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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, Thoroughbred Owners of California, and Kentucky Thoroughbred Association review proposed rule changes submitted by HISA and HIWU to the Federal Trade Commission. View the full article -
So anyone that his close to him… surely he has retired, not rode for years. -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Damon Thayer and Liza Hendricks have been named to the board of directors of Amplify Horse Racing, the organization announced Monday. “Since leaving the Kentucky Senate last year, I have been looking for a way to give back to the racing industry that I am passionate about,” Thayer said. “Amplify Horse Racing's mission is much-needed and worthy of support, and I am honored to have been asked to join the board and look forward to working with the team to connect young people to careers in the industry.” Hendricks founded Wanamaker's, one of the first online Thoroughbred auction platforms in the U.S., which was acquired by Inglis in 2024, and she now serves on the Board of Inglis Digital USA. “The future of Thoroughbred racing depends on our ability to engage, educate, and inspire the next generation,” Hendriks said. “Amplify is doing that work in a meaningful, modern way, and I'm excited to contribute my experience to help grow its impact.” Amplify Horse Racing is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that connects youth and young adults to education and career pathways in the Thoroughbred industry through classroom education, mentorship programming, and immersive experiences. For more information about Amplify, visit www.amplifyhorseracing.org. The post Thayer, Hendriks Appointed to Amplify Board appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Chief Stipe · Posted
Still no Stewards vision posted for the meeting at Te Rapa 10 days ago. -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Tough at the top? Try the view from the base of the pyramid, where we begin our quest for value among sires already at stud in Kentucky. We have dealt with the rookies separately, as a case apart. But while many of those standing at four figures are also younger horses, essentially unproven, their commercial luster has already faded. As we keep noting, the claim that new sires represent your only chance of catching the next Into Mischief falls apart when the same horses are abandoned precisely as they are about to reveal their prowess. Into Mischief himself only dipped into this bottom tier, with a career low fee of $7,500, for his third and fourth seasons. In principle, then, all we need is the courage of our convictions. The trouble is that the horses languishing at this level may never get adequate traction to prove you right or wrong. After all, it can feel like a false economy to skimp on fees, when the ensuing costs of keep and prep will be essentially the same for a foal by Gun Runner. As a result, it becomes harder and harder to recommend horses already slithering down the scree of the marketplace. Yes, they may have been unfairly judged, and yes, we might yet be rewarded for our fidelity by breeding a nice runner. But the numbers, in the end, will see them crushed. Nonetheless, we must try to find one or two that might turn the tanker round. We can also highlight a few that have at least put “hoofs on the ground,” in the winner's circle. These range from horses whose first juveniles have shown promise, to one or two veterans whose resume is such that they could even prove a mare at a bargain rate. The latter is admittedly a narrow category, comprising stalwarts that have carved out a viable niche in the Bluegrass without ever cracking the commercial code. And it has actually lost a couple of excellent options to regional programs over the past year: Collected to California, and Cross Traffic to Virginia. But THE FACTOR is certainly a high achiever to find trading at just $5,000, his fourth consecutive cut from $17,500 in 2022. Few breeders appear to have responded, his typical book seemingly stuck in the 30s, and he is close to commercial irrelevance as he turns 18. In fact, he only had three yearlings offered at auction in 2025. But end users will know that he has turned out a total of 45 stakes winners, at 5% of named foals, just a tick short of the ratio achieved by stallions as expensive as Nyquist, Good Magic or Practical Joke. In fairness, these elevate themselves with a far superior impact at a higher level, but if you simply want to put a winner under your mare, The Factor stands alone in Kentucky with a stellar 68% of named foals finding their way to the winner's circle. Another with 5% black-type winners, to named foals, is TAKE CHARGE INDY. From limited opportunity, he seldom lets his noble family down and it was characteristic of his work for the $60,000 yearling Take Charge Milady to emerge as a dual stakes winner/Grade I runner-up this year, while Indy Bay, even cheaper at $19,000, won the GII Charles Town Oaks. Very solid at $7,500, and likewise JIMMY CREED, that dependable source of one-turn action. Horses like this pay their way on the racetrack, which is just how things are supposed to be. And you can see MO TOWN ending up in a pretty similar place after another year of understated achievement, his eight stakes winners including a couple at Grade II level in Mystic Lake and Classic Mo Town. Still only 12, he covered 99 mares last spring and if his commercial profile is by now limited, at $7,500 he certainly measures up in terms of what should be the most important service provided by any stallion. Divisidero | EquiSport DIVISIDERO is now being virtually given away at just $3,500, having never really been given the chance he deserved. He's typical of the wholesome goods–sound and classy on the track, from one of the great families–that can't get past the fast-buck, herd mentality of commercial breeding. Fact is, he's had a couple of stakes winners from a grand total of 36 starters across three crops, so hopefully he could yet produce a fairytale for somebody out there who can only run to a sheaf of banknotes, wrapped in an elastic band, to cover a cherished mare. In the following intake, COUNTRY HOUSE is also being overlooked because of a tiny footprint. His debut crop of juveniles unsurprisingly made little impact (six winners from 15 starters), but with maturity and a second turn they have hinted that this grievously underrated runner is again punching above weight at $5,000. His 16 individual winners this year come from just 25 starters, and no fewer than half a dozen have been placed in black-type company, including Churchill stakes winner Bridle a Butterfly. As for those “bubble” stallions now at their most vulnerable, their books and fees sliding as their first runners approach the gate, the hour is at hand for fidelity to be rewarded. GREATEST HONOUR didn't really pass his first test at the sales, but at $7,500 that doesn't disqualify his stock from getting to work with the tremendous genes that underpinned those glimpses of racetrack brilliance. He has significant numbers behind him, and his book held up well even last spring, at 74. One who has really nailed it so far is MYSTIC GUIDE, at $7,500 somehow trading at half his opening fee despite processing 55 of 62 yearlings at $62,737 and entertaining another full book last spring. Himself hardly precocious, typical of a son of Ghostzapper, he may not have many sprint maiden winners at Keeneland next April. But he has a fine pedigree and, with that loaded pipeline, looks in an extremely strong position to justify perseverance now. HIGHLY MOTIVATED, at the same fee, made only a steady sales debut, but I retain the highest hopes for this Into Mischief half-brother to two Grade I winners. He had speed to burn, breaking the Keeneland track record as a juvenile with a 96 Beyer, and is one to watch in the freshman tables. Of course, he will be up against rivals with ludicrous volume behind them. But hopefully by this stage people know to judge merit by ratios rather than mere accumulation. On those terms, he remains a confident choice to shine with his first juveniles, and time may show that this was the moment–just as it was with his sire–to double down on Highly Motivated. That can only be guesswork, of course, as it must be for all of us. So we'll reserve the podium for horses that have at least put some horses through the gate. Apologies, in the meantime, to the many worthy animals that remain overlooked. This series is only ever a single, subjective opinion on paper values. Only you know the size and shape of your mare, and her performance strengths–complementing which should be the starting point for every mating. VALUE PODIUM BRONZE THOUSAND WORDS Pioneerof the Nile–Pomeroys Pistol (Pomeroy) Spendthrift $7,500 On the face of it, rather a surprise to find this fellow slipping within reach from $12,500 last year. That's doubtless a reflection of a pedestrian yield for his latest yearlings, but those emerged from a crop of just 34 live foals preceding the big impression made by his first juveniles last year. Nor has it helped his cause that his fertility has been a little ordinary, but this fee amply compensates for any such bumps on the road. Thousand Words has so far assembled eight stakes winners from 136 starters in his first two crops, including the $2,500 yearling Vodka With a Twist, a GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up whose latest near miss in graded company was by just a head in the GII Raven Run Stakes. That leaves GII Davona Dale Stakes winner The Queens M G as his solitary graded winner to date, well worth the extra outlay as a $3,500 yearling! His own physique qualified him as a $1-million yearling and his family has continued to flourish, with his half-sister producing the Grade I scorer Faiza (Girvin). They are out of the most proficient mare by Pomeroy, multiple GSW/dual Grade I runner-up Pomeroys Pistol, so this early success not hard to explain. Thousand Words having quickly established an ability to pass on his own precocity–The Queens M G broke her maiden on debut at the Keeneland spring meet before adding both the Schuylerville and GIII Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga–there will surely remain plenty of commercial breeders willing to get involved at a fee like this. The Queens M G | Sarah Andrew SILVER HONOR A.P. Honor Code–Hollywood Story (Wild Rush) Lane's End $7,500 It must be conceded that this horse finds himself at a crossroads. He has been underrated throughout, first as a runner and now as a sire. He didn't always make life easy for himself on the track, but the one time they had a clear sight of each other, he gave the Horse of the Year an unequivocal beating. Now he requires our indulgence once again, because he really doesn't have the numbers behind him (just 19 mares last spring, poor chap) to capitalize on a quietly productive start at stud. But that's the whole conundrum of “value.” Honor A.P. has now been clipped to half his opening fee, which was itself tremendously generous, despite giving every indication that he can replicate his quality with seven black-type scorers from 94 starters. Among second-crop sires in Kentucky only Vekoma (6.6%) and Complexity (6.5%) can beat Honor A.P.'s 5.9% stakes winners to named foals. That's well ahead of Tiz the Law and McKinzie, who are rightly lauded for their superior depth in the best company, but who also benefited from far greater opportunity. Honor A.P. has always had glamor. He was an $850,000 yearling out of a dual Grade I winner. And from limited chances he is producing some pretty flashy talent: Grade II winner Margie's Intention; a son beaten a nose in the G2 UAE Derby; and two of the summer's most impressive juvenile stake winners in Romeo (Bashford Manor) and runaway Saratoga scorer A.P. Kid. His second crop was further decorated a few days ago by the four-length Oaklawn stakes success of Counting Stars, so there's a surprising level of speed and precocity emerging from just 55 foals born in 2023. His own template suggests that there can only be more to come, and actually the handful of yearlings that found their way to auction this year maintained a degree of allure (one brought $195,000). So while Honor A.P. may call for a degree of courage, in the world we live in, he has surely earned our perseverance. Honor A.P. | Horsephotos GOLD BEAU LIAM Liam's Map–Belle of Perintown (Dehere) Airdrie $7,500 In contrast with the horse below him on the podium, this one is pressing all the right commercial buttons. We have barely glimpsed what he can do, Beau Liam having launched his first runners only this year. But 22 of them have won, a tally exceeded only by class leader Yaupon–who has fielded 82 starters for his 30 winners, compared with 54 to date for Beau Liam. The word was out by last spring, when Beau Liam covered 94 mares, up from 38 the previous year. And with two stakes winners by July, plus juvenile sales up to $300,000, Beau Liam saw plenty of demand for the few members of his second crop to make it to auction. Ten sold (of a dozen offered) for an average $132,300. Some yield, for a $6,000 conception fee! And an absolute object lesson, in terms of what I keep saying about keeping the faith with bubble sires. If your judgement is right, the time you're really going to get paid is when everyone else has nervously sidled away. The highlight of this knockout return to the sales (had batted a rock-solid $53k with his first crop) was a $525,000 colt at the September Sale. He was out of a $17,000 mare. This, in other words, could be exactly the kind of stallion that commercial breeders of modest means are always looking for. On the track, Beau Liam was a true meteor, bright but brief, derailing on his fourth start after three explosive wins. No horse in history has broken his maiden in a faster time over six furlongs at Churchill. He clocked a 106 Beyer on his second start, beaten only by Jackie's Warrior (107) among 2021 sophomores at seven furlongs and he then eked out a 107 of his own, romping over 6 1/2 furlongs at the Spa. His half-sister is the graded stakes-winning granddam of this year's turf star Fionn (Twirling Candy) and they are out of a GII Silverbulletday Stakes winner, whose own granddam had won the GI Fantasy Stakes. Everything is in place, then. Above all, Beau Liam stands at one of the very last farms that protects its clients from catalogue inundation while still giving them every chance at the fee. Many of those clients will have feared that they had missed the boat with this horse at $6,000. They will be pleasantly astonished to be able to get aboard at such a marginal increase. The trajectory may well get steeper from here. The post Kentucky Value Sires for 2026, Part 2: Sires Under $10k 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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