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A lawsuit filed against jockey Luan Machado for poor riding after he finished second in a race at Churchill Downs last November was dismissed by Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville, Ky.

The Horse Racing Women's Association, Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation, and Keeneland hosted a backstretch women's appreciation event Oct. 7 in the sales pavilion at Keeneland, honoring the women who work tirelessly to care for the equine athletes.

Godolphin, with Sheikh Mohammed at the center of the huddle, squared up against Amo Racing as a well-related son of Sea The Stars fetched 3.7 million guineas midway through the opening session of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. 

Week of Sept. 29-Oct. 5

Due to an injury sustained in training, WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s multiple grade 1 winner Patch Adams will not be competing in the Breeders' Cup as planned and has been retired to WinStar Farm for the 2026 breeding season.

Despite a dominant 6 1/2-length history in the GI Champagne S. at Aqueduct Oct. 4, Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map) will skip the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Napoleon Solo is owned by Al Gold's Gold Square LLC and is trained by Chad Summers.

The story was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's David Grening.

“Unfortunately , the Breeders Cup is in California every year,” Summers said. “Hopefully, that will change. It's a lot to ask of these 2-year-olds. We weren't really sure what we wanted to do after the race that was that fast and he had to run hard in. After a couple days of reflection and talking it over with Mr. Gold, we feel like it would be a lot to ask of him to come right back in the Breeders' Cup. He's a young 2-year-old. We're going to look forward to next year and, hopefully, he'll go to the Breeders' Cup next year.”

Purchased for just $40,000 at Keeneland September, Napoleon Solo started his career in a Saratoga maiden race restricted to horses that sold for $60,000 or less at the sales. He won that day by 5 1/4 lengths. At odds of 6-1, he wired the field in the Champagne in an impressive performance.

Summers has yet to map out a plan for Napoleon Solo for next year.

“We'll take it one day at a time,” he said. “When he's ready to run, we'll look at all the options. He will be nominated to everything across the country. We also have that horse ['TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard SW & GISP] Two Out Hero (War Front) with Kevin Attard. Right now he's pointing to the Holy Bull. Well try him on the dirt.  We'd like to keep those horses separated. We'll see what options are out there when the situation is right. That's the beautiful thing about Derby prep season. There's no shortage of options.”

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In response to a release on the subject of 'Equine Sudden Death Syndrome' issued by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Sept. 25 (TDN story), which found that atrial fibrillation (AF) was a contributing factor to equine sudden death, Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HPBA, called the findings into question in a statement of his own on Oct. 8, declaring that the HISA statement 'raised more questions than answers' and 'offered no scientific references, and provided no direct link to the alleged research behind their claims, even though the research has been publicly presented.'

In its Sept. 25 release, HISA reported that Exercise-Associated Sudden Death (EASD) accounted for 8% of racing fatalities and 18% of training fatalities at racetracks subject to HISA rules (as well as training centers owned by them). The release also said that retrospective analysis of cases since the inception of HISA showed that more than 50% of those cases were 'likely related to cardiac issues' often classified as 'sudden cardiac death.'

The HISA release proposed 'integrating cardiac screening' into the routine evaluation of horse by making use of wearable devices or veterinary exams with the goal of identifying at-risk horses prior to exercise.

Hamelback took issue to such monitoring in his release, laying out the limitations of heart rate monitors. Hamelback also calls out HISA for their neglecting to acknowledge how the removal of Furosemide (Lasix) can exacerbate the risk of EIPH.

“The welfare of racehorses and the integrity of the sport depend on clear, evidence-based leadership,” Hamelback said. “This is not what we are receiving in this last HISA press release. Anything less does a disservice to horsemen, veterinarians, and most importantly, the horses themselves.”

Late Wednesday evening, HISA CEO Lisa Lazurus released a statement, that is published here in its entirety:

“The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is committed to advancing equine welfare through modern, data-driven science–not outdated assumptions or repeated

trial and error. Exercise-Associated Sudden Death (EASD) is responsible for a significant number of Thoroughbred racing and training deaths annually.  This is why HISA stepped up and assumed a leadership role in bringing together the first-of-its-kind, high-level working group of experts.

“Through collaboration with international clinicians and researchers, HISA's ongoing cardiac monitoring research has created the largest dataset in North America of both equine exercising electrocardiograms (ECGs) and ECGs of horses that have experienced EASD. This data is being analyzed to produce real, ground-breaking findings that are already being shared with, and applauded by, the international veterinary community. While peer-reviewed, published research is still forthcoming, HISA felt it was imperative to share this critical, life-saving information with the racing industry, especially as these findings were only made possible through the collaboration of trainers with researchers from the working group, veterinarians, and wearable device companies, all coming together in the name of equine welfare.

“Preliminary findings have been presented at the International Havemeyer Conference on Poor Performance, the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum, and will be featured at the Hong Kong Jockey Club International Conference later this year, as well as the International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians in Melbourne in 2026. All of these forums and conferences are selective and only accept compelling, novel and high-quality research through an evaluation of scientific merit, clarity and relevance.

“Modern ECG technology and data collection are well-accepted, non-invasive tools for assessing racehorses, and their use is well supported within the veterinary community. Citing decades-old studies as definitive evidence is disingenuous and flies in the face of reason and the ever-evolving nature of veterinary science. While the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has issued dubious statements in the past, it is shocking that they would try and dissuade trainers and veterinary practitioners from applying these potentially life-saving measures to horses simply because they oppose HISA.

“HISA remains committed to transparency, collaboration, and scientific integrity–ensuring the sport's safety standards reflect today's best evidence, not yesterday's limitations.”

The post National HBPA Pushes Back On HISA Equine Sudden Death Release, HISA Replies In Kind appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Trainer Will Walden has come a long way in a short period of time. Training only since 2022, through Tuesday, he had 35 wins on the year from 141 starters for a win rate of 25%. His stable's earnings stood at $3.384 million. It's been a good year, in part because of a very good day. Walden won his first Grade I race last Saturday at Keeneland when the New York-bred Rhetorical (Not This Time) won the GI Coolmore Turf Mile. It was an important step for a trainer who admits he aspires to be one of the top trainers in the business.

Walden's success has also come after he battled substance abuse problems for years, but says he has found peace and sobriety.

To talk about the Coolmore Turf Mile, his plans for the future and other topics, Walden was this week's guest on the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. He was the Gainesway Guest of the Week.

How confident was he that Rhetorical, who was 9-1, would win the prestigious one-mile turf race?

“I was very confident and that was really exciting,” he said. “That's why my team and I show up every day. We want to win at the highest levels and be around high-caliber horses. We love every single one of them, no matter what level they compete at, but, obviously to win a Grade I at Keeneland was special.”

 

Walden said he brought the horse up to the Turf Mile the same way he imagined Bill Mott would have trained such a gelding. Slow, patient, one step at a time.

“In my training career, I've been blessed to work for so many good people, so many good outstanding horsemen, to name a few like Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott, Wesley Ward,” Walden said. “I never worked for Brad Cox, but I've certainly learned a lot from him, training alongside of him at Churchill and Turfway. There are certain horses, obviously you train and you think, what would Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott, Brad Cox have done with them? I always felt like Rhetorical was a Bill Mott type of horses. I tried to make the decisions based on what would Bill do and Bill wouldn't jump him into a stakes too early. He'd space his races out.”

The GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar is next. Is he confident?

“We'll see how he trains up in between,” Walden said. “He came out of the race great and he's doing well now. It's going to be deeper waters. I do believe because of how tactical he is he will suit that turf course pretty well. I think that turf course and the style of running will suit him. It's a short stretch, which doesn't necessarily favor all Europeans, but I do think it'll favor this horse.”

While pleased that he's had such a big year, Walden aspires to do even better.

“The goal in life is always to keep moving forward,” he said. “We're extremely pleased with how this year has gone, but we have goals that are bigger than that. As a team, as a collective unit, we want to train on Saturdays in the biggest races. We love racing. So, we want as much action as possible. There's more out there to conquer. And I'd be lying to you if I said we were satisfied.”

Walden has been quite open about his problems with drugs and alcohol. With the help of Christian Countzler and Frank Taylor's Stable Recovery program, which has helped hundreds of individuals overcome drug and alcohol problems and find jobs in the racing industry, Walden has thrived.

“Christian ran the program that I went through,” Walden said. “I was a part of the inaugural Stable Recovery group, but I actually got sober in a different house than Christian was running. When I would tell them where I was, what facility I was at, they would say, that's a black belt recovery over there, meaning they took it very serious. And I think Stable Recovery has got a really good peer driven, peer held accountable program. It's a big group of guys and everybody's given some responsibility over there. And they're given the responsibility of holding their brother to their left and to their right and check and hold them accountable. When you've got brothers in arms walking through something, it's way stronger than trying to walk through it by yourself. And then you add the equine component, which I've seen personally melt the hardest of hearts and break men down and help them get in touch with a side of themselves that they've never been in touch with before. You add both those things together and you create this brotherhood that's surrounded with this everyday mission to take care of this beast. This requires a tenderness that maybe these guys aren't used to having or even being shown.”

The “Fastest Horse of the Week” was Rated by Merit (Battalion Runner), who got a 105 Beyer for his win in the Discovery S. Saturday at Aqueduct. Podcast co-host Randy Moss called him a horse to watch in the Breeders' Cup. The Fastest Horse of the Week segment is sponsored by WinStar.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by 1/ST TV, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association and West Point  Thoroughbreds, the team of Bill Finley and Moss went over the slew of Breeders' Cup preps last weekend. The consensus was that GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) was among the most impressive winners over the weekend. The team also talked about the poor performance by Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in the GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes and speculated that she might be retired. The podcast ended with a remembrance of Jeff Siegel, a terrific guy and a great handicapper. He passed away last week at the age of 74.

Click here to watch the podcast and here for the audio-only version.

The post Will Walden 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 round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country.

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

Among this week's rulings, trainer Juan Munoz Cano has been suspended a combined 12 years and a combined $150,000 (including arbitration costs) for a series of clenbuterol positives spanning the end of last year and earlier this year, according to a final decision by an arbitral body whose ruling can be read here.

The ban (a consecutive series of six, two-year suspensions) begins Oct. 7.

Though the bronchodilator clenbuterol is classified by HISA as a banned substance, it is permitted for use for a maximum 30 days (within a six-month period) if accompanied with a valid veterinary prescription. Following administration, the horse in question is placed on the vets' list and unable to work or race until it tests clear.

The separate cases are a mixture of post-race tests and out-of-competition tests involving six different horses.

According to Equibase, Cano has been training since 2020, amassing 129 wins from 936 starts. His most successful year was in 2023, when he collected over $1.6 million in prize money from 32 victories.

Also this week, trainer Eusobio Juarez has been suspended a year and fined a combined $18,000 (including arbitration costs) for possession of Diisopropylamine, a banned substance, on Jan. 29. The suspension beings Oct. 8.

Diisopropylamine is a banned vasodilator, meaning it can widen the blood vessels and thereby improve blood flow. Diisopropylamine is also found in several everyday items like tobacco and beauty products, as well as hand sanitizer.

Resolved ADMC Violations

Date: 10/07/2025
Licensee: Karyn Wittek, trainer
Penalty: A written Reprimand (per 9/26/23 HISA Guidance). Admission.
Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Omeprazole—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Aubrey's Unbridled on 8/27/25.

Date: 10/07/2025
Licensee: Eusobio Juarez, trainer
Penalty: 24-month period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on October 8, 2025; a fine of $10,000; payment of $8,000 towards arbitration costs. Final decision of arbitral body.
Explainer: Violation for the possession of Diisopropylamine—a banned substance—for an event dated 1/29/25. This is a possible violation of Rule 3214(a)—Possession of Banned Substances.

Date: 10/06/2025
Licensee: Juan Munoz Cano, trainer
Penalty: Combined 12-year period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on October 7, 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 combined fine of $150,000. In Solidify's case, Disqualification of the Horse's Race results (and other applicable forfeitures) applied to the results of races on 11/20/24, 12/06/24, and 12/27/24. Final decision of arbitral body.
Explainer: Medication violations (including out-of-competition violations) for the presence of Clenbuterol—a banned substance permitted under certain circumstances—in samples taken from Solidify, who won at Churchill Downs on 11/20/24; from True Jedi on 11/21/24; from Global Sensation on 11/21/24; from Protomagic on 11/21/24; from La Bukana on 10/31/24; and from Beer With Ice on 1/15/25.

Date: 10/03/2025
Licensee: Tanner Tracy, trainer
Penalty: 15-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on October 4, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $2,500; imposition of 2 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Acepromazine—a class B controlled substance—in a sample taken from Golden Biz, who won at Prairie Meadows on 8/25/25.

Date: 10/02/2025
Licensee: Adam Kitchingman, 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 Diclofenac—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Gigi's Girl on 8/18/25.

Date: 10/02/2025
Licensee: Graham Motion, 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 Glycopyrrolate—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Regal Kingdom on 8/18/25.

Date: 10/01/2025
Licensee: Moises Yanez, trainer
Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision of HIWU.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Dantrolene—a class B controlled substance—in a sample taken from She's Gone Rogue, who won at Colonial Downs on 8/16/25.

Pending ADMC Violations
10/07/2025, Aaron West, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Salicylic Acid/Salicylic—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Proud Words, who finished second at Belterra Park on 8/27/25.

10/07/2025, Jena Antonucci, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Lidocaine—a class B controlled substance—in a sample taken from Bee a Queen, who won at Gulfstream Park on 6/14/25.
Read Antonucci's statement on the matter here.

10/06/2025, Jose Puentes, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Trichlormethiazide—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Yes He Can, who won at Emerald Downs on 8/29/25.

10/03/2025, Kevin Rice, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Acepromazine—a class B controlled substance—in a sample taken from Legends Can't Die on 8/28/25.

10/02/2025, Greg Allen Green, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Onefortheditch on 9/4/25.

Violations of Crop Rule
Delaware Park
Yabriel Omar Ramos – violation date October 2; $500 fine, two-day suspension

Hawthorne
Javier Tavares – violation date October 2; $250 fine, one-day suspension

The post National Regulatory Rulings: Oct. 2-8 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

JCB Stables' Sarawak Rim (Arg) (Remote {GB}) will likely be the final horse trainer Ignacio Correas IV saddles before retiring to his native Argentina in mid-November when she goes postward in the Nov. 1 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. The 4-year-old filly–beaten just once in five trips to the post in Argentina–worked four furlongs from the gate in :48.60 (6/22) Wednesday at Keeneland.

Sarawak Rim won the May 1 G1 Gran Premio Criadores at Hipodromo Argentino De Palermo in her most recent race and she has been with Correas at Keeneland since July.

“She's got talent and she has surprised me every time she has worked,” said Correas, who won the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita in 2019 with Blue Prize (Arg). “She's going to be really good next year, but it will be for somebody else.”

Correas has two more works scheduled for Sarawak Rim at Keeneland before shipping Oct. 23 to Del Mar where she will put in her final work for the Breeders' Cup.

Colebrook Farms' Simply in Front (Summer Front) likely earned a trip to Del Mar with her win in the GI First Lady Stakes at Keeneland Saturday, but trainer Eddie Kenneally said he is still deciding for which race.

“We are looking at Del Mar,” Kenneally said Wednesday morning. “It might be the GIII Goldikova or the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. The Goldikova would be the most logical spot.”

Simply in Front would face off against the boys in the $2-million Breeders' Cup Mile, while the $300,000 Goldikova is for fillies and mares. Both races are Nov. 1.

The post Sarawak Rim Works for Correas Ahead of Breeders’ Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

The final deadline to nominate foals born in 2025 to the Breeders' Cup program at the one-time nomination fee of $400 is at 11:59 p.m. ET Oct. 15. The $400 weanling nomination entitles each foal with lifetime eligibility to the Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup racing programs. All foals sired by a fully nominated North American Breeders' Cup stallion are eligible for nomination to the Breeders' Cup program in their year of birth at the weanling rate. From Oct. 16-Feb. 28, the nomination cost rises to $1,500.

The post Breeders’ Cup Foal Nominations Close Oct. 15 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Last year's GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents–Ma'am, by Colonel John), who is expected to start next in the Nov. 1 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, will begin his stud career next year at Airdrie Stud at an introductory fee of $15,000. In addition to the 2024 Derby, Mystik Dan also won this year's GII Lukas Classic Stakes and GIII Blame Stakes. He was runner-up in last year's GI Preakness Stakes and third in the GI Arkansas Derby, and heads to the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile as one of the leading contenders.

Girvin (Tale of Ekati–Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon) leads the Airdrie 2026 roster, which was announced Wednesday, at $30,000–up from $25,000 in 2025. While the 11-year-old stallion's first Kentucky-bred crop will hit the track in 2026, he was represented this year by GI Ogden Phipps Stakes winner Dorth Vader. In the sales ring, his 61 yearlings sold at last month's Keeneland September sale averaged $139,000 and he was represented by the $1.1-million sale-topper at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale.

Also standing his first season at stud at Airdrie in 2026, graded winner Jonathan's Way (Vekoma–Female Drama, by Indian Charlie) will stand for $8,500.

Jonathan's Way, the first son of the white-hot Vekoma to be retired to stud, will also take up stud duties following his recent retirement from racing. A 'TDN Rising Star', presented by Hagyard in his Saratoga debut, he was a dominant winner of the Grade III Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs in his second start before ending his juvenile campaign with a fast-closing second in that track's Grade III Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. An early favorite for the following season's GI Kentucky Derby, Jonathan's Way's Triple Crown hopes were dashed early in his 3-year-old season by a life-threatening bout with colitis. Though unable to return to the races following his illness, he retires to stud with a strong reputation and, at $290,000, being the most expensive weanling from Vekoma's debut crop.  Mystik Dan and Jonathan's Way will stand for initial fees of $15,000 and $8,500, respectively.

After solid years, Upstart and Complexity will stands for $25,000 and $20,000 respectively, with the latter taking a slight rate cut from $25,000. Like Girvin, Upstart's best-bred crop will be 2-year-olds of 2026, but his juveniles of 2025 already have him ranked in the top 15 general sires, a ranking that would have been significantly improved had his Percy's Bar not been disqualified from her win in Saturday's GI Darley Alcibiades Stake at Keeneland. A rising commercial force, his Keeneland September highlights included a high price of $650,000 and an average of more than $122,000. Complexity, now the leading second-crop sire in America by percentage of stakes winners, can already count nine individual stakes winners from his first crop of 3-year-olds and has added two new graded winners in the last 10 days in Innovative and his Breeders' Cup-bound second-crop star Intricate Spirit.

While 2023 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic–Puca, by Big Brown) will stand for $15,000, after standing for $25,000 in 2025. Out of the Broodmare of the Year Puca, Mage bred 171 mares his first year and saw his half-brother Baeza (McKinzie) pick up a Grade I win in the Pennsylvania Derby, Puca's third consecutive elite-level winner.

Airdrie's ultra-consistent duo of Cairo Prince and Collected will also offer breeders a savings over last year's fees. A perennial fixture on the leading General Sires list, Cairo Prince's 2025 progeny earnings already exceed $5.6 million. He will stand for a fee of $10,000 for the upcoming season, down from $15,000. Collected, whose 2025 stars include the historic King's Plate hero Mansetti, Grade II winner Thought Process and leading juvenile stakes-winner Comport, stands at $7,500, down from $10,000 in 2025.

Airdrie's complete 2026 roster, with stud fees, is: Girvin, $30,000; Upstart, $25,000; Complexity, $20,000; Mage, $15,000; Mystik Dan, $15,000; Cairo Prince, $10,000; Jonathan's Way, $8,500; Beau Liam, $7,500; Collected, $7,500; Happy Saver, $7,500; Highly Motivated, $7,500; Divisidero, $3,500.

The post Derby Winner Mystik Dan to Begin Stud Career at Airdrie for $15k; Jonathan’s Way at $8,500 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Sierra Leone (Gun Runner–Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon), last year's champion 3-year-old colt, will join the roster at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky next year, the operation announced Wednesday. Racing for Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brook Smith and trained by Chad Brown, Sierra Leone is expected to make his final career start in the Nov. 1 GI Breeders' Cup Classic, a race he won in 2024.

Sierra Leone, who topped the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale when selling for $2.3 million, was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his debut victory at Aqueduct the following November. He faced only graded company from then on and has hit the board in all 13 starts to date, with five wins and current earnings of $7,006,200.

“I've trained a lot of great horses, and to me, I'd say unequivocally he's the best horse I've had my hands on…he's just in a different league,” Brown said of Sierra Leone.

During his sophomore campaign, Sierra Leone won the GII Risen Star Stakes and GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes en route to an agonizingly close runner-up effort in the GI Kentucky Derby and a third-place finish in the GI Belmont Stakes.

Second in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes and third in the GI Travers Stakes, he concluded his championship season with a 1 1/2-length victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

In 2025, Sierra Leone added a win in the GI Whitney Stakes and runner-up efforts in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup.

“We're incredibly excited to welcome Sierra Leone to Ashford for the coming season,” commented Ashford Stud's Dermot Ryan. “When you hear someone like Chad Brown say that he is the best he has ever trained, it doesn't get any better than that.”

Sierra Leone's 2026 stud fee is still to be announced.

The post Sierra Leone to Ashford Stud in 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

New Vocation has launched its 16th annual Breeders' Cup Pledge, giving contenders the opportunity to donate a percentage of their earnings from the championships to support the charity's mission of rehabilitating, retraining, and rehoming retired racehorses. Since its inception in 2009, the pledge has raised more than $1.2 million for aftercare.

This year, in conjunction with New Vocations' recently launched Capital Campaign Phase II, participants in the pledge will receive a complimentary personalized brick, which will be placed along the walkway at the organization's Lexington facility.

“We are very grateful for the tremendous support we've received over the years through the pledge,” said New Vocations' Thoroughbred Program Director Anna Ford. “The pledge offers an easy way for connections to give back to the horses and support their transition into new careers. The funds raised play a vital role in our mission, allowing us to serve more than 600 horses annually. We hope many will be inspired to join this year, and we look forward to placing a large number of new bricks as part of our Lexington expansion.”

In 2024, the Pledge raised over $120,000, with more than 50 championship contenders represented by owners and/or trainers who pledged a percentage of their earnings.

New Vocations will continue to accept pledges from owners and trainers until Oct. 30. For more information about the pledge, visit www.newvocations.org/events or contact anna@horseadoption.com or carey@horseadoption.com.

The post New Vocations Launches Annual Breeders’ Cup Pledge, With an Added Incentive appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Matt Dorman is working to build up his racing operation, but also create a pipeline of fillies to supply his broodmare band. In a matter of eight lots, Dorman committed nearly $1.9 million on three fillies at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Woodbine presented Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance with a $20,000 donation at the fifth annual Woodbine Aftercare Day Oct. 4.

Blue Star Racing syndicate is partnering with Whispering Oaks Farm to stand its leading Louisiana freshman sire Rushie. Blue Star will focus its operation on mares and foals.

A rundown of this week’s television, streaming, and radio horse racing coverage as compiled by America's Best Racing.

A 25% ownership interest in Bentornato, a leading candidate for the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) and earner of more than $1.2 million, will be offered at the second edition of the Keeneland Championship Sale Oct. 29 at Del Mar.

With the $800,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1T) on her radar at Keeneland Oct. 11, George Messina and Michael Lee’s Fionn has the opportunity to be anointed as royalty in the 3-year-old turf filly division.