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Tampa Bay Downs posted gains in all major categories, capping a memorable campaign with the third-largest crowd in track history May 3.

West Point Thoroughbreds announced May 7 the retirement of Jaxon Traveler, a multiple graded stakes winner who collected at least one stakes victory every season from ages 2 to 7. Stud plans have not been finalized.

Kentucky Downs' 2025 meet will feature 18 stakes offering a total of $30.5 million in purses, led by the $3.5 million Nashville Derby (G3T). Another 10 stakes are worth at least $2 million.

A total of 772 horses have been cataloged to date for the sale, which has been consolidated to two days and will take place June 17-18 with sessions beginning at 10 a.m. ET. The horses of racing age will be offered June 18.

Tom Law, managing editor of ST Publishing which produces The Saratoga Special and Thisishorseracing.com, has been named recipient of the Old Hilltop Award for covering Thoroughbred racing with excellence and distinction.

A rematch of last month's Limestone Stakes could resurface in the $225,000 Mamzelle Stakes (G3T) for 3-year-old fillies May 10 at Churchill Downs.

Godolphin homebred Sovereignty made his first on-track appearance May 7 since winning the Kentucky Derby (G1), jogging one mile before his departure for Saratoga Race Course later that afternoon.

Tom Pedulla, of America's Best Racing, offers takeaways from the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) May 3, the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks May 2, and other major developments during a memorable weekend of racing at iconic Churchill Downs.

A rundown, compiled by America's Best Racing, of this week’s horse racing coverage on TV, livestreaming, and radio.

Junior Alvarado's win aboard Sovereignty in the 151st Kentucky Derby (G1) marked his first win in a Triple Crown race. The panel of racing experts unanimously voted him Jockey of the Week April 28-May 4.

A field of 11 fillies and mares, led by grade 2 winners Gun Song and My Mane Squeeze, have been entered for the $200,000 Ruffian Stakes (G2) May 10 at Aqueduct Racetrack @TheNYRA. Read more:

New York officials are negotiating a $5 million tax break for racetracks as part of a budget that appears to be having its final touches put together in the state capital. The proposal also calls for penny breakage and advanced imaging equipment.

British trainer Jamie Osborne reported from his Lambourn stable May 6 that UAE Derby (G2) runner-up Heart of Honor is scheduled to ship to the United States May 8 to begin preparations for the Preakness Stakes (G1) May 17 at Pimlico Race Course.

Maiden Watch: Week of April 28-May 4

Long-time Monmouth Park executive John Heims, currently the track's general manager and in-house counsel, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Virgil "Buddy" Raines Distinguished Achievement Award, it was announced May 6 by Monmouth Park.

'TDN Rising Star' Jaxon Traveler (Munnings–Listen Boy, by After Market), winner of both the GIII Maryland Sprint Stakes and the GIII Whitmore Stakes, has been retired sound at the age of seven, West Point Thoroughbreds announced Wednesday.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the son of Munnings  earned more than $1,131,643 from 37 career starts between the ages of two and seven and was twice named a Maryland-bred champion as both a 2 and 3-year-old.

“Jaxon Traveler has been an absolute dream to have in the barn,” said President and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds Terry Finley. “Steve did a Hall of Fame job managing his career, getting aggressive at the right times and being conservative at the right times. As hard as it is to say goodbye to a horse who still walks the shedrow with such pride, we know it's prudent to avoid the 'one more race' mentality. That philosophy is a gift we give to horses like him.”

Asmussen added: “We've loved having Jaxon in the barn. His name fit: he traveled, year in and year out, at a high level. Horses as sound and durable as him just don't come along very often.”

Stud plans for Jaxon Traveler have not yet been finalized.

The post MGSW Jaxon Traveler Retired; Stud Plans Pending appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

The GIII Nashville Derby leads the lucrative 2025 Kentucky Downs meet which will feature 18 total stakes offering over $30.5 million in purses over seven racing days from August 28 through September 10.

One of five stakes held Saturday, Aug. 30 on NBC, the 1 5/16-mile GIII Nashville Derby will again be America's richest race for 3-year-olds behind only the GI Kentucky Derby. The card also includes a 'Win and You're In' race–the GII Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint, whose winner earns a fees-paid berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

The Sept. 6 card will feature an additional six stakes each worth at least $2 million for Kentucky-breds, with the 'WAYI' GII Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational and the GIII Mint Millions Invitational both awarding $2.5 million. The winner of the 1 1/2-mile Turf Cup earns a fees-paid berth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf. The Sept. 6 card also includes the GI Franklin-Simpson for 3-year-old sprinters, the GII Music City for 3-year-old filly sprinters, the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon and the mile Gun Runner Stakes for 3-year-olds.

Another five stakes are worth $1 million with KTDF supplements, including four stakes for 2-year-olds.

The post Nashville Derby Leads Stakes-Laden Kentucky Downs Meet Worth Over $30.5M appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Tom Law, a two-time Eclipse Award-winning turf writer and managing editor of ST Publishing–which produces The Saratoga Special and Thisishorseracing.com–will receive the 'Old Hilltop Award' for covering Thoroughbred racing with excellence and distinction during the annual Alibi Breakfast at Pimlico Race Course on Thursday, May 15.

A native and current resident of Saratoga Springs, New York, Law began covering racing at The Saratogian in 1994 and is a past president of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB). He has also been recognized with the Red Smith Kentucky Derby Writing Award, the David F. Woods Memorial Preakness Writing Award, and is a two-time Joe Hirsch Memorial Belmont Stakes Writing Award winner.

“It's an incredible honor to receive the Old Hilltop Award, joining my friend and colleague Joe Clancy and so many others on the list of recipients,” Law said. “So many people have helped my career through the years, from writers and editors at The Saratogian, Thoroughbred Times and now with ST Publishing and Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, and I can't thank them enough. A special thanks to all the horsemen and horses I've had the pleasure to write about and interact with through the years. They are, and always will be, the true stars of the show and it never gets old seeing the best of the best.”

Tradition holds that the Alibi Breakfast's humble beginnings go back to a few trainers sipping coffee on the porch of Pimlico's old clubhouse in the late 1930s, extolling the virtues of their horses and offering up excuses–or alibis–should their horse not win.

The post Law To Receive ‘Old Hilltop Award’ At Alibi Breakfast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

A total of 772 2-year-olds in training and additional horses of racing age have been catalogued for the OBS June Sale, newly consolidated over the course of two sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 17 and 18 beginning each day at 10 a.m. ET. Five under-track previews are scheduled between June 10 and 14, with a start time of 7:30 a.m. ET

The opening day of the sale will see hips 1-386 plus supplemental entries go under the hammer with the session on June 18 encompassing hips 451-833, along with supplements. The horses of racing age, hips 901-903, plus any supplements, will also sell on June 18.

Supplements will be sold at the conclusion each session catalogued in order of the starting letter of the dam's name. Names beginning with 'T' through 'I' will be added to the end of the first session; names beginning with 'J' through 'S' will be added to the conclusion of second session. HRA supplements will follow hip 903.

The order of hips each day for the under-tack show will be determined after supplemental entries are complete. Like the March and April auctions, the 2025 OBS June sale offers the entry option of “gallop only” where sellers can enter their horses with this designation which will be on the catalogue page.

Recent notable graduates of the June Sale include Queen Maxima (Bucchero), a $40,000 purchase by Mike Pender, agent out of the 2022 renewal, who took her current winning streak to five in the GIII Unbridled Sidney Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 1.

OBS will again offer online bidding during the June Sale. Buyers may go to the OBS website and register to gain bidding approval, then access the OBS Bidding Screen with their credentials. For complete information on registration and online bidding please go to the OBS website: obs-internet-bidding.

The OBS June Sale will be streamed live at www.obssales.com and at the the TDN homepage.

The post OBS Catalogues 772 Horses For June Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

The TDN article “In Lab Variability, Horse Racing Playing Catchup With Human Sports” raises some important issues and, although its consideration of them is fair, it only does this from a USA perspective. While this is understandable, it is also relevant to look at the achievements made in this space internationally, much of which has been pioneered by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), which is the global leader for Thoroughbred racing.

Firstly, I want to congratulate HISA/HIWU on their significant progress in enhancing testing standards in racing laboratories across the USA. As events like the Kentucky Derby gain greater international prominence, further harmonization of testing protocols–specifically pre- and post-race testing–is essential both domestically and globally.

Secondly, I would like to highlight some of the IFHA's key achievements in doping control harmonization, contributing to the integrity of racing worldwide:

 

• International Agreement on Breeding, Racing, and Wagering (IABRW): This IFHA agreement outlines best practices for equine doping control in Article 6, covering prohibited substances, genetic therapy/gene doping, prohibited practices, medication in training, and out-of-competition testing. It includes crucial control criteria such as thresholds and performance specifications for laboratories;

 

• Reference Laboratory Program: Since 2017, six laboratories from Australia, France, Great Britain, Hong Kong, USA and Japan have been designated as IFHA Reference Laboratories to support significant races relevant to IFHA world rankings. The heads of the original five laboratories contribute to the IFHA Reference Laboratory Technical Committee, which trains laboratory assessors and recommends practices for harmonizing doping control testing. Collaborations have been conducted for many years internationally among Reference Laboratories;

 

• Advisory Council on Equine Prohibited Substances & Practices: This group of international experts updates the IABRW and addresses contemporary issues like gene doping;

 

• Harmonization of Therapeutic Detection: The IFHA has established International Screening Limits and International Residue Limits to ensure consistent reporting of therapeutics and environmental substances by racing laboratories;

 

• Collaboration with ILAC: The IFHA has an MoU with the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, aimed at standardizing practices across racing laboratories via consistent accreditation requirements and operating criteria;

 

• Racing Integrity Handbook: Released in October 2024, this handbook details the components ensuring integrity in racing in all jurisdictions, with a comprehensive chapter on doping control;

 

• Collaboration with AORC and IGSRV: The IFHA works closely with racing chemists and regulatory veterinarians to implement best practices for racing integrity and horse welfare.

 

Horse racing is a leading sport regarding integrity measures and doping control, often surpassing human sports. For instance, annual testing numbers reveal that approximately 522,000 racehorse samples were tested in 2022, compared to about 257,000 human athlete samples. Further, comprehensive blood testing and hair analysis have long been standard in horse racing, enhancing detection capabilities.

Additionally, while human gene-doping testing has focused on a single gene, horse racing has advanced to include various genetic modifiers. Innovative testing methodologies and data analytics are continually evolving, providing racing's regulatory authorities with effective tools for doping control.

Andrew Harding is the Executive Director of the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities

The post Letter to the Editor: The IFHA’s Role In Doping Control appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.