General Yarn

In his first day riding in races since a Sept. 21 fall sent him to the hospital, jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. won an allowance optional claiming race aboard Sir Greylind at Churchill Downs Nov. 12.View the full article

Hence the changes he made that you found favourable.

The NZ TAB has always been a monopoly - someone like @Huey must surely argue that NZ Racing was at its best when it was a complete rock solid monopoly. As for the current advances "choking off the interest in racing"?  How will it? That happens with all operators.  The fact is when you have access to multiple agencies you are spreading your bets around to avoid the email cutting you off.  The time it takes to run out of options depends on the volume you bet and the amount of agency churn in the market. They do but not on free to air TVNZ.  They don't put free on air the 5th from Ashburton or Flemington either.  But as you have a TAB account you can watch from your smart phone. Just because you can't get a $10,000 collect?

A colt foal by Authorized changed hands for a sale-topping €170,000 during the third and final day of the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale. Sold as lot 622 to Darragh McCarthy of Capital Stud, it is the highest price paid for a foal at this sale since 2007, and the Louis Vambeck-bred is now the joint second-most expensive foal ever sold at the sale. The Ballyreddin Stud-consigned colt is out of the Kayf Tara mare Izzy Du Berlais and is a half-brother to four winners, including Grade 2 winner and Grade 1-placed Six Figures (Harzand). “It is hard to try and buy a stallion, so we decided that we will have to try and make our own,” explained McCarthy, who also stands Authorized. “We figured out that we will have to go and buy them as younger horses; foals, yearlings and two-year-olds. “All the right people were on him, we paid more than we were hoping, but he is a serious individual with an unbelievable pedigree – he comes from the famous Berlais family, and we could not leave without him. We didn't think we would have to give that type of money, or anything near it, and I'm shocked we had to give that. “The physical is hard to fault, he's a beautiful walker, and I thought he was the best stallion prospect I saw all week. He is the whole package.” Second on the buyers' sheet was lot 750, also a son of Authorized, who was snapped up by Yvonne Kiely and her husband Brian. The highest price paid for a broodmare was €50,000 for Harrisburg (Ire) (Authorized), a full-sister to Grade 2 winner Goshen. She caught the eye of Kevin Hassett. She is in foal to Luxembourg. Statistically, both the average of €20,043 (+22%) and the median of €15,000 (+38%) were new records. The gross was €9,199,500 (+17%) for 459 sold (66%). Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins said, “Prior to this year's November National Hunt Sale, we were hopeful of a good solid few days what with a small reduction in numbers catalogued compared with last year, however this week's trade was significantly better than we ever imagined. “The joint second highest price ever paid for a foal, combined with record figures for one-day trade on day two, were some of the highlights from an excellent three days' trade at the November National Hunt Sale. “The top price of €170,000, achieved by a Ballyreddin Stud consigned foal represents the highest price paid for a foal at the November National Hunt Sale since 2007. It follows on from Ballyreddin's successful Derby Sale earlier this year, where the consignor sold the top priced store sold in 2025. The total turnover has surpassed recent years, with both the average and the median showing the strong gains. This is a hugely encouraging outcome and fitting to see the year out after a record-breaking Derby Sale. “While we had a more compressed catalogue this year, the focus on quality was rewarded with a notably higher clearance rate, demonstrating the depth of demand for the right horses. “The National Hunt market has undoubtedly become more selective, as we witnessed on occasions this week, however, it was particularly encouraging to see 11 different sires represented among the top 20 lots, giving breeders confidence that buyers are still willing to look beyond the obvious and reward quality across a broad spectrum. “We are extremely grateful to our vendors who entrusted us with such a strong selection of quality foals. The calibre of pedigree and individual on offer was reflected in the higher-priced lots, and it is thanks to their continued support that we can deliver these outstanding results. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the many purchasers who turned out in force once again from the UK and on the domestic front, and we look forward to following the progress of this year's foals, many of whom will no doubt reappear at the Derby Sale which continues to be the destination of choice for National Hunt pinhookers. “A big thank you to our partners in Irish Thoroughbred Marketing who work alongside us in promoting the sale and are a constant support for our visitors prior to and whilst at the sale.” The post Authorized Foals Popular As Records Tumble At November NH Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

For 2026, Maryland's racing calendar will look more or less like this year's schedule after the Maryland Racing Commission on Wednesday approved a slate of 120 dates for Laurel Park. That's the same number of racing days that the non-profit Maryland Jockey Club had been awarded for this season, with the only difference being that in 2025, six programs were run at Pimlico Race Course as part of the GI Preakness Stakes meet. Pimlico has since been demolished and is being rebuilt with the goal of all commercial-track Thoroughbred racing in Maryland shifting to the new Baltimore venue by 2027, at which time racing will cease at Laurel. Laurel's management submitted a request of specific racing dates and post times to the commission for only the early portion of '26. After racing concludes this year at Laurel Dec. 31, the track will take a brief break before the '26 season opens Jan. 9 with racing through the end of that month on Fridays and Saturdays with 12:00 (Eastern) post times. In February and March Laurel will add Sundays to make a three-day racing week. Chris Merz, the commission's executive director, told TDN in an email after the meeting that the expected summer break and the exact race dates around it in the spring and fall would likely not be finalized until March or April. The Timonium Fair applied for 10 dates covering Aug. 27-Sept. 13, although Merz said at the meeting that “they will likely run seven of those days,” which is consistent with the fair's applications in previous years. Fair Hill, which conducted its first race meet in six years this past August, was granted eight dates of racing. “Stakeholders are going to work together to get specified dates,” Merz said. Fair Hill's card in '25 consisted of six pari-mutuel flat races on the turf. But according to a Nov. 2 story in The Racing Biz, the event's organizers have discussed re-introducing steeplechase racing, possibly over Memorial Day weekend in '26. The post Laurel to Anchor Maryland Circuit in ’26 with Same Template of 120 Dates appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article