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I think I recall that when in their wisdom, they decided to wreck the 4 day carnival at Ellerslie and have a second carnival in March, that it included the Harness and Greyhound cups

The Classic Mile is less than two weeks away and it shapes as one of the most competitive editions in recent years, with at least half a dozen four-year-olds staking their claims as leading candidates. All eyes will be on the Jockey Club’s release of the priority to run list on Wednesday to see what rating is needed to gain a coveted berth in the field of 14. The Post has ranked the top 10 prospects for the Classic Mile on February 1. 1. Invincible Ibis While it is difficult to split many of the...View the full article

while i' while i'm at it ,i may as well point out another example of "do not believe what you read in hrnz press releases" this week they not only have the nelson/addington race failing to get any support,it was only a few weeks ago they were promoting the $100,000 young guns races at auckland and saying how all the reports they had received indicated there would be good numbers lining up in upcoming 2 year old races in january ,because of the stake money they were prioritisning for the 2 year olds. so what happened with the 2 year old races they referred to. young guns heat for 2yo colts and geldings at auckland-7 starters. young guns heat for 2yo fillies_cancelled due to lack of numbers addington 2 year old race-cancelled due to lack of numbers. so why would hrnz put out all the people they had been talking to had told them they had good numbers for those races. well,i think we can safely assume,that hrnz people,do what i always say they obviously do,they speak to a couple of stables,the ones with the money,and then they hrnz base everything they say and do around that. as i say,its like shooting fish in a barrel. Hrnz are just so out of touch with what works. I would say 80% of what they promote as being good ideas,are not. Have there ever been more out of touch wagering/marketing/programming people in the history of hrnz. i've no personal axe to grind against whoever they are.I just struggle with understanding how dumb they come across.

that should read 6 starters for that race.

It seems strange to me that the Auckland Cup for Harness is December 31st. The greyhound cup is at the end of January and the Galloping cup is in March. I am assuming they were all at a similar time of year at some point? What was the logic in splitting them up? I realise after this year the Greyhound Cup will be gone but it just seems odd as I’m sure they use to have a cup week of sorts a few year back.

so hrnz came up with yet another bright idea that in reality was just dumb.. Hrnz thought they would get extra numbers racing at nelson to qualify for a $35,000 race at addington. A race in which the extras they were hoping for,would have to race against much higher graded horses. Only hrnz could possibly think that would work.. so they end up with just starters in the $35,000 final on friday at addington. pointing out how out of touch wuith reality hrnz and their clever people are is like shooting fish in a barrel.

A strong performance against Ka Ying Rising in Sunday’s Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) is all Dennis Yip Chor-hong needs to see from Fast Network to confirm a trip to Dubai for the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m). Third behind Ka Ying Rising in last month’s Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m), Fast Network is on track for his first overseas mission after another clash with the world’s best sprinter at Sha Tin. The five-year-old warmed up for the Centenary Sprint Cup with a...View the full article

A Tuesday morning trial at Deagon sees an unusually strong line-up of Queensland’s best talent heading there and highlighted by Antino’s (NZ) (Redwood) first public outing towards the Sydney’s autumn carnival. Tony Gollan left no stone unturned in finding answers to why the seven-year-old finished last, beaten by nearly eight lengths, in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley last October, but he is confident the gelding is back as good as he was this time last year. “I’m very happy with him,” Gollan said. “I did bone scans and had all sorts of tests done, x-rayed all his joints everywhere and there was nothing that we didn’t know. “He’s got a bit of wear and tear but there are no significant injuries. “He seems as good or better than where he was last year.” Gollan is eyeing a traditional path towards the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 11 with the likely campaign to kick off in Sydney on February 14. Antino is slotted in trial three over 1050-metres along with Zarastro who took out the Magic Millions Snippets (1200m) in January 2025. “It will be a soft trial,” Gollan said. “He’ll be at the back and probably won’t trouble the scorer just following them around. “Then he’ll have another one a couple of weeks later and then hopefully head to Sydney for his first-up run.” Antino is rated an $11 chance for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes with the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Sir Delius the $3 favourite. “Taking out the Cox Plate run, his elite level form was up there in the spring,” Gollan added. “If I want to drop the bar or space him out, I can look at saving him for the Doomben Cup as well. Antino took out the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) in emphatic style in May last year. View the full article

Many vendors have been involved in New Zealand’s National Yearling Sale through a large part of its existence, boasting proud histories that span multiple generations and famed Southern nursery Inglewood Stud certainly fits that bill. The North Canterbury operation is the oldest thoroughbred stud still standing a stallion in New Zealand. Still located in its original Ohoka property, it was founded in 1938 by New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame inductee Ken Austin, who offered his first draft at the National Yearling Sale a couple of years later. But Austin’s connection with the Sale dates back even further than that. He moved to New Zealand from Australia in 1932, having previously made annual trips across the Tasman to serve as auctioneer during the National Yearling Sale at Trentham, including the very first Sale in 1927. Fast-forward to 2012, when Austin’s great-grandson Gus Wigley took over the running of Inglewood Stud from his father Nick – some 75 years after Austin first set foot on the property. Gus and Bianca Wigley’s latest generation of Inglewood Stud started selling yearlings at Karaka in 2014. Their drafts have produced $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and Group One Sistema Stakes (1200m) winner Velocious, Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) winner Ugo Foscolo and other black-type performers such as Secret Allure and last season’s Karaka Millions 2YO third placegetter Miss Ziggy. During that time, Inglewood’s yearlings have sold for up to $375,000. “We’ve been through the history and I believe 1940 was the first time Inglewood Stud had a draft at the National Yearling Sale,” Gus Wigley said. “Ken took about 20 drafts up to Trentham over the years, and Dad did his fair share after that as well, going right through to the early 2000s. “Now Bianca and I have been going there since 2014. We’ve worked out that since we took over, our drafts have produced 110 runners and 26 of them have performed at black-type level. That’s a pretty good strike rate and something we’re quite proud of. “We’re back at Karaka with a dozen yearlings this time around, so hopefully the pattern continues.” That outstanding record has given the Inglewood team plenty of enormously satisfying moments over the last decade and a bit. “Velocious was a really big highlight,” Wigley said. “There was a lot of hype and she was going into the Karaka Millions as the favourite. We’d been parading her half-sister all week and we were desperately hoping we’d get the result. That’s how it turned out, and then the guys that raced Velocious – Go Racing – stumped up and bought the half-sister as well. That’s probably been the highlight during my time taking yearlings to Karaka. “But sometimes there’s ones that come out of the blue as well. We got good money for an Ancient Spirit filly now called Aspiritta in Book 2 of Karaka 2024 ($160,000), which far exceeded what we were expecting, and there was also a horse called Mystery Shot (Shooting To Win) back in 2018. He was from the first crop of Shooting To Win and was out of our stakes-performed mare Mystique. “A couple of buyers really wanted him and went hammer and tong, and we got good money for him ($260,000). He went to Victoria and won seven races, including his first five in a row.” Inglewood Stud’s Karaka 2026 draft is made up of 10 yearlings in Book 1 and two in Book 2. “It’s a bit of a cliché, but I think this is the best draft of yearlings we’ve taken up to Karaka,” Wigley said. “It represents some decent investment in terms of service fees and the quality of mares that we’ve bought. “We’re big fans of Harry Angel and have sent mares to him every season, so it’s been fantastic to see the success that his progeny have had. He’s gone from a A$16,500 service fee to A$66,000 and he’s likely to go even higher than that. “We have two Harry Angel colts in our draft that we really like. One of them is a half-brother to Miss Ziggy, who ran third in the Karaka Millions 2YO last season, and the other is a full-brother to a colt that we sold a couple of seasons ago for $150,000. Eion Kemp bought him and later sold him for $800,000 at the Ready to Run Sale, and he’s been named Packing Glory and was a very impressive winner of his first start in Hong Kong on November 30. “We also have a couple of Sword of State fillies who both look quite precocious. “One that’s quite close to my heart is the filly by Street Boss out of Shuffled. She’s the only Street Boss yearling in the Karaka 2026 sale, and I’ve always been a massive fan of that stallion. He’s just about the best sire in Australia when you break down his numbers. He’s been a bit patchy with fertility so hasn’t had a huge number of runners, but he’s sired the likes of Anamoe along with this season’s top-class three-year-old colt Tentyris and three-year-old filly Tempted. This filly’s out of a full-sister to Ace High. “Overall, I think it’s just a good, consistent draft. They all looked great in their parade today (Thursday), and I think it was the best turnout we’ve had for a yearling parade. There were lots of South Island trainers there and plenty of interest, so it all bodes well. We’re looking forward to getting back up to Karaka.” Lots to Watch Lot 124 – Street Boss x Shuffled filly Lot 245 – Harry Angel x Zigwig colt Lot 565 – Profondo x Myakka Park colt View the full article

A stirring exhibition gallop at Te Rapa on Friday has training partners Graham Richardson and Rogan Norvall in positive frame of mind as they put the final polish on Lollapalooza and Fleeting Star ahead of Saturday’s Listed TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m). The stablemates looked sharp as they reeled off 1000m on the upgraded soft 6 track in 1:01.56 and completed their hitout well-held with a final 600m in 34.98. “It was very good work and confirmed that they’re on target for Ellerslie,” Richardson said. “They’re both really fit, but I guess they need to be for what’s coming up.” In her first start since finishing second to Well Written in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), Lollapalooza filled the same place behind Tellum in the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day. “She has put together a very good record in all the big races but she’s still learning, so she’ll be wearing vizor blinkers on Saturday,” Richardson said. Fleeting Star followed her maiden win at Ellerslie in the second week of December with a strong third in the Eight Carat Classic, confirming that she also deserves her chance in Saturday’s $1.5 million feature. “We’ve always rated Fleeting Star and just lately she has really come to it. Blinkers have worked well for her and she’ll have them on again.” With her Eight Carat jockey Opie Bosson committed to He Who Dares, Fleeting Star will be ridden on Saturday by star Queensland jockey Angela Jones, who made such an impression in her first experience of Ellerslie on New Year’s Day. “We’re lucky to be able to engage Angela for such a big race, and Vinnie (Colgan) will stay with Lollapalooza.” On a TAB fixed odds market dominated by unbeaten filly Well Written at $1.50, Lollapalooza is on the fourth line of betting at $11 and Fleeting Star is longer at $31. The Richardson/Norvall stable is also pinning its hopes on a Listed TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) start for last-start winner State The Obvious. With earnings of $11,285, the Sword Of State filly is tentatively in 17th place in the starting order, three outside the 14-horse limit. “She’s a smart filly, so we’ve kept her up to the mark in the hope that she makes the cut,” Richardson said. “It won’t be the end of the world if she doesn’t, but if things were to work out in her favour we would be keen to see her run.” Last-start Ellerslie winner Romilly is scheduled to line up on Saturday’s undercard in the Jo Giles Stakes, a $100,000 1400m for fillies and mares. “She’s in the right form with that win over the same distance on New Year’s Day and the set weight and penalty conditions should suit her at this stage.” Romilly’s ownership group includes Brendon McCullum, and the near neighbours combined to make one purchase at last week’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale. “We paid $340,000 for a filly by So You Think, which we felt was good buying, especially as they don’t make any more of them by that stallion,” Richardson said. “Like others that Baz and I put our names to, we’re putting together a partnership and there’s only 25 percent left in her.” View the full article

A two-step home track plan for promising Matamata youngster Justin Case will come into play on Wednesday. Raced by breeder Waikato Stud with Ohukia Lodge’s Jamie Beatson, the well-related son of Banquo will run in the Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series 2YO (1100m) with a crack at the Gr.3 Fairview Matamata Slipper (1200m) to follow on February 14. Justin Case was a spring trial winner at Taupo before he was put aside after finishing runner-up in his race day debut in early November. “It was aways the plan after Pukekohe to give him a couple of weeks off and then target the colts and geldings’ race at Matamata, so this is a good lead into that,” said trainer Kris Shailer, who manages Courtza Park for Waikato Stud. “He put on a bit of condition and strengthened right up during his little break, then he spent some time with Jamie and Chanel Beatson for a bit of pre-training, and they did a great job.” Justin Case is out of Savabeel’s daughter Do Ra Mi, who won the Gr.2 Kewney Stakes (1600m), and was originally in Ohukia’s draft to New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale last year before his withdrawal. “Jamie really liked him and said why don’t we just got to the trials with him and he won that,” Shailer said. “He was potentially going to be a trade horse, but the boys decided to carry on with him and he went to the races.” Meanwhile, well-bred stablemate Convinced will debut in the Elsdon Park At Karaka 2026 Maiden (1200m). “She was pretty impressive winning a trial at Rotorua in September, but tweaked a hamstring,” Shailer said. “We’ve given her the time she needed and brought her back slowly, she hasn’t trialled for a long time, but she is fit enough to run well.” Raced by breeder Garry Chittick, Convinced is a daughter of Super Seth and Savabeel mare The Real Beel who won the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) and placed in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1200m) and Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m). Shailer has a small team of horses in work for the Matamata nursery including smart four-year-old Magice, a brother to resident stallion and Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) winner Noverre. Magice has a brace of wins and two placings from four appearances and hasn’t raced since he was successful at Pukekohe in early November. “He’s quite exciting but he got crook with a really bad virus after he won,” Shailer said. “He’s been back in work for a couple of weeks now and we’ll get him going again in the autumn and try and win another race or two. “We’ll put him aside then for the winter and come back for the spring and summer.” View the full article

By Jordyn Bublitz Kate Coppins is going into Tuesday’s meeting at Hawera high on confidence, but realistic that her career-best efforts at the course on Sunday will be virtually impossible to match, let alone beat. Yesterday the talented junior driver took out half the card, with five wins on the 10 race programme. “It was one of the greatest days of my life,” she says. On Tuesday Coppins has eight drives on the 10-race card and while momentum is on her side, she remains focused on staying grounded. “Dad always taught me that anything is possible when you step onto the track,” she said. “You could be on a deadset certainty and come last. I never go out there with any expectations, if I do I feel like I over-drive them a bit. I like to just drive the race in front of me.” Coppins identified two runners trained by her grandmother Jill Coppins as her leading chances on Tuesday. She will partner Rasmussin Effect in Race 2, the Fleming Family Mobile Pace, before reuniting with Jaccka Opa in Race 7, the Nag ‘N’ Noggin New Owners Coming March Mobile Pace. “I’d have to go with Jaccka Opa again, the way he won on Sunday, he just seems to go to another level on the grass. He doesn’t have a lot of gate speed but drawn one I think he’ll be a big chance.” She also expects Rasmussin Effect to take improvement from his Sunday effort. “Nan’s other one too, Rasmussin Effect, he went awesome and ran home really well, was just a bit unlucky and got pushed around on Sunday.” On day one Coppins arrived at Hawera with measured expectations. “I thought I’d have at least one winner,” Coppins said. It just snowballed from there. “Whenever I get winner it puts me in a real good headspace. It definitely set the mood for the day and I started to feel a lot more confident.” That she got five was mind-blowing. “It didn’t really sink in what I’d done until I had senior drivers that I’ve looked up to texting me and congratulating me,” she said. “My dad, mum and nana, I think they’re loving it more than I am …. it still hasn’t hit me how big of an achievement it is!” Kate Coppins’ five winners at Hawera on Sunday : Race 3 : Jaccka Opa ($3.40) for Jill Coppins Race 6 : Im All In ($5.80) for Michael House Race 7 : Forgiveness ($27.10) for Michael House Race 8 : Big Gee ($6.60) for Michael House Race 10 : Shezabettorgirl for Michael House View the full article

Does anyone know why the fixed odds on HRNZ website have disappeared?? Having them there was one of the better things that HRNZ had done in recent times and they have now got rid of them????? Does it make any sense? NO it does not, unless someone can kindly explain why they have taken them down???

Small breeder Courtney Meagher is dreaming of Kentucky Oaks (G1) lilies with Taken by the Wind, a product of her compact program. With the filly coming from a crop of just four foals in 2023, Meagher continues to defy the odds.View the full article

Zac Purton lauded trainer Manfred Man’s horsemanship after Patch Of Cosmo (NZ) (Super Seth) successfully returned from injury to stake a claim for the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Sidelined since March, 2025 after suffering a tendon injury, Patch Of Cosmo eclipsed a classy group of rivals to win by a neck from Aerodynamics and Pope Cody in 1m 34.53s after jumping from barrier nine. Rated 77 pre-race, the Super Seth gelding deserves his place in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, according to Purton, who will ride Sagacious Life in the first leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, which also includes the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on 1 March and the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March. “First of all, it was a really good training performance. This horse has been off from 10 months with a tendon (injury) and he’s come back at the top of Class 3, carrying a lot of weight, first-up at a mile and he’s won,” Purton said. “That’s not easy to do. “So, they want to take their place in the Four-Year-Old (Classic) Series now and he’s not going to be out of place. He’s a relatively lightly-raced horse, he’s got plenty more there.” Patch Of Cosmo was sold by Waikato Stud at the 2023 Karaka Book 1 Sale to Richardson Racing and was then offered by Riversley Park at the Ready To Run Sale where he was sold to Mr KM Yeung. Emblazon (Zoustar), made it three wins from six starts for Cody Mo and Chau when the 64-rater overhauled Flash Current in the first section of the Class 3 Fencing Handicap (1400m). Emblazon was sold by Riversley Park at the 2023 Ready To Run Sale and won a trial for Paul Richards. Trainer Jamie Richards posted a double at Sha Tin on Sunday. Photo: Hong Kong Jockey Club Trainer Jamie Richards slotted a double with three-year-old Cool Boy (NZ) (Per Incanto) in the first section of the Class 4 Cycling Handicap (1200m) for James Orman. Richards also struck when City Gold Banner swept to victory under Zac Purton in the Class 3 15th National Games Hong Kong Medallists Cup Handicap. “Cool Boy has been racing well, I thought it was a good effort considering he had to carry 135lb,” Richards said. “He was aided by a beautiful ride from James, who’s riding really well.” Jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle slotted his first winner in Hong Kong when he piloted John Size-trained Flow Water Flow (NZ) (Proisir) to victory in the Class 4 Triathlon Handicap (1600m). “Very happy and it’s a great place to be competing. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve been getting on some nice horses in the last few weeks. I’ve been getting plenty of support and massive thanks to John Size. He’s been extra special, he’s been throwing a lot at me and thankfully I can reward him with a winner,” the Irishman said. “He (Flow Water Flow) had a really good record coming into this race. He’d been hitting the crossbar (with three seconds) in his first three starts. Stepping up to 1600m was going to be a big help to him today and he was good and strong the last 100 metres – thankfully, he got his head in front.” Flow Water Flow was sold from the draft of Kiltannon Stables at the 2023 Ready To Run Sale to Merrick Staunton. View the full article

Six-time Group One-winning sprinter Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress) has been crowned Timeform’s Horse of the Year (2025). Trained by David Hayes, last season’s Hong Kong Horse of the Year (2024/25) also earned the accolade as Timeform’s Champion Sprinter (2025). A record-breaking phenom, Ka Ying Rising has earned HK$122.57 million and has won 17 of 19 career starts, including 16 in succession – equal to Golden Sixty’s record and one shy of Silent Witness’ all-time record in the city (17). According to Timeform, New Zealand-bred Ka Ying Rising had five individual performances where he rated 130 upwards last year when he collective five Group 1 wins and two in Group 2 – all part of his 16-race unbeaten streak, which he puts on the line in next week’s (Sunday, 25 January) HK$13 million G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) at Sha Tin. “He’s the best horse I’ve trained and he’ll be the best horse I’ve seen if he keeps going the way he is,” Hayes said. “His best attributes are his high-cruising speed and his ability to lengthen at the business end of his races.” Ahead of his second consecutive HK$28 million Gr.1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) success last December, the five-year-old’s HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) win at Sha Tin under Zac Purton earned him the unmatched Timeform rating of 135 to claim top spot for the year. Conceding nine pounds to second-placed Gr.1 winner Lucky Sweynesse, Ka Ying Rising lumped 135lb to first-up victory on 7 September over 11 rivals – many of whom carried 115lb – before then travelling overseas, where he claimed the world’s richest race on turf at Royal Randwick in Sydney, Australia – the AU$20 million (approx. HK$101 million) G1 The Everest (1200m) – as the first foreign horse to achieve the feat. Earlier in his career as a four-year-old in 2024, Ka Ying Rising won the HK$5.35 million G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m), remarkably lowering Sacred Kingdom’s 17-year 1200m turf track record at Sha Tin from 1m 07.50s to 1m 07.43s. Over a month later in his first 2025 triumph, Ka Ying Rising then powered home in an extraordinary 1m 07.20s to land the Centenary Sprint Cup – leg one of the Hong Kong Speed Series – in what was the first of eight wins throughout the year. Ka Ying Rising then claimed the Hong Kong Speed Series and the HK$5 million bonus with success in the HK$13 million Gr.1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and Gr.1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) to round out his 2024/25 season in Hong Kong. Mr Vitality (1995/96), Grand Delight (2002/03), Silent Witness (2003/04 & 2004/05) and Lucky Sweynesse (2022/23) have previously claimed the Hong Kong Speed Series. The remaining awards for 2025 saw Calandagan named Timeform’s Champion Middle-Distance performer on 133; Field Of Gold was Timeform’s Champion Miler on 127; Minnie Hauk was acclaimed Timeform’s Champion Filly/Mare on 127, while Trawlerman was Timeform’s Champion Stayer, also rated 127. Founded in 1948 by Phil Bull, Timeform is a leading sports data and content provider based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. View the full article

Valiant Crusader (Crusader Sword) passed away at Old Friends at Cabin Creek on Jan. 17, according to farm release on Sunday. The 25-year-old stallion was humanely euthanized after sustaining injuries in a paddock accident. “Cru meant so much to us,” said JoAnn Pepper, owner and manager of Old Friends at Cabin Creek. “He could brighten the day just by standing there. He was fun and happy. He loved every meal, just like his father did. He leaves us sad, but blessed to have known and loved him.” Valiant Crusader retired to Old Friends at Cabin Creek in May of 2024 after volunteer Mary Eddy found him listed on Craigslist outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to his arrival at Cabin Creek, Valiant Crusader changed hands several times, and was primarily used to breed quarter horse mares. As a racehorse, the New York-bred out of the Diablo mare Diablo's Pixie raced four times at Aqueduct Racetrack over two seasons for trainer John Hertler before retiring following a sixth-place finish in 2004. The farm release read, “Valiant Crusader is best remembered by the volunteers and visitors at Old Friends at Cabin Creek, where he stood watch over the farm from one of two paddocks atop the front hill and across from Group 1-winner A Shin Forward. Valiant Crusader, much like his father, was an especially gentle stallion, and even spent time in a paddock with gelding Watchem Smokey. His kind-hearted nature and soft eyes made him one of the most welcoming horses on the farm for new volunteers and visitors alike. Old Friends at Cabin Creek is proud and honored to have provided this noble stallion a soft landing for his final years as he served as a perfect ambassador for the proper retirement of all thoroughbreds. The post Valiant Crusader Passes at Old Friends at Cabin Creek appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Multiple grade 2-placed Originaire was represented by his first winner Jan. 18 as 3-year-old Original One proved best on debut in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race for $32,000 claimers at Santa Anita Park.View the full article

Dr. William Baxter Jr.'s Stony Pointe Stables are going for it with New York-bred Fourth and One in the $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Jan. 31.View the full article

Off to a hot start to the year with her nine-horse stable, trainer Aggie Ordonez is targeting grade 1s on March 7 at Santa Anita Park with Vodka Vodka and Om N Joy.View the full article

The Week in Review Last month, when parties on both sides of a pending class-action lawsuit over computer-assisted wagering (CAW) argued in federal court over allegations that the nation's biggest racetracks have conspired with “insider” high-volume bettors to rig pari-mutuel pools at the expense of small-scale horseplayers, the defendants in the case-the New York Racing Association (NYRA), The Stronach Group (TSG), Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), Racing and Gaming Services (RGS), AmTote International, United Tote, and Elite Turf Club-wrote letters to the judge purporting that plaintiff Ryan Dickey was using “hyperbole” and “rhetoric” to generate “headline-grabbing” attention designed to mislabel “common, lawful practices” as part of a “smear” campaign. Dickey, a Colorado resident who stated in his complaint that, as a casual bettor, he had wagered about $100 weekly for several decades before quitting horseplaying nearly two years ago over frustrations with alleged “manipulation of the betting pools,” fired back with his own correspondence. The paragraph that stood out in Dickey's Dec. 29 court filing was an assertion that the harms of CAW were “beyond dispute,” and that he and other class-action members would be able to prove those claims if the judge compelled the bet-takers and wager-processors to release archived pari-mutuel records via the process of discovery, which is the formal pretrial process by which each party obtains information and evidence from the other side. “[H]ere, where totalizers maintain meticulous, auditor-ready records, there is no question that Plaintiff can not only conceptualize their injuries but quantify them with precision,” Dickey's legal team wrote to the judge. This case is still a long way from being certified as a class-action suit that would open it up to a theoretically limitless number of similarly aggrieved horseplayers who, like Dickey, feel bamboozled by being on the wrong side of the CAW equation. And the lawsuit's contentions that CAW play amounts to a “scheme” that runs afoul of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) will likely be difficult to prove, if that aspect of the case even survives the defendants' numerous pending motions for dismissal. But even if Dickey doesn't end up winning those broad aspects of his overall case, just getting the tracks to reveal the inner workings of how they negotiate and implement CAW contracts, backed by day-to-day pari-mutuel settlement and CAW records, could end up being considered a significant victory for low-volume horseplayers in the form of making the tracks pull back the curtain on opaque, industry-wide wagering practices. Increasingly, “minnow” bettors are leaving the marketplace because of perceptions that privileged high-rollers are getting a predatory edge by buying their way in to the use of sophisticated technologies that allow them to precisely read pari-mutuel markets and place a dizzying array of batched bets across many pools in the final seconds before a race goes off. In addition, these “whales” are offered attractive effective takeout rates and volume-based rebates that are unavailable to the average horseplayer. The defendants, too, seem keenly aware that the process of discovery could be harmful to their reputations and financial bottom lines. On Friday, just before the start of the long federal holiday weekend, all of the defendants, via two separate filings in United States District Court (Eastern District of New York), asked the judge to keep any discovery from going forward until the court resolves all of the forthcoming motions to dismiss the case. “The scope of Plaintiff's purported class is breathtaking,” stated the Jan. 16 joint motion made by NYRA, TSG, RGS, AmTote and Elite. “The broad variety of activities implicated by Plaintiff's Complaint-horseracing, track operations, betting platforms, CAW bets, non-CAW bets, regulations and regulators from all 50 states-and the sprawling alleged conspiracy ensure that discovery will be immense,” the motion stated. “Discovery will be particularly burdensome on Defendants-riddled with trade secret and proprietary information requiring significant protections,” the motion stated. “Permitting discovery to proceed in this matter before resolution of all Defendants' forthcoming motions to dismiss will unfairly prejudice Defendants by requiring Defendants to search for, collect, and produce documents, data, and information with respect to a boundless, nationwide class,” the motion stated. “Moreover, Plaintiff's purported class can only be defined through access to Defendants' records, which will require burdensome and expedited discovery in order to identify class members,” the motion stated. “Such an effort is not prudent here, where Plaintiff is unlikely to succeed on his claims,” the motion stated. “This Court should exercise its discretion and refuse to permit Plaintiff to engage in voluminous, nationwide discovery prior to resolution of Defendants' forthcoming motions to dismiss, which, if successful, will obviate the need for any discovery in this matter,” the motion stated. Ironically, right around the same time on Friday that attorneys for NYRA joined the legal teams of the other defendants in pleading to the court that “trade secret” documentation about CAW shouldn't be allowed to see the light of day, David O'Rourke, NYRA's chief executive officer and president, was explaining during a meeting of the New York State Franchise Oversight Board (FOB) how NYRA is trying to help the retail player by leveling the CAW playing field. O'Rourke detailed to the FOB (which is the governor-appointed committee that represents the interests of New York State in the real estate at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga) many of the same CAW-curbing points he first revealed Dec. 9 at the Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Arizona. Those efforts, which have yet to be implemented but will represent the most aggressive steps yet taken by any track operator in America to manage CAW play, include limiting all NYRA bettors to a maximum of six wagers per second within one minute to post in all pools, plus an eventual rollout of raw odds data so that (if they have the tools to decipher it) every player, large and small, can see the same information that right now only CAW players have access to. O'Rourke acknowledged NYRA initially planned to have these CAW limitations in place this month, but that the implementation of the new protocols might be slightly delayed. “We're calling them guardrails. But it really is throughput,” O'Rourke said Jan. 16. “And there's some industry plumbing that needs to be effectuated for that. And right now, [the projected rollout is] last week of January, first week of February. We'll get a definitive timeline from Elite on that, and then we'll alert everyone. “CAW play is nothing new,” O'Rourke explained. “It's basically people using computer algorithms to wager on bets. And pari-mutuel is a very interesting and old form of wagering [in] that the odds aren't definitive until every bet's taken and the pools are closed. “As we've seen in a lot of different factors in life, as compute [power] increases, intelligence increases. And unfortunately, for pari-mutuel wagering, volatility increases right at the end [of betting cycles]. And what it was really doing, was, kind of, reducing the quality of the product in the perception of the retail player, for lack of a better way of putting it,” O'Rourke told the FOB. “So our real objective is to reduce volatility, to smooth that out. What we're doing is putting in volume caps essentially when the clock hits one minute to post. And that's technically two minutes to [the race going] off. Usually it's a little bit longer, though,” O'Rourke said. “CAW has been traditionally classified in simulcast agreements as six bets per second, anything above that. So we've decided to leverage that, throttle down all play-everyone-once the clock hits one minute to post,” O'Rourke said. “The reason that we focused on the six-second rule was that's pretty much [standard] contractual [language] in most [simulcast] contracts across the industry. Not globally, but the majority of the larger ones,” O'Rourke said. “So we feel good that everyone's going to comply with that, because it's been in the rules for quite a long time.” As for the stigma of odds changing after a race goes off, O'Rourke acknowledge it's been problematic, but that NYRA has attempted to address the issue since first limiting CAW play in selected pools back in 2021. “To put it simply, it's annoying,” O'Rourke said. “A little over four years ago, we actually curbed it in the win pool. And then we had several other pools that we introduced, like the late pick five. [And] what we were doing [was] effectively stopping the odds from changing once the gates are opened. “But that's a little bit of window dressing when you really get down to it,” O'Rourke said. “Really, when you get down to it, it's about the volatility in those last couple of cycles. So now we're really getting to the core of the problem,” O'Rourke said. “We're working with the [Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau], which is the industry watchdog for wagering, to create a volatility metric. It's really how much are these odds moving in the last two minutes. And that's going to become our gauge, and what we're going to attempt to reduce,” O'Rourke said. “I anticipate this is going to evolve as we go through,” O'Rourke predicted, adding later that, “we're going to have to keep massaging how we're approaching it.” As far as dealing with the problem of CAW bettors being able to access more intricate details of odds data than what retail customers can see, O'Rourke said there is one master feed coming out of the tote embedded with all that information, “and what we're essentially going to do, in at least one place, if not multiple, is just make that odds feed available to the public. “I think it actually has potential, really, to feed into new-generation way of looking at pari-mutuel betting,” O'Rourke said. “So as part of this, our strategy is to make more information available, more tools available. Develop tools ourselves, in effect, using AI, or machine learning, to help the retail player, and change the way the product looks and feels to somebody coming into the track,” O'Rourke said. “This wagering product has not changed in generations. I think there's a big opportunity for a way to kind of look at how we produce and offer our gambling content,” O'Rourke said. “I think this is the beginning of a very interesting journey for the sport. Sometimes it takes an inflection point, and I think the inflection point was definitely met this [past] year in terms of the feedback that we were getting from our core retail players,” O'Rourke said. “This is something you have to do. And we're taking steps. That's why we're trying to work our way into this,” O'Rourke said. “But I don't think there's really any way not to do this if pari-mutuel betting is going to evolve and compete on today's landscape,” O'Rourke said. The post Trying to Stifle CAW ‘Trade Secrets’ in Court while at the Same Time Rolling Out Help for Small-Scale Horseplayers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

During Sunday's post position draw at Gulfstream Park, Juddmonte Farm's Disco Time (Not This Time) gained the nod as the 8-5 morning-line favorite while drawing Post 1 for Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Disco Time is undefeated in five prior starts, including last season's GII Lecomte Stakes, St Louis Derby and Withers Stakes. The 4-year-old is trained by Brad Cox, who also WinStar Farm, CHC Inc., Cold Press Racing and Qatar Racing's Tappan Street (Into Mischief), winner of last season's GI Curlin Florida Derby. The former, given an 8-1 chance, will be ridden by Flavien Prat while the latter will be accompanied by Luis Saez. Cox previously won the race with Horse of the Year Knicks Go in 2021. Returning to defend his title, C2 Racing Stable LLC, Gary Barber and La Milagrosa Stable LLC's White Abarrio (Race Day) was installed the second morning-line choice at 4-1 for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Last seen finishing off-the-board in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup last summer, the 7-year-old will break from Post 11 with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons. Also representing Joseph Jr., Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) returns off a victory in the Dec. 20 GIII Harlan's Holiday Stakes. Third behind his stablemate in last year's renewal of the race, the 7-year-old will be accompanied by Tyler Gaffalione while breaking from Post 5. He is 15- on the morning-line. In search of his fourth Pegasus win, Bob Baffert is represented by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and partners' Madaket Road (Quality Road), who drew Post 6. Hall of Famer Mike Smith has the mount. The 4-year-old was given a 10-1 chance on the morning line. Nice Guys Stables' Mika (Catholic Boy), runner-up in the GII Cigar Mile last time out for trainer Mike Maker, was rated at 10-1 on the morning line after drawing Post 10. Manuel Franco has the return mount. St. Elias Stable's Captain Cook (Practical Joke) will break from Post 9 for a bid to give Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher a second Pegasus World Cup success, joining Life Is Good in 2022. The 4-year-old finished second in the GIII Perryville at Keeneland and GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga in his last two starts, has been installed the 15-1 on the morning line. Hall of Famer John Velazquez will ride Captain Cook for the first time Saturday. The field is rounded out by British Isles (Justify) (20-1, Post 2), Full Serrano (Full Mast) (12-1, Post 3), Banishing (Ghostzapper) (20-1, Post 4), Poster (Munnings) (20-1, Post 8), Brotha Keny (Mo Town) (30-1, Post 12), Lightning Tones (Tonalist) (AE, Post 13), Catalytic (Catalina Cruiser) (AE, Post 14). The 10th anniversary of the nine-furlong test for older horses, Pegasus World Cup Day will also feature the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and the GII Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The post Disco Time Draws Rail, Morning-Line Favorite for Pegasus World Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Taken by the Wind (Rock Your World) remained undefeated and took another step closer to a start in the GI Kentucky Oaks when capturing Saturday's Silverbulletday Stakes at the Fair Grounds. But a day later, what was most on the mind of trainer Kenny McPeek was what he called a “bureaucratic nightmare” that she had to overcome to even make the $150,000 race. The Silverbulletday was Taken by the Wind's first start since she won the Sept. 13 Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs. McPeek said that she was sidelined not by injury, but by a decision made by Dr. Nick Smith, the chief racing veterinarian for the Kentucky Racing Commission, to put the filly on the vet's list after her win in the Pocahontas. “The Kentucky state vets wouldn't let her run until this weekend,” McPeek said. “She won the Pocahontas and then the Kentucky vets put her on the vet's list after the race. I never understood why. It's ridiculous what they did. We've never found anything wrong with her. They forced us to bone-scan her, to PET scan her. We've done everything, and Dr. Nick Smith wouldn't let her run. He didn't like the way she moves. This was one of the most frustrating things I've ever dealt with as a horse trainer. She should have won the Alcibiades and she should already be a Grade I winner. She was going to be the even-money favorite in that race. And then we would have taken her to the Breeders' Cup.” McPeek said that his filly was not removed from the vet's list until after a Dec. 29 workout at Oaklawn Park. “We had to ship her to Oaklawn to work her to get her off the HISA vet's list,” he said. “And we had to ship her back to the Fair Grounds to run her. I hope it's not going to be an on-going issue because we've never found so much as a bump or bruise on her. We don't know what it has been about. But Dr. Smith seems to think that his eyes are stronger than PET scans and bone scans. We've been very frustrated by it. It has hurt her value. You watch. She'll win the next one, and I think she has a very good chance of winning the Oaks. This is a very good filly. She does everything right. We're dealing with this regularly, especially in Kentucky. They are basically picking us apart, and this filly has been caught up in a bureaucratic nightmare. But her talent keeps rising.” McPeek, known for his ability to find talented horses at bargain prices, purchased Taken by the Wind for $20,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October yearling sale. But he said there's more to the story, and it also involves horses winding up on the vet's list in Kentucky. “The $20,000 is a little bit of an aberration,” he said. “I bought her as a yearling in July for $70,000 for Walking L Thoroughbreds, which is owned by a gentleman named Scott Leeds. For years, he's been one of my best clients. He decided to divest himself of everything after we bought her and after he had a list of horses go on the Kentucky vet's list. He said. 'Just sell everything.' I said, 'You shouldn't sell her because I think she's a pretty good filly.' He said, 'No, just run her through the sale.' He ran her through the sale in October, and I wasn't going to let her go for nothing. I think people hesitated. I think they were thinking, 'Why did Kenny buy her in July for $70,000 and now he's selling her back in October? Is there something wrong with her?' No, there was nothing wrong with her whatsoever. l just protected her and bought her back.” The good news is that McPeek formed a new ownership group, and it includes a celebrity, the Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox NFL analyst Terry Bradshaw. “Terry watched the race from the Fox NFL studio with all of his cohorts and colleagues,” McPeek said. “They hadn't gone on the air yet. He was there with 15 to 20 people. They watched the race together and they had a blast.” McPeek added that Taken by the Wind will likely run next in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks on Mar. 21 or the GII Fantasy Stakes, which will be run on Mar. 27 at Oaklawn Park. The post McPeek Wins The Silverbulletday With Taken by the Wind But Frustrations Linger appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Vodka Vodka (Stay Thirsty), winner of Saturday's Unusual Heat Turf Classic, exited his first stakes win in good form, according to trainer Aggie Ordonez Sunday morning. “He ate all his dinner last night, his legs are cold and tight this morning,” she added. Vodka Vodka won the 1 1/8-mile Turf Classic by a half-length under Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux. In his only previous stakes try, which came on Opening Day of the Classic Meet, Vodka Vodka finished fourth on dirt in GII Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes. Bred by co-owners Jerry Baker and Connie Baker, Vodka Vodka is a 5-year-old gelding out of the Hard Spun mare Margie's Minute. His year-younger half-sister Om N Joy (Om), provided Ordonez last year with her first graded stakes win in the GIII Torrey Pines at Del Mar. The two siblings combined helped Ordonez produce a career-best year in 2025 with $645,233 in earnings, more than double her previous high. Ordonez currently has nine horses in her stable. “It's unbelievable to have the two best horses of my career running at the same time. In the barn, healthy and sound at the beginning of a new year,” Ordonez said. “I look back on last year and I couldn't have dreamed to put something like that together. I almost didn't want the year to change. I didn't want to flip the calendar. I thought we can't possibly keep that going or do it again. Then right off the bat Dark Omen comes up with a giant race to break his maiden here and now Vodka Vodka becomes a stakes winner. It's more than I could dream.” Dark Omen (Om), a 3-year-old gelding, was a debut winner on Jan. 10 at Santa Anita for Ordonez and owners-breeders Larry and Marianne Williams. Next up for Vodka Vodka and Om N Joy could be Grade I's on Mar. 7 at Santa Anita. Ordonez is eyeing the GI Santa Anita Handicap for Vodka Vodka, while Om N Joy is a candidate for the GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile on the same day. “I'm a dreamer. I love to swing big,” Ordonez said. “[Vodka Vodka] ran a great race. I think his best race is actually dirt, I don't think it's grass.” Om N Joy is back galloping at Santa Anita after spending “six to eight weeks” on the farm. She closed out the 2025 campaign on Oct. 18 with a fourth-place finish in the GII Raven Run at Keeneland. “She looks great,” Ordonez. “She looks like a 4-year-old now. She had lost some weight towards the end of last year and I knew she needed some time after to recover after a tough season.” “She's going to be ready in March. I'd like to try her in the Beholder. I know people say 'wow' when I say the Beholder, but she's been 'wowing' me for a while.” The post Ordonez Outlines Grade I Goals for Vodka Vodka, Om N Joy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Who would have believed a House Quaddie would pay 3K for a $2 spend. That made my day pretty good.