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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Bob Butt will venture north with a big team to one of his favourite tracks on Friday. The Woodend-based trainer-driver will take six to Nelson’s Richmond Park. “Along with Addington I reckon it’s the best in the country, it’s a lovely big track and they can win from anywhere,” says Butt. Butt will drive five of his own and also have two outside drives, including the Tim Trathen-trained Shanky’s Shot. “I’ve driven him in all his starts and he’s a lovely horse.” The three-year-old has had two seconds from three career starts and has drawn well (3) in Race 5, the Turf Hotel Mobile Pace (2000m). His day starts with one of his own One Eyed Bandit in the first, the BMTT/Design Art Mobile Pace (3.05pm). “He has his fair share of ability but not the best manners .. in saying that he has the ability to win it.” The Always B Miki four-year-old has won two from seven and comes into the race after a last start eighth at Motukarara after a tough run. Hawk Touie Louie will have just his second race day start in in Race 3, the Palms Motel Pace. On debut he finished third behind Zeus Lightning at Addington. “He won a trial a couple of weeks ago and looks quite a nice maiden,” says Butt.” “He’s a chance.” In Race 6 Butt will partner the Murray Pash-trained Sargent Henry in the Steph Monopoli Summit Mobile Pace, after he won his last start at Westport. “That was a good win but this is a step up in grade .. but he could go a good race on his home track.” Since his win on December 28 he has also won a trial at Nelson. Former buzz two-year-old Ukraine returns for his second run this campaign and looks like a good each way chance in Race 7, the Hoani Jack Cup (5.57pm). He was a fast finishing second at Rangiora on New Year’s Day after beginning awkwardly. “I was rapt with his run. It was his first race in 18 months and he hit the line well on a slushy track that didn’t really suit him,” says Butt. In Race 8, the Dunstan Horsefeeds Handicap Trot (6.22pm) Butt has a strong hand with two runners, Roydon Muscle and Ready Set Jet, to be driven by John Dunn. Along with his mate Connor Harker, Butt recently purchased Roydon Muscle, with the Muscle Mass seven-year-old having won six races for trainer Chris McDowell. “I had raced against the horse and always liked him so we thought we’d give him a go and see if he’d like a change of scenery.” He has since won a trial. “His work has been good but it’s going to be hard off 20 metres.” The Nelson Pine Industries Nelson Cup sees Butt line up impressive last start winner Dynasty. She produced one of the highlights of Phoebe Stud Harness 5000 day at Ashburton with her win but Butt says the Cup is an altogether different challenge. “Obviously there’s a couple or three in there that will be too good for her.” He cites the likes of hot favourite It’s Tough and stablemate Who’s Delight and the Amanda and Hayden Cullen-trained duo of Harrison John and Vessem. “Cocktails and Caviar is handy on his day too so I think we will battle to be in the money.” As for his overall chances? “I’d say Shanky’s Shot is my best chance and the rest are in the same boat. With a bit of luck they can get a bit of money,” says Butt. “If they don’t get luck on the first day they might get some on the second!” Both days will feature $20,000 heats of the Tasman Empress Sprint Series for 4YO+ and up to R45-60 mares. The top five from each heat will qualify for the $35,000 Final at Addington over 1980 metres on January 23,2026. There will also be the latest heats of the Seddon District Trevor Craddock Memorial Trotters Series. The series, in its third year, targets R51 and faster trotters. There are 10 heats in all around the top half of the South Island before the $30,000 Final at Addington on March 20. Day one at Nelson starts at 3.05pm, with the second day on Sunday (January 11). To see the Nelson fields click here View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Well-related mare Say Satono has earned a crack at black-type following her victory in the Birchfield Ross Mining Reefton Cup (1400m) on Wednesday. Given an economical run in the one-one throughout, the daughter of Satono Aladdin was presented perfectly at the top of the home straight by jockey Tina Comignaghi and went on to score a three-quarter of a length victory over dual stakes winner Illicit Dreams, with a further 2-1/4 lengths back to Zoulander in third. “It was a good win, she is a pretty handy mare. It was a pretty handy field too, so I was very happy,” trainer Andrew Carston said. The victory continued a solid form line for the six-year-old mare, who is on lease from breeder Rich Hill Stud, and Carston will now give Say Satono her first crack at black-type in next month’s Listed Property Brokers – Ray Kean Hazlett Stakes (1400m) at Wingatui. “This is our last year for the lease and I think she deserves a chance at black-type,” Carston said. She is well-bred and well-related – she is a half to She’s A Dealer and out of a Group One-winning mare (Say No More). “She is a pretty valuable mare and Rich Hill leased her to us and have retained a share in the ownership. She has been a very handy mare and if she can get some black-type it would be icing on the cake.” On Saturday Carston will return to the West Coast where the Riccarton trainer will line-up half a dozen runners at Kumara. His strongest hand comes in the opening race of the meeting, the Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series (1150m), where he will be represented by Steezy, Shesascorcher and Taimate Warrior. “Steezy was just average first-up and was very good second-up,” Carston said. “I aimed her for the Pearl Bonus race, she is eligible for the bonus, as are all of mine in that race. I think the Pearl Bonus is great to target with the fillies and mares if they are eligible. “Shesascorcher is a very nice filly, she just struggled at the 1400m last start, so we have opted to bring her back in trip. She is definitely not without a chance. “Taimate Warrior has done nothing wrong. She was very good last start (when third) and gets a soft gate (5). “There looks like there is going to be a little bit of rain around Kumara and I don’t think that will affect any of them.” A day later, Carston will fly north to meet his Group Three performed filly Miss Ziggy ahead of her contesting the Cloudsoft Accounting 1500 at Ellerslie. It will be her first run at the Auckland track since last season, where she had three starts, including a third placing in the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). She is currently ninth in order of entry for the $1.5 million TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) on January 24, and Carston said Sunday’s race fits perfectly into their programme following her last start victory over 1400m at Ashburton on Christmas Eve. “I am happy with how she has come through her last run,” Carston said. “I am really excited to have her back up north. She arrives there this (Thursday) afternoon and will have a quiet time before Sunday. “I felt it was a nice race to fit in between her last start and the Karaka Million 3YO, hopefully we can get her there. “We like winning, but she is mainly there to have another look back around right-handed before the big dance.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
On the heels of winning a preliminary injunction last month in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the advance-deposit wagering (ADW) platform TwinSpires on Tuesday scored a victory in its overall federal lawsuit against the state of Michigan. On Jan. 6, the lower-court judge in charge of the case issued a summary judgment in favor of TwinSpires, meaning Michigan can't make that ADW partner with a brick-and-mortar racetrack in order to do business in that state. The operator of TwinSpires, Churchill Downs Technology Initiatives Company (CDT), has been arguing for a year that the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 preempts a Michigan licensing requirement requiring that ADW providers be linked to a licensed racetrack and live race meeting. Judge Hala Y. Jarbou of U.S. District Court in the Western District of Michigan (Southern Division) wrote in the Jan. 6 order that, “the Sixth Circuit's reasoning for affirming the preliminary injunction also warrants granting summary judgment to TwinSpires. Thus, the Court will convert its preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction and enter final judgment in this case.” Jarbou wrote that the defendants in the case, the Michigan Gaming Control Board, its director, and the state attorney general “shall not enforce the Michigan Horse Racing Law (MHRL) licensing requirement–or issue sanctions under the MHRL–against Plaintiff for accepting wagers from individuals in Michigan on races that take place outside Michigan.” TDN reached out to both the plaintiffs and defendants on Wednesday requesting their comments on the judgment. No replies were received prior to deadline for this story. It is possible that the Michigan defendants might appeal the lower court's order to a federal appeals court. Citing precedents, Judge Jarbou wrote in the order that, “Summary judgment is appropriate 'if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and if the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.' “Here there are no relevant disputed facts, so the resolution of the motions for summary judgment is dictated by the Sixth Circuit's legal reasoning,” the order stated. “As to TwinSpires's request for a permanent injunction, the factors that the Court must consider essentially overlap with the preliminary injunction factors addressed by the Sixth Circuit,” the order stated. Again quoting from a precedent, Jarbou wrote that TwinSpires “is entitled to a permanent injunction [because] it can establish that it suffered a constitutional violation and will suffer continuing irreparable injury for which there is no adequate remedy at law.” For a more detailed explanation of the circumstances that led to the year-long standoff, click the following link to TDN's reporting from Dec. 17. The post Federal Judge Rules In Favor Of Twinspires In Year-Long Michigan Lawsuit Involving Interstate Horse Racing Act appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The Racehorse Owners Association has launched a new membership designed for people involved in syndicates and racing clubs as part of the aim to improve engagement and representation across all ownership types.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland returned this week with its first podcast of 2026, and the guest was John Sikura, the owner of Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa. Sikura was the Gainesway Guest of the Week. While there were several subjects to discuss with Sikura, the prominent farm owner largely focused his attention on racing in California, its problems and what he sees as the industry's obligation to improve the situations at Santa Anita, Del Mar and Los Alamitos. “We need to fix this today,” he said. While admitting that fixing the problems in California will not be easy because it is the last major racing state that does not receive alternative revenues from casinos, slot machines or HHR machines, he called on the Breeders' Cup to step up and help the sport there. According to Sikura, the Breeders' Cup has set aside $100 million in nominators' awards in what he called a “rainy day” fund. He believes that some of that money should be allocated to improving the purses in California. “I've always been a huge critic of the fact that the Breeders' Cup keeps $100 million of nominators' awards for a rainy day fund,” he said. “My joke was that if you think the flood was bad for the Noah's Ark, well, what about this? In order to have a rainy day fund that needs a hundred million dollars, there will have to be a torrential flood of epic proportions. I might be a loner in the minority so far as my critique goes, but I don't believe the founders of the Breeders' Cup, in their original statement and in their original mission, believed it was necessary to put away $100 million. When you have current crippling issues in our business that are affecting the validity of breeding programs in states and, maybe even the existence of some markets, that money, in my strong opinion, should be put into use to help the Thoroughbred industry. And if there's a cause more important than the survival of California racing, I don't know what it is.” Sikura recalled that it wasn't that long ago that the Breeders' Cup supplemented purses for several stakes races. He called on the organization to revisit that policy. “This is the proposal that I had made to the Breeders' Cup: let's supplement the Grade I races in California and make sure the purses for them are at least $500,000,” he said. “Let's work to restore prestigious races like the Santa Anita Oaks to Grade I status. Let's have a moratorium on downgrading races there for three years. And by doing so for three years, that hopefully would give some time and a spark of enthusiasm to come up with a solution for California. Obviously, it's a legislative one. They need Historical Horse Racing machines. That's a challenge because of Indian gaming. How do we tackle that? You have to boost, you have the supplement, you have to have a bottom underneath you for three years, and that would really give an incentive for somebody to try to work out a solution.” Sikura, not exactly one to mince his words, said that a “rainy day” fund should be unnecessary because the Breeders' Cup should be making money on what is such a prestigious event that takes in millions in betting handle and nominators' awards. In response to Sikura's proposal, the Breeders' Cup offered the following: “Breeders' Cup Limited maintains an endowment generated by strong financial management. As of their last publicly reported fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2025, the balance was $98.5 million, at least 85% of which is investment income. The endowment is managed by an investment committee, and all decisions regarding the endowment are carefully evaluated and approved by the board of directors.” They added, “As a non-profit whose mission is to conduct the Breeders' Cup World Championships at the highest levels of quality, safety and integrity and to promote the growth of Thoroughbred breeding, racing, and sales through proactive leadership, innovation, and service, Breeders' Cup Limited must exercise prudent fiscal stewardship while thoughtfully leveraging the endowment and related income to enhance the World Championships and advance their mission.” Sikura also discussed his acquisition of 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) and his breeding plans for the superstar mare. Another subject he touched on was the promotion of his son, Jes, who was recently named to the position of director of bloodstock at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa. The “Fastest Horse of the Week” was Stiglets (Spun to Run). Trained by Phil D'Amato, the sprinter earned a 107 Beyer figure in a Jan. 3 allowance race at Oaklawn Park. The Fastest Horse of the Week segment is sponsored by WinStar, which stands the stallion Straight No Chaser. Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the PHBA, 1/ST TV and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss, Bill Finley and Zoe Cadman discussed what made them optimistic about the sport in 2026 and what made them pessimistic. Cadman, who won 311 races during her riding career, gave a moving tribute to the pioneering female jockey Diane Crump, who passed away last week at the age of 77. To watch the TDN Writers' Room podcast click here. To listen to the podcast click here. The post John Sikura Joins the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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