Thoroughbred Daily News

Voted on by the fans, the Down Broadway Retired Racehorse of the Year Award will be presented on New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day at Saratoga Race Course on Thursday, July 17, the New York Horsemen's Association said in a Thursday release.

Casting a ballot–one per person–is open to the public now through Thursday, June 26. Wristbands for each nominee will be given away on Aftercare Day so that fans can show their support, and the presentation of the award will be made in the Saratoga winner's circle after the first race.

The nominees are:

• Broadway Producer–New Vocations
• Cut of Music–Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation
• Flag Is Flying–Second Chance Thoroughbreds
• Mel's Baby Sister–ReRun, Inc.

Click here to vote for your favorite nominee.

The post Voting Open For Retired New York Racehorse Of The Year Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Godolphin star Sovereignty (Into Mischief) has moved up the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR) to sit in a joint fourth at 125, after the latest round of rankings were released on Thursday.

Now the highest rated 3-year-old in the world, the colt achieved the distinction when he wrapped up the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga last weekend, which capped an impressive Triple Crown run to go along with his GI Kentucky Derby score.

Sovereignty shares the mark with Danon Decile (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), who was last seen taking home the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in early April. Japan's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) remains the leader at 127.

Journalism (Curlin)–the runner-up in the Derby and the Belmont–was the winner of the GI Preakness Stakes. After completing the last leg of the Triple Crown his ranking increased from 119 to 120. Another American runner to move up the list is Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief), who comes in at 120 after he took the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap on the Belmont Saturday card.

For the complete rankings, please visit the IFHA website.

The post Sovereignty Among Top Five In The Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

California-breds have long been the backbone of California racing. Since 2014, they've represented between 45% and 50% of all starters at Thoroughbred race meets in the state. Over half of all horses currently stabled in Southern California tracks are understood to be Cal-breds.

A shrinking foal crop in the state, however, means that racing secretaries will have to rely on fewer of them than is currently the case over the next few years.

Modeling performed for the TDN suggests there will be a combined 290 fewer Cal-bred runners competing in California between 2026 through 2028.

This is a tough time for the state's remaining breeders as they attempt to forge a commercial footprint in a region with high training costs and purses that can't compete with states propped up by supplemental purse incomes.

For the current consolidated model to have a healthy future, however, the number of Cal-breds needs to pick up. With all this in mind, the TDN recently asked some of the state's smaller breeders and other figures this question:

What key changes would encourage you breed more Cal-Breds?

At the height of their breeding venture, the Ernsts had about 13 mares. Now, they have eight mares, four in retirement, while the Ernsts bred only one of the remaining mares this year.

John and Allegra Ernst | courtesy of the Ernst Family

“The other ones we could breed them, but with everything that's going on, we're not doing it,” said John.

What would incentivize the Ernsts to breed more Cal-breds, they said, is an idea they first floated the over 10 years ago with the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), giving Cal-bred owners a minimum $1,000 per-start fee for any race.

“In other words, any owner of any Cal-bred should be able to get $1,000 for every start they make,” said John.

This start-fee money, say the Ernsts, would be deducted from the purse, with the remaining balance split the usual way between the finishers.

The way the Ernsts describe it is as a self-fulfilling prophesy, with greater participation and larger field sizes leading to bigger handle and larger purses.

“And then in the future, we can push it up to $1,500–maybe even $2,000 per-start,” said John.

“There's incentive for the owners to actually recover some money. And if they can actually run their horse a couple times a month–even if it's not that much–we have a chance of at least recovering some of what we've lost,” said John.

“This way, we could see some returns, encourage people that are like us to stay in the business, and encourage other new owners to say, 'hey, I'll go into this and even though I might lose some money, I won't lose as much,'” he added.

As a leading consignor, Gonzalez's business revolves around the sales. As such, he said that changes could be made to the California yearling sale (hosted in September) to make it more appetizing to buyers.

Adrian Gonzalez | courtesy of Adrian Gonzalez

“We have our entire livelihood come down to one day as a commercial breeder, and it couldn't come at a worse time,” said Gonzalez, saying that its proximity to the marathon Keeneland sale hurts its success.

“Going after 4,000 some-odd other yearlings selling, I just don't believe there's an appetite among California buyers to bend,” he said.

Instead, Gonzalez floated the idea of a yearling sale during the Del Mar meet, during what he described as the “peak of enthusiasm for racing” in the state. “When you're down there for the summer, everybody's excited about it, and what better time to sell yearlings,” he said.

Otherwise, “we'd like to build our own sales venue and have a date that's conducive to working for the California circuit, and not trying to just work around another sale company's calendar,” said Gonzalez, who said he has about 60 mares on his farm this year.

The Cal-bred program could also be modified to better cater to turf horses, including the institution of new 2-year-old turf stakes races for Cal-breds, said Gonzalez. As Gonzalez pointed out, there are eight juvenile stakes on the dirt for Cal-breds, and none on the turf.

“Obviously, they can run in open races, but that's a taller task,” said Gonzalez, about smart Cal-bred juvenile turf runners.

“As a stallion owner and manager, the stats were trying to produce are in black type horses, and we have a limited amount of races for those [on the turf for Cal-breds],” he added.

The last mare that Auerbach bred in California was in 2019–this from around 25 mares in the state at the height of his involvement.

A former vice-chair of the CTBA, Auerbach said the industry here in California–as well as nationally–needs to start thinking “less provincially.”

What that could mean for California breeders, Auerbach said, is a multi-state breeding program, consolidating what remains of the industries in the nation's Western and South-Western regions.

“California as you know is on an island. Maybe California should pair up with Arizona and New Mexico and Oregon and Washington and British Columbia, and create a regional breeding program that could be of benefit to all the states,” said Auerbach.

“We could make it so that all the horses could be eligible to run in races of all different conditions, all different types,” Auerbach said, calling the necessary legislative changes to get such a venture off the ground as large but not insurmountable. “It should have happened a decade ago.”

San Diego-based Lacombe has six mares, five of them bred this year (and four of them have foaled).

Like Gonzalez, Lacombe sees California's one remaining yearling sale as the key focus of reform to lure more customers, especially local trainers and owners who have migrated to out-of-state sales to fill their stalls.

“We need to get more value at the sales,” said Lacombe, who said the median sales price is way too low for it to be viable to commercial breeders. The median at last year's Fasig-Tipton Fall Yearlings and Horses of Racing Age sale was $15,000.

“No one's going to keep doing this if they lose all the time,” he added.

One idea to boost participation at the sale, said Lacombe, could be a tweak to the Cal-bred bonus program for maiden winners, increasing the bonus amount for those who purchase a horse at the sale above that for home-breds.

“Now, somebody who breeds a homebred should get something for winning that race. But at the same time, you should pay more for someone who brought a horse, so there's a differentiation there, that you can make more if you buy at the sale,” said Lacombe.

There could also be better coordination between the racing office and the horsemens' organizations to create better racing opportunities for Cal-breds, said Lacombe.

He says he understands the fix racing secretaries are in–if they write more Cal-bred races, they're going to struggle to fill the open races. “It's a real horse population problem,” said Lacombe.

“But look at other state programs–I think there are others that are more in tune with their local-breds,” he said. “Racing and breeding needs to work hand-in-hand.”

After breeding 27 mares last year, Northern-California based Gray bred 20 mares this year, 16 of which are in foal.

Mares and foals | Horsephotos

“We don't have a problem with horses–we've got a problem with owners. We don't have enough owners,” Gray said.

“The hardest thing for trainers and owners to deal with is that you don't know when a horse is going to get in,” he said.  “My own personal experience, that's when a horse gets hurt, when you start holding them for a race. And it's very expensive for owners.”

Which is why Gray sees the condition book as ground-zero for change. “It all starts in the racing office,” he said.

“The biggest change I would make in racing and in the racing office, I would make a rule: if there's a stated race in the condition book and they get five-head in it, they've got to use it,” Gray said, adding that extras would be exempt from that mandate.

More generally, the racing office should be “more inventive” about the races it writes, Gray said.

This includes giving more opportunities to horses that haven't won for a period of time, “or that haven't finished first, second or third in, say, six months,” he said.

There could also be a mandate on the specific number of Cal-bred races carded per-day, he said.

“We used to have a rule that they mandated so many races per-day, strictly for Cal-breds,” said Gray. “If we had more mandated Cal-bred races again, that would certainly help.”

Shane Easterbrook

Easterbrook this year is standing the only son of red-hot sire Gun Runner in California, the former Brad Cox trained Corporal.

Easterbrook said that she and Corporal's other owner have stepped up this year the number and quality of mares they ordinarily keep, in order to support the stallion.

“I think he's got great potential,” said Easterbrook, about that decision.

As someone still investing in California breeding, Easterbrook said she'd like to see greater involvement in the sport from younger generations–or as she described it, an influx of bright young minds to an industry in need of fresh ideas.

“Right now, we're seeing the older generation as they exit the sport, there's not a younger generation coming up through behind them,” said Easterbrook.

Partly, that's because of the beating the sport has received publicly in recent years in the mainstream media, said Easterbrook. “And partly there's the financial aspect to it,” she added.

So, what would help turn that around? One would be better promotion of the sport.

“How do you get the younger generation to get excited, to get involved, to get passionate about horse racing?” said Easterbrook.

“What I would like to see is more input, more direction, more leadership as far as trying to get the younger generation involved,” said Easterbrook.

“There needs to be leadership to help promote the sport in general in a positive light, rather than what's visualized in the media,” she added.

Sonny Pais | courtesy of Sonny Pais

Alfred A. “Sonny” Pais

Owner-breeder Pais struck gold in recent years with Cal-bred meteor Brickyard Ride, who retired to stud last year at Rancho San Miguel.

For Pais, it all comes down to purses.

“We do need things to change, obviously,” said Pais. “The purses nowadays aren't any better than they were 10 to 15 years ago.”

Which underpins why Pais suggested lengthening the racing calendar afforded Del Mar, with its premium purses in the state.

“If we could extend our period, with its purse structure, at Del Mar for another couple of months, that would definitely help,” he said. “You need something to aim at.”

The post What Would Encourage California’s Breeders to Breed More Cal-Breds? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Longtime Finger Lakes Clerk of Scales Jack Keller will be inducted into the track's Hall of Fame this Friday, the gaming establishment said in a press release on Wednesday.

When Keller arrived at Finger Lakes outside of Farmington, New York in 1967, he figured he would spend a year working as a valet and then move on to another track for his next adventure in the world of racing.

One year, however, became 59.

“As it turned out, I never left,” said Keller, who is in his 39th season as the track's Clerk of Scales.

Keller grew up in Ohio and fell in love with racing when he was going to the track with his father. He then landed a job on the backstretch in 1950, becoming a hotwalker at Ascot Park near Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

He also rode at Ohio fairs but was too heavy to make weight at parimutuel tracks so transitioned to becoming an outrider and then assistant starter across Ohio, working at Ascot Park, Thistledown, Randall Park and Cranwood Racecourse.

His racing career includes stops at 17 different racetracks, including a winter in the 1960s as an exercise rider at Hialeah Park for the famous Darby Dan Farm.

Keller came to Finger Lakes in 1967 and worked as a valet for twenty years, when he transitioned to the race office. He has been Clerk of Scales for 39 years. The Jockey's Room was named in his honor last year.

“Jack has been an institution here at Finger Lakes,” said President and General Manager of Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack Chris Riegle. “His dedication and knowledge of the sport have allowed him to excel at every one of the many positions he has held here throughout the years.”

Keller's induction into the Hall of Fame will take place at Friday's annual HBPA meeting and awards banquet.

The post Clerk Of Scales Jack Keller To Be Inducted Into Finger Lakes Hall Of Fame appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

A filly by Frosted (hip 279)–the first horse on the track Wednesday morning–turned in the co-fastest :9 4/5 furlong time so far at the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and that mark was equaled later in the session by fillies by Honest Mischief (hip 180); Midshipman (hip 327); and Higher Power (hip 340). Through two of five sessions of the June under-tack show, seven juveniles have now hit the :9 4/5 mark.

The gray filly by Frosted is out of graded winner Dixie Serenade (Uptowncharlybrown) and is a half-sister to stakes winner Dixieland Belle (More Than Ready). She is consigned by Robbie Harris's Harris Training Center.

“A :9 4/5 surprises everybody, but we knew she was a fast filly,” said Harris. “We actually had her in [OBS] April [sale], but we never even got a chance to prep her or breeze her. She came up with a little thing with her foot, so we just gave her time and she rewarded us for it. An old man told me once, you take care of the horse and he will take care of you. And I'm a firm believer in that.”

Harris, along with longtime farm manager Carlos Garcia, purchased the Pennsylvania-bred filly for $30,000 at last year's OBS October sale.

“I just loved her,” Harris said of the filly's appeal last fall. “She is a real pretty filly with good balance. I own her with my farm manager, Carlos, who has been with me a long, long time. I am excited for him.”

Harris sent out four horses to work over the synthetic surface at OBS Wednesday and the consignor said conditions seemed fairly consistent throughout the session.

“I thought it was pretty solid all the way through,” Harris said. “We went all the way through from :9 4/5, :10 flat, :10 1/5, :10 2/5. And that's kind of how those horses came into it. No shockers. The last page kind of hurts some guys when it gets hot at the end. But I think it was pretty fair all morning.”

Casey Seaman's Crystal Eclipse Stable sent out a New York-bred filly by Honest Mischief to share the furlong bullet Wednesday. Bred by Sequel Stallions NY and Scott Miller, the dark bay filly is out of Blue Hen Madness (Any Given Saturday).

McKathan Bros. Sales sent a filly by Midshipman out for her :9 4/5 work shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday. The bay juvenile is out of multiple stakes-placed Freedom Come (Lit de Justice) and is a half-sister to graded winner Harlem Rocker (Macho Uno). Purchased by Heather Maytham for $7,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale, the filly RNA'd for $40,000 following a :10 flat work at the OBS March sale.

The next horse on the track, a filly by Higher Power, set the bullet mark for Angel Hernandez's Hernandez Stables. The New York-bred bay is out of the unraced Gold Anklet (Lemon Drop Kid) and is a half-sister to stakes-placed Little Daddy (Scat Daddy) and to the dam of graded winner and Grade I-placed Mo Plex (Complexity). She was purchased as a weanling for $10,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Mixed sale in 2023.

A day after sending out bullet workers at a furlong and a quarter-mile, Blue Sapphire Stables had another quarter-mile bullet when a filly by Caravaggio (hip 252) covered the distance in :20 4/5. The gray is out of Curl the Pearl (Curlin), a half-sister to graded winners Chitu (Henny Hughes) and Beautiful Gift (Medaglia d'Oro). Purchased for $6,500 at Keeneland last September, she RNA'd for $9,000 the following month at OBS.

Also sharing the :20 4/5 quarter-mile bullet Wednesday was a filly by Cloud Computing (hip 229) consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock. Bred by Green Lantern Stables, the dark bay is out of stakes winner Clever Beauty (Indian Charlie) and RNA'd for $18,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale.

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning each day at 7:30 a.m. The June sale will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday. Bidding begins both days at 10 a.m.

The post Fillies Dominate at OBS Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

It's been a magical year so far for jockey Junior Alvarado, who rode Sovereignty (Into Mischief) to victories in the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Belmont S. They were the first wins in the Triple Crown series for the 39-year-old native of Venezuela, but they surely won't be the last. Alvarado now rides regularly for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, whose stable is loaded with talent.

But Alvarado almost missed the Derby assignment. He fractured his shoulder blade in a Mar. 23 spill at Gulfstream. He would definitely miss the GI Florida Derby and doctors warned him he might not be ready to ride in the Derby. Alvarado would hear nothing of that and worked overtime to be ready for the first leg of the Triple Crown.

What was it like to think you might have the best 3-year-old in the country but wouldn't be able to ride him in the Derby? That was one of many questions our team asked Alvarado on this week's Thoroughbred Daily News Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. Alvarado was the Gainesway Guest of the Week.

“I remember laying in the bed right there with my agent next to me,” Alvarado said. “I kept telling my agent, 'I think I may have a fracture. I can handle pain. I've been through a lot of injuries and I knew that this one was worse than normal. Then the doctor told us I had a fractured scapula. I asked if I could come back in a week a they said, no, no, no. You have a completely fractured scapula. You will have to probably be out between six to eight weeks. So like right there, just, I remember looking at my agent and I'm like shaking my hand. I thought 'why does this have to happen to me?' Like why these things keep happening to me?  Like, God, why? Like, why?”

He went to see a doctor who had treated him before in Saratoga for a second opinion and got a much different diagnosis. This doctor said that if he followed his instructions he would be back well before the Derby. It worked as Alvarado returned on Apr. 16, just 23 days after the accident.

The combination of Bill Mott and Alvarado has worked out nicely for both individuals.

“When I moved to New York, I had Mike Sellitto as my agent,” Alvarado said. “He's a very good, close friend to Bill Mott. That's how we started it. I will say probably six, seven, eight years ago now, I used to ride all those nice horses in the morning. Then, the mount in the afternoon would go to guys like Mike Smith or Joel Rosario. I remember my agent telling me, just keep working, keep working. You're going to have your time and when you have your time, then you'll take. By working a lot of his horses in the morning,  I came to understand what Bill really likes to do with his horses, with the babies, how he develops the horses. Every trainer has a different mentality and different way to approach their training method. I just fit pretty well with what Bill was doing and I like the way he does it. I started getting more chances and more opportunities from him. I was able to perform well in the afternoon and that's how more opportunities kept coming my way.”

Alvarado has won 421 races for Mott, 65 graded stakes and $51.5 million in purse money.

Sovereignty isn't the first good horse Alvarado has ridden for Mott. No one will ever forget the story of Cody's Wish (Curlin) and Cody Dorman. Alvarado said he was never more nervous than when he was aboard Cody's Wish.

“That was very special, he said. “It was completely different than riding Sovereignty. With Sovereignty I was always calm. Riding  Cody's Wish, I felt lot of pressure every single time I was riding him. I didn't want to be the one who made a mistake and be the villain of the beautiful story of that was happening. That was always in my mind, like I cannot make mistakes, I can't do anything wrong, can't overdo it. I can't do anything to get that horse beat because all the eyes are on me and I'm going to look like the bad guy if he got beat. But every time we won I felt so much happiness.”

In our “Fastest Horse of the Week,” segment, which is sponsored by WinStar, we went over the many reasons there are breed to the WinStar stallion Cogburn. The fastest horse of the week was Ways and Means (Practical Joke), who got a 111 Beyer for winning the GII Bed o'Roses S. The 111 was the highest Beyer number assigned to any horse this year.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the KTOB, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, 1/ST Racing and 1/ST TV, the team of Randy Moss, Zoe Cadman and Bill Finley went over not just the Belmont but all the Grade I stakes action over the weekend at Saratoga. The question was asked, “Would Sovereignty have swept the Triple Crown if he had run in the Preakness?” The consensus was yes.

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

The post Junior Alvarado 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.

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.

Resolved ADMC Violations
Date: 06/09/2025
Licensee: Victor Barboza, trainer
Penalty: None. Case dismissed.
Explainer: Barboza had faced a medication violation for the use or attempted use of a Class C controlled medication on Gayles Evening during the race period, an event dated 3/2/25. According to the final ruling of the internal adjudication panel, regulatory veterinarian Dr. Teichner had allegedly witnessed Barboza's assistant administer an oral substance to Gayle's Evening prior to the race Mar. 2. Teichner allegedly observed this while she was “outside of the barn, in her vehicle, looking into the barn,” the final ruling states. But the panel dismissed the case because “no physical evidence, investigator testimony, or photographic proof was presented to support this allegation.”

Date: 06/06/2025
Licensee: Mike Miceli, trainer
Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horses' 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; Treated as 1 violation with Pistol Liz Ablazen under 09/08/23 HISA Guidance. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violations for the presence of Dexamethasone–a controlled substance (Class C)–in a sample taken from Wildcat Annie, who won at Aqueduct on 2/15/25; and from Piston Liz Ablazen, who finished second at Aqueduct on 2/21/25.

Date: 06/06/2025
Licensee: Mike Miceli, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning June 7; Disqualification of Covered Horses' 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 1.5 Penalty Points; Treated as 1 violation with Montauk Mystique under 09/08/23 HISA Guidance. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violations for the presence of Dexamethasone–a controlled substance (Class C)–in samples taken from Montauk Mystique, who finished second at Aqueduct on 3/28/25, and from Mighty Atlas who won at Aqueduct on 3/21/25.

Date: 06/05/2025
Licensee: Roshan Samsundar, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning June 6, 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 Caffeine–a controlled substance (Class B)–in a sample taken from Carbon, who won at Aqueduct on 3/14/25.

Date: 06/05/2025
Licensee: Carl Cunningham, 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 Phenylbutazone–a controlled substance (Class C)–in a sample taken from Prince Pierre on 4/22/25.

Date: 06/04/2025
Licensee: Eric Reed, trainer
Penalty: 15-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning June 5; 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 violation for the presence of Gabapentin–a controlled substance (Class B)–in a sample taken from She's a Saint, who won at Mahoning Valley on 4/8/25.

Pending ADMC Violations
06/09/2025, Arthur Agostini, trainer: Pending violation for the use or attempted use of a Class C controlled medication on That's My Cat during the race period, an event dated 12/27/24.

06/06/2025, Tanner Tracy, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone–a controlled substance (Class C)–in a sample taken from Rockets Sister on 5/8/24.

06/05/2025, Dr. Jason Scott, veterinarian: Pending violation for the possession of Pitcher Plant Extract (Adenosine Phosphate)–a banned substances–for an event dated 2/13/25.

06/05/2025, Vance Childers, trainer: Pending out-of-competition medication violation for the presence of Testosterone–a banned substance–in a sample taken from Childersattack on 10/16/24.

Violations of Crop Rule

Penn National
Wesley Ho – violation date June 7; $250 fine, one-day suspension

The post National Regulatory Rulings, June 5-11, 2025 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Editor's note, by Dan Ross:

Despite the New York Racing Association's efforts in recent years to limit Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) participation in the Win, Late Pick Five, and Pick Six pools, the influence these teams exert in terms of last-cycle betting impacts appears to be growing in several other key pools, according to research conducted by economics professors Marshall Gramm and Nick McKinney, both of Rhodes College in Tennessee.

Indeed, they found that since 2022, the percentage share from CAW players of monies wagered last-minute into the Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Early Pick 5 pools (among others), has grown significantly. Why is this a problem for trainers, owners and other industry stakeholders?

With worsening CAW encroachment within these betting pools has come growing attrition from racing's average punters, turned away from the sport by the competitive imbalance. And with the nation's purses fueled primarily by wagering monies, this is placing the economic future of the sport into the hands of fewer and fewer deep-pocketed and influential gamblers. The Gramm-McKinney report appears below.

Measuring CAW Participation and Growth Through NYRA Pool Restrictions

By Marshall Gramm and Nick McKinney

Large betting syndicates employing Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) have become a powerful force in the horse racing industry, contributing significant handle but also disrupting betting pools with large, last-second wagers. These last-cycle bets cause sharp odds fluctuations that frustrate traditional horseplayers and undermine confidence in the game's integrity. Despite growing concern, little public data exists on the scale or growth of CAW activity. Using data from the past four Aqueduct Winter meets, we have estimated the size of CAW participation and how it has grown. Our findings suggest CAW teams now account for a much larger share of wagering than just a few years ago.

Armed with sophisticated wagering models, CAW teams place thousands of individual bets in the final seconds before post time. They use real-time odds to fine-tune their positions while keeping their activity hidden from the broader betting public. Their ability to flood the pools with targeted bets at scale, combined with rebates that often return half the takeout, gives them a significant edge over conventional horseplayers.

A recreational bettor might play dime superfectas at Saratoga using the box or key functions, spreading across dozens or even hundreds of combinations into a 24% takeout with limited efficiency. CAW teams, on the other hand, submit massive volumes of single-combination, optimally crafted superfecta bets executed with precision and boosted by substantial rebates.

Last-cycle wagering provides a measure of CAW activity, as anecdotal evidence and industry experience suggest that a significant portion of their money enters the pools in the final moments before post-time. We can gain insight into where and how CAW teams participate by examining the share of total handle wagered during this period, particularly by comparing pools where their access is restricted to those where they are free to participate.

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) restricted CAW access to its Win pool to combat sharp odds fluctuations. Additionally, it barred the teams from participating in the Late Pick Five and Pick Six, thereby offering a more level playing field for traditional horseplayers. These restrictions offer a rare opportunity to estimate both the size and growth of CAW wagering activity.

NYRA's Pick Five pools are particularly valuable for this type of analysis because they impose different restrictions within the same race card. NYRA racetracks typically offer at least two Pick Fives per card: an Early Pick Five (races 1-5) and a Late Pick Five (last five races). All Pick Fives have a 50-cent minimum and a 15% takeout. Importantly, CAW teams are excluded from the Late Pick Five but may participate freely in the Early Pick Five. Despite often featuring higher-quality races, the Late Pick Five consistently draws lower handle, likely reflecting CAW exclusion.

The table below shows the average share of each pool wagered during the final betting cycle, just before the race begins and the pools close. Over the past four Aqueduct winter meets, the share of last cycle handle in the Early Pick Five rose sharply, from 8.4% in 2022 to 32.0% in 2024 before falling slightly to 28.8% in 2025. The Late Pick Five, by contrast, showed only modest growth over the same period, increasing from 2.2% in 2022 to 9.4% in 2025. The gap between the two pools, those with and without CAW access, serves as an estimate of the share of wagering driven by CAW teams. This gap grew from 6.2 percentage points in 2022 to a peak of 23.0 points in 2024, highlighting the rapid expansion of their participation. While the roughly 20 percentage point difference in recent years supports the view that CAW teams make up around 20% of the Early Pick Five pool (a figure consistent with industry estimates), the pace of growth is more striking than the level itself.

Estimating CAW participation in other pools is less precise, as their betting activity likely varies by pool depending on model strength and the perceived inefficiency of each market. In general, CAW betting volume increases with wager complexity, with heavier involvement in exotics, such as trifectas and superfectas, than in straight bets, like win or place. Still, last-cycle activity offers a useful proxy.

In 2022, 11.0% of Win pool handle was wagered in the final cycle, compared to 17.5% for Exactas and 20.9% for Trifectas. By 2025, those figures had grown to 16.8%, 44.3%, and 47.6%, respectively. The gaps between Win and Exacta or Trifecta pools more than tripled, from 6.5 and 10.9 percentage points in 2022 to 27.5 and 30.8 in 2025. In the most recent meet, more than half of the Superfecta handle was bet in the final cycle. While less definitive than the Pick Five comparisons, these figures suggest that CAW teams now account for at least 30-35% of the Trifecta and Superfecta, up from around 10% just three years ago.

This analysis does not intend to single out NYRA. On the contrary, other racetracks should adopt the same CAW restrictions that NYRA has applied to the Win pool. Significant late odds shifts undermine bettors' confidence in the integrity of the pools and alienate new players accustomed to fixed-odds sports wagering. While exotic pools at other tracks also exhibit significant last-cycle movement, none have experienced as sharp an increase as those at NYRA.

It's important to remember that last-cycle wagering is only a proxy for estimating CAW involvement. The true scale of CAW participation remains opaque, known only to their ADWs and the racetracks. Not all last cycle money comes from CAW teams, just as some CAW wagers likely enter the pools earlier.

The use of advanced data modeling is a natural progression in the evolution of horse betting, and CAW teams are not inherently problematic in their pursuit of an edge. In a less-than-zero-sum game, once-profitable strategies inevitably become obsolete as better methods and sharper competition increase. The concern lies not with their sophistication but with the speed and concentration of their wagering activity. The flooding of pools in the final seconds destabilizes prices and undermines the parimutuel system.

Pierre Oller's invention was brilliant in its simplicity: the house takes a fixed cut, and winning bettors are paid from the pool rather than from the operator's pocket. Unlike fixed-odds sports betting, a winning horseplayer can continue to wager freely, often increasing handle over time. But the parimutuel system was never designed to accommodate large volumes of money flooding the pools in the final seconds. In the pre-simulcast era, such strategies were logistically impossible when all bets were placed at the window.

Technology has dramatically expanded the capabilities of bettors, but it also demands new safeguards. Restrictions on batch wagering should be extended to all visible pools, including Win, Place, Show, Exacta, and Double, to limit last-second price distortion. Just as critically, the rebate gap between CAW teams and ordinary bettors must be narrowed. Ideally, this would be achieved through across-the-board takeout reductions, improving fairness and sustainability across the entire wagering ecosystem.

Unfortunately, NYRA's last-cycle betting volume shows that the problem isn't stabilizing; it's worsening.

The post Gramm-McKinney Study Shows Late CAW Activity in NY Pools is Growing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

In recent months, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) has adjudicated several cases under the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program related to adenosine, a vasodilator, and Hemo 15, a foreign product that lacks FDA approval, according to an advisory from HIWU, which says that neither substance has any valid veterinary use in the racehorse.

“Both substances are categorized as an S0 Non-Approved Banned Substance and therefore are prohibited from Use in a Covered Horse or Possession by a Covered Person at all times,” reads the advisory. “Hemo 15 and any compounded product mimicking Hemo 15, as well as any products containing adenosine, adenosine monophosphate (AMP), or adenosine triphosphate (ATP) should be disposed of immediately.”

The advisory goes on to remind horsemen that “the Presence, Use, Administration, Possession, or Trafficking of any Banned Substance is subject to a period of Ineligibility of up to two years, a fine of up to $25,000, the disqualification of race results (as applicable), and public disclosure.”

Horsemen or veterinarians with questions are advised to reach out to sciencesupport@hiwu.org.

The post HIWU Issues Horsemen’s Advisory Regarding Adenosine and Hemo 15 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Saratoga season admission passes for the special July 4th Racing Festival and the 2025 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course are now available for purchase at more than 175 Stewart's Shops throughout the greater Capital (NY) Region.

Saratoga season passes provide fans with general admission access to 44 days of thoroughbred racing this summer for the equivalent of approximately two dollars per day.

Season passes are available for $90 at Stewart's Shops through Sunday, July 13, or for $95 online at NYRA.com/Saratoga.

Passes include admission to the traditional 40-day summer meet, July 10 to Sept. 1, in addition to the July 4th Racing Festival, July 3 to 6, which has been relocated to Saratoga while construction continues on a new Belmont Park.

Saratoga season passes provide access to the apron and the Rivers Casino Backyard, which includes hundreds of free picnic tables available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The post Saratoga Season Passes on Sale at Stewart’s appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Central Kentucky Riding for Hope (CKRH)'s 22nd annual 'Night of the Stars' Fundraiser takes place Saturday, June 21, at the Fasig-Tipton sales complex in Lexington.

Some 500 attendees are expected for the event, which will include dinner and drinks, a silent auction and a live auction in the same style as a Thoroughbred auction where the highest bidders will earn a sponsorship of CKRH participants and equine partners.

Bidding is now open for the silent and live auctions and may be accessed by clicking here. Some of the auction items available include:

• Halters from a group of popular Thoroughbreds, including American Pharoah, Gun Runner, Justify, Medaglia d'Oro, Rachel Alexandra, Serena's Song and Tapit;

• Meet and greet with the beloved Racing Hall of Famer Zenyatta, the winner of 19 consecutive races who earned $7.3 million, at Lane's End Farm;

• Painting of Horse of the Year Thoroughbred Cody's Wish by Lisa Palombo with proceeds beyond the reserve to be shared by CKRH and Angels Without Wings for the Cody's Wish Monument to be installed at the Kentucky Horse Park;

• A wide selection of Kentucky bourbon, including a set of eight bottles of Blanton's Original Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey with stoppers that show each stride of a racehorse in action.

Tropical attire is suggested for attendees of 'Night of the Stars', which will feature island-inspired decor and appetizers, signature cocktails, live music, pony meet-and-greets and inspiring riding demonstrations.

The post CKRH To Hold ‘Night of the Stars’ Fundraiser June 21 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) has escalated its recent threat of pulling out of racing at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

“Given the legislature's ease with which it approved legislation that is directly adverse and harmful to the economic interests of Fair Grounds, the opposition by elected officials to engage in meaningful solutions in collaboration with the Fair Grounds, and the forthcoming adjournment of the legislative session, CDI is left with no choice but to request an appearance before the LSRC to begin the next steps for voluntarily surrendering the racing license held by the Fair Grounds,” stated a June 9 letter signed by CDI's chief executive, Bill Carstanjen, that was sent to the Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) and CC'd to high-ranking state politicians.

Carstanjen wrote that, “It is my understanding that soon after the Louisiana Legislature adjourns on June 12, 2025, an emergency meeting of the LSRC will be conducted. This correspondence is CDI's formal request to appear at the meeting to discuss the timeline and next steps concerning the license” that CDI holds for Fair Grounds.

The letter, which TDN obtained from a CDI spokesperson, was delivered almost a month after a May 13 commission meeting at which a CDI attorney informed commissioners that the Kentucky-based gaming corporation might pull out of Fair Grounds over a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling in March that upheld a lower court's ruling from 2021 deeming historical horse racing (HHR) to be unconstitutional.

CDI in recent seasons has ceased racing at such high-profile tracks as Arlington and Calder over alleged profitability issues related to gaming.

Benard Chatters, the president of the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (LAHBPA), told TDN in a Tuesday phone interview that his organization intends to take an active role in making sure the November-through-March season at Fair Grounds goes off as scheduled.

“Hopefully cooler heads prevail. That's my thinking on the matter,” Chatters said.

“We'll sit down and look at the situation and see how we can work together to make everybody a winner,” Chatters said. “The Fair Grounds is very important to Louisiana, to New Orleans, and to the country. And we're going to do everything we can–as the horsemen's representative, I promise you–to make sure the Fair Grounds is in business and doing what it's done for the last century. I'm committed to that.”

Chatters continued: “I can't speak to Churchill's position. Are they angry [at] a downturn in business? You know, I'd be in a heck of a fix when business went bad for me for a little while if I just up and quit. That doesn't quite sound like the horse racing business to me. From a horseman's perspective, we always do what's right for horse racing in Louisiana, and we always work diligently with and for the Fair Grounds, all the time. So I get kind of baffled how this thing escalates all of a sudden into 'Are we closing down?' But, like I said, cooler heads will prevail.

“I believe,” Chatters added. “I hope.”

According to a June 10 story published by the Louisiana news site NOLA.com, the LSRC's executive director, Stephen Landry, said Tuesday that he's seen the CDI letter, but that a date hasn't yet been set for the next meeting, which he expects will be within 30 days.

Carstanjen's letter stated that, “For the last few months, CDI has attempted to engage in good faith discussions with elected officials and various other industry stakeholders to find a path toward long term economic viability for the Fair Grounds after the recent decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court that resulted in the elimination of HHR and nearly half of the Fair Grounds' off-track betting (OTB) revenues. To date, our efforts to engage elected officials have not led to meaningful discussions and, confoundingly, CDI's efforts have been met with a combination of reluctance, indifference, apathy, and even opposition.”

The paddock at Fair Grounds | Horsephotos

Two bills recently passed by the House and Senate but not yet signed into law by the governor are problematic for CDI.

House Bill 540 would allow truck stop operators to increase the number of poker machines they can operate from 50 to 60, while bars and restaurants would be able to go from operating three to four machines.

According to reporting by Anthony McAuley and Tyler Bridges of NOLA.com, “HB540 aims to offset the loss of revenue to the horse racing industry from the shutdown of Churchill Downs' HHR machines. For the first time, the new law sets aside a share of video poker revenue from sources other than track operators. That money will go directly to the horse racing industry in the form of higher purses.”

House Bill 547 would authorize fixed-odds wagering on horse races in Louisiana, establishing a purse supplement fund that would direct 55% of its money to Thoroughbreds, 24% to Quarter Horses, 14% to the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and 7% to the Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association for breeder awards.

Carstanjen didn't view either of those bills as being beneficial for CDI.

“To make matters worse, the passing of HB 540 and 547 further negatively impacts the Fair Grounds' ability to remain competitive,” Carstanjen wrote.

“House Bill 540 will lead to significant cannibalization of revenue from our OTB network in and around greater New Orleans, a network in which the Fair Grounds has heavily invested since 2005–the only racetrack operator in the state to do so,” Carstanjen wrote.

“House Bill 547 will shift wagering handle from current brick and mortar racetracks, OTBs, and advanced deposit wagering platforms, all of which provide revenues to track operators and local horsemen groups, to out-of-state bookmaking operators,” Carstanjen wrote.

Senate President Cameron Henry told NOLA.com that CDI's attempts to gain what he termed as separate forms of “subsidies” from the legislature didn't fly with lawmakers, and he indicated he was not afraid to call CDI's bluff about closure.

“They came at the end of the session and wanted a subsidy from the state and we said we couldn't do it because they're a profitable business,” Henry told NOLA.com. “If they choose to close the track we'll work through that, if they choose to sell it we'll work through that as well.”

Carstanjen's letter indicated that a high-stakes game of political “chicken” could be on the horizon.

“This is not the path CDI wishes to proceed down, but the inaction from elected officials to offer any sort of compromise has made this the only possible outcome…” Carstanjen wrote. “The inaction of the legislature and others in a position to save this racetrack have forced us into the current situation.”

The post CDI Tells Louisiana Commission it Wants to Surrender Fair Grounds License appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

5. ASBURY PARK (GB), 6/6, SAR, Race 8, 1 1/16 miles (turf), VIDEO
Beyer Speed Figure- 85
(c, 4, by Frankel {GB}–Limonar {Ire} by Street Cry {Ire})
O-Peter Brant and St Elias Stable. B-St Elias Stable (GB). T-Chad Brown. J-Flavien Prat.
Not surprisingly, Saratoga produced all five of these maiden graduates – three on Friday. Asbury Park got his race in just before heavy rain and powered away as much the best despite a slow pace, wide trip and an 9 1/2-month layoff due to shin issues. Brant bought the colt as a yearling for $318,526 from Vinny Viola in October 2023 at Tattersalls, with Viola opting to keep an ownership share. Brown emptied the barn at Saratoga, going 5-for-28 with Grade I and Grade II victories.

4. RAGTIME, 6/6, SAR, Race 2, 7 furlongs, VIDEO
Beyer Speed Figure- 86
(f, 3, by Union Rags–Burmilla, by Storm Cat)
O/B-Godolphin (Ky). T-Bill Mott. J-Junior Alvarado.
Mott may be all-world, but he has never prioritized success with first-time starters: heading into Saratoga last weekend he had lost with 43 in a row. Then he unleashed winning debuters Friday and Saturday at 9-1 and 8-1 odds, respectively, and both make our top five. Ragtime rolled to the front in midstretch and drew off sharply by 3 3/4 lengths. Her now-22-year-old dam Burmilla had her own Saratoga highlight: in 2007 she earned a 107 Beyer in taking the Grade II Honorable Miss.

3. HIT THE POST, 6/6, SAR, Race 14, 7 furlongs, VIDEO
Beyer Speed Figure- 87
(g, 3, by Kantharos–Memento d'Oro, by Medaglia d'Oro)
O/B- Old Tavern Farm (NY). T-Melanie Giddings. J-Chris Elliott.
In his fourth career start and first as a 3-year-old after 7 1/2 months sidelined, Hit the Post dashed to the front and splashed home a decisive 6 3/4 lengths ahead of New York-breds. Saddled by Giddings of Maple Leaf Mel fame, he became the first Saratoga winner for apprentice Elliott and the second for owners/breeders Walt and Melanie Borisenck, who in 2016 founded Old Tavern Farm in Saratoga Springs.

2. MAINSTREAM, 6/7, SAR, Race 2, 7 furlongs (2nd), VIDEO
Beyer Speed Figure- 92
(c, 3, by Speightstown–Lesley May, by Tapit)
O-Jeffrey Drown, Don Rachel and Stonestreet Stables. B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings. T-Brad Cox. J-Luis Saez.
Of those who have raced, Mainstream was perhaps America's fastest maiden before Saturday – and still is. At 3-5 odds, he battled head-to-head with Junior Alvarado and Stars and Strides for the final 3/16th as they leaned/rubbed/bumped repeatedly. A stewards' inquiry resulted in no change and Mainstream is 0-for-3 despite back-to-back 92 Beyers on sloppy tracks. Trip note: he stumbled at the break Saturday, and despite an impressively quick recovery may have been unlucky since the final margin was only a head.

1. STARS AND STRIDES, 6/7, SAR, Race 2, 7 furlongs, VIDEO
Beyer Speed Figure- 92
(c, 3, by American Pharoah–Holiday Blues, by Ghostzapper)
O-Pin Oak Stud. B-Four Pillars Holdings (Ky). T-Bill Mott. J-Junior Alvarado.
This $475,000 yearling buy was Mott's second winning first-timer in two days, showing talent and determination to outfinish Mainstream. Aside from his 'Pharoah' genes, his half-brother Panther Island was a stakes sprinter on turf and he already shows a bullet work on grass at Payson, so the green is a nice future option.

The post The Five Fastest Maidens, Presented By Taylor Made, For The Week Of June 2-9 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

In the early minutes of the first session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Tuesday, a colt by Yaupon (hip 104) turned in what would be the day's fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 and that mark was matched later in the day by a filly by Leinster (hip 81) and a colt by Engage (hip 152).

It was the second :9 4/5 work at OBS for the colt from the first crop of Yaupon, who put in a similar work ahead of the company's March sale.

“It wasn't a big surprise that he went as fast as he did, because he'd already went :9 4/5 in March,” said consignor Julie Davies. “He had a P1 [chip] after the breeze in March, so we had to stop and take that out. We had plenty of interest in him in March, but people didn't want to fool with that. So obviously there was the question mark of what fitness he lost in the time that he was off, as he hasn't done much between then and now, but we had no reason to think that he wouldn't do as well as he did then. He showed up and he did it again.”

When the colt was purchased for $85,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale, the name on the ticket was 'Happy Birthday, Chili.'

“My boyfriend, Chalino, picked him out as a yearling,” Davies said. “He and Tami Bobo were together up in the back ring and they picked him out. Everybody calls him Chili, and it was his birthday, so Tami signed the ticket Happy Birthday Chili.”

The colt is out of After the Party (Into Mischief) and from the family of Grade I winner Callback.

“He has always been fast and he's always been very happy to train,” Davies said of the juvenile. “He enjoys training. He's a happy horse with a great mind.”

A filly from the first crop of multiple graded winner Leinster, who is already sire of the Royal Ascot-bound Lennilu, equaled the furlong bullet for consignor Octavio Mejia. The bay is out of Wildcat Gaze (Wildcat Heir), a half-sister to stakes winners Saratoga Treasure (Treasure Beach {GB}) and April Gaze (High Cotton).

Purchased for $13,000 at the OBS Winter sale last year, she RNA'd for $27,000 at the OBS October sale.

Rounding out the trio of bullet workers was a colt by another first-crop sire in multiple graded winner Engage. Consigned by Blue Sapphire Stables, the juvenile hit the bullet mark Tuesday despite changing leads several times down the lane.

“Three weeks ago, he kicked the stall at the farm and the leg went through it and he got a serious cut,” said Blue Sapphire's Jesus Avila. “It still bothers him a little bit, so that could be why he was switching leads there.”

Avila continued, “He prepped :10 flat last week. So he could have gone :9 3/5, I think.”

The bay colt is out of Bazinga B (Lion Hearted) and is a half-brother to stakes winner Bazinga C (Exaggerator). He was purchased for $3,500 at last year's OBS October sale.

Blue Sapphire Stables also sent out the fastest quarter-mile worker of Tuesday's session when I'm Here For Grace (Combatant) (hip 45) covered the distance in :20 4/5.

“She was fast, but she is kind of small,” Avila said. “I think she's 15.2, but she can run. She is a late April foal, so I think she is still going to grow.”

The filly is out of stakes-placed True Religion (Yes It's True), a half-sister to graded winner Sharp Sensation (Sharp Humor), and she is a half to stakes-placed Monster Man (Unbridled's Song). She was purchased for $5,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale.

“I want to buy the best ones for little money,” Avila said with a laugh when asked about his yearling purchases. “I buy inexpensive horses–under $10,000. So I look at the new sires and the [lighter] pedigree page.”

Tuesday was the first of five sessions of the under-tack show and Davies said she thought conditions had remained consistent throughout the day.

“It didn't get too hot, it rained a little, so I did feel like it stayed pretty consistent today,” she said.

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning each day at 7:30 a.m.

The June sale will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday. Bidding commences at 10 a.m. for each session.

The post Trio of First-Crop Juveniles Share Furlong Bullet at OBS Tuesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

On Jan. 9, 2025, a Thoroughbred mare named Kayseri was euthanized in Puerto Rico. She had no joint space left in her fetlocks. Her body was broken down from overuse, her mind likely exhausted from pain and confinement. Her death is not only a tragedy–it is the subject of three formal complaints now filed against the Puerto Rico Racing Commission, the track veterinarians, and her final owner.

Kayseri was not a forgotten horse. She was bred by the University of Kentucky. She raced under Hall of Famer Mark Casse. She competed at Gulfstream Park. But in 2021, after a decline in performance, she was sold off privately and shipped via cargo container to Puerto Rico–where she was raced over 50 times in three years, with minimal oversight, on a dangerous surface, while her condition clearly deteriorated.

I personally flagged Kayseri in July 2024 and submitted an official intervention request to the Puerto Rico Racing Commission. I provided race history, declining speed figures, and an offer to retire her to a safe home.

My formal complaints cite:

• Regulatory failure by the Puerto Rico Racing Commission for allowing Kayseri to be repeatedly raced after being placed on the vets' list multiple times (for lameness, medication violations, and appetite loss), and for failing to respond to a written intervention request made six months before her death.
• Veterinary misconduct by Equine Practitioners & Associates and Veterinary Clinic de Confederación for the continued administration of joint injections and pain-masking treatments rather than recommending rest or retirement, in direct violation of veterinary ethics and welfare standards.
• Owner negligence by Establo Anajalin PR, for knowingly exploiting a declining, unsound mare until she collapsed under the weight of their indifference.

These complaints are not symbolic. They are a plea for justice–not just for Kayseri, but for the 1,000+ horses euthanized at Camarero between 2021 and 2024. The data speaks volumes:

• 2021: 268 horses euthanized, 32.3% within 7 days of last race
• 2022: 257 euthanized, 34.8% within 7 days
• 2023: 270+ euthanized, 41.4% within 7 days
• 2024: 254 euthanized, 36% within 7 days

Many of these horses were Kentucky bred. Many were only three or four years old. This is not “retirement” racing. This is a disposal system in disguise.

Now, with the Ocala Breeders' Sales (OBS) approaching, the American Thoroughbred industry–breeders, consignors, trainers–must take responsibility for where these horses are ending up. If we continue to sell to bad-faith buyers who ship to Puerto Rico, we are enabling cruelty.

Puerto Rico is U.S. soil. These are U.S.-bred horses. And the suffering happening at Hipódromo Camarero is happening on our watch.

I urge the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to expand its jurisdiction to include Puerto Rico, or for Puerto Rico's regulators to voluntarily adopt and enforce HISA's welfare standards. Until such protections are in place, U.S. sales companies and racetracks should blacklist any buyer known to ship horses to Puerto Rico, where there is currently no reliable oversight or enforceable safeguards. If Puerto Rico refuses to accept external accountability, the industry must act by cutting off its supply of horses. And the public and press must continue to shine a light on these regulatory failures until meaningful reform is no longer optional, but inevitable.

Kayseri ran in 60-plus races. She tried every time. She did not deserve to be discarded, ignored, and raced to death in silence. Her death must mean something.

The letters have been filed. The facts are documented. Now it is time for accountability.

Chrissy Laughlin is an advocate and owner of a retired racehorse.

The post Letter to the Editor: Suffering in Puerto Rico is Happening on Our Watch appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Jake Ballis didn't know quite what to expect when he sent Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) to the 2023 Royal Ascot meet, where she won the GII Queen Mary Stakes. He says now it was one of the most exciting days of his life, and he has vowed to get back there every day since.

Ballis, who heads the Black Type Racing partnership, couldn't find a runner in 2024 that he thought could win at one of the most competitive meets in the world. But he never stopped looking.

“It was probably the greatest racing experience I've ever had,” Ballis said. “It's an unbelievable experience. We wanted to find another horse and do it again. I'm not doing it just to say we had a participant. It needed to be one that we thought had a chance over there. Running against 25 other horses is not an easy task. We have partners that have wanted to run there, especially after we won. We were just trying to find the right one to take us back there.”

This time around, he found his horse. Black Type has purchased Azizam, (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) a first-out winner at Hamilton Park in Scotland in his debut.

“Why did we buy him? It was the way the horse finished,” Ballis said. “The jock flashed him the stick and he just took off. You can see that he was rank early and he was getting no cover. Once they started going up the hill, the jockey asked him and he had a really nice turn of foot. That was the main thing that caught our eyes. The sire, Havana Grey, has been very, very good. Go back a few years and I wouldn't be looking to buy a turf sprinting colt. But after we won at Ascot in 2023, I wanted to go back. Last year, we looked and couldn't get anything done. Now this horse came around and we're going to take a shot.”

Azizam will remain in the barn of Karl Burke for his next start before he is sent to the U.S., where he will join George Weaver's stable. Weaver also trained Crimson Advocate.

“We've been looking for something to buy to go over there,” Ballis said. “Whether we bought it in the States or over there, that didn't matter. I have a friend named Adam Potts, who works for BBA Ireland. So we will bounce horses off of one another and I look to get his opinions on European horses. If he sees something, he'll send it to me. He was the first one who brought this horse to my attention. I wasn't watching European racing that day. I watched the replay, and I sent the replay over to my wife who helps buy our horses and then to George Weaver. We all agreed it was worth taking a shot.”

He said he's not going back just to be able to say that he had a horse run at Royal Ascot.

(Below, Azizam, the grey horse on the far side, exercises in Yorkshire Tuesday.)

“It costs too much money to buy these horses and with the expenses and the shipping just to go over there to have a party,” he said. “We're happy that we are going to be there, but we don't want to do anything just to say we participated. We're going to try to pick the right spot for him over there, a spot where he can win.”

Ballis said that Azizam will most likely start in the June 18 Windsor Castle Stakes.

Once back in the U.S., Azizam will be pointed to the Kentucky Downs meets, where he could land in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint.

The stable was planning on using John Velazquez, but with Outfielder no longer making the trip to Royal Ascot, Velazquez has decided to stay home. Ballis said it is likely that Luis Saez will pick up the mount.

“We're going to keep trying this because it's an incredible place to visit and it was one of the best experiences we ever had,” Ballis said. “Even if we hadn't won with Crimson Advocate we would be trying to get back. That's how special that place is.”

The post Black Type Thoroughbreds Wants Another Shot at Royal Ascot Glory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Trainer Wesley Ward has sent some very good horses to Royal Ascot over the years and has won 12 races there. Win No. 13 looked to be well within his reach as he was planning on sending Outfielder (Speightstown) to the GII Norfolk S. on June 19. The horse was so impressive when winning his debut that some believed he could be the best horse Ward ever sent to Ascot.

But a Tuesday morning workout at Keeneland yielded a minor injury that will keep the two-year-old home.

“We breezed him and there was a little bit of a shin issue,” Ward said. “It is very disappointing. With any horse,  let alone one with this quality, you don't want to have any issues going into the race. This is just a minor problem and we're still hoping to have a great year with him. I'm still very excited about his future.”

Ward remains hopeful that Outfielder can make the GI Prix Morny in Deauville, France on Aug. 24. The Kentucky-based conditioner has won that race three times, with No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) , Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) and Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac ({GB}).

With Outfielder sidelined, Ward will not have a starter at this year's Royal Ascot meet.

Racing at Churchill Downs, Outfielder won his debut by 6 1/4 lengths and covered the five furlongs on the turf in :55.93 seconds.

“He moves like a cat,” Ward said after the race. “Usually, big horses like him are kind of lumbery and they don't have the agility that this guy does.”

The post ‘TDN Rising Star’ Outfielder To Miss Royal Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Sovereignty (Into Mischief) is on top. He got there by winning two of the most important races on the calendar for 3-year-olds. With his wins in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes, he leads the way because this is a sport where they're always asking, “What have you done for me lately?”

But that doesn't necessarily mean that he's the best 3-year-old to have run this year.

The last time Sovereignty lost was in the Mar. 29 GI Curlin Florida Derby. He didn't have any excuses. He just wasn't as good as the winner, Tappan Street (Into Mischief). Prepping for the Kentucky Derby, Tappan Street suffered a condylar fracture to his right front leg in an Apr. 26 workout. His Triple Crown dream ended that day.

But what if?

If Sovereignty could win two legs of the Triple Crown but could not beat Tappan Street in the Florida Derby, does that not mean Tappan Street is the better horse? Things are never quite that simple in racing and it could be that Sovereignty matured and improved following the Florida Derby defeat? But it is a legitimate question.

Trainer Brad Cox has every right to complain about his bad luck, but that's not him. He's got too much else to worry about and understands there's nothing to be gained by looking back.

“I think that Tappan Street  is a very good horse and he showed he can compete at the Grade I level,” said Cox, who trains Tappan Street for the partnership of WinStar Farm, CHC, Inc., and Cold Press Racing. “He obviously beat a very good horse in the Florida Derby in Sovereignty.  It's different for me because I'm part of the Godolphin [the owners of Sovereignty] team, so I am happy for those guys. And Bill Mott is a class act. I don't really think about it. I'm trying to move forward with it. Hopefully, we can get our horse back at some point and maybe we could have a rematch with him. We obviously would have to be able to come back and show the good form where it makes sense to face him again.”

Cox wasn't the least bit surprised that the top two performers in the Triple Crown series, Sovereignty and GI Preakness and GI Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism (Curlin), came out of the Florida Derby and the Santa Anita Derby.

“We were zeroed in on the Triple Crown preps with several horses and I really felt like the Florida Derby and the Santa Anita Derby were by far the best two preps,” he said.  “Some speed figures didn't make the Florida Derby quite as fast as they did with some other races. I thought the top two horses in the Florida Derby were serious and obviously top two horses in the Santa Anita Derby were serious. It's kind of showing up now a couple months removed.”

Cox said that Tappan Street's surgery went well and he looks forward to having him back on track at some point, maybe even later this year. He is currently rehabbing at WinStar Farm.

“I think his recovery will be typical of what you see with these kinds of injuries,” Cox said. “Sixty days off and then probably some light exercise. The surgery went very, very well and we've had several horses in the past who have had surgery like this that came back to compete at a higher level than before they were hurt. I'm pretty optimistic about him being able to come back and be a bigger, stronger horse.”

Cox envisions a scenario where Tappan Street runs before the end of the year, but he won't be pushing him and will look to find a fairly easy spot for him to make his return.

“I wouldn't rule it out,” Cox said when asked if Tappan Street will run again this year. “To say there's a Grade I this year that would make sense, I'd say probably not. I don't think we could get enough foundation underneath him to be ready for something like that. We will just have to see.”

Sovereignty is the leading candidate for the 3-year-old champion and by the time voters cast their ballots, the Florida Derby will be a distant memory. There are no such awards for the horse that beat the horse that beats everyone else.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the Belmont-at-Saratoga meet was that Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) finished up the track in the GI Acorn S. It was her first loss after winning her first seven starts. She was fifth.

“She came out of the race fine,” Cox said. “I can't use the racetrack as a big excuse when she had performed well on a wet track before. You could tell at the half-mile pole that something wasn't right. Luis [Saez] started really pushing her along and she wasn't responding. She didn't quit, but she didn't pick off horses like she normally does when she is asked to. We'll keep her here in Saratoga for the near future. I'm not sure where she will land. We'll look around for spots and see what makes the most sense.”

The post If Sovereignty Is Good, What Does that Say about Tappan Street? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

3rd-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 6-8, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:04.65, ft, 3 1/4 lengths.
DIBLASI (g, 2, Win Win Win–One More Minute, by Istan) was introduced to the races with a runner-up finish at 4 1/2 furlongs on Apr. 13 at Keeneland. Aided by the slow starting rivals to his inside, this gelding broke well and worked his way down to the rail, sitting off an early quarter clicked in :22.28. While Diblasi bided his time, four rivals lined up at the top of the stretch, and with a seam opening down on the inside, jockey Junior Alvarado pushed the button and led this 9-5 favorite to the wire under confident handling. Pacesetting stablemate Gracie's Delight (American Pharoah) held on for second. One More Minute's half-sister My Indian (Indian Charlie) produced SW Chief Istan (Istan). A 2024 full-sister and 2025 half-sister by Highly Motivated are the most recent foals of One More MInute. Sales history: $100,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $67,060. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Resolution Road Stables; B-Brereton C. Jones (FL); T-Wesley A. Ward.

The post Win Win Win’s Diblasi Skims Rail And Scores To Graduate At The Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Godolphin's undefeated champion 2-year-old filly Immersive (Nyquist), off since winning last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, tuned up for her seasonal debut in next Saturday's Monomoy Girl Overnight Stakes with a four-furlong work in :49.20 (23/53) at Churchill Downs Sunday. The filly returned to the work tab at Churchill Downs in early May after being sidelined with bone bruising. Leading into the Monomoy Girl, she has posted six published workouts, including her latest move Sunday morning.

“We're looking forward to getting her started again,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She's doing well since coming back to the string at Churchill and looks just as good as she did as a 2-year-old.”

Under Cox's exercise rider Joel Osorio, Immersive began her Sunday move with an opening quarter-mile in :25.40 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.80.

In addition to her Breeders' Cup win, Immersive won last year's GI Spinaway Stakes and GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes.

The 1 1/16-mile Monomoy Girl will be the fifth of 11 races at Churchill Downs Saturday. Jockey Manny Franco, who has been aboard for all four of her starts, has the call on Immersive and will break from post position two in the field of six.

The post Immersive Readies for 2025 Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.