BOAY Racing News

A GoFundMe campaign has been established for the Fair Grounds' assistant track photographer Jan Brubaker after she broke her femur in a freak accident Sunday at the New Orleans track. The incident happened when a horse broke through the gate and struck Brubaker prior to the fourth race. She is currently receiving treatment at University Medical Center in New Orleans and had surgery Monday. At midday, the Hodges account on X posted an update from Brubaker's daughter, saying her mother was out of surgery and in PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) and doing 'great' and that they were waiting for a hospital bed in a room. Brubaker has been working for the Hodges family since 2020. Hodges Photography is the long-time licensee at the New Orleans oval.   The post GoFundMe Page Established For Injured Fair Grounds Photographer appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Winter weather in Bensalem, Pa., continues to wreak havoc on live racing at Parx Racing as the track canceled its Jan. 6 card because of snow. A winter storm in Florence, Ky., forced Turfway Park to cancel racing for Jan. 9. View the full article

Paul Oreffice, a partner in both Dogwood Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners who was in on Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Summer Squall and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Palace Malice, died Dec. 26 at the age of 97.View the full article

We're inside the 16-week mark for the May 3 GI Kentucky Derby. That's roughly 168,000 minutes until post time, but who's counting? The initial Top 12 rankings are largely based on 2-year-old form, but a speculative element is baked into the equation with an eye toward projecting how these still-developing contenders will blossom over the winter and early spring.   1) FIRST RESORT (c, Uncle Mo–Fair Maiden, by Street Boss) O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Eoin G. Harty. Lifetime Record GSW, 4-2-1-0, $338,671. Last start: WON Nov. 30 GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. This Godolphin homebred by Uncle Mo showcased his big, bounding stride when running away with the 1 1/16-miles GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs Nov. 30, an effort that rates higher on the “how he did it” scale than the winning margin (2 1/4 lengths) and Beyer Speed Figure (88) might suggest. This Eoin Harty trainee broke his maiden sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs in the Ellis Park mud July 5, then won an internal pace battle before getting collared in the late stages of the 6 1/2-furlong GII Saratoga Special S. Aug. 10. Forced to rate after being bumped at the break of the ultra-competitive GI Summer S. over a mile on the Woodbine grass Sept. 14, First Resort still managed fourth behind a tightly bunched first three after advancing between runners in upper stretch. Bettors let First Resort drift to 6-1 in the Kentucky Jockey Club S., and he broke fluidly to press a 21-1 speedster (a next-out Fair Grounds allowance winner at 1-5 odds) through moderate opening quarter-mile splits of :24.56 and :24.74 before assuming command in hand three-eighths out. Taking the better part of the next sixteenth to gradually uncoil, this colt repulsed two mild challengers off the far turn, then opened up late to swat back a more serious bid from the onrushing, odds-on favorite. After that slow early going, First Resort hit his best stride through a fourth-quarter split clocked in :23.28 and a final sixteenth in 6:10. Those are the fastest such finishing fractions out of eight Derby qualifying stakes at 1 1/16 miles so far in 2024-25. Since the 2022-23 campaign, only two other Derby qualifying stakes at 1 1/16 miles have yielded final sixteenths of :6.10 or faster.   2) SANDMAN (c, Tapit–Distorted Music, by Distorted Humor) O-D. J. Stable LLC, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables; B-Lothenbach Stables Inc (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. Sales history: $1,200,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR. Lifetime record: GSP, 5-2-0-1, $164,595. Last start: WON Dec. 13 Oaklawn AOC. This $1.2 million OBSMAR colt by Tapit is the only Derby Top 12 aspirant to have started five times, and his only defeats have come in two stakes and in a beaten-fave sprint debut, when he lost to an eventual stakes winner. His three most recent races were at a mile or longer, and after scoring smartly in an Oaklawn allowance going a mile Dec. 13, trainer Mark Casse said Sandman will next target the GIII Southwest S. Jan. 25. In his previous start, the GIII Street Sense S. at Churchill Oct. 27, this athletic gray absorbed a bump at the break and was late to change leads before accelerating to just miss second behind the No. 5-ranked Sovereignty (Into Mischief). Six weeks later in Hot Springs, Sandman broke well from the rail and carved out a ground-saving go while mid-pack and covered up for most of his backstretch run. He was then tasked with a positioning dilemma on the far turn when jockey Christian Torres edged him toward the outside, then decided to slice back to the rail to a shoot a narrow gap that easily could have closed and left them blocked. Sandman not only got through, but nimbly torqued out to the three path for clear running room off the bend, willingly inhaling the leader while opening up through a short-stretch configuration over which Oaklawn's one-mile races end at the sixteenth pole. “I thought he took to the two turns,” Casse said after the 89-Beyer win. “It was more about him being able to run into the bit a little bit and to take hold of him. Obviously, early on, those shorter races, you're always kind of hustling and I don't think he likes that. Even when we did run him the two turns, in the Street Sense, I felt like that he still was always trying to play catch-up and never really got into a nice rhythm.”   3) BARNES (c, Into Mischief–All American Dream, by American Pharoah) O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Jeff Drown and Don Rachel, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $3,200,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG). Lifetime record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $189,000. Last start: WON Jan. 4 GII San Vicente S. After watching this $3.2 million FTSAUG colt pulverize four rivals in Saturday's GII San Vicente S., the big question for Derby prognosticators as we await word about where Barnes will next start is whether or not this Bob Baffert trainee's substantial potential will exceed his enormous hype. If it ends up being the other way around, with performance eclipsing exuberance, the sport will be in for a wild ride over the course of this spring's Triple Crown season. Barnes, hand-picked to be Baffert's first starter at Churchill Downs after the Hall-of-Fame  conditioner's three-year corporate banishment from that track was lifted last year, scored a head victory sprinting 5 ½ furlongs in Louisville on Thanksgiving Eve (87 Beyer). Even though Barnes had only scored a narrow victory in a short sprint, his price plummeted in that weekend's Derby Future Wager, closing at 13-1 odds, the lowest mutuel on any of the 38 individual horses offered in the pool. In the San Vicente over seven furlongs, this son of Into Mischief broke running and forced lively opening quarter-mile splits (:22.65 and :22.45) before cracking the rail-running pacemaker. Cornering three wide on the turn, Barnes briefly came off the bridle and was “kind of looking around” at the quarter pole according to jockey Juan Hernandez, who quickly got his colt refocused, bounding home solo through the stretch in a :12.55 final furlong (:35.50 for the final three-eighths) for a seven-furlong time of 1:22.15 (94 Beyer). Baffert, who generally does not publicly commit to Derby preps weeks or months in advance, usually opts for stakes at Santa Anita and Oaklawn for his A-list sophomores. A 1 1/16-miles race would be the next logical step for Barnes, which means the GII Rebel S. Feb 22 and the Mar. 1 GII San Felipe S. could both be in play.   4) CITIZEN BULL (c, Into Mischief–No Joke, by Distorted Humor) O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Robert Low & Lawana Low (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $675,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime record: MGISW, 4-3-0-1, $1,301,000. Last start: WON Nov. 1 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Citizen Bull's 15-1 score in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile capped a 3-for-4 season in which this $675,000 KEESEP son of Into Mischief twice wired two-turn Grade I stakes under non-favored circumstances. His overall body of work (rounded out by an on-the-pace debut win sprinting 5 ½ furlongs and a third-place try over seven-eighths in the GI Del Mar Futurity) makes him the deserving choice for Eclipse Award honors. Citizen Bull winning the GI Breeders' Cup | Horsephotos But 2-year-olds who shine at 1 1/16 miles on the first weekend of November rarely get draped in a blanket of roses after triumphing over 10 furlongs on the first Saturday in May. Since the advent of the Breeders' Cup in 1984, Juvenile winners have accounted for only two Kentucky Derby wins from 40 runnings (Street Sense in 2007 and Nyquist in 2016). Citizen Bull established a speed-in-hand lead in the Juvenile, coasting to the front after 'TDN Rising Star' East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro)-the 9-5 favorite and an expected pace threat-stumbled out of stall one and was relegated to the back. This Bob Baffert trainee maintained a measured cadence and hit another gear in the stretch when confronted by two stablemates, and he was by no means sapped crossing the wire 1 ½ lengths in front. To date, only three rivals who finished behind Citizen Bull have run back out of that 10-horse Juvenile. Gaming (Game Winner) and Getaway Car (Curlin), second and fourth in the Juvenile, ran third and second, respectively, in the Dec. 14 GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 14. 'TDN Rising Star' Jonathan's Way, seventh in the Juvenile, was second in the Nov. 30 GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Although they all hit the board, each of their Beyers declined in those next-out starts (Gaming from 95 to 77, Getaway Car 89 to 82, Jonathan's Way 86 to 85). This begs the question of whether Citizen Bull will be able to build upon his 96 winning Beyer when he debuts at age three, likely in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. Feb. 1 at Santa Anita.   5) SOVEREIGNTY (c, 2, Into Mischief–Crowned, by Bernardini) O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott; Lifetime record: GSW, 3-1-1-0, $143,280. Last start: WON Oct. 27 GIII Street Sense S. Sovereignty (Into Mischief) broke his maiden in both a stakes race and his first two-turn attempt. But he had already signaled his prowess with two sustained runs in New York maiden races, so when trainer Bill Mott sent him to Churchill for the Street Sense S., the betting public backed him zealously to 7-5 favoritism in a nine-horse field. This Godolphin homebred broke a step slow from the outermost post, and remained patiently ridden in last until the quarter pole. Jockey Junior Alvarado then looped the entire group, tipping seven wide for the drive, and after Sovereignty brushed aside a tiring rival before the three-sixteenths marker, a hustling hand ride resulted in him coming over the top at the eighth pole and extending fluidly while wrapped up under the wire, five lengths clear (87 Beyer). Sovereignty was sent to Mott's Payson Park stable in November, but he's only posted one workout there so far this winter, a three-eighths breeze back on Dec. 24.   6) RODRIGUEZ (c, Authentic–Cayala, by Cherokee Run) 'TDN Rising Star' O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Kingswood Farm & David Egan (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $485,000 Ylg KEESEP '23. Lifetime record: 2-1-1-0, $46,800. Last start: WON Jan. 4 Santa Anita MSW. Off at 1-2 odds in his second lifetime start for trainer Bob Baffert, Rodriguez (Authentic) earned 'TDN Rising Star' status with a seven-length blowout in a two-turn maiden race at Santa Anita. Among the rivals he beat Jan. 4 were the runner-up, Baeza, who is a half-brother to '23 Derby winner Mage and '24 GI Belmont S. victor Dornoch. The win looked polished and professional, especially considering Rodriguez got a relatively late start as a May 20 foal. His 1:35.91 final time for the mile (93 Beyer) was .24 seconds faster than a seasoned group of older allowance/optional claiming males covered the same distance five races later. For perspective, the winner of that race, a Rodriguez stablemate named Mirahmadi (Into Mischief), is a 4-year-old being pointed for the GI Santa Anita H. This $485,000 KEESEP colt is a half-brother to One Liner, who in 2016-17 started his career 3-for-3 for trainer Todd Pletcher (including a 103-Beyer win in the Southwest S.) before being sidelined off the Derby trail.   7) AVIATOR GUI (c, Uncle Mo–Paulistinha, by Tapit) O/B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC; T-Chad Brown. Lifetime record: GSP, 4-1-1-1, $120,500. Last start: 2nd Dec. 7 GII Remsen S. This Uncle Mo-sired homebred for Three Chimneys Farm was third behind the No. 2-ranked Sandman in his Aug. 10 debut over seven furlongs at Saratoga, then broke his maiden in a one-turn-mile off-the-turfer at Aqueduct Sept. 28, out of which the second- third- and fourth-place horses all came back to win their next starts. Aviator Gui got bumped at the break and was fanned wide when fourth in the Awad S. over 1 1/16 miles on the turf Oct. 29. He rebounded with an adversity-overcoming second when stretched out to nine furlongs and transitioned back to dirt in the Dec. 7 GII Remsen S. This Chad Brown trainee's 9-1 loss by a nose in the Remsen resonates as one of those races in which the runner-up impressed more than the winner. Aviator Gui stalked inside, was locked and blocked when full of run at the quarter pole, then, after brushing aside a rival at the lead of the lane and subsequently getting his momentum stalled a second time when lugging in atop the heels of 'TDN Rising Star' Poster (Munnings), this gray finished with authority to almost nail that rival, ending up second by a head-bob before galloping out past the winner. The co-Beyers of 83 for Poster and Aviator Gui represent nine-furlong figures that clocked .53 seconds slower than the time for the winning 2-year-old filly in the GII Demoiselle S. a half-hour later. But the Remsen top two both finished with vigor through a respectable final furlong in :12.60 while three lengths clear of the third-place horse.   8) EAST AVENUE (c, Medaglia d'Oro–Dance Music, by Ghostzapper) 'TDN Rising Star' O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $410,645. Last start: 9th Nov. 1 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. 'TDN Rising Star' East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro) went off favored at 9-5 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile based on winning his first two starts by a combined 13 ¼ lengths. But he stumbled leaving post one and was relegated to the rear of the field for most of his 1 1/16-miles journey, during which he never settled and never fired, finishing an uninspiring ninth. This Brendan Walsh trainee is one of three Godolphin homebreds to crack TDN's initial Derby Top 12 rankings of the season. East Avenue blew away an Aug. 24 Ellis Park maiden sprint field by eight lengths, earning an 86 Beyer in a debut out of which only one of the nine horses he beat came back to win next time out. His second start was an emphatic 5 ¼ length wiring of the GI Breeders' Futurity over the short-stretch 1 1/16-miles configuration at Keeneland. East Avenue was never headed (95 Beyer), but it's worth noting that the first two days of that Keeneland meet were tilted in favor of front-end speed, with 13 dirt races yielding seven wire-to-wire winners and three others who dueled with or raced just behind the early leaders. East Avenue had his first published workout since the Breeders' Cup Jan. 3 at Fair Grounds, and is being pointed for the GII Risen Star S. there Feb. 15. “Our goal is to get him [to the Risen Star] in great shape and leave some room for improvement,” Walsh said. “He's naturally fast, but he's also a very cool horse with a great mind.”   9) JONATHAN'S WAY (c, Vekoma–Female Drama, by Indian Charlie) 'TDN Rising Star' O-Rigney Racing, LLC; B-Susan L. Anderson Racing LLC (OH); T-Philip A. Bauer. Sales history: $290,000 Wlg '22 KEENOV). Lifetime record: GSW, 4-2-1-0, $268,530. Last start: 2nd Nov. 30 GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. 'TDN Rising Star' Jonathan's Way (Vekoma) might square off against East Avenue in the Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds. This $290,000 KEENOV weanling won each of his first two races (from off the pace in a Saratoga maiden sprint and all the way on the lead in the one-turn-mile GIII Iroquois S.). But he was never in it to win it with no obvious excuse when seventh in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Jonathan's Way | Sarah Andrew This Ohio-bred from Philip Bauer's barn then rebounded with a hard-trying second despite being the beaten .87-1 favorite in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. In that Nov. 30 stakes, Jonathan's Way got bumped at the break, was a touch keen while trying to be rated by jockey Joel Rosario, then settled into fifth while covered up in mid-pack traffic. Briefly boxed while awaiting room, he spun five wide off the turn and had to twice shift outward from a tiring rival in upper stretch before popping off with a determined late run behind No. 1-ranked First Resort. Jonathan's Way's first two starts mirrored those of his sire. Both won six-furlong maiden sprints in New York, then scored as favorites in one-turn-mile stakes. At age three, Vekoma ran third in the GII Fountain of Youth S., won the then-GII Blue Grass S., and finished twelfth in the '19 Kentucky Derby. At age four he targeted one-turn stakes and was a Grade I winner over seven and eight furlongs. Through four races, it's still a work in progress as to what the most effective running style might be for Jonathan's Way.   10) KEEP IT EASY (c, Hard Spun–Boxwood, by English Channel) O-St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, CJ Thoroughbreds. B-Mr. & Mrs. William L. Pape. T-Dale L. Romans. Sales history: $435,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime record: 4-2-0-0, $207,671. Last start: WON Nov. 30 Ed Brown S. Even though Keep It Easy ($435,000 KEESEP) has not started beyond 6 ½ furlongs in four lifetime races, trainer Dale Romans is likely to give him a shot at two turns sometime in the near future. This Hard Spun colt's victory in the Nov. 30 Ed Brown S. at Churchill caught the eye for his getting bumped at the break, stalking in the four path, then kicking away under mild urging to finish 5 1/4 lengths ahead of a favored runner-up (who won the Sugar Bowl S. at Fair Grounds as the 2-5 favorite in his next start). That 1:15.42 final time for Keep It Easy (87 Beyer) represents the fastest Churchill clocking at 6 ½ furlongs for any 2-year-old over a 377-race span that dates to 1992. Keep It Easy's previous stakes try, in which he was clobbered by 23 ½ lengths when eighth and last in the Saratoga Special S.,  is an absolute tossout because of how badly he stumbled leaving the gate. With a half-mile breeze Jan. 4, this colt is one workout into his winter training at Gulfstream Park after a brief break.   11) PATCH ADAMS (c, Into Mischief–Well Humored, by Distorted Humor) 'TDN Rising Star' O-CHC Inc., Siena Farm LLC, WinStar Farm LLC; B-WinStar Farm LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Lifetime record: 2-1-0-1, $78,125. Last start: WON Nov. 30 Churchill MSW. After dueling and yielding grudgingly to finish a close-up third as the odds-on favorite in his Keeneland debut, 'TDN Rising  Star' Patch Adams (Into Mischief) delivered a blistering seven-eighths victory at 58 cents on the dollar in start number two in a Churchill maiden race Nov. 30, making him the third winner from that “Stars of Tomorrow” card for juveniles to be ranked on  TDN's first Top 12 list of the season. This homebred for co-owner WinStar Farm tracked the early action from third, cruised up to challenge for the lead while in hand five-sixteenths out, then rocketed away through a final furlong in :12.17  before being geared down late in a 10 ½-length smash-and-grab score that equated to a resounding 98 Beyer. Patch Adams's final time of 1:20.77 was just 0.33 off the 12-year-old track record held by the champion female sprinter Groupie Doll. This colt is currently three workouts into winter training at Payson Park. On Monday he progressed from four to five furlongs with a bullet breeze.   12) BULLARD (c, Gun Runner–Reve d'Amour, by Warrior's Reward) 'TDN Rising Star' O-St. Elias Stable, Talla Racing LLC, Three Chimneys Farm and West Point Thoroughbreds; B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY); T-Michael McCarthy. Sales history: $675,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime record: GSW, 3-2-0-1, $129,000. Last start: 3rd Jan. 4 GII San Vicente S. Although Bullard was being driven hard and could not keep up when third behind the sensational Barnes in the San Vicente S., it's too early in the campaign to vote him off the Top 12 island based on a single subpar sprint performance. Like the two horses ranked directly above him on this list, two turns could end up bringing out his best. This 'TDN Rising Star' by Gun Runner was previously 2-for-2 in sprints in which his decisive closing kicks were accentuated by swift opening splits. In the seven-furlong GIII Bob Hope S., this $675,000 KEESEP colt out of Michael McCarthy's barn set up shop at the back of the pack and was ridden along in spots while briefly on hold behind horses before tipping out five-sixteenths from home. He responded to being roused for run four wide off the turn, ran in close to the veering-out leader in deep stretch, then charged by tiring foes top open up by 4 3/4 lengths in a manner that suggests longer distances are within the scope of his ability. Bullard is a half-brother to two siblings who each once hit triple digits on the Beyer scale, one in a one-turn-mile allowance and another over seven furlongs in a listed stakes. The post TDN Derby Top 12: Off and Running with Into Mischief (4), Uncle Mo (2) Colts Leading Season’s First Rankings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Paul F. Oreffice, who spoke fewer than 50 words of English when he arrived in America in the mid-1940s and went on to become a partner in multiple Classic-winning Thoroughbred horses in addition to a successful career in the business world, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona. He was 97 years old. Born in Venice, Italy, on Nov. 29, 1927, Oreffice moved with his family to Quito, Ecuador, and came to the U.S. in 1945, attending Purdue University despite his very limited English-language skills. He graduated from the Indiana school in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, served two years in the U.S. Army and eventually joined the Dow Chemical Company in February 1953. After several overseas assignments in Italy, Brazil and Spain, he landed at Dow headquarters in Midland, Michigan, in 1970 and became the company's CEO in 1978. He later became the Chairman of the Board and retired in 1992. Oreffice also served on the boards of CIGNA, Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley and Nortel Networks. He was also chairman of The American Enterprise Institute, The National Parkinson's Foundation and was on the visiting board of MD Anderson Cancer Center. He was recognized with Spain's highest civilian award and was the recipient of the top medals awarded by the world's three premier chemical organizations. A Life Master in Bridge, skilled at ping-pong and a single-digit handicap golfer before giving up that discipline for tennis, Oreffice was also an enthusiastic sports fan, particularly of the Miami Dolphins and his alma mater Boilermakers. After riding horses as a child, Oreffice invested in horses for the last four decades, participating in partnerships with Dogwood Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. Among his career highlights were the GI Preakness Stakes with Summer Squall and the GI Belmont Stakes with Palace Malice. He had ownership interests in eight Kentucky Derby starters, finishing second, third and fourth. He served on the board of the New York Racing Association, was chairman of Saratoga War Horse and maintained a home in Saratoga. Oreffice is survived by his wife of 29 years, Jo Ann Pepper Oreffice; children Laura Jennison (Jon) and Andy Oreffice (Jamie); six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. “Paul Oreffice lived a wonderful and inspiring life and leaves behind a tremendous legacy in the business world, Thoroughbred racing, and through his family,” said Charlotte Weber, chair of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. “He was admired throughout the sport and a good friend to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He will be greatly missed.” Added Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher: “Paul Oreffice was the definition of gentleman, businessman, family man, husband and friend. We will miss him greatly.” “Paul was as game and as enthusiastic of a horse owner as they come,” Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Aron Wellman said. “He adored racing horses, he enjoyed gambling on races and he generously supported any number of industry-related charitable causes. When he joined Eclipse as a partner in 2013 after three decades of being synonymous with Cot Campbell's Dogwood Stable, I had no idea how powerful and meaningful of an impact he'd have on our stable, and more importantly, on my life. He was a truly great, great man who was larger than life and the sport of horse racing and everyone he meant so much to will miss him deeply. He leaves behind an unfillable void.” A celebration of life for Paul Oreffice will take place Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, at 4 p.m. at Paradise Valley Country Club. A private entombment will occur in Saratoga at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Oreffice's memory to The Purdue For Life Foundation (purdueforlife.org), the Parkinson's Foundation (parkinson.org) or MD Anderson Cancer Center (mdanderson.org). The post Paul Oreffice, Successful Horse Owner, Businessman, Dies at 97 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article