Forums

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) will continue its tradition of honoring police officers, paramedics, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) during First Responders Day Thursday, July 24 at Saratoga, the organization announced Friday. As thanks for their dedication and service to their community, the day will feature free admission for all first responders and a named race in their honor. Special recognition will be given to three members of the Saratoga Springs Police Department and other individuals who were instrumental in the rescue of 'Sly', a 22-year-old quarter horse who fell through the ice on a pond this past February. Officers Kyle Clinton, Kris Camarro, and Dominic Martuscello will be honored for their intervention efforts in the winner's enclosure during a special ceremony. Aly's owner will also be recognized and Sly himself will be in attendance to greet fans and take photos at Horse Sense from 2-4:00 p.m. The New York State Troopers Pipes and Drums band–the first police pipe band to organize in the U.S.–will perform trackside following the third and fifth races. The New York State Troopers Pipes and Drums will be supplemented by an appearance from the New York Police Department (NYPD) Ceremonial Unit, which conducts hundreds of ceremonies each year in honor of police officers in New York and across the U.S. Saratoga Springs first responder t-shirts commemorating the city's police and fire departments will also be available for purchase, while supplies last. Each shirt costs $20 and all net proceeds will benefit the respective organizations' charitable foundations. For more information and to see a list of the foundations, please go here. The post NYRA Continues Tradition of Honoring First Responders at Saratoga appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After Book'em Danno won the True North Stakes (G3), Mark Rubenstein and his partners in Atlantic Six Racing have brought the 4-year-old back to Saratoga for the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G2). The field also includes grade 1 winners Nakatomi and Mullikin.View the full article

Adding the hardware from the $1 million Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park to the trophy case would be a dream realized for any horseman, but it would be a most prized possession for a Jersey guy.View the full article

Eleven months after her retirement from racing, Mel's Baby Sister made a return to Saratoga to collect her Down Broadway Award as New York's Retired Racehorse of the Year as decided by the voting public via an online poll. The prize is named in honor of the first horse to retire though the Take The Lead program back in 2013. Mel's Baby Sister race in the colors of August Dawn Farm and was trained by Melanie Giddings to a lone career victory before ultimately retiring after two unplaced efforts during the Saratoga Summer meet. Giddings joined the new owners, the Richardson Family from New Jersey, in the winner's enclosure. “She was such a spunky personality to train on the track, but she was a total sweetheart in the barn,” Giddings said. “I mean, everybody really, really loved to be around her. It's so good to see how happy she is.” “She is just a kind soul,” Kendra Richardson said about the 4-year-old grey filly. “She is going to be part of the Retired Racehorse Project. It's so important to raise awareness that these horses have so much potential beyond the racetrack.” The post Mel’s Baby Sister Crowned Retired Racehorse of the Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Lots of people will be watching on TV don't worry

Not only has he been successful in the short time he has been involved in racing, former MLB All-Star Jayson Werth has obviously fallen in love with the racing game. His infectious enthusiasm was on display all of last year as he was among a group of owners who campaigned GI Belmont S. and GI Haskell S. winner Dornoch (Good Magic). He was back in the spotlight this year with Flying Mohawk (Karakontie ({Jpn}), who finished second in the Jeff Ruby Stakes S. and made it into the GI Kentucky Derby, where he finished 18th. It's no wonder that Werth declared on national television that horse racing is the “most underrated sport out there.” It was a great year for Werth's Two Eight Racing LLC, but this year he has decided to try something different. Werth has put together a syndicate he calls Icon Racing Affirmed Group. He's hoping to win races, but he also wants to be a pied piper, spreading the word about the sport and bringing new owners into the game. “This sport is incredible,” he said. “I wanted to stay competitive and stay in the sport and be able to run at the highest level, but I mean, it's not an easy game to do it by yourself. Honestly, it's fun to do it with your friends and family and I just don't think that people really have any clue how great this sport is. And from an owner's perspective, I think that is the lens that is the best to look through for the sport. You can come to the track, you can bet on these horses, you can be a fan, but it's not the same experience as owning. You own a horse, you follow it, it becomes a part of your family…almost like the relationship you've had with a family pet. So to bring in new people and show them the sport, that was kind of the idea.” Werth didn't have to wait long to get his first winner with his new venture. Sacred Goddess (Kantharos) was the first Icon horse to make it the races and the New York-bred filly broke her maiden at first asking on Thursday at Saratoga. She was a $200,000 purchase at Ocala April and is also owned by Team Penney Racing and Dorsman Racing. The trainer is Jeremiah Englehart. Werth and Englehart celebrate after Sacred Goddess broke her maiden at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew “I've said this a couple of times now, there's nothing like winning, but there's nothing like winning in Saratoga,” Werth said. “This is a special place for me anyways, just with the whole Belmont thing with Dornoch. My second day ever of horse racing was spent in this place. I came up here for the Travers, four, five years ago now. I was like, 'Wow, this place is cool.' I had no idea. I'm so green and new to the sport that I had no idea this place was even here, let alone how cool it is. So to win our first race on our first time out is incredibly special. It's a testament to just the job that our team has done.” The Icon Affirmed Group has nine 2-year-olds in training and there are 27 partners in the syndicate, many of them, Werth said, are among his family and friends. “It is kind of a family affair and it's a huge responsibility for us as managers of this fund to create an experience and make memories that last forever,” Werth said. The next horse from the Icon stable to race might be Hero Declared (Maclean's Music). He is trained by Whit Beckman, who has told the Icon team he thinks that the colt is a runner. He cost $575,000 at OBS March. So far, Icon doesn't charge any management fees, but Werth said that is likely to change in the future. Sacred Goddess | Sarah Andrew Werth and his team, which includes partner Ken Kuykendall, are already working on putting together a new set of horses that will debut next year at two. This one will be called Icon Racing Big Brown Group. The stable has already acquired one horse, a filly  by Jackie's Warrior from the Fasig-Tipton July Sale. Werth isn't doing this just for kicks. He wants the Big Brown Group to be bigger and better than the Affirmed Group. He envisions Icon growing and acquiring the capital to spend big dollars at the sales. He wants to be in the same stratosphere as West Point Thoroughbreds, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Starlight Racing and the other top partnerships in the sport. “We'll see where we can take this,” he said. “Sky's the limit, right? I mean, we did as good as we could this year and the response has been unbelievable from the partners. Everybody's super excited.  We've gotten a ton of interest.” He's ready for more. “I don't think anything's defined yet on a grand scale. But one thing's for sure, we love what we're doing,” Werth said. “We're having a lot of fun doing it now for the second year with Big Brown. And we're doing it for free. Ken and I and our partners are putting a lot of time into it for no fees, which is obviously a lot different than most partnerships. I don't know if we would do it for no fees again next year because it is a lot of work and we're coming out of pocket for a lot of stuff, which is fine. We're building a brand and building an experience. I understand why the other partnerships and syndicates do charge fees and that whole thing because it is a commitment. It's a lot of work. It's a way of life. Some of the guys that I've talked to, that's their job. That's what they do for a living. It's a labor of love for us, but I think probably next year we might have to start charging some fees just to cover some of the expenses and costs that come along with operating a stable like this.” Enter the sport and get a Belmont and Haskell winner right from the start? It's not supposed to be this easy, and Werth knows that. But he's found a sport he cannot get enough of and he sees building the Icon brand as the next logical step. “We've got people that do know the sport and have been in horse racing that want be a part of our team because we look like the guys that are having the most fun around here,” he said. The post Jayson Werth Leads Off with a Home Run appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

CJ Stables' well-fancied ROCK IT ROB (c, 2, Maxfield–Miss Vigilance, by War Pass) got the better of an early pace duel with favored Cerro Rico (Yaupon), put that one away in upper stretch and kicked on nicely to become the fourth individual winner for his first-crop sire (by Street Sense) Friday afternoon at Saratoga. Bet into 19-10 from a 4-1 morning line, the $95,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-Bred yearling acquisition was hustled away from gate four by Jose Ortiz and flashed slightly more pace through an opening couple of furlongs in :22.15 as they put a space on the rest of their rivals. Asserting his superiority in upper stretch, the March foal pinched a winning break into the final eighth of a mile and reported home about three lengths to the good of longshot Sunday Boy (Central Banker). Sales history: $95,000 Ylg '24 FTNAUG. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O-CJ Stables; B-Joe Fafone (NY); T-Steve Asmussen.   The post Maxfield Colt Rock It Rob Wins Battle and War On Saratoga Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Walmac Farm's freshman sire Core Beliefs was represented by his first winner when the 2-year-old filly Nour scored on debut in a $25,000 maiden claiming race July 18 at Gulfstream Park. View the full article

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is teaming up with Dean Dorton, a Top 100 CPA and advisory firm, to host a deep dive webinar on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its tax implications affecting Thoroughbred racing.View the full article