All Activity

It cracks me up when I read some comments that say those owners and trainers that had horses beaten by Cole horses would be pissed off that he wasn't suspended straight away. Is that what you on about @Huey? As if Coles condition affects the performance of his horses!!! But there are always a few in this industry looking for any edge they can get.

In late December, trainer Butch Reid had a tough decision to make. Should he run his promising now-3-year-old Mailata in the Jerome Stakes Jan. 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack or the Dec. 30 Parx Future Stars Stakes at his home base of Parx Racing?View the full article

Slated as the 4-5 morning line favorite, Nitrogen faces six in the Bayakoa Stakes to begin her 4-year-old campaign. View the full article

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) “pending” and “resolved” cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Dates: 02/04/2026 Licensee: Johanna Urieta, trainer Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on February 5, 2026; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Methocarbamol—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Ready for Action, who finished tenth at Mahoning Valley on 12/8/25. Dates: 02/03/2026 Licensee: Amador Sanchez, trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision of HIWU. Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Methocarbamol—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from More Than Glory, who finished second at Gulfstream Park on 12/13/25. Dates: 02/02/2026 Licensee: Thomas Waltke Jr., trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points.Admission. Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Greyzer, who won at Tampa Bay on 12/19/25. Dates: 01/29/2026 Licensee: Kim A. Puhl, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Dexamethasone—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Riobella on 12/29/25. Pending ADMC Violations 02/04/2026, Edwin Martinez, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Dexamethasone—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Tsunami Gold, who finished second at Sunland Park on 1/4/26. 02/04/2026, William Cowans, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Methocarbamol—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Sticky Note, who finished third at Turfway Park on 12/6/25. 02/03/2026, George Lopez, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Methocarbamol—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Tiz Lissett on 1/7/26. 02/03/2026, Jack Sisterson, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Omeprazole (Gastrogard)—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Jimmy's Kid on 1/3/26. 02/03/2026, Michael Simone, trainer: Pending ruling for the alleged breach of Rule 3313, regarding the “Use or Attempted Use of a Controlled Medication Substance during the Race Period.” The alleged substance is the class C controlled substance, L-Arginine; Stop-2. The case involved the horse Indulge, for an event dated 11/14/24. 02/02/2026, Hernan Parra, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Dexamethasone—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Justy Han, who finished seventh at Gulfstream Park on 1/3/26. 02/02/2026, Anna Meah, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Gabapentin—a class B controlled substance—in a sample taken from Showers, who won at Churchill Downs on 11/6/25. 01/30/2026, Thomas McMahon, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Methamphetamine—a banned substance—in a sample taken from Tierra Santa, who won at Laurel Park on 12/7/25. 01/28/2026, Guillermo Flores, trainer: Pending ruling for the alleged possession of the banned substance Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP); Adenosine Monophosphate for an event dated 9/18/25. Violations of Crop Rule Laurel Park Carlos Mancilla – violation date February 2; $750 fine, five-day suspension Mahoning Valley Fernando S. Becerra – violation date February 3; $1.500 fine, ten-day suspension Sunland Park Francisco Amparan – violation date January 30; $250 fine, one-day suspension Turf Paradise Isaias Enriquez – violation date February 2; $500 fine, two-day suspension The post National Rulings January 29 – February 4 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Actually, when all's said and done a suspension of a couple of months looks the likely outcome and if that's the penalty imposed i guess Kurtis Pertab got off lightly for cruelty to animals, so Mr Cole does suffer the embarrassment of the situation and also do his owners .

Trainer Bob Baffert has confirmed that GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Litmus Test (Nyquist) will be scratched from Friday's $1-million GIII Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Litmus Test was listed at 5-2 on the morning line. “We're waiting for the San Felipe,” Baffert said via text. “Never intended to run him at Oaklawn.” The GII San Felipe Stakes will be held at Santa Anita Mar. 7. Baffert will still be represented by Buetane (Tiz the Law) in the Southwest. He is the 4-1 second choice, but could go off favored since Baffert has proved time and time again that he's very tough to beat when he ships to Oaklawn. He owns a 41-percent winning percentage at Oaklawn and has won 26 graded stakes there. He has won the Southwest six times. The new morning-line favorite will be D'code (Speightstown), who is listed at 3-1 on the current line. He rocketed to an 8 1/4-length win in his 6 1/2-furlong debut, earning a Beyer figure of 99. The post Morning-Line Favorite Litmus Test Will Be Scratched from the Southwest Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The cancellation comes one day after the track had announced it's Feb. 4-5 cards would begin at 1 p.m. EST, rather than the normal 5:55 p.m. start time.View the full article

FFS do you and @nomates and @Joe Bloggs sit on a joint ZOOM meeting all day? The three of you are tarred with the same brush. Facts: Cole was asked to appear for drug testing. He found an excuse to avoid it. The RIB charged him with failing to present for the test as requested. A hearing found him guilty. Now we await his penalty. In the meantime unti his penalty is given which will probably be a suspension he is continuing to train. Big deal. Only small minded types such as yourself are banging on about on social media. Probably because you have nothing else exciting in your life and you won't admit to being a Coronation Street fan.

Yes @Thomass I saw that yearling being auctioned and the two bids from Te Akau - embellished.

Weirdly, I endevoured to like button your post, but I too have been restricted. If you like, pm your email and you can see for yourself if the light relief moment was indeed "embellished"

No one would expect you to see the big deal in it, so little point in you stating it. You're an armchair trainer who wears a Tangerine onesie & slippers to bed , dont attempt to empathize with those at the coal face in the industry.

The first day of racing at Churchill Downs in advance of the Kentucky Derby April 25 will be moved to the afternoon after being held at night since 2011. Additionally, a Sunday card will be added to Derby Week April 26.View the full article

Certainly looks that way.

By Michael Guerin Some simple maths suggests Roydon Muscle can win the feature trot at Addington tonight. That is if trainer-driver Bob Butt’s prediction of what his stable runner is capable of is on the mark. Roydon Muscle is a relative newcomer to Butt’s care who after two disappointing performances at Nelson has been excellent in his subsequent two Addington starts. “We was working so well before Nelson I thought he had to be hard to beat up there but he didn’t race up to it,” explains Butt. “I thought maybe he was one of those older horses who works well but doesn’t put in on race day but he has been racing way better back at Addington. “Maybe he just likes it there.” Roydon Muscle bolted in down in the grades two starts ago then finished a solid fifth after an early mistake in Muscle Mountain’s demolition job in the Group 3 over 1980m last Friday. He returns to the stand tonight off a 10m handicap in the Breckon Farms Trot, with only one horse in front of him so the chance to head forward and make his main rivals Bounce N Beyond (30m) and Eurostyle (40m) chase hard. “I reckon he can trot 3:17 or 3:18 for the 2600m and that would make him hard to catch,” says Butt. “Obviously Eurostyle is a good mare so she will be hard in the small field while Bounce N Beyond seems to be getting better and he trialed well recently so he might be the one we have to beat.” If Bounce N Beyond was to win it would be appropriate as he was bred by race sponsors Breckon Farms, whose owners Ken and Karen Breckon were honoured with the Outstanding Contribution award at the HRNZ Horse of the Year dinner in Christchurch on Saturday. Butt unleashes an early season two-year-old in the last race on the rare Thursday night Addington programme, with Fanfare (R10, No.2) facing just three rivals. The son of King Of Swing is unbeaten in four public trials and will be hard to hold out but while the field is small it has a Cran and Chrissie Dalgety-trained youngster and two from the Ross Houghton barn so stables who know plenty about training juvenile winners. Earlier in the night Butt rates Prophet (R5, No.9) a nice maiden but he will need to be starting from the outside of the front line with some horses better than maiden grade inside him, including last Friday’s eye-catching debutante Elegant Delight. And impressive last-start winner Milou steps up in grade in Race 7 where the recent stable addition has to overcome a second line draw, albeit with her most favoured rivals Gone Surfin and Amaretto Delight drawn wide on the front line. View the full article

Due to continued winter weather conditions in Kentucky, Wednesday's live racing at Turfway Park has been canceled. Live racing is scheduled to resume Thursday with a 1 p.m. ET first post. For the latest on racing and gaming from Turfway Park, visit www.turfway.com. The post Winter Weather KO’s Turfway’s Wednesday Card appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

6th-GP, $84K, Msw, 4yo/up, f&m, 1m, 2:49 p.m. ET. In early June last summer, SPIRIT OF HOPE (Street Sense) was working toward her first start for trainer Bill Mott at Saratoga. The filly was a 'main track only' entrant for a maiden special weight, but was unable to draw into the race. Given some more time through the fall, the Godolphin homebred is ready for her unveiling here. Out of highly productive mare Dance Card (Tapit), the first-time starter's half-siblings include Horse of the Year & current sire Cody's Wish (Curlin), MGSW Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro) and the dam of 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro). TJCIS PPS The post Thursday’s Insights: Half-Sister To Cody’s Wish Has Gulfstream ‘Dance Card’ Filled Out appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After an announcement that starting letters would be harmonised across sales companies in 2026, a change in position by one of those sales companies has resulted in a revision to the Tattersalls Group's starting letters for this year. All Tattersalls sales in Newmarket will are catalogued alphabetically, either by lot name or dam name and will remain on F, apart from the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale which will revert to its unique starting letter of K. Tattersalls Ireland will revert to starting letter P for Flat sales at Fairyhouse and letter F for all National Hunt sales. The starting letter for each sale will advance by five letters each year, with X, Y and Z being counted as one letter. The starting letters for the next three years are as follows: Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Breeze Up Sales & Tattersalls Ireland National Hunt Sales: 2026 – F 2027 – K 2028 – P Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale: 2026 – K 2027 – P 2028 – U Tattersalls Ireland Flat Sales: 2026 – P 2027 – U 2028 – B The post Catalogue Starting Letters Revised For Tattersalls Group appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will offer significant enhancements to its 2-year-old racing program, reinforcing the track's long-standing commitment to developing juvenile runners while expanding opportunities for owners, trainers and breeders, the track announced Wednesday. Beginning with the 2026 Summer season, which opens July 17, Del Mar will offer $100,000 open maiden races for 2-year-olds on the main track. These enhanced purses, for both colts and fillies, underscore the early success of California's new single-circuit structure and reaffirm the importance of juvenile racing to the seaside oval. In addition, Del Mar will introduce new conditions for select two-year-old maiden races restricted by auction purchase price, limited to horses purchased for $150,000 or less. These special-condition main-track races will offer a purse of $70,000, while all other maiden allowance races will carry a purse of $80,000. These multi-tiered offerings are designed to broaden participation and create meaningful opportunities for a wider range of owners, trainers and breeders, while maintaining Del Mar's traditionally high level of competition. “2-year-old racing has a long and storied history at Del Mar,” said David Jerkens, Del Mar's Senior Vice President of Racing. “These enhancements reflect our commitment to honoring that tradition while adapting to the evolving needs of the industry.” Additional details regarding race conditions and schedules will be available in the official condition book, available in mid-May. Del Mar's 87th summer season runs from July 17 through September 7. The post Del Mar Increases Juvenile Open Maiden Race Purses To $100,000 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Third-crop stallion Sweetontheladies (Twirling Candy) will return to Florida where he will stand the upcoming 2026 breeding season stand at Solera Farm in Williston. A son of leading sire Twirling Candy, Sweetontheladies will stand as the property of The Four Horsemen Racing Stable and Lady Lindsay Racing Stable for $2,500 live foal. Sweetontheladies won or placed in 11 stakes from the ages of two to five before retiring sound with earnings over $400,000. As a juvenile, he won three of his first four starts, including the Juvenile Sprint Stakes and captured the Crystal River Handicap at Gulfstream Park at three. On his best day, his ran third in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes at Saratoga. For more information or to book a mare, please contact John Kasbar. The post Sweetontheladies Relocates To Florida’s Solera Farm For 2026 Season appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has formed a new strategic plan for the organization, broadening the scope of its activities, enhancing its sustainability, and developing new partnerships toward encouraging use of Thoroughbreds beyond their racing and breeding years, Walter S. Robertson, Jr., president of Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance announced Wendesday. “Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance was formed a little more than 15 years ago, and it quickly achieved its primary mission of becoming the centerpiece of Thoroughbred aftercare support across North America,” said Robertson. “After extensive research and analysis and with input from stakeholders across all areas of the Thoroughbred industry, we are pleased to announce an expanded strategic plan, which will further protect Thoroughbreds and provide a firm foundation for their care and retraining for years to come.” The expanded strategy for Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance includes five pillars: Financial stability maintained through centralized industry-provided funding conduits. Gold-standard accreditation and certifications, including developing and expanding strategic alliances with placement programs with racetracks. Data analytics to better monitor and analyze aftercare outcomes. Comprehensive resource allocation and support via increased grants, alliances and sponsorships of Thoroughbred events, and customer service resources and support. Industry-wide advocacy and education, including public relations success stories with Thoroughbreds in second careers. “The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is deeply grateful for The Jockey Club's help with the plan and their financial support and steadfast leadership,” Robertson said. “As a Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance co-founder, our largest financial backer, and a valued long-term partner, The Jockey Club continues to play a defining role in expanding and strengthening aftercare for Thoroughbreds.” Everett Dobson, Chair of The Jockey Club, added: “For 2026, The Jockey Club is contributing $2.5 million to aftercare–funding driven in part by registry transactions and proceeds from our commercial companies–with the bulk of that supporting Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Aftercare is a shared responsibility. We're confident Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance's plan will keep raising the bar for aftercare, and we encourage other organizations, companies, and individuals to join us with reliable, ongoing funding–year after year.” The post Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Announces New Strategic Plan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

As an unrelenting stretch of icy winter cold hangs over the Bluegrass, the thought of a sunny spring day of racing at Keeneland with the dogwood trees in bloom sure feels like a welcome reprieve. At the upcoming Spring Meet, Keeneland will celebrate the grand opening of the interior hospitality spaces in the new three-story Paddock Building. To help chase away the winter cold, Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin sat down with TDN to share more details on Keeneland's five new venues before tickets go on sale on Tuesday, Feb. 17. “All the rooms are furnished and we're just finalizing, going through a punch list with our contractor and getting everything wrapped up,” Arvin shared. During the 2025 Fall Meet, Keeneland debuted its renovated Saddling Paddock and Stakes Winner's Circle. The new venues within the Paddock Building will offer views of both locations. Lexington-based designer Matthew Carter, who has had a hand in existing venues at Keeneland like the fifth floor Keeneland Room, led the interior design process for the new building. Arvin said that maintaining Keeneland's time-honored atmosphere while enhancing the fan experience was a top priority throughout the project. “We spent a lot of time looking at the history of design at Keeneland, which goes back to the days of Mrs. [Alma] Haggin, who really was in charge of it at the beginning,” she explained. “One of the reasons that it was so important to us that Matt Carter be involved was because I feel like he has really looked at the history and understands what the feel of Keeneland should be, but at the same time can focus on modernizing it and adding in some fun touches.” For the upcoming meet, access to the Paddock Building will be exclusive to guests with tickets to one of its five spaces. The venues will offer over 1,000 new public dining tickets each race day. “Part of the reason that we built the Paddock Building was because we didn't have enough supply for the demand, which is an incredible problem to have and we do not take it for granted,” said Arvin. “So we want to be sure that we can fulfill as many requests as we can. We expect that it will be very well received and we're still going to run out of inventory pretty quickly, honestly, but that's 1,000 more people per day we can seat, which is great.” Ticket pricing for the new spaces range from $100 to $200 based on location, race day and dining package. Beyond the racing season, Keeneland plans to leverage the Paddock Building during sales to offer more hospitality options to auction attendees. 1936 ROOM 1936 Room | Keeneland photo Location: North end of first floor with access to Paddock Lawn Seating: Lounge seating and high-top tables Food and Beverage: All-inclusive passed and stationed hors d'oeuvres, full-service premium open bar Inside Look: “The 1936 Room is probably the newest concept for Keeneland, because there's not another room like it at the track. It is the first time we've done an all-inclusive ticket. There will be passed food, as well as food stationed throughout the room, so it's not a sit-down experience. We may pass some cocktails too.” “The jockeys walk through the room from the Jockeys' Quarters downstairs, which is fun and interactive. Also if you have access to that room, you have access to the north side of the paddock, so you have a spot to go outside.” “People like to enjoy the races in different ways. Some people like to sit at a table all day while other people like a little more action. They want to be able to mingle and walk around and this definitely gives them the chance to do that.” Favorite Detail: “I love the look and feel of all of the rooms, but I do really love this one. The woodwork is beautiful and the lighting is really special.” SYCAMORE ROOM Sycamore Room | Keeneland photo Location: South end of first floor adjacent to the Stakes Winner's Circle Seating: Reserved table service Food and Beverage: A la carte high-end dining and cocktail service with classic American cuisine Inside Look: “This is probably our most upscale room of the five new rooms. There are some private rooms off to the side in the space, which I think people will really enjoy. This room is also on the first floor so you can walk right out to the area outside the walking ring.” “The menu is à la carte. I laugh because I've actually heard more rumors about the Sycamore Room than I imagined possible. The menu is close to finalized but it's not actually finalized, and for a while people were saying it was going to be a steakhouse. While there will probably be a steak on the menu, it is not a steakhouse. But I do think the food will be delicious and special in there.” Favorite Detail: “I love the bar in the Sycamore Room. It might be my favorite bar of the new ones.” DOGWOOD AND IVY ROOMS: Dogwood Room | Keeneland photo Location: Second floor overlooking the Paddock Seating: Reserved table service Food and Beverage: Buffet-style dining. A la carte snacks and cocktails available for purchase. Inside Look: “The Dogwood and Ivy Rooms are similar spaces and are on the second floor. They are both going to have an elevated buffet. You've got the arched windows, which I think are so in keeping with what you think of when you think of Keeneland. The views outside these rooms overlooking the paddock are really special.” “The Dogwood is bigger than the Ivy Room. The Ivy Room seats 110 people, so it could be a private space or not. It just depends on what the demand is for that day. It was kind of a missing link for us because the Lexington/Kentucky Room is so large and then you go down to the Stakes Lounge at the Lafayette Room, which maybe wasn't large enough sometimes. So the Ivy Room hopefully will fit that need.” Favorite Detail: “I actually love the wallpaper in those rooms. You walk in and it's just very striking and I love the way it's hung around the windows.” Rooftop Bar | Keeneland photo ROOFTOP BAR AND ROOFTOP DINING: Location: Third floor overlooking the Paddock Seating: Reserved table service. Rooftop Dining in enclosed premium indoor space. Rooftop Bar in covered outdoor area. Food and Beverage: A la carte lunch and cocktail service Inside Look: “Obviously the best part of the rooftop is the view. I've spent a lot of time staring at the Sycamore tree, but until I saw it from the rooftop, I hadn't seen it quite like you can from that vantage point. It's pretty spectacular.” “It is an a la carte menu up there too. For the outdoor space, you've got a big bar area–kind of a round bar, which I think people will enjoy–with covered high-top tables surrounding the bar. Inside, you've got a smaller dining room with seating.” Favorite Detail: “The view of the paddock is amazing, but it is also pretty neat to see the rest of the campus when you're turned away from the paddock and looking over at the sales pavilion and all the barns.” The Keeneland Spring Meet runs April 3-24, with no racing on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Easter Sunday, April 5. Purchase tickets at Tickets.Keeneland.com. The post Shannon Arvin Shares Inside Look at Keeneland’s New Paddock Building appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

If you bump into Edmond Mahony over the next few days at Park Paddocks and congratulate him on his ITBA Wild Geese Award, the chances are that it will be greeted with mild embarrassment and an assertion that there are other more deserving recipients out there. Mahony is famously averse to fuss. He has, equally famously, guided the good ship Tattersalls to extraordinary growth, even through some choppy waters, in his long-running tenure as chairman. There was the not insignificant matter of a global pandemic which somehow the bloodstock sector navigated its way through. Collaboration and innovation meant that horses were still traded, even if it was in a manner which would hitherto have been unthinkable. “We had two streaks of luck, really,” he recalls of that time. “One was that Matt Hancock was the local MP here and we had a direct line into him that otherwise we wouldn't have had. I know Matt has been criticised hugely since, but I have to give him credit where it's due, and he recognised that the racing industry needed looking at and he did his best for us in that regard. “I think we were also lucky because we own quite a bit of [Australian auction house] Inglis and they had pioneered the online platforms. Since the pandemic, with Kat Sheridan and Ross Birkett, we've developed it further. Now, I wouldn't say it's mainstream, but it's not far off it.” The development of Tattersalls Online has been one of a significant number of changes to have occurred in almost 33 years since Mahony became chairman of Tattersalls. In 1993, a total of 3,401 horses were traded at the Newmarket auction house for 41,412,398gns. Fast-forward to 2025 and the adjusted figures of 5,212 sold for turnover of 426,389, 509gns tell their own tale of the reach and stature of this world-renowned brand. Further change is afoot, but mostly only subtly. While Mahony remains in his position as chairman, he has stepped down as chief executive, paving the way for Matthew Prior to have become managing director from January 1, along with the appointment of three more new directors to the Tattersalls board in Jason Singh, Harvey Bell and Tammy O'Brien. The latter was already a member of the board of Tattersalls Ireland, of which Mahony is also chairman, while Simon Kerins is chief executive. “I think all of them are outstanding individuals,” Mahony says. “Matt's a great leader. You've got Harvey and Tammy and Jase, and Caroline [Scott] has done a fantastic job since taking over the finance department. We've still got the old heads around the boardroom table, with Gav [Davies] and John [Morrey] and myself, so I think it's all positive. “Tattersalls is a big beast now compared to what it was in 1993. It's a better model in that both Simon and Matt are reporting in to me and they're both running the shows on a day-to-day basis, which they're well able to do.” One change which has not been met with universal approval is that from this week's February Sale, Mahony, along with fellow auctioneer John O'Kelly, will no longer be on the rostrum. For one so obviously reticent about being centre stage, Mahony has long seemed an unlikely auctioneer but he was to the manner born, following the example of his father Denis, who was an auctioneer at Ballsbridge. His style is a magic combination which manages to be both understated and commanding at the same time. He will be missed. “We introduced a company policy a few years ago that auctioneers stood down at 65, which is as good a time as any, really,” Mahony explains. “But I have to say, I didn't realise there was going to be quite the reaction there has been, because I have had a lot of correspondence from people saying I made the wrong decision. There's never a good time, but there's definitely a right time, I think.” Of the importance of getting it right, particularly on behalf of the vendor, he adds, “You're advocating the horse in front of you for two and a half minutes and it's taken someone possibly three years to produce. So I was always very conscious of that, particularly for the smaller people, they were always the people that I felt most badly for when it didn't go well, and probably I've had more correspondence from them than anyone else. Edmond Mahony in action on the rostrum | Tattersalls “I think the most important thing is to have engagement with the audience you're with and have empathy with them, too, which is something I always try and instil in the people I'm teaching. I'm at the stage now where I'm trying to pass on whatever I've learnt. You've got to thank people, you've got to recognise people's efforts. And I think what actually sells horses, funnily enough, is rhythm. People bid to the rhythm that you're selling in, so I think that's probably the most important thing, but after that, it's having empathy with the vendors and the purchasers.” A horseman down to his boots, he knows however that the business is as much about people and, increasingly, politics. Last year, Mahony strayed from the norm in his closing address following the December Sale, warning unequivocally of the “perilously uncertain” future faced by the industry. “I suppose the background to it was that I was concerned that a government minister at the end of the 2024 sale had basically touted Tattersalls sales as a reason that the racing industry did not need any help. And I was very uncomfortable with that because I think it was obviously a complete misrepresentation of the situation,” Mahony explains. “I thought that I would take an opportunity to set that record straight, and I had a few goes actually over the year, but nobody really picked up on it. So I thought, right, this is the time to do it because I'm stepping down as the chief executive. I had a lot of people message me saying it needed to be said.” He continues, “I'm very conscious of how small breeders are suffering at the moment. We've tried our best to help with sales races, supporting the TBA with their initiatives on the fillies' bonus schemes, and we've thrown a lot more into sponsorship. We sponsored the Middle Park and the Cheveley Park when they didn't have a sponsor last year, but realistically there's only a limited number of things we can do, because we are buffeted by the political headwinds that we're facing. “I'm very concerned at the way the present government are handling the economy. They came in on a pledge to look after business, which clearly has not happened. If anything, they've done the opposite. “The situation with the non-doms is probably the most worrying for racing, and we've got the perfect storm of rising taxes, rising inflation, all the extra costs they put on business – even things like VAT on school fees is sucking money out of the economy that otherwise would be spent on incremental businesses like racing. “I know we had a slight victory with the betting tax, but I suspect that was a pyrrhic victory and that it's going to come back to bite us.” While Mahony says that he is not usually pessimistic, he points to the lack of engagement with the racing industry by Britain's politicians in comparison to Ireland as a cause for concern. “I've never gone down this road before but I am now because I think I need to,” he says. “Ireland's a completely different economy. They've got politicians that are seriously invested in racing. The real contrast is something like point-to-pointing, where the Irish government are putting in somewhere between €3-to-€4 million every year, and the government here are trying to stop it. I mean, if nothing else illustrates the gulf, it's that.” And yet the two countries have a necessarily symbiotic relationship. What happens in Britain will affect the Irish racing industry eventually, and perhaps nowhere is this felt more keenly than in the sales companies which operate across both jurisdictions. “People always say that Tattersalls is a very British company, which I don't altogether recognise, because I always think we're an Anglo-Irish company,” Mahony notes. “Not only do we have a huge base and a huge investment in Ireland, also the majority of our shareholders are actually either Irish-based or from Irish extraction. So I think we see ourselves very much as an Anglo-Irish company, if not an international company, so I find myself very interchangeable in that regard.” Tattersalls Ireland's Simon Kerins with Edmond Mahony | Tattersalls Despite spending plenty of time in his native country, Mahony has for many years resided just outside the British racing heartland of Newmarket, a town which he says is “the most undersold resource – there's nowhere in the world like this”. There was a time early in his chairmanship when moving the company from Britain to Ireland was under serious consideration. Lobbying of then-Prime Minister John Major ensued and, despite the acknowledged disconnect, there is often to be found the odd government minister touring Park Paddocks. Recently that has included former Home Secretary Priti Patel and current Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch. From EU harmonisation back in the 1990s, to its fracture through Brexit over the last decade, and the aforementioned Covid pandemic, there have been plenty of storms to weather. “I've gone through periods of recognising how much damage and how much good, to be fair, politicians can do to industry and business,” Mahony says. “During the pandemic we nearly got closed down a couple of times, and if not for the intervention of various politicians, we probably wouldn't have had any sales.” While it has long been acknowledged that the top tier of the market, with its lure for world leaders and billionaires, is to a degree immune to financial crises, Mahony acknowledges that a continued partial shrinkage of the thoroughbred population is inevitable, and he is concerned for the lower echelons. “The breeders that are breeding nice commercial horses that ordinarily would be finding buyers that are giving economically viable prices – that's the area that I'd be worried about,” he says. “The stallions that are standing for nominations of £10,000 and under, their offspring are no longer making the £30,000, £40,000 that they need to.” The breeding game has already changed significantly in recent decades and it is easy to imagine that more small breeders will be lost in the coming years. Mahony recalls, “In the early 1980s we had hundreds of small farmer vendors who had two or three yearlings every year. You'd go to a county and spend nearly a week in it looking at all these horses. Now it's the complete opposite. Those people have been replaced by huge farms that have, in many cases, hundreds of yearlings. I think that's probably the biggest change.” Yearling inspecting is still, however, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the business for the chairman whose spare time, when he has any, is devoted to producing show hunters. He has enjoyed Anglo-Irish success in this sphere at Royal Windsor and the Royal Dublin Show. “It's where I started,” he says. “My mother was very keen on horses and I was very lucky and enjoyed the energy that she had in doing it. “I think if you ride to a certain level, you pick up things automatically, on conformation, good and bad, and how it's not nice sitting on a horse with no front, and that sort of thing. “But I think you just have to love the horse; that's the most important thing. And that's why I'm keen on the RoR. We came in early on when it started off and sponsored the show series, and I think it's been a great success.” RoR – the Retraining of Racehorses charity – has a showcase to kick off proceedings at 11am at Tattersalls on Thursday ahead of the popular stallion parade, which Tattersalls stepped in to rescue when the TBA discontinued its support. The February Sale gets underway in their wake and, though a lower-key beginning to the sales year at Tattersalls, it invariably provides an engaging couple of days ahead of the start of the covering season. Over the years, Mahony has seen all horses great and small sell from his vantage point on the Tattersalls rostrum. He particularly recalls the transaction involving subsequent treble Group 1 winner Chief Singer, a large colt by Ballad Rock who was “sandwiched between a Mill Reef and a Habitat in the Airlie draft”. He says, “I remember thinking, am I going to get this horse sold? And suddenly Richard Galpin threw his catalogue up in the middle of the ring, bought him on the reserve of 10 grand. And his first start was in the Coventry. “Richard Galpin was an unbelievable judge of a horse – an absolute genius.” Plenty of similar compliments were paid to Mahony by his peers at the ITBA Awards on the last weekend of January, but he says modestly of his award, which is given annually to someone who has represented Ireland with honour abroad, “I'm sure there were more deserving winners on the night than me, but it was very kind of them to recognise me, and I appreciate that.” Political concerns forgotten for now, he adds, “It's still a business that is so enjoyable. It's a way of life, isn't it? I look back on my life and think I've been incredibly lucky to work in my hobby, basically, and I think that's the same for most people in this field.” The post Edmond Mahony: ‘You Have To Love The Horse; That’s The Most Important Thing’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

When you spend 3,200gns at the horses-in training sales on a 42-rated handicapper, the barometer of expectation cannot be set very high. Win a little race somewhere? Great. Win a couple? You're a genius. Win seven in a row and bid for a modern day record-equaling eighth success on the trot? You must be having a laugh. Well, the ownership group of Barry And The Chuckles are the only ones laughing here. It was through bloodstock agent Dan Astbury that the syndicate picked up Aisling Oscar for that paltry sum from a Tattersalls Online Sale in September. The group of owners, of which Astbury is a part of, have scarcely been able to wipe the smiles off their faces ever since. The grin could be about to widen further as the Adrian Keatley-trained five-year-old will be bidding for that record-equaling eighth win on the trot at Southwell on Thursday. However, if Aisling Oscar is to be successful, he will need to prove himself away from Newcastle, where all seven of his wins for current connections have been recorded. Astbury said, “The preference would have been for this race to be at Newcastle because he has such a big stride but unfortunately the races did not suit. Southwell is probably the second-best track for him as it is the longest all-weather straight there is away from Newcastle so we're hoping for the best. “Aisling Oscar is unbelievable – he takes his runs so well and comes out bouncing from every race. Adrian and all of his team have done an amazing job and, touch wood, he seems to be taking it all in his stride. But, he looks to have a favourite's chance on form on Thursday. I know he is up in the weights but it is a pretty similar race to the one he won cosily last time at Newcastle. Hopefully he can go very close again.” So, how did we end up here, with Aisling Oscar hoping to replicate the achievements of the Reg Akehurst-trained Ballynakelly, who won eight times between 1995 and 1996? Astbury, who is perhaps best known for sourcing classy horses for the National Hunt sphere, is the first person to admit that Aisling Oscar has exceeded all expectations by climbing a whopping 25lbs in the space of just four months. He explained, “We only bought Aisling Oscar for a little bit of fun. We bought him to target him at the all-weather bonus, but for it to have gone as well as it has, it's been brilliant. He had good all-weather form given he won twice when trained by Craig O'Neill in Ireland. Racing at Dundalk is a lot more competitive than the all-weather racing over here and the other angle we had is that he has a massive stride length. We bought him to run at Newcastle but we couldn't get him in any races at the start because he was rated so low. That's why he ran on debut for us at Wolverhampton.” Aisling Oscar has cashed a little over £25,000 in winning prize-money for current connections. Far more lucrative than that, however, is the all-weather bonuses he has netted over the winter months. A much bigger carrot awaits if the winning machine can maintain his status as the most successful performer in Britain this winter given a lucrative bonus of £100,000 will be on offer for the all-weather horse of the year at the end of the season. Astbury concluded, “The all-weather bonus system played a big factor in us buying Aisling Oscar. If it wasn't in place, we probably wouldn't have bought him. It's a huge incentive and, to be fair, they are getting a lot more runners on the all-weather in England now because of the bonus so it's working well. The race values can be thin but, with the bonuses, it gives people a reason to get involved. I obviously didn't think we were going to win seven races with him but I thought we could win a few and that's why we bought him. I can't say enough about what a brilliant job that Adrian has done with him. The horse looks an absolute beast at the minute so fingers crossed he can go in again.” The post “Unbelievable” Aisling Oscar Bids For Record-Equalling Eighth Win On The Bounce At Southwell appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Schedule for racing on radio, television, streaming, as compiled by America's Best Racing.View the full article

In late December, trainer Butch Reid had a tough decision to make. Should he run his promising now 3-year-old Mailata in the Jerome Stakes on Jan. 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack or the Dec. 30 Future Stars Stakes at his home base of Parx Racing? View the full article