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Edited Press Release The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) and Virginia Tech jointly announced today the Thoroughbred Wellness Expo, which will take place Saturday, Feb, 28, at Virginia Tech's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, VA. The Thoroughbred Wellness Expo is a day of seminars and live demonstrations with a focus on soundness in the Thoroughbred athlete. Sessions are designed to empower and educate the equestrian to confidently partner with the breed. “We were delighted when the team at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center approached us about partnering in an educational event,” said RRP Executive Director Kirsten Green. “Education–making sure people working with Thoroughbreds have the information and resources they need to be successful–has always been fundamental to the work of the RRP and increasing opportunities and access figures prominently in our strategic plan. We're grateful to the staff of the Equine Medical Center for their collaboration and making their world-class facility available to host this event.” The event will include the following sessions:   'From the Track to the Ring': Evaluating orthopedic and soft tissue injuries and corrective procedures and their impact on post-racing life from Dr. Jeff Berk, VMD, MRCVS;   'When Breathing Goes Off Track': Equine upper-airway diseases in ex-racehorses from Dr. Elsa Ludwig, DVM, MS, CVA, PhD, DACVS (LA); 'No Foot, No Horse': Managing and rehabbing Thoroughbred feet, led by Amy Sidwar, APF-I.   “Thoroughbreds are incredible athletes that have a lot to offer beyond the racetrack,” said Dr. Michael Erskine, Director, Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center. “By partnering with the Retired Racehorse Project to support rehoming efforts, and sharing best practices for care, we are ensuring that they can transition and thrive into safe, purposeful second careers.” Click here to purchase tickets. The post RRP, Virginia Tech Team Up For Thoroughbred Wellness Expo appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Nominations for the Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, sponsored by Godolphin, will close at 5pm on Friday February 13. Anyone can nominate a friend or colleague for an award and must be completed online at www.itiea.org The nomination process has been simplified for the 2026 awards. In previous years nominators were required to write a detailed profile of their nominee. This year, the nominator will be contacted by a representative of Naas-based Clark People Solutions who will complete the nominee profiles by phone. Sponsored by Godolphin and supported by the Irish Stable Staff Association, Horse Racing Ireland, the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association and the Racing Post, the awards recognise and reward the exceptional skills, experience and dedication of the women and men in the thoroughbred breeding and racing industry and offer €60,000 in prize money across 10 award categories for the winners and their workplace colleagues. In addition to a Newcomer Award and five Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, an Administration Award and an Ancillary Services Award have been introduced for 2026. All winners are then eligible for the Irish Racing Excellence Award, which will be announced at the awards ceremony. The Racecourse Award winner, chosen by the Irish Stable Staff Association, will also be revealed on the awards night. The Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards ceremony will take place in the Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge, County Kildare on Tuesday June 2. Sandra Hughes, Godolphin's Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards Ambassador, is available to anyone who has questions or needs assistance with nomination queries. The post Nominations For Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards Close Next Week  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Aisling Oscar created a little slice of racing history at Southwell on Thursday when winning his eighth successive handicap. While his previous seven wins for his current connections had all come at Newcastle, trainer Adrian Keatley had to look at Southwell for his record-equalling success in the Win £250,000 With BetMGM's Golden Goals Handicap. Bought by Dan Astbury from Ireland for just 3,200 gns, the five-year-old has risen from a mark of just 42 to 71 during his prolific spell. Ridden by Oisin McSweeney, who had been on board for two of his wins, he came home the 3-1 favourite with his nearest rival, Studious, three-quarters of a length behind him. The last horse to win eight handicaps in a row was the Reg Akehurst-trained Ballynakelly between 1995 and 1996. “It's unbelievable, he's a credit to Adrian, his team at home and to Dan who bought him,” McSweeney told Sky Sports Racing.  He added, “It's fantastic and it doesn't happen every day of the week. It's just great to be a part of it. It probably didn't go as straightforward as we thought, I didn't really want to come all the way across but I had enough horse underneath me to get us all the way to the line. He loves it and he just seems to be thriving. “That's his eighth win on the bounce and he's fairly versatile, everything doesn't always have to go his way. He's won from being dropped out, he's been on the pace. All credit to the horse, really.” The post Aisling Oscar Equals Long-Standing Record Of Eight Successive Wins appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Did it ever occur to you @Thomass that one of the reasons you might be a mug punter is that you let gossip from trainers influence your assessment of a horse's chance?

Frankie Lor is optimistic talented young stayer Numbers can achieve twin objectives when the gelding contests the HK$4.2 million G3 Centenary Vase Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 February). Targeting 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 with the last-start winner, Lor believes the Tivaci gelding is capable of landing his first Group race win in Hong Kong while also advancing Four-Year-Old Classic Series hopes. To carry only 115lb under Derek Leung, Numbers will aim to emulate the feats of Glorious Dragon (2021), Zebrowski (2022) and Nimble Nimbus (2024), who all carried 115lb or less to victory in the Centenary Vase. “He (Numbers) looks okay, everything is good. He trialled well over 1600m at Sha Tin (on 20 January) and his work since has been good,” Lor said as Numbers clocked 59.2s (32.9, 26.3) at Sha Tin on Thursday morning (5 February). “This time, we try to get a Group 3 with him. We have got a light weight, which I hope will help him. We are looking towards the (Hong Kong) Classic Cup and the (BMW Hong Kong) Derby. “But this coming Sunday, we will see how he is running.” Second in the 2025 G1 Queensland Derby (2400m) in Australia, Numbers has raced only twice in Hong Kong, following a good third on debut at Happy Valley over 1800m on 10 December with an impressive all-the-way Class 2 win over 2000m at Sha Tin on 27 December. Rated 90, Numbers is a chance of providing Lor with his third Hong Kong Classic Cup success following the wins of Mission Tycoon in 2019 and Healthy Happy in 2021. Numbers will face six rivals on Sunday – Straight Arron (135lb), Beauty Joy (134lb), last year’s winner Chancheng Glory (132lb), Encountered (126lb), Speed Dragon (126lb) and Ensued (125lb). Changcheng Glory will start from gate five on Sunday under Zac Purton and is in similar form to when he won the 2025 Centenary Vase, according to trainer Francis Lui, who is also represented by Speed Dragon (Lyle Hewitson, gate three). “Changcheng Glory is about the same as he was last year. Group 3 is good for him, and it all depends on the pace of the race. He needs to travel comfortably. He needs to run his own race,” Lui said. “Speed Dragon will be suited by the distance, and he’s been racing well at Happy Valley, but he hasn’t raced at Sha Tin for a long time. I hope he can improve a little bit.” A spectacular last-start winner of the G3 January Cup Handicap (1800m) at Happy Valley, Speed Dragon will race at Sha Tin for the first time since February last year. Brett Crawford will bid for a second Group 3 this season with veteran galloper Encountered, who won the G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin on 9 November. Karis Teetan will partner Encountered from gate seven. “He’s (Encountered) doing very well, I’ve been very happy with him at home. He looks amazing, so there’s a bit of a turnaround in the weights with a couple of horses that beat him last time, so I think he’ll be better suited to the 1800m at Sha Tin,” Crawford said. “It’s a small field, so I’m expecting a very competitive run. He likes to run at horses, so I think if we give him a chance to do that, it would be good. It’s a small field, so he shouldn’t have too much ground to make up. “He seems to like to race that way, so we won’t change too much.” Preparing to chase Hong Kong racing history at Sha Tin with an 18th consecutive win at Sha Tin on 22 February in the HK$13 million G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m), the world’s premier sprinter Ka Ying Rising continued his smooth preparations at Sha Tin this morning (Friday, 6 February). Ridden by Zac Purton, Ka Ying Rising pleased trainer David Hayes as he clocked 24.0s while dashing over the final 400m on Sha Tin’s dirt course after striding from the 1400m. Ka Ying Rising last start equalled fellow champion sprinter Silent Witness’s feat of racking up 17 consecutive wins by a Hong Kong-trained horse with victory in the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) on 25 January. The five-year-old, currently rated the joint second-best horse in the world, will have a barrier trial at Sha Tin on Tuesday (10 February). Hayes provisionally plans to give Ka Ying Rising two more starts this season – in the HK$5.35 million G2 Sprint Cup (1200m) on 6 April and the HK$24 million G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) on 26 April – before preparing the superstar for a defence of the AU$20 million (approx. HK$108 million) G1 The Everest (1200m) in Sydney in October. Sunday’s (8 February) 11-race fixture at Sha Tin begins at 12.30pm with the Class 5 Fu Tai Handicap (1400m). View the full article