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The first reported foal for GI Preakness Stakes hero Rombauer (Twirling Candy) is a filly born at Porta Pia Farm in Lexington, it was announced via press release Saturday afternoon.

Out of a daughter of a French Listed-placed half-sister to two-time champion MGISW Covfefe (Into Mischief), herself the dam of SW Ellen Jay (Constitution), the filly was born Jan. 24. The second dam's siblings also include MGSW & MG1SP-Jpn Albiano (Harlan's Holiday), whose claim to fame as a broodmare comes in the form of her own daughter, GSW-Jpn Avverare (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}).

The dam, Crazy Passion (Fed Biz), is a half-sister to SP Daylight Ride (El Prado {Ire}) and a winner in Japan named Erika Endive (Oscar Performance). She hails from the immediate female family of GISW Acoma (Empire Maker) and GISW Arch (Kris S.), and is the extended family of MGSW Campaign (Curlin) and GSP Golden Afternoon (Goldencents). The Rombauer filly is her first foal.

Rombauer stood the past southern hemisphere breeding season at Haras Porta Pia in Chile and covered 60 mares.

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In response to a lawsuit filed Thursday by former Santa Anita employee Michael Willman, Santa Anita Park management issued the following statement:

“The lawsuit filed by Mr. Willman is baseless and filled with false and misleading claims. Mr. Willman's employment with Santa Anita Park terminated in 2024, five years after the events he references in 2019, for reasons having nothing to do with racetrack safety. Santa Anita Park will vigorously defend itself against these meritless allegations and looks forward to setting the record straight in court, where the truth will prevail.

Santa Anita Park has been and continues to be the industry leader in horse care and safety reforms. As was widely reported in the media, last year Santa Anita Park concluded the Winter-Spring meet with a near perfect safety record of 99.7%, making it one of the safest racing venues in North America.”

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Bidding opened Feb. 7 for the online auction, with the first horse in the catalog closing Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. ET, and subsequent listings hammering in three-minute increments.

The new Maryland Jockey Club announces it has hired Fritz Widaman as senior vice president, marketing and sponsorships.

The Road, presented by Gainesway and Darby Dan Farm.

After several years of talk and expectations, Belmont Park is finally looking like a racetrack once again.

Turnover for the whole sale grew by 25% to €3,857,500, with the median posting the same percentage increase. The sale average of €18,026 was 40% higher than 12 months ago. The 67% clearance rate was also an improvement from 65% last year.

As Brittany Russell sees it, her breakthrough individual accomplishments reflect the strength of her team.

R. Larry Johnson, who put his stamp on the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred industry on racetracks, in breeding sheds, and in boardrooms in Maryland and Virginia, died Feb. 4. He was 78.

Headlined by the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes (G1), middle jewel of the Triple Crown, a total of 16 stakes, eight graded, worth $4.3 million in purses will be contested May 16-17 at Pimlico Race Course.

The Kentucky Equine Education Project is set to host its annual KEEP Day at the Capitol Feb. 13 in Frankfort, Ky.

The Sam F. Davis Stakes is a solid first step toward a starting spot in the Kentucky Derby (G1) as it awards 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points to the top 5 finishers in the 1 1/16-mile stakes.

WinStar Farm and CHC's undefeated 3-year-old colt River Thames bounced out of his Feb. 1 allowance optional claiming victory in good order and will have plenty of options moving forward, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said.

When action resumes for the 23rd season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing April 15, a record amount of purse money will be offered for the premier racing schedule at Horseshoe Indianapolis Racing.

32 offerings complete the catalogue for the 2025 Inglis Digital USA February Sale which opened Friday and goes through Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m.

Offerings include Suga Steve (Goldencents), a 4-year-old colt who enters on a three-race winning streak by a combined 16 1/2 lengths. Suga Steve most recently won a six-furlong allowance race on Jan. 24 at Laurel Park. Also available as a racing prospect is a 2-year-old Complexity filly being offered out of the Tapizar mare Caroline County and from the family of multiple Peruvian champion Ole Pegasus. The filly is currently in early race training with Eddie Woods in Ocala.

The February Sale catalogue also includes well-related broodmare prospects such as the half-sisters to champion Points Offthebench (Benchmark), Grade I winner Eskendereya (Giant's Causewy) and English Group 1 winner Balmont (Stravinsky).

Stallions with short yearlings in the catalogue include Cloud Computing, Greatest Honour, Omaha Beach and Practical Joke.

Also on offer is a pair of no-guarantee seasons to leading Maryland-based sire Great Notion.

“We are excited to get started with our 2025 season,” said Inglis Digital USA Senior Director of Sales and Recruiting Kyle Wilson. “This sale has a broad cross-section of horses to suit all potential buyers. As we get into the breeding season, we have broodmares and broodmare prospects that are ready to go to the shed, racehorses ready to join a new program, and even some yearlings for those who are looking to round out their racing or pinhooking portfolios.”

Interested parties can register and bid here.

The post Off Three-Race Win Streak, Suga Steve Leads Inglis Digital USA February Sale Catalogue appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Fritz Widaman has been named Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sponsorships, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday.

Previously a key executive at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Widaman brings over 37 years of experience to his new role. Throughout his career, Widaman has demonstrated a commitment to advancing the horse racing industry by leveraging his sales, marketing, and business development expertise to foster growth and innovation.

“We are thrilled to have Fritz join the new TMJC,” said MJC President and General Manager Bill Knauf. “He is a seasoned professional with racetrack, national sponsorship, and marketing experience, and is a perfect complement to the future of racing in Maryland.”

Widaman added: “I am excited to be part of this new chapter in Maryland racing. The history and passion of the Maryland owners, breeders, and fans is unprecedented. I look forward to being a part of the “new” Pimlico Racecourse and the Preakness. I'd like to thank Bill Knauf, TMJC, and the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority for this outstanding opportunity, as well as Tom Rooney, the Chief Executive Officer of the NTRA, and, of course, Keith Chamblin, the Chief Operating Officer of the NTRA. Keith and I have worked together since 1995, and because of his great leadership and friendship, the NTRA will always be dear to me.”

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The U.S. Virgin Islands's Department of Sports, Parks, & Recreation Department has formally closed the Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack on the island of St. Thomas until further notice after at least seven horses were euthanized last year, according to a press release from the agency on Friday.

In an article on Thursday, Jan. 30, the TDN reported that breakdowns occurred starting in May, but the St. Thomas/St. John Horse Racing Commission (STT/STJ HRC) was regulating cards without anti-doping laws in effect nor had the surface undergone professional testing. Alongside these major oversight issues, unregistered Thoroughbreds were also allowed to compete, plus two horses who were banned by Gulfstream Park appeared in a race at the Clinton Phipps track Dec. 22.

With pressure from several quadrants, including Virgin Islands Senator Franklin D. Johnson and Jay Watson of the Intra-Caribbean Thoroughbred Equine Association, the Department of Sports, Parks, & Recreation Department said it was committed to transparency.

“As promised, the STT/STJ HRC will investigate and assess the racing surface to ascertain whether the facility's terrain impacted the injured horses,” the department said via a spokesperson. “To do this, the surface will be inaccessible to trainers and jockeys until further notice. The stables, however, will remain accessible. The Facility will be CLOSED.”

When reached for comment about the track's closure, Jay Watson said, “Though this is a step in the right direction, there is still much to be done. The absence of any reference to anti-doping is very concerning. As if the only factor involved in these horse fatalities was the track surface? I will be paying close attention to this situation as it progresses.”

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I recently finished reading a book called “The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, The World's Greatest Racehorse” by Lawrence Scanlon. Figuring to maybe get a new tidbit or two about the great horse, I was astonished at how it really was more of a pilgrimage of someone becoming a passionate fan. It covered a lot of information about “Big Red” (or “Super Red” if you feel the former belongs to Man o' War), but what was much more interesting was how it provided a look at the life of Secretariat's groom, Eddie Sweat, that I had never heard before. It delved into the man he was, and the life on and off the backstretch so many shared with him. It showed how racing was a way of life for so many–not a job but a passion that evoked great pride by all involved. Time and again, brought him in contact with people, industry members, and fans alike who felt racing was a part of who they were and what they did. It is a book I feel every racing fan, new and old, needs to read.

While at a Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission meeting a few months ago, I heard a presentation given by one of the lead investigators for the Racing Commission about a trip taken to Ireland to see how racing enforced rules in their jurisdictions. He mentioned how on weekends, many folks would head out to the track to watch the flat or jump races because it was just, “part of their culture…it's what they did.”

At a veterinary symposium on farm animal welfare issues about 15 years ago, an anthropologist talked about how exposure to farms and farm animals over the last 50 years has changed. I do not remember the exact percentages, but he said that in the early to mid to late 20th Century, roughly 70-80% of people had exposure to a farm to see and understand what it was about. By the late 20th and into the 21st Century, that percentage had flipped to 70-80% of younger adults never having even seen a farm in person, and that some had spent their entire lives in the confines of the beltway that surrounded cities. It changed what their culture and perspective on things were.

These instances made me think about the way racing in America used to be part of our culture and if we ever could return to some form of that. Racing may still be embedded in the culture of some states, but it clearly has been lost in the mainstream of America. One looks at other countries and it is amazing the way racing is embraced and celebrated there, like Japan and the crowds and betting handle they take in every racing card, and the way fans there embrace the horses and the humans who are part of the racing team. Australia and the “race that stops a nation.” When was the last time a race truly stopped the U.S.? I would argue it was all the way back in 1938 at The Great Match Race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral.

We see all around us how racing is failing, and some owners of racetracks are trying to get out of the business completely. Other places are working to revitalize and modernize the racing landscape by building new grandstands. Will that be enough?  Will the everyday person frequent the track enough to make all the efforts worth it?  I know it is preaching to the choir, but racing does need a new generation (or several new generations) of fans and handicappers to help racing survive. Real fans who feel racing is part of who they are and what they do. Fans who back that love up with wagering regularly on track.

How do we bring racing back into the culture of America?  Can we bring that exposure of kids and adults alike to farms and the horses on them? Can we make them want to know more about the sport and what makes it so great? Some groups, such as “Amplify Racing” and “Light Up Racing” are certainly trying to do this, but it cannot end with them. This is different than fixing some of the internal problems the sport has. This is about making folks want to put down the phone and pick up a program. It is about making the latest move by a trainer to go with this jockey over that one what is being talked about at the water cooler along with the latest baseball news. It is about making the track, and not the metaverse, the place people want to head out to on a weekend day or weeknight for some fun. Can it be done? It can if the right people are allowed to really do what they do best. We can all make racing something that is part of the culture of America again. We have to.

Bryan Langlois is a veterinarian and the Vice President of ThoroFan, a national Thoroughbred racing fan organization.

The post Letter to the Editor: Can Horse Racing Return to Being Part of American Culture? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Officiated by 1/ST Racing under a new deal which was struck last year with the Maryland Racetrack Operating Authority, this year's 150th running of the GI Preakness Stakes is featured alongside 15 stakes–seven of them graded races–which will be worth $4.3 million in purse money on Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 at Pimlico Race Course, the Stronach Group said via a Thursday release.

The second oldest of the Triple Crown races, the Preakness will anchor a May 17 program of 10 stakes worth $3.25 million in purses including the GIII Dinner Party Stakes, the GIII Gallorette Stakes and GIII Maryland Sprint Stakes.

Other supporting stakes on Preakness Day are the Chick Lang, the Sir Barton, the James Murphy, the Skipat and Jim McKay Turf Sprint.

Returning the lineup will also be the GI UAE President Cup for 3-year-old Arabian horses, run at 1 1/16 miles.

The 101st running of the GII George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes tops six stakes, three graded, worth $1.05 million in purses on Friday, May 16. The Black-Eyed Susan is joined by the GIII Pimlico Special Stakes and the GIII Miss Preakness Stakes.

Also on the traditional Preakness Eve program are the Allaire du Pont Stakes, the Hilltop Stakes, and The Very One Stakes.

At the conclusion of Preakness Day, Pimlico will officially close for renovations with the grandstand set to be demolished. The 151st running of the Preakness will take place at Laurel Park in 2026.

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Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is in the process of making plans for a trio of stable stars which includes the Florida-based River Thames (Maclean's Music), Gate to Wire (Munnings) and Locked (Gun Runner).

WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s undefeated 3-year-old colt and 'TDN Rising Star' River Thames bounced out of his Feb. 1 optional claiming allowance victory in good order and will have plenty of options moving forward said Pletcher.

The New York-bred bay romped by 6 1/2 lengths as the favorite going one mile in 1:36.34 on the undercard of the GIII Holy Bull Stakes, Gulfstream's latest stop in their series which culminates with the GI Florida Derby Mar. 29.

Next up is the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes Mar. 1. It would be the first time around two turns for River Thames, who debuted with a 4 3/4-length triumph sprinting six furlongs Jan. 11 at Gulfstream before wheeling back three weeks later. That unveiling is what earned the colt a 'Rising Star' badge.

“I was a little concerned about coming back quick off a strong debut,” Pletcher said. “There weren't too many options. There was a mile and an eighth [race] Feb. 27, but we didn't want to wait that long and we didn't want to go from six to mile and an eighth. Other options were to go in the Holy Bull at a mile and a sixteenth or the Sam Davis. When the allowance race going a mile went, it seemed like a good natural progression.

“He came back great. I'll talk to [WinStar's] Elliott [Walden] a little bit and see how the horse trains the next couple weeks and come up with a game plan,” he added. “We ran back in three weeks. It gives you four weeks to the Fountain of Youth from that race, eight weeks to the Florida Derby. There's obviously other prep races, as well. We're going to kind of just sit back and see, let him kind of guide us on when we think he wants to run back.”

Gate to Wire wins the Swale | Coglianese

The situation is similar for Donegal Racing's Gate to Wire, rallying five-length winner of the seven-furlong Swale Stakes for 3-year-olds on the Holy Bull undercard. It was his first race on dirt after trying both turf and synthetic in four prior starts including a second in last fall's GIII Futurity Stakes at Aqueduct.

“Same thing, we're weighing all our options,” Pletcher said. “I talked to [Donegal's] Jerry Crawford [Wednesday] and over the next couple weeks we'll decide whether to consider the Fountain of Youth or keep him around one turn one more time. The Gotham is the same day up in New York, and the Tampa Bay Derby is a week later.”

Meanwhile, Pletcher said no decision has been made on whether Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm's Grade I-winning millionaire and 'TDN Rising Star' Locked, most recently second in Gulfstream's GI Pegasus World Cup, would run back in the G1 Saudi Cup Feb. 22 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.

“We're just kind of monitoring everything, getting a line on the field, see how he's doing, probably give him a breeze Friday or Saturday. We're still looking at it,” Pletcher said. “It's back in four weeks. We're going to wait as long as we can. We've done everything that we need to do to go if we decide to go.”

Pletcher said the GI Santa Anita Handicap Mar. 1 could be a possibility if Locked stays home or a break could be in the offing.

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