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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Ted Noffey and Sovereignty, honored as 2025 champions at the Eclipse Awards ceremony last week in Florida, remain popular choices in early-season media voting this year.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
New York Racing Association cancels live racing Jan. 28-30 at Aqueduct Racetrack due to arctic temperatures and extremely low wind chill values forecast to impact the New York metropolitan area. Turfway Park cancels racing Jan. 28-29.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Due to inclement weather with projected temperatures ranging between 14 and 30 degrees, and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of both equine and human athletes, Oaklawn Park has canceled live racing scheduled for this weekend, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, which includes the GIII Southwest Stakes on Saturday, the Arkansas track said via a Tuesday release. All affected race days and associated events will be rescheduled for the following weekend, Feb. 5-8. The rescheduled weekend will offer the richest purse structure in North American racing, highlighted by championship-caliber fields. The Southwest card, as originally drawn, will now be contested on Friday, Feb. 6. The American Beauty Stakes will move to Saturday, Feb. 7, joining the GIII Bayakoa Stakes, which will also feature the highly anticipated 2026 debut of Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), the reigning Eclipse Award-winning 3-year-old filly. The originally scheduled Friday, Jan. 30 card, will move to Thursday, Feb. 2. Races originally planned for Sunday, Feb. 1, will be moved and run on Sunday, Feb. 8, an added race day. Oaklawn's horseplayer events will also shift with the new schedule. The Southwest Showdown contest will move to Friday, Feb. 6, while the Oaklawn Horseplayer Championship will take place on Saturday, Feb. 7. “We never take the decision to cancel racing lightly,” said President of Oaklawn Louis A. Cella. “However, the safety of our horses, jockeys, and all participants is always our top priority. We appreciate the understanding and flexibility of our fans and horsemen as we work to deliver an outstanding weekend of championship racing and host the richest road to the Kentucky Derby.” The track also said that training was canceled for Wednesday, Jan. 28 and limited hours will be offered on Thursday between noon and 3:30 p.m. CT with a renovation break scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT. Additional information regarding promotions, on-track events, and adjusted schedules will be shared soon across Oaklawn's website and social media platforms. The post Old Man Winter Forces Oaklawn To Push Back Weekend Southwest Card appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
well the moment is season to season. You can only put on a product for those that turn up. HRNZ put on the races. Participants in the sport should turn up . SIMPLE. NowOrNever has hit the nail on the head (twice) These 2 Statements. They are the critical ones. Alas NZ trainers in the North have got very LAZY is what i'm putting it down too. mainly due to old age and being millionaires now there's no need for great effort anymore. Look at the lack of support for Fridays meeting . Tony Herlihy = one runner, Telfers = one runner, Dunns = one runner, White = one runner, Purdon M, N and B with only one runner each. Donnelly 1 runner Hackett 3 runners , House 2 runners , and hardly any Butcher in sight? Just 14 horses from 10 of the Top North Island Stables in what should be Peak season ?? lazy , laaazy. and Ray Green (with the young Delaney co-trainer )has 5 runners . so they are actually doing something and training and racing some. Only ONE of the top 10 stables working hard and get one some runners ? well done Ray and staff.🏆 we have about 10 trainers in Brisbane with horses capable of winning Metro Saturday nights (fast enough like Alexandra Park) and they turn out 1/2 dozen horses each , week in , week out all through the year. Why can't NZ trainers do that anymore ? lazy ? HRNZ put races on and no one turns up anymore . no wonder there's nothing to punt on and you're all crying . Lazy trainers. Not working enough horses anymore?. there's the reason old mates 🤣😎 Dr Chin is 80 years old and is still towing his 2 horses in to race Friday night ( he's not lazy that's for sure lol .bless him 🤣🏆😋) -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
So much that is good about the French breeding industry was showcased over the course of two days last week, not least the resilience of its practitioners, an oft-heralded quality when speaking to those at the coalface during the 2026 edition of La Route des Etalons. Like so many other leading racing jurisdictions, France is currently facing headwinds that make the pursuit of breeding racehorses, and/or owning them, a less attractive option than in years gone by. Then, in May last year, France Galop announced a €20.3 million reduction in prize-money for 2026 as part of a “major recovery plan” which, first and foremost, is designed to give the Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) a much-needed facelift following years of falling turnover. It is hoped that this significant investment in the betting operator – which is owned jointly by France Galop and Le Trot – will be to the long-term benefit of the sport. Crucially, the French industry is able to act from a position of strength. Prize-money in France, almost all of which comes from the PMU, has for many years been the gold standard by which European countries are measured, albeit this is no longer true of black-type races where, more recently, there has been heavy investment made in both Britain and Ireland. Whatever the context, there is always the concern that any decrease in prize-money provides even less of an incentive for prospective owners to part with their hard-earned cash at the sales. Should they decide to cut back in any sort of meaningful numbers, then it will be the breeders who bear the brunt of it. Only time will tell whether that eventuality comes to pass, but La Route des Etalons provided an excellent opportunity to get a feel for the general mood among some leading figures in French racing and bloodstock, including Nicolas de Chambure, who is uniquely placed in wearing many hats when it comes to assessing the implications of these prize-money cuts. As well as being the man at the helm of Haras d'Etreham, one of the preeminent stud farms in France, de Chambure sits on the Board of Directors at France Galop and on the Committee of La Federation des Eleveurs du Galop (the French TBA). As part of the latter role, he also represents French interests on the Co-Ordinating Committee of the European Breeders' Fund (EBF). “A drop in prize-money is always bad news, because we know the impact it can have on the market,” said de Chambure shortly after opening the doors at Haras d'Etreham on Friday morning. “The value of foals, yearlings and breeding stock depends on prize-money, so it is a bit of a worry. “But the positive is that it was done to be able to reinvest that money into the PMU and into the whole system. We also have a new CEO at the PMU [Cyrille Giraudat], who has just started, and a new president will be announced soon. So, there is a new team there, and I think we need to give them a bit of time and a bit of money to almost relaunch the whole thing. “It's going to take a little bit of time, but things are being done and I think we can be positive about the future. In the short-term, we might just have to get through a couple of tough years.” The main challenge for the new team at the PMU will be to try and reverse a worrying trend since online betting markets were liberalised in 2010, allowing private licensed operators to take bets on horse racing and ending the monopoly on this sector once held by the PMU. Since 2010, the number of people betting on the PMU has reportedly dropped by 50%, from six million to three million. Should that number continue on its current trajectory, then the team at France Galop will likely be forced into making some more difficult decisions in the years to come. With that in mind, this so-called relaunch of the PMU is viewed by Benoit Jeffroy, along with many others in the bloodstock community, as a “pivotal moment” for the sport. “I think the French industry is at a pivotal moment where we need to get people back investing into our product, whether it's the gamblers, the owners or the breeders,” said Jeffroy as he welcomed visitors to his family's newly-launched stallion base at Haras de Castillon, having previously spent over a decade at Al Shaqab's Haras de Bouqetot. He also sits on the Committee of La Federation des Eleveurs du Galop. He continued, “It's very important for the PMU not to miss its new chance to get more clients and to get the betting turnover going back in the right direction. Prize-money is driving the production of horses and the number of owners having horses in training. It's what gives the owners confidence to reinvest and it's so important. “We need to be united in this now, between the people who are involved in gambling and the people who are involved in breeding and bloodstock. I think there's a bit of a disconnect between them both sometimes. The PMU maybe only thinks about gambling and there are people who also only think about breeding. I think it's time to have a good plan for the next five years and to get everybody united behind it.” That call for unity was repeated by Mathieu Alex of Haras de Beaumont, who also cited that all-important resilience of French breeders as being key when it comes to navigating the choppy waters that could lie in wait. “I think the new team in charge of the governance of the PMU will do a good job, because the French do like betting,” said Alex. “We've got beautiful racetracks, we've got a nice industry and a very good sport. All of us just need to move together towards one direction. It's down to all of us to make a big effort to make sure that the public is going racing. And when they are racing, most of them are betting.” He added, “The great thing about the breeders is that they always live in hope. Okay, they might reduce the number of mares they have or be slightly more selective. But, here at Haras de Beaumont, we're ahead of the same stage last year in terms of the number of nominations. So, yes, there is a concern, but at the same time I think people in France feel quite safe. We've still got fantastic prize-money, as well as the breeders' premiums and owners' premiums. It's a very healthy environment.” Certainly, the generous premiums which are available to the owners and breeders of horses raised in France remain the envy of many other racing nations. The scheme is open to the progeny of stallions based in France and abroad, and it applies throughout a horse's career on the racecourse. “France has a great system for breeders,” Jeffroy added. “The fact that we have the French breeders' premiums is a big help. Even if you don't make a lot of money when selling your yearlings, if you're a good breeder, at least you get a reward for breeding good horses. This is so important to support the breeders. If you do a good job, you deserve to be rewarded. That helps a lot of breeders to keep going. Otherwise, I think it would be like England where you are losing a lot of the smaller breeders.” That loss to the industry in Britain was highlighted by a 5% decline in the 2025 foal crop, while the same figure in Ireland dropped by fully 12%, according to the Return of Mares, published by Weatherbys. In France, meanwhile, the number of registered live foals in 2025 was not immune to this trend. Records show that there was an 11% decrease in the number of thoroughbreds born compared to 2024, from 5,367 to 4,762, while the number of thoroughbreds and AQPS-bred horses combined also dropped by 11%, from 6,371 to 5,663. “There was a drop in the foal crop last year,” de Chambure said of these figures. “Our job at France Galop is also to maintain the confidence in the market and to maintain the investment of breeders to avoid too much of a drop in the foal crop. Otherwise, it means fewer horses in training, fewer runners and less gambling on those races. So, we need to maintain the numbers to fill those races and to prepare for the future. It is a challenging time, we have to be honest about that, but there are still positive signs and positive things about the industry in France to give us hope for the future.” Echoing that message of positivity was Pierre Gasnier at Haras de Bonneval, where he chatted happily to visitors on Friday in his role as manager of the French studs for the Aga Khan family. Whilst acknowledging that the reduction in prize-money, allied to the dwindling foal crop, was a cause for concern, he was resolute in his view that things will come good again in time. “Obviously, it's a concern because prize-money means everything when you own horses and you want to be able to keep doing it,” said Gasnier. “We have to be very careful because we need new owners and we need to mind our existing owners, especially the owner-breeders who are becoming more and more rare. It costs money to employ people and it costs money to breed horses. “It's a generational thing when you think about it. There are people that have been breeding horses in France, and I'm not only speaking about the thoroughbreds, for the last 40 years, and we're in a bit of a transition. We need to make sure that the younger generation are coming into the game, and they are. It's only for a certain time, I think and I hope, that the foal crop is decreasing.” One thing that stallion masters can do to support breeders when times are tough is to set fees that offer a bit of wiggle room, so that breeders don't end up merely covering their costs, or worse, when taking a foal or yearling to the sales. In this regard, it was noticeable that the team at Haras de Beaumont has reduced the fees for all four of its stallion in 2026, while the same is true of Siyouni and Vadeni at Haras de Bonneval. Siyouni, always one of the star attractions for those participating in La Route des Etalons, remains the most expensive stallion standing in France at a fee of €150,000, having stood for €200,000 in both 2024 and 2025. “The Aga Khan family is one of the biggest owner-breeders out there, so we know what it is to purchase nominations and the cost of it,” said Gasnier. “We respect very much the breeders and the resources that they have, so we treat our stallion fees in a very conservative way. “That was the approach we had with Siyouni in 2026. We reduced his fee to make sure that he was still attracting enough mares. Zarak remained at the same price and our two young stallions, Erevann and Vadeni, were priced at a very affordable level. They are going to be well supported again and we are very grateful for the support they continue to receive from breeders.” Those who got behind Vadeni when he commanded a fee of €18,000 in his first season at Haras de Bonneval in 2024 were certainly well rewarded at last year's foal sales, with eight of his progeny selling for an average of €72,519. It was a similar story with Erevann who, from an opening fee of €8,000, had 18 first-crop foals sold for an average of €37,368. Meanwhile, over at Haras d'Etreham, Onesto has had his 2026 fee reduced to €10,000 (from €12,500), despite the notable performance of his first foals at the sales last year. Of 10 offered, seven sold for an average of €46,228. “It was a really good group,” de Chambure said of that contingent. “He had a top price of €110,000 in Deauville and he seems to be producing horses with plenty of substance and athleticism. He's exciting, a son of Frankel with that turn of foot, so we'll be looking forward to the yearling season with him.” On the subject of stallion fees, he added, “I feel that sometimes people standing stallions tend to use that [reducing fees] almost as a marketing tool. I feel that we have to work with breeders all of the time, in a good climate and also when it's a little bit more complicated, because if they do well, we do well. We're always trying to adapt to the budgets of breeders and the reality of the market.” In the spirit of adapting budgets for breeders, Ace Impact, the headline retiree to France in 2024, having had Onesto back in third when signing off his unbeaten career with victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, will stand for a fee of €30,000 in his third season at Haras de Beaumont in 2026. Last year, Ace Impact had 17 first-crop foals go through the ring last year, with 15 selling at an average of €71,226, having been conceived at his opening fee of €40,000. Guests of Beaumont on Friday were also treated to an audience with some striking homebreds that will be retained to race, in the hope that they can help to establish their sire as the next big thing on the French stallion scene. As for the future of last year's Arc winner, Daryz (Sea The Stars), who sits alongside Ace Impact as the only French-trained three-year-old colts to win Europe's richest race since 2006, you'll have to tune in later this week to find out from Gasnier what his stud career might look like. In the second batch of nuggets from last week's Normandy expedition, we'll also be reflecting on a banner year for French-trained runners in 2025, headlined by Daryz's outstanding stablemate, Calandagan (Gleneagles), as well as looking forward to examine what the industry should be doing to bring more young people into the sport. The post ‘Breeders Always Live in Hope’ – Resilience the Key in Response to French Prize-Money Cuts 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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