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A March 16 board panel decision of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority requests Churchill Downs Inc. pay millions of dollars in unpaid assessment fees or face the prospect of losing race dates.View the full article

Byron King's Top 12 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, presented by Spendthrift Farm.View the full article

Bella Ballerina is making her final start before the Kentucky Oaks (G1) in the March 21 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.View the full article

In the ongoing battle between HISA and Churchill Downs Inc., HISA fired the latest shot Tuesday, ordering Churchill to pay it $5,024,848.56, plus interest in the amount of $250,631.77. In documents released Tuesday by HISA, the authority charged that if CDI does not comply with the order it will no longer be able to simulcast races from any of its tracks to out-of-state locations starting Mar. 27. The legislation that created HISA allows it to revoke a tracks simulcasting privileges if HISA believes a track is in violation of its rules. The first track to be affected would be the Churchill-owned Turfway Park, which is currently racing, but closes Mar. 28. But the most severe impact of HISA's decision could be felt Kentucky Derby Day. If Churchill is not allowed to simulcast the sport's most important race and the entire Derby Day card, the results would be devastating. A total of $234.4 million was bet on the GI Kentucky Derby last year and $349 million was bet on the entire card, with much of that money wagered outside the state of Kentucky through ADW outlets and off-track betting locations. Shutting down out-of-state betting would also no doubt alienate horseplayers and Derby lovers across the country. The ruling was issued by a three-member panel of board members of HISA. The ruling can be appealed by Churchill Downs Inc. to the full HISA board. At deadline for this story the TDN had not received a response to an email sent to CDI requesting comment. The issue first arose on Feb. 18, when HISA summoned Churchill Downs Racetrack and its corporate parent, CDI, to a hearing before a panel of HISA board members in an attempt to secure payment of 2025 assessment fees that CDI has allegedly failed to submit on behalf of the four racetracks, Turfway, Ellis Park, Presque Isle Downs and Churchill itself, that the company owns in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Going so far as to accuse CDI of “freeloading,” HISA alleged that it had not received “one cent” of the money it was due in easements fees for 2025. According to HISA, Churchill Downs Inc. was the only racetrack company or racetrack covered by HISA that paid the authority nothing in 2025. The dispute between CDI and HISA has been complicated by the fact that HISA changed the methodology for how it assesses how much it is owed by a track. CDI is seeking to pay lower fees based on methodologies that were not so cost prohibitive for the company and its tracks. CDI has challenged these changes through what is a still unresolved lawsuit. Churchill has never claimed that it does not owe HISA money, but has said it is waiting on a court to decide on a lawsuit it filed against HISA before paying whatever it may owe after the court has ruled. The HISA panel acknowledged CDI's position, and with the dispute still yet unresolved in the courts, that it is possible that Churchill will owe a lesser amount. HISA is currently seeking to collect $2.4 million based on what Churchill alone owes rather than the $6.3 million it could owe depending on what methods were used to assess the fees it would be required to pay. “As for the balance, the Authority states that it plans to 'seek in a later action the remainder of the assessment fees owed for Churchill Downs Racetrack if the Authority prevails in CDI's pending lawsuit,'” the document reads. “According to the Authority, this “two-phase approach [is] meant to give CDI every benefit of the doubt.” The post HISA Tells Churchill To Pay Up, Threatens To Pull Simulcast Signals Mar. 26 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

With Ballydoyle's press day having produced a rush of excitement for Flat enthusiasts, there is no better time to revisit some key members of the current Classic crop. With Cheltenham barely in the rearview mirror, the Guineas are already on the horizon with the key trials only just around the corner. Things are going to move very quickly between now and the first weekend in May and it is worth recalling some of the best of the 2025 TDN Rising Stars, Presented by Hagyard. As always, Aidan O'Brien is responsible for the lion's share but then history tells us that is the norm considering how many top-class prospects he unleashes year upon year. Twelve months ago, Wootton Bassett's Twain was the talk of Rosegreen until misfortune intervened and this time it is another son of the recently-departed phenomenon who is the headline act in Albert Einstein. He heads the first selection of TDN Rising Stars, Presented by Hagyard which consists of those who are already high-profile. ALBERT EINSTEIN (IRE) (c, Wootton Bassett – Yet, by War Front) Owner: Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Westerberg; Breeder: Coolmore; Trainer: Aidan O'Brien Interestingly, Albert Einstein, who will surely be the first favourite for the 2,000 Guineas to come straight from the Marble Hill(!), is the first foal out of another TDN Rising Star in the barely-seen mare Yet. The last of her three runs resulted in a second in the G2 Airlie Stud Stakes, so the granddaughter of Mariah's Storm (Rahy) remains an enigma from an ability standpoint, but apparently there is no ambiguity regarding her son's prowess. Whether Albert Einstein is more George Washington than Ten Sovereigns, we'll collectively find out only at Newmarket, but the data points to him being in the sprinter camp until proven otherwise. If he fails in his Classic mission, there is always the Commonwealth Cup and all the major sprints that are open to him. As far as buzz is concerned, he's already way ahead of the curve. DIAMOND NECKLACE (IRE) (f, St Mark's Basilica – Prudenzia, by Dansili) Owner: Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier & Westerberg; Breeder: Ecurie des Monceaux & Skymarc Farm Inc; Trainer: Aidan O'Brien This is more than likely going to be a big year for St Mark's Basilica and he could hardly have had a better first-crop representative than Diamond Necklace, who looked a cut above throughout a brief but impactful juvenile campaign. Her Marcel Boussac win is strong form and it looks as if she will be France-bound at least twice more before British crowds get the chance to see her in the flesh. From one of the best families in the book, she is far more precocious than her half-sisters Magic Wand and Chicquita with just as much promise of what extra maturity will bring. She is as exciting as it gets from a pedigree point of view and has to be top, top-class whatever direction she goes in. WISE APPROACH (IRE) (c, Mehmas – Sagely, by Frozen Power) Owner: Godolphin; Breeder: Tally-Ho Stud; Trainer: Charlie Appleby While his Norfolk Stakes conqueror Charles Darwin was laid up, Wise Approach took full advantage by winning the Middle Park, just as his half-brother Perfect Power had before him. As that sibling went on to Commonwealth Cup glory at three, there is no reason to expect Wise Approach to fade out any time soon and, if anything, he could still be improving. It is hard to believe that such fast horses can emerge from the late Jean-Luc Lagardere's family of Sagamix which has produced Japan, Mogul and Secret Gesture, but speed is what Sagely's progeny do and they do it well. CHARLES DARWIN (IRE) (c, No Nay Never – Muirin, by Born To Sea) Owner: Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; Breeder: Newstead Breeding; Trainer: Aidan O'Brien A full-brother to Blackbeard, Charles Darwin let nobody down with his monstrous performance at Royal Ascot before injury halted all momentum. Like Albert Einstein, he has a lot of time to make up but will be one of the more exciting three-year-olds to follow in 2026 when a sprinting campaign will be his sole focus. The fact that he only just missed his sire's track record at Royal Ascot tells us everything that we need to know about this powerhouse and, with the sprinting division lacking depth, he could be one to take on his elders in the King's Stand. BOW ECHO (IRE) (c, Night Of Thunder – Aristocratic Lady, by Invincible Spirit) Owner: Exors Of The Late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid; Breeder: Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; Trainer: George Boughey At present Britain's leading 2,000 Guineas hope, Bow Echo made winning his thing last term with a course-and-distance prep in the Royal Lodge in which the 2022 Newmarket Classic hero Coroebus was second. With doubts about Albert Einstein's ability to see out the mile very real, the fact that Bow Echo is more of a 10-furlong type already proven on the track could mean that he takes the race by the scruff of the neck on the first Saturday in May. From the family of his sire's sire Dubawi, he has all the credentials to be one of the season's leading lights. ZANTHOS (FR) (f, Sioux Nation – Brioniya, by Pivotal) Owner: Victorious Forever; Breeder: Viktor Timoshenko & Andriy Milovanov; Trainer: Simon & Ed Crisford Undone by another TDN Rising Star in Touleen on her second start, Zanthos readily reversed that form in the Rockfel despite overdoing it in the early stages. Entered in the 1,000 Guineas, the €1-million Arqana May Breeze-up sensation may find the mile beyond her, but her outstanding sire has already produced two fillies in Shes Perfect and Matilda Picotte who placed in Classics at the trip. If lack of stamina is an issue, there are multiple avenues for her to go down and abundant opportunities overseas for an obvious class act. The post TDN Rising Stars to Follow: Part 1 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article