in the Condition Book for Thursday, Apr. 23. Entries for that race will be taken Apr. 16.

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A trio of fillies nominated to Saturday's GII Santa Anita Oaks–Cashed (I'll Have Another), Hypergamy (American Pharoah) and Nimah (Gun Runner)–worked Sunday. Also working at Santa Anita, British Isles (Justify) returned to the tab following his win in the GI Santa Anita Handicap.

Cashed and Hypergamy are both trained by Doug O'Neill. Cashed worked four furlongs in :49.8, while Hypergamy worked five furlongs in 1:02. Cashed most recently set the pace in last month's Sunland Park Oaks going one mile before weakening to sixth. The California-bred previously was second in the GII Starlet at Los Alamitos and second in the California Cup Oaks on turf at Santa Anita.

Hypergamy, who has never raced on dirt, most recently set the pace in the one-mile China Doll Stakes on the lawn before being overtaken by Counterbalance (Caravaggio) to finish second.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Nimah hasn't started since finishing third in the 1 1/16-mile Starlet in December. That effort followed a debut win going 6 ½ furlongs in November at Del Mar.

British Isles, trained by Richard Baltas, worked four furlongs in :49.2, the 6-year-old gelding's first work since winning the Mar. 7 Santa Anita Handicap by 4 1/2 lengths.

Also returning to the tab was Take A Breath (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), who two weeks ago won the GIII Santa Ana Stakes. The 4-year-old worked four furlongs in :50.8. Take A Breath, trained by Mark Glatt, is a candidate for Santa Anita's GI Gamely at 1 1/8 miles on turf on May 25.

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Intrepido (Maximus Mischief) and Robusta (Accelerate), both targeting Saturday's GI Santa Anita Derby, each worked Sunday. Intrepido, trained by Jeff Mullins, worked a half-mile under jockey Hector Berrios. Robusta, trained by Doug O'Neill, drilled six furlongs with jockey Emisael Jaramillo in the irons.

Intrepido was officially clocked working four furlongs in :47.60. That time was quite a bit faster than what trainer Jeff Mullins had on his stopwatch.

“Way off,” Mullins said. “I had him in :50. A bunch of us up there had him in :50.”

Whatever the case, Intrepido appeared to have cooled out well following the work. The colt will try and provide Mullins with his fourth win in the Santa Anita Derby while also securing a spot in the Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

Robusta was timed going six furlongs in 1:14.2. A homebred for Calumet Farm, the colt most recently finished second by just a head at odds of 67-1 in the GII San Felipe going 1 1/16 miles on Mar. 7.

Intrepido is owned by Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures. In his only start this year, Intrepido finished second by three-quarters of a length in the GIII Robert B. Lewis going one mile.

As a 2-year-old, Intrepido won the GI American Pharoah going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita. He closed out the campaign by finishing fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile after being compromised by a slow start.

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1) We still have one more Saturday of nine-furlong qualifying stakes for the GI Kentucky Derby, but it's a safe bet the GI Florida Derby will be the odds-on choice for being the prep race most likely to yield the winner on the first Saturday in May.

Commandment (Into Mischief), The Puma (Essential Quality), and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Chief Wallabee (Constitution) each overcame different aspects of in-race adversity to arrive at the Gulfstream finish wire separated by one nose and half a length. All three will be legitimate, top-tier threats in Louisville.

In 74 previous renewals, Florida Derby participants have gone on to win that year's Kentucky Derby 26 times-a better than 1-in-3 strike rate.

For perspective, the next-most-productive preps are two far older races, the GI Champagne Stakes (which dates to 1867) and the GI Blue Grass Stakes (first run in 1911), which have yielded 23 Kentucky Derby winners each.

2) Jockey Flavien Prat said post-win he was “a bit worried” about Commandment “because I wasn't traveling very well the first part” while relegated to the rear of the pack.

“I was just in the back, and I thought I would be a bit closer. Then I tipped him out turning for home, he swapped leads and from there he gave me a good, solid run,” Prat said.

This big, sturdy colt has demonstrated an all-business demeanor en route to racking up four straight victories at increasingly longer distances against tougher competition. His ability to make his own in-race breaks, even when tactically disadvantaged, will be a huge plus in a chaotic race like the Derby.

3) The Puma continues to deliver outsized performances relative to his betting odds. He was a three-quarter-length winner when four wide on both turns at 7-1 in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby. Ignored at the same mutuel in the six-horse Florida Derby, he again gave up four paths of real estate all the way around before prowling up under his own power to accost 7-5 favorite Nearly (Not This Time) at the quarter pole.

The Puma dug down deep to polish off Nearly, and seemed emboldened when he sensed Commandment and Chief Wallabee thundering home behind him inside the final sixteenth. His nose was ahead of Commandment's one bob before the wire and one bob after it, but Commandment timed it right.

4) Even though he finished third, Chief Wallabee will get plenty of support in the Derby, and deservedly so based on his Florida Derby schooling. After being locked down at the rail for his run into the far turn, Chief Wallabee had to execute a switch-off-heels stretch bid that became a touch unfocused before he re-engaged for a more intent finish through the final 100 yards.

“As well as he was traveling on the bridle, when [Junior Alvarado] released him, he thought he would probably quicken a little more,” said trainer Bill Mott, who touched on Chief Wallabee needing to accelerate more responsively. “But, you know, it's only his third race, and they've got to learn to do that. He's getting more experience, and it wasn't a bad race. It was a good race.”

The Mott-trained Sovereignty (Into Mischief) was the 7.98-1 second favorite when he won last year's Derby off a decent runner-up try in the Florida Derby. Chief Wallabee could go off in the same price range, or slightly higher if he ends up being the third choice at Churchill Downs.

5) Commandment and The Puma both earned Beyer Speed Figures of 100 for their noses-apart Florida Derby finish. For Commandment, that represents a one-point regression off his 101 in the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes. The Puma jumped 11 points off his 89-Beyer victory in the Tampa Derby.

Chief Wallabee got a 99, a dip of one point off his 100 in the Fountain of Youth, where he was a neck behind Commandment.

6) After the wire, Commandment and Chief Wallabee both galloped out long and strong, open lengths ahead of The Puma. Commandment and Chief Wallabee brushed briefly in close quarters, almost like a little “See you in Louisville” hip bump that could signal the start of a spirited rivalry.

7) Less than an hour later and some 1,000 miles to the west at Oaklawn Park, another Into Mischief colt, Renegade, uncorked a big late-race burst to dominate the GI Arkansas Derby.

Unlike the Florida Derby, this race resonated more as a one-horse show starring the even-money favorite.

Renegade broke alertly and was patiently positioned second-last into the first turn. Irad Ortiz, Jr. tried to split horses about 5 ½ furlongs out but had to back off when that gap closed, shuffling Renegade back to last.

Ortiz tried another seam at the entrance to the far turn, but again had to keep his colt “on hold” for a few strides until a clear outer path presented itself at the three-eighths pole. Renegade then swept into attack mode, circled the field five wide, and was allowed to wander out to the eight path in upper stretch while building serious momentum and well clear of the tiring horses to his inside.

8) The major takeaway from Renegade's win is his visually impressive deep-stretch burst of speed. He has an extremely effective way of quickening late that has yet to be matched by any other sophomore contender.

We've now seen that blast-off ability in two consecutive races: In the Feb. 7 1 1/16-miles Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa, Renegade's final sixteenth was clocked in 5.97 seconds. In 18 points-awarding Derby preps at that distance so far this season, no other race has produced a final sixteenth in under six seconds.

In the Arkansas Derby, Renegade gained six lengths while covering a final furlong in 11.84 seconds.

No nine-furlong Derby qualifying prep in at least the last four years has yielded a sub-12-seconds final furlong (the actual last time this occurred could be further back; my pen-and-paper timing notes only date to the 2022-23 campaign).

9) One caveat about Renegade's dazzling Oaklawn win is that he wasn't exactly beating up on the strongest cast of Kentucky Derby aspirants.

Silent Tactic (Tacitus), who was second, left four lengths behind in Renegade's wake, always manages to hit the board with a hard-trying, far-turn run. But he seems to have plateaued and is not in the same league as Renegade. It was another two lengths back to Taptastic (Tapit) who was making just his second career start. The remaining stragglers were never in it to win it.

Renegade's winning Beyer came back as 98, up five points from his Davis Stakes 93. The horses he pasted in the Arkansas Derby got Beyers that scale from 91 to 64.

10) Widening the lens to look at the bigger Derby picture, what stands out about the top four colts to emerge as divisional kingpins from this past weekend's preps?

Every single one of them does their best running from off the pace.

We'll see if this coming Saturday's trio of the GI Blue Grass Stakes, GI Santa Anita Derby and GII Wood Memorial can deliver a legit frontrunner to counterbalance the closers.

Speed-centric horses who raced either on the front end or just off it crossed the finish wire first in every Derby between 2014 and 2021. Rich Strike in 2022 and Mage in 2023 were off-the-pace winners. In 2024, Mystik Dan won with an inside stalking trip. In 2025, Sovereignty rallied to win from 17th on the backstretch.

It's not that coming from way off the tailgate can't win the Derby. The problem is that too much can happen along the way to be able to bank reliably on that strategy in a 20-horse race.

The post The Week in Review: Ten Observations on Two Key Derby Preps appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Mike Repole and Robert and Lawana Low's Renegade (Into Mischief) exited his victory in Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby in fine form and will return to his South Florida base of Palm Beach Downs on Tuesday, according to trainer Todd Pletcher.

“I just love the progression that he's making,” Pletcher said. “Very, very happy for the Lows and the Repoles. Great win for them. We're just fortunate to have a colt of this quality.”

In his previous start, Renegade was a 3 ¾-length winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 7 at Tampa Bay Down.

Renegade's Arkansas Derby win represented a record sixth for the Hall of Fame trainer. Pletcher and Repole teamed to win the 2013 Arkansas Derby with Overanalyze. Pletcher won the race again in 2018 with Magnum Moon, who was owned the Lows.

“We've been lucky over the years,” Pletcher said of Oaklawn. “It's kind of cool because my dad [J.J. Pletcher] used to race there when he was training. Hot Springs and Oaklawn have always been a special place to us.”

Silent Tactic (Tacitus), runner-up in the Arkansas Derby, also emerged from Saturday's race in good order.

“Pletcher's horse is an unbelievable horse,” Caden Arthur, who oversees Mark Casse's Oaklawn's division, said Sunday morning. “We knew he was going to come. We were just trying to hold him off and we couldn't. We got the jump on him down the backside and the turn, but it's OK. We'll take second. We got the points and he looks good today. We'll move on to the first Saturday in May, hopefully.”

According to Arthur, the colt will have one more work at Oaklawn before heading to Churchill Downs prior to the Kentucky Derby.

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Three Chimneys Farm's Great White (Volatile) tuned up for his dirt racing debut in Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass by working a half-mile in company in :47.60 over a fast track a Keeneland Sunday morning.

Working with the 3-year-old maiden Just Munny (Justify), Great White, accompanied by rider Omar Torres, started two lengths behind his stablemate and finished two lengths in front with fractions of :35.60, :47.60 and galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.20.

“He started off slow but then flew down the lane and Alex [Achard] had a hard time pulling him up,” trainer Jon Ennis said. “It was a sharper work compared to last week [a half-mile in :52.60] when we wanted him to get a feel for the track.”

Great White is based at the nearby The Thoroughbred Center, where he returned after the work. Ennis said Great White would come back to Keeneland Wednesday or Thursday and would have a morning Paddock schooling session prior to the Toyota Blue Grass.

Great White has won two of three starts over the all-weather surface at Turfway Park, taking the Feb. 21 John Battaglia Memorial in his most recent race.

“They are different horses and this one is probably a better horse. He has a high cruising speed,” Ennis said. “Epic Ride has some distance limitations but a mile and an eighth or a mile and a quarter is not an issue with (Great White). It would be interesting to go to the [Kentucky] Derby with him.”

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Over two months have lapsed since the California Department of Justice (DOJ) swooped into Santa Anita midway through the races to remove 26 Racing-on-Demand terminals that allow a form of pari-mutuel wagering on previously run races.

Santa Anita subsequently filed suit against state attorney general Rob Bonta making several claims including how the state “unlawfully seized” the terminals “without warning or warrant,” and that they have yet to provide “any legal basis or explanation for their warrantless seizure of Petitioner's property, which Respondents have threatened to destroy.”

At the heart of Santa Anita's argument is the three-by-three wager approved by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) in 2024, which the track says gives them the legal cover to operate these machines, including with races that have already been run.

“The 3 X 3 wager, which has already been approved and offered for the past 18 months at Petitioner's California racetrack and also at Del Mar Racetrack, and which continues to be offered today on Santa Anita Park races, is consistent with the principles of pari-mutuel wagering that have guided enforcement of California law permitting wagering on horse racing since 1933. That Petitioner sought to offer the 3 X 3 wager via a self-service tote terminal does not convert an otherwise lawful wager into a criminal act,” the filing states.

In a legal filing, Bonta and the state DOJ agree with many of the facts of the case, like how in April of 2024, “the CHRB authorized Petitioner to offer the 3 X 3 wager on three designated consecutive contemporaneous (live) horse races” which have been “conducted on a single card at Santa Anita Park.”

At the same time, Bonta denies Santa Anita's key substantive claims.

This includes denying “they were required to obtain a warrant prior to seizing the illegal gambling devices as the illegal gambling devices were in plain view. Respondents deny having failed to provide basis for the seizure, the basis for which was stated in the notice provided to Petitioner at the time of the confiscation. Respondents deny that they were obligated to provide a basis for the seizure prior to the confiscation.”

While the Attorney General's office agrees that Santa Anita shared written legal analysis over the legality of the machines, it denies having “consented or acquiesced to the legality of machines that offered 3 X 3 wagers on concluded horse races,” and denies “that the 3 X 3 wager was ever approved for use in machines which allow users to bet on concluded horse races.”

A trial setting conference in the case is scheduled for April 30.

To discuss the case, the TDN spoke with I. Nelson Rose, professor emeritus at Whittier College and a leading expert on gaming law who often acts as a witness and legal consultant to governments and industry.

The following has been distilled from two longer conversations, heavily edited for brevity and clarity.

When the DOJ removed the machines, they issued to Santa Anita a notice of intent to destroy the machines, “unless on or before the expiration of 30 days from the posting hereof, an action is commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover the possession of said machines and devices.”

With Santa Anita having filed its lawsuit within that 30-day window, any potential destruction of the machines was delayed (and if they win, of course, the machines will presumably be returned intact). But with the decision now before a judge, what kind of timeline could this all play out over?

“I always told my students to figure out whose side time is on,” said Rose. “Right now, the machines are with the state, which means time is on the side of the attorney general.”

Had Santa Anita applied for a preliminary injunction, the machines could have been returned to the track, putting the emphasis of time on the side of the track, explained Rose.

“Well, they didn't ask for a preliminary injunction, only for declaratory relief. And therefore, it could be as long as any lawsuit, including maybe there will have to be a trial,” said Rose.

“They might be able to do this through summary judgment with everybody agreeing as to the facts, and then the judge would decide the law. But they also could be hiring experts to testify, to help determine whether the machines meet the legal definitions,” he said.

“We might not have an answer on this by the end of the year,” Rose added. “It could even possibly be longer if they end up having a trial on it.”

What are the main legal factors at play here?

“You always have two questions. The first question is, who decides? Is it going to be the racing board or the legislature or the courts? And then the second is the legal test itself,” said Rose.

“I don't think the question is whether it's skill or not,” Rose added. “But if they're going to rest their argument on the machines being a game of skill, having the quick picks means you can't argue that there's any skill.”

The machines, which Santa Anita argues are akin to Tote terminals, work two ways. Players can select their own horses after viewing handicapping data, or players can use a quick pick option. So, there is a skill option. Does that make a difference?

“First of all, I'm sure if they keep track of the numbers then almost nobody's going to do that [use the handicapping option]. People who play are interested in playing a slot machine,” said Rose.

Slot machines can be modified to slow them down, Rose explained.

“But the idea that somebody is going to spend three minutes handicapping a race already run, it just isn't going to be happening very much, if at all. The question isn't really having the skill option, it's having the quick-pick option. That's the problem for arguing that it's a game of skill.”

Let's get back to the first question you posed: who decides? Why is that so important?

“California prohibits lotteries – not gambling. Lotteries. If somehow the law changes maybe through an act of the legislature, a vote of the people, or an administrative body like a racing board, then the next question is, who decides whether the action has violated the state's constitutional prohibition on lottery?” said Rose.

The courts when asked that question, he said, are generally “split” on the answer.

“Sometimes they say the legislature can do whatever it wants. Normally, the courts say they will decide whether the legislature has violated the state constitution,” he said.

“It's the state legislature that makes the laws – assuming they're not violating the state constitution – and they can delegate much of their power to administrative agencies like the racing board,” said Rose.

“The racing board can do whatever the legislature says it can do, but it can't go beyond that,” said Rose. “And obviously, they can't violate state laws, and they can't violate the constitution.”

In this case, Santa Anita's argument is that the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) had already provided cover for the machines when they approved the “Three-by-Three” wager in 2024. That said, the board hasn't offered an opinion on the machines themselves.

“It's almost somewhat like what's going on with the predictive markets,” said Rose.

The prediction markets, led by companies like Kalshi and Polymarket, are big business. More than $63 billion was reportedly gambled on predictive markets last year in the U.S. But critics of this gambling form have argued these markets are way under-regulated.

In response, the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission (which regulates predictive markets) earlier this month announced it's looking into new rules for what's permissible in this gambling arena.

With this in mind, Rose said he thinks it's possible the courts could punt a decision over to the CHRB.

“The one thing I was thinking is that the court could probably say, 'go take it to the board first,'” said Rose.

“They could, you know, because otherwise, they'd have to have a whole trial and question things that really the board is supposed to be evaluating, right? It wouldn't tie up the court's time on things like this,” said Rose.

“They're lucky in many respects that they're in a heavily regulated industry because imagine if a grocery store or a bar did that – they'd get arrested. They wouldn't just take the machines, you know. I mean, if it is illegal, it's illegal gambling, which is at least a misdemeanor in California,” Rose added.

Does Santa Anita stand a chance? It seems like going up against the AG's office is a tall order…

“Oh, sure,” said Rose. “As always happens with the law, there's questions of procedure, right? Did they need a warrant or did they have to give them notice or something?” said Rose. The machines, it should be noted, were removed without a warrant.

“And then there's the substantive question,” Rose added. “If the track is really hanging the case on skill, they're going to lose. But if they're instead going to be arguing, 'well, it's the same as what has already been approved for the track with live wagering – the three-by-three wager – which I guess has a quick pick, then it's possible that this is okay.”

Similarly of note, the filing makes the argument that in 2006, the California Office of Legislative Counsel issued a ruling on so-called Instant Racing, which is a form of pari-mutuel wagering on the outcome of concluded races via specialized tote terminals (and therefore has obvious parallels with the modern-day Racing on Demand machines).

The Legislative Counsel's determination is included as an exhibit in the court filing. It found that these Instant Racing machines would be “considered to be predominantly a game of skill, that the outcome is not made unpredictable by the operation of the machine, and, consequently, that the Instant Racing machines are no more slot machines than the machines currently used to place bets on live horse races. How compelling is this argument?

“Not as much weight as the attorney general's opinion,” said Rose. “Obviously, this attorney general doesn't agree with that. What's being fought throughout the country on historic horse racing is the question not of whether they're horse racing machines, and it's not whether it is skill, but is it horse racing under the state definition of what pari-mutuel betting is allowed.”

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