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Summer Breezes: July 24, 2022
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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The Florida breeding program has a long and proud history that we all recognize is a major component of the racing industry in the state. Traditionally, we have been the strongest of the regional (non-Kentucky) programs, ranking ahead of California and New York despite our year-round racing program not being up to par with those two locations. Yet when The Stronach Group (TSG) took control of South Florida racing years ago, that status as a third-place racing state changed as our purses and handle numbers all trended upward while New York's were flat, and California's dropped. While experiencing some growing pains as the horseman and racetracks transitioned away from a Calder-dominated schedule to an exclusively Gulfstream year-round product, the quality of South Florida racing on a yearly basis has improved. Yet the Florida-bred program and desirability of Florida-breds in the open market has not seen any gain and as evidenced by this year's huge decrease in the number of Florida-breds foaled, the entire program seems to be floundering. These aren't opinions, these are facts. Major reforms need to be made to the Florida-bred program including all facets; the sire stakes, the open Florida bred stakes program, the Florida bred overnight race program and the FOA. We all need to work together; the breeders, the stallion farms, the racetracks, the owners and trainers and even the sales companies to create a Florida-bred program that is competitive with other state-bred programs, that rewards the breeder and owner of a good horse, that gives horsemen ample racing opportunities and creates demand for our product, the Florida-bred racehorse. What should we do? It's imperative that we take bold steps to remake the Florida-bred program. The time is now to refocus on building the Florida-bred brand. We need to create a racing program that rewards horsemen who buy or breed Florida-breds, that rewards the Florida breeders, that rewards the stallion owners and provides the racetracks and our betting customers with competitive content to wager on. First, there must be an emphasis on creating the foundation of any strong state-bred program, overnight racing. We must work together with the tracks to come up with Florida-bred restricted maiden and allowances races to develop horses to feed into our stakes program. We should strive to have Florida-bred stakes of some variety each month. This will give our horsemen targets to point to, our breeders more opportunities to get black type, and allow our horsemen and breeding groups more opportunities to promote the positive aspects of breeding and racing Florida-breds. There is still a place for the sire stakes races; however, we would be better served with more of those races better dispersed throughout the calendar. Grass races should be added to the sire stakes schedule as well as turf events are now our most popular types of races and are more likely to generate bigger fields and higher handle that the racetracks are looking for. The current overall Florida-bred program is ineffective, unpopular, and losing customers every year. Losing a percentage of your foal crop is a crippling blow to any state-bred program and unless drastic changes are made, what leads anyone to believe this trend won't continue? It's past time for the FTBOA, FHBPA, the TBHBPA and the racetracks to come together to fix this problem and make breeding and owning Florida-breds popular again. YEAR MARES BRED STALLIONS 2012 3,155 154 2013 2,994 159 2014 3,024 158 2015 3,057 145 2016 2,865 134 2017 2,311 125 2018 2,078 117 2019 2,078 121 2020 1,842 104 2021 1,626 84 2022 1,552 86 2023 1,478 75 2024 1,329 63 2025 963 61 That's a decline of 76%. Solution? The solution is very simple, OBS is a well-managed organization with an established infrastructure that should take over the FTBOA. They should sell or rent the FTBOA building, and use that money for breeders' awards. We need to restructure the breeding program in Florida; we cannot afford the decline to fewer than 900 mares and 61 stallions, the highest stud fee of which is $6,500. The post Letter To The Editor: Florida Breds, A Broken Program Or Just A Rudderless Ship? 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
Six 2-year-old fillies will try the 6 1/2-furlong distance for the first time.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's autumn dreams stayed alive against suitably dramatic Sussex skies on Thursday with the progressive Merchant (Teofilo) fighting his way through the G3 HKJC World Pool Gordon Stakes. Held up by Tom Marquand after the day's first flag start, the 6-5 favourite had to work to get by Wimbledon Hawkeye (Kameko) but may have had the most aptitude of the pair late on to prevail by a nose, with a gap of seven lengths back to the solid yardstick Windlord (Dubawi) in third. “It was tough and the horse had to show lots of guts,” trainer William Haggas said. “James [Owen] has got Wimbledon Hawkeye back to his best and that horse ran a fantastic race on this ground.” The St Leger is always on the agenda for winners of this race–taken last year by Jan Brueghel–but Haggas is unconvinced based on the experience at Doncaster of his 2023 Gordon winner. “I don't know yet about the St Leger,” he added. “We will obviously talk to Harry [Herbert] about it. My gut feeling is no, because I don't think it did Desert Hero much good long-term.” Marquand also seemed far from convinced about the Doncaster Classic. “The trouble is he was struggling on that ground and the likelihood of getting a fast-ground St Leger is slim enough,” he said. “If it were to happen, I would thoroughly be looking forward to riding him.” The third opinion on the Classic target sat with the renowned syndicate's kingpin Harry Herbert, who was in no doubt as to the level the winner is at. “He is very special. Dare I say it, but he is the best we have had since Harbinger,” he said. “The trainer is not that keen on the St Leger. We will see if he still runs at York, but the preferred plan would be to go to the Great Voltigeur Stakes. If he happened to win the Voltigeur, we might be dreaming of an Arc.” Pedigree Notes Merchant is the second foal out of the unraced Ceistiu (Vocalised), a full-sister to the G3 Killavullan Stakes and G3 Amethyst Stakes winner and G1 Prix Rothschild and G1 Prix Jean Romanet-placed Steip Amach and half to the GIII Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes winner Ceisteach (New Approach). The latter's full-sister Fidaaha is in turn the dam of three Group winners including Mehmas's G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes hero Scorthy Champ (Mehmas) and G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and G3 Prix Imprudence winner and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and G1 Prix de la Foret-placed Malavath. From the Aga Khan Studs family of the G1 Prix de l'Opera heroine Shalanaya (Lomitas) and the G2 Prix Chaudenay winner Shankardeh (Azamour) and the great Shergar, Ceistiu also has the twice-placed two-year-old filly Slaney View (Mehmas) and a yearling colt by Dawn Approach. Thursday, Goodwood, Britain HKJC WORLD POOL GORDON STAKES-G3, £200,000, Goodwood, 7-31, 3yo, 11f 218yT, 2:37.88, hy. 1–MERCHANT (IRE), 129, c, 3, by Teofilo (Ire) 1st Dam: Ceistiu (Ire), by Vocalised 2nd Dam: Ceist Eile (Ire), by Noverre 3rd Dam: Sharafanya (Ire), by Zafonic 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. (€135,000 Ylg '23 GOFOR). O-Highclere Thoroughbred Racing – Barn Owl; B-J S Bolger; T-William Haggas; J-Tom Marquand. £113,420. Lifetime Record: 7-4-1-1, $258,400. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–Wimbledon Hawkeye (GB), 129, c, 3, Kameko–Eva Maria (GB), by Sea The Stars (Ire). O-The Gredley Family; B-Stetchworth & Middle Park Studs Ltd; T-James Owen. £43,000. 3–Windlord (GB), 129, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Goldika (Ire), by Intello (Ger). O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd; T-Andrew Balding. £21,520. Margins: NO, 7, 3/4. Odds: 1.20, 7.50, 7.50. Also Ran: Rahiebb (GB), Too Soon (GB), Sir Dinadan (Ire), Galveston (GB). The post Herbert Has Arc Dream For Merchant After Gordon Battle 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
Public confidence isn't lost in a day. It erodes when we're silent, scattered, or slow to respond. That stops now. At Light Up Racing, we believe the future of this sport depends not just on how we react in moments of crisis, but on how we prepare for them. The Thoroughbred industry has an opportunity and a responsibility to lead with foresight, speak with clarity, and act with purpose before public trust is tested again. That's why Light Up Racing is launching a national pilot to strengthen the industry's crisis communication preparedness. Designed for race track executives, comms teams, trainers, farm managers, and any individuals who might face tough questions under pressure, the toolkit includes: A timeline guide for public relations when racing incidents occur A library of scenario-specific key messages and response templates Media training guidance and bridging techniques Practical worksheets and downloadable packs for internal planning and quick reference guides This framework will soft launch on August 3, and we invite industry partners to help us test and refine it. Because when the next controversy comes, we should already know what to do, and how to say it. Find it here. This initiative is made possible through the early and generous support of four industry leaders: Breeders' Cup, Fasig-Tipton, Keeneland, and The Jockey Club. These organizations collectively committed $250,000 in 2025 to Light Up Racing's mission. “We are all stewards of this sport, and the Breeders' Cup is proud to support efforts that help unify and strengthen our industry's future,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of Breeders' Cup Limited Drew Fleming. “Light Up Racing is creating the space for honest, necessary conversations–and we believe that work deserves to be championed.” Fasig-Tipton President & Chief Executive Officer Boyd Browning added: “Fasig-Tipton is committed to a forward-thinking, solutions-oriented approach to industry challenges. We have supported Light Up Racing since 2024 because they are helping turn words into action–and bringing people to the table who might not otherwise find common ground.” “Keeneland's mission has always been rooted in integrity, transparency and doing what is right for the horse,” said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin. Our support of Light Up Racing reflects that commitment and our belief that lasting progress depends on meaningful collaboration across the industry.” “The Jockey Club believes that the long-term stewardship of the sport should be a shared responsibility, including confronting difficult situations head-on,” added Jockey Club President and COO Jim Gagliano. “We are proud to collaborate with others and to stand alongside Light Up Racing to effect positive change within the Thoroughbred industry.” Their support reflects a larger truth: our sport cannot thrive in silos. From owners and breeders to racetracks, aftercare partners, regulators, and sales companies; our individual actions matter, but our collective direction will determine what comes next. This is what we call A Rising Tide: a leadership narrative rooted in candor, coordination, and courage. Light Up Racing is proud to help shape this tide by convening conversations, developing communication tools, and mobilizing industry leaders to respond with integrity and lead with empathy. To those already linking arms with us: thank you. To those still finding your footing, we're ready to collaborate. There will be additional opportunities through the remainder of 2025 to engage in the Rising Tide movement. Sign up for updates here and be part of building the future this sport deserves. Sincerely, The Board of Directors (Price Bell, Jeff Berk, VMD, Christina Blacker and Roderick Wachman), Light Up Racing. The post Letter To The Editor: Before The Headlines, A Call For Proactive Leadership In Thoroughbred Racing 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
Mercante, scratched from the June 28 Wise Dan Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs after trainer Brian Knippenberg was dissatisfied with the gelding's preparation, returns Aug. 2 in the Kentucky Downs Preview Mint Millions Turf Mile at Ellis Park.View the full article
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