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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Longtime NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes will retire at the end of the Saratoga meet in September 2025, the organization announced Friday. “The New York Racing Association is proud to recognize and celebrate the career of Andrew Byrnes,” said NYRA's Senior Vice President of Racing and Operations Andrew Offerman. “Andrew has invested much of his career working to showcase the best racing in North America at NYRA's racetracks. The consummate professional, we appreciate Andrew's willingness to provide advance notice of his retirement and his desire to ensure his replacement is set up for the future success of NYRA at the new Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.” Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time Belmont Stakes-winning trainer, offered his appreciation for the retiring stakes coordinator. “Over the past 25 years or so, Andrew was the person at NYRA that I could speak to for an update on which stakes were coming up, and he made the whole process easy. I always enjoyed talking to him and it was always very productive,” said Lukas. “It will be very difficult to fill the position of a man that was that dedicated and knowledgeable. I hope that he enjoys his retirement because he was certainly a tremendous asset to NYRA.” Byrnes has enjoyed numerous roles at NYRA through the years, including in the mailroom, in horse identification and as an entry clerk in the racing office. Byrnes spent eight years as a paddock and patrol judge before landing his dream role as stakes coordinator one week before the start of the 1999 Saratoga meet. “Racing has given me my entire life,” said Byrnes. “I'm a kid that grew up a couple miles away from here. I had no connections to anybody in racing. I grew up a racing fan and here I am years later putting together the Travers, Met Mile, Belmont Stakes–to this day, looking back, I still can't believe I've had a hand in the success of these last 30-plus years. I feel blessed, and I have nothing but positive things to say about NYRA and how they've treated me all these years. I've worked with so many good people and it's been quite a journey, but there comes a time when the journey ends. I'm looking forward to the next chapter. It's been quite a run.” The post Andrew Byrnes, Longtime NYRA Stakes Coordinator, To Retire In September 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
NEWMARKET, UK — Alessandro Marconi continued his compilation of a team of horses to compete in Europe and the UAE, adding 12 lots from the final session of the Tattersalls February Sale to bring his overall haul across the two days to 29. Three-year-old Baridi (GB) (Sergei Prokofiev) (lot 278), a winner last December for Stuart Williams, was sold through part-owner Robbie Mills's RMM Bloodstock for 100,000gns to top the list of Marconi's purchases for the day. Rated 74p by Timeform, the colt was bred by Moyns Park Stud. “I couldn't afford them in the autumn,” said Marconi in reference to the yearlings by last year's leading first-season sire Sergei Prokofiev. “He was highly recommended by Stuart, who is a very good trainer. Hopefully he can train on again.” Another on Marconi's list was the former George Boughey-trained Stage Winner (GB) (Zoustar {Ire}), who had won at Lingfield since the publication of the catalogue and was bought for 46,000gns from breeder Qatar Racing. A three-year-old brother to fellow winner Alpha Zulu (GB), he is out of the G3 Dick Poole Fillies' Stakes winner La Rioja (GB) (Helvellyn {GB}). Marconi's participation has provided a major boost to the February Sale, with his total outlay of 833,500gns accounting for 21% of the sale's aggregate. He said, “I do believe that this is the only sale that is able to give you an entry at an affordable level to every side of the industry.” The Spanish Derby, formally known as the Premio Villapadierna, will be the aim for the Soldier Hollow (GB) gelding Wanderlust (ITY), who will leave Marco Botti's Newmarket stable to join Sandro Tsereteli at La Zarzuela racecourse in Madrid. Placed in all three of his starts, the half-brother to three black-type performers in Italy is from the further family of Group 1 winner Giavellotto (Ire) and will race in the colours of Sociedad Civil Cuadra Allegria. “My client Arturo San Jose has a string of nice three-year-olds, but perhaps is missing a Derby horse,” said agent Rafael Rojano of Stamina Turf, who went to 62,000gns to secure Wanderlust, who, though gelded, is eligible for the Spanish Classic. “We had a good try yesterday on the Frankel colt from Juddmonte, but it is a strong market and it was too much for us.” New enterprise Colbert Stud, which is based at Dullingham Ley just outside Newmarket, picked up a nice broodmare prospect in Sorbus (GB), a winning daughter of Night Of Thunder (Ire) who was sold on behalf of owner-breeder Rockliffe Stud by her trainer Ed Walker. The three-year-old daughter of the listed-placed Black Cherry (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) may yet head back into training. “She is fit and ready to go and could progress,” said stud owner Emma Colbert, a former sport horse breeder and dressage rider who is now branching out into Thoroughbreds. Currently the owner of eight mares she has plans to expand the band to 20. “We want to be a boutique stud and have the highest quality we can. We will be breeding commercially and will race a few as well.” Bringing a clearance rate of 85%, 219 of the 257 horses offered across the two days found a buyer at an average price of 18,034gns (+26%) and median of 11,000gns (+52%). The turnover of 3,949,500gns was up by more than a million gns on last year's sale, at which 19 fewer horses were sold. Following a lively couple of days at Park Paddocks, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said in his closing address, “The Tattersalls February Sale is firmly established as Europe's premier midwinter sale and this year's renewal saw significant year-on-year increases in turnover, average and median as well as a clearance rate above 85%. These figures represent a positive start to 2025 after last year's record-breaking Tattersalls sales season and we have welcomed a typically diverse group of buyers, both domestic and from overseas, to Park Paddocks. “Racecourse success is always a key driver of demand and the Tattersalls February Sale enjoyed a remarkable year in 2024 with Classic winners Los Angeles and Metropolitan and Group 1 winner Facteur Cheval all out of fillies purchased at past renewals of the sale. Their dams all came from large owner -breeder operations and so it was no surprise that the sale-leading consignment from Godolphin was as ever in great demand, with their draft of 36 fillies and horses in and out of training realising almost 1.4m guineas. “The sale also featured the inaugural Retraining of Racehorses Showcase and the ever-popular Stallion Parade, and it was hugely enjoyable to have such a large crowd in the sale ring to see former stars of the turf looking so well in their second careers. “We now look forward to the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale which has consistently produced Group 1 winners in recent renewals including Hotazhell, who looks an exciting Classic contender.” The post Marconi Aids Strong Conclusion to Tattersalls February Sale 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 biggest surprise of the two-and-a-half hour livestream which revealed Resolute Racing's mating plans for 2025 was that Puca will be bred to Frankel (GB) on Southern Hemisphere time. That was only one of the revelations as John Stewart–accompanied by Coolmore's Adrian Wallace, Resolute Racing's Director of Breeding and Bloodstock Chelsey Stone, farm manager Noel Murphy, and general manager Gavin O'Connor–discussed the 2025 matings for his 41 mares in the livestream. Several stallions will receive multiple mares; Resolute will send four mares to Justify, three to American Pharoah, two to Not This Time, four to Seize the Grey (including Goodnight Olive, as previously announced), two to Nashville, two to Nyquist, and four to Complexity, among others. In all, they will be using 26 different stallions for their 41 mares. Thursday night, Stewart also announced that Argentine Champion Didia (Arg) was being retired and bred to Nyquist. Highlights of the matings appear below. The full list is posted on Stewart's Twitter feed. PUCA, 13, Big Brown-Boat's Ghost, by Silver Ghost. To be bred to Frankel (GB) on Southern Hemisphere time The biggest surprise of the night was that two-time Classic producer Puca (Mage, 2023 Kentucky Derby; Dornoch, 2024 Belmont) will be bred to Frankel on Southern Hemisphere time. “Puca should undoubtedly be broodmare of the year this year,” said Stewart. “She had a colt by Good Magic (a full-brother to Mage and Dornoch) and he's a freak. He's definitely something to watch. He breathes different air. We bred her back to Good Magic last year, and she's in foal with a filly. She went a little over last year which we assume she'll do this year, which will put her a little late.” Her Good Magic yearling, whom Stewart has dubbed “Preak,” in reference to the one Classic her resume lacks, was born April 4, 2024. “Puca is going to Frankel to be bred on Southern Hemisphere time,” said Stewart. “Then she'll stay and be bred to Frankel on Northern Hemisphere time. The baby who is bred on Northern Hemisphere time will come here and win the Kentucky Derby, and the one on Southern Hemisphere time will go to Australia and win the Melbourne Cup. You can't do any of these things if you don't try. How can I do it? I bought her, and y'all didn't. We're really excited to get the team at Juddmonte to agree to that plan. We appreciate their support.” PINK DOGWOOD (IRE), 9, Camelot (GB)-Question Times (GB), by Shamardal. To be bred to Justify Listed Stakes winner and G1 Investec Oaks runner-up Pink Dogwood was also three times Group 1 placed in Europe. She is a full-sister to Group 1 Irish Oaks winner Latrobe (Ire), and a half-sister to Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). Stewart acquired her privately from Coolmore in a trip to the farm in 2023. “She's an outstanding individual, full of quality,” said O'Connor. “Her race record speaks for itself. Given the quality of animal that she is, she's built on the base of foundational broodmare sire power. There's a lot of Black Type all through three dams. We bought her in foal to Frankel, and she give us an absolute stamp of an animal. As breeders, to get a product like that, by Frankel, you couldn't wish for more to go forward with. She could potentially be a foundational mare for our operation.” “She's in foal to Justify and will have a foal on the ground so we'll get to see what this mating looks like,” said Murphy. TOUCHING BEAUTY, 18, Tapit-Victory Road, by Pulpit. To be bred to Justify Grade III Comely Stakes winner Touching Beauty was second in the GII Matron S. She is the dam of the 2024 GI Blue Grass runner-up Just a Touch (Justify), and is in foal to Justify and is due to deliver a filly on February 5. “We're expecting a big year from him,” said Stone. “He's back on the track, and gearing up,” said Stone. She was purchased from Don Alberto in 2024 at the age of 17. “We bought her with the idea of going to back to Justify and creating a full sibling to Just a Touch.” CHAMPAGNE (Ire), 6, Galileo (Ire)-Red Evie (Ire), by Intikhab. Will be bred to Not This Time This winning full-sister to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Found (Ire) will go to Not This Time. She was purchased privately in foal with her first foal to Siyouni (Fr). “She's a great-size mare,” said Murphy. “She has her quirks and sassy attitude, but she's a class individual,” added Murphy. “She has a regal pedigree.” She's currently in foal to Justify with a colt. CARAVEL, 8, Mizzen Mast-Zeezee Zoomzoom, by Congrats. To be bred to Dubawi (Ire) The Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner was purchased privately from Sheikh Fahad after RNAing at Keeneland November. “She's a phenomenal horse with a lot of great accomplishments on the track,” said Stewart. “With her turf accomplishments, we made the decision to send her over to be bred to Frankel last year, and she's in foal with a colt,” said Stewart. “I've been dreaming about this mating,” said Stone. “Fingers crossed for a filly.” HAPPEN, 9, War Front-Alexandrova (Ire), by Sadler's Wells. Will be bred to Into Mischief Happen was another private purchase from Coolmore, and was the winner of the G3 Coolmore Gleneagles Irish EBF Athasi Stakes. “She's by War Front, who is really the only Danzig (-line stallion) that we have over here now. That's why we're making some of these purchases overseas,” said Stewart. QUEEN CAROLINE, 12, Blame-Queens Plaza, by Forestry. Will be bred to Violence Resolute will replicate the mating that produced Champion Two-Year-Old colt and four-time Grade I winner Forte. “We bought Puca and Queen Caroline within a day of each other,” said Stewart. “The reason I went to Night of the Stars was to buy her. She has a filly by Flightline. That filly is amazing. She is beautiful. She is not for sale.” Queen Caroline is currently in foal to Tapit, carrying a filly. “That's something we're really excited about, having some Tapit blood as he's getting older,” said Stewart, “but this year, we're going to take her back to Violence to produce a full-sibling to Forte. It will be the first full-sibling.” PRINCESS CALLA (SAf), Flower Alley-Princess Royal (SAf), by Captain Al (SAf). To be bred to McKinzie The 2023 South African Horse of the Year and Champion Older Mare will be bred to McKinzie for her maiden season. “I think she'll be a fantastic broodmare,” said Stewart. “How many Flower Alley horses do you see around here? We're really excited about having her here on the farm. We've bought horses from five continents this year, and she came to us out of South Africa.” “Princess Calla's race record stands for itself,” said O'Connor. “When you first set eyes on her, she looks like a high-quality individual. She's a multiple Group 1 winner. Physically, herself and McKinzie really complement each other.” The post Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Puca to be Bred to Frankel on Southern Hemisphere Time 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
As relief for all the talk of impending track closures, take a look inside my crystal ball for a glimpse of what racing could look like in New York, Maryland and Florida three years from now… Imagine the year is 2028. A newly reconstructed Belmont Park, thanks to a massive $455 million capital infusion, has secured the future of racing in New York for another half-century. The last time Belmont underwent wholesale reconstruction was in 1968, when Nelson Rockefeller was governor. Belmont's new grandstand, designed by stadium architect Populous in collaboration with NYRA, has modernized the race-day experience. By shrinking Belmont's grandstand from 1.275 million square feet to one-fifth its former size, the stylish concourse provides a sleek new venue for year-round racing. It is a work of art, admirable as a piece of sculpture in a more park-like setting. The increased green space around it has given New Yorkers what they asked for: more family-style outdoor seating similar to Saratoga's backyard. Increased purses for New York-bred horses have incentivized breeders and owners to invest in the state's ecosystem. Belmont's new, all-weather Tapeta track enables year-round racing in winter, reducing equine injuries and rainy-day scratches by turf runners. The winterized facility proudly hosted the Breeders' Cup in November 2027, marking the event's first return to the Northeast since 2007 at Monmouth Park. Just as triumphant was the return of the Belmont Stakes to its original home, where new tunnels and infrastructure below the 45-acre infield supported a party worthy of everybody who is anybody under 45 in New York. Creative event programming draws a younger demographic who never stepped foot in the now demolished “Big A” at Aqueduct, whose vast and dark 1959 concourse had become an obsolete relic. In Maryland, a newly-reconstructed Pimlico Race Course, located five miles from downtown Baltimore, will once again host the Preakness Stakes following a $400 million reconstruction that began in 2024. A creative deal that year secured racing's future in Maryland when the Stronach Group agreed to transfer ownership of Pimlico to a new Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority. 1/ST also closed Laurel Park's gates forever to consolidate Maryland racing at Pimlico. And Pimlico's original 19th century cast iron gate was returned to its proper home after being on display at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga. The new concourse at Pimlico was designed by the same architects behind the recent renovations at Belmont, Churchill Downs and Ascot. Their firm went by the name HOK when it designed Baltimore's Camden Yards, which opened in 1992. That retro-style ballpark for the Orioles revolutionized stadium design, bringing back quirky ballpark features and an intimate fan experience from a bygone era. It spawned a wave of replacements of over-scaled, cookie-cutter concrete stadiums that had opened in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in 1970 and 1971. The most surprising development in 2028 is the return of thoroughbred racing to Hialeah Park, 12 miles from downtown Miami, for the first time since 2001. This is the outcome of an agreement to secure a future for racing in South Florida reached with Florida horsemen, state officials, and Hialeah's owners, the family of the late John Brunetti Sr., who bought Hialeah in 1977. When the Breeders' Cup comes to Hialeah in 2029, it will fulfill a dream held by Brunetti until his death in 2018. The event hasn't been in Florida since 1999. All of this followed the Stronach Group's expressed interest in the development of its valuable Gulfstream Park real estate over maintaining racing at the site. Other than perennial Pegasus ticket holders, few racegoers are sad to see Gulfstream go. In 2006, when it reopened after a $130 million renovation, critics called it a glorified shopping mall. One wag from Palm Beach said its paddock reminded her of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas: over the top, and tacky. By contrast, when Hialeah reopened after renovations in 1932, the track became one of the most beautiful in the U.S. It still is, thanks to a recent touch up and its preservation and stewardship over a half-century by three generations of the Brunetti family. Its Renaissance Revival clubhouse, built in the Great Depression by Philadelphia horseman Joseph Widener and Kentucky horseman Edward Bradley, remains intact. It is flanked by restored gardens of native flora and an infield lake with iconic flamingos. A statue memorializes 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation, who won all three of his races there that February. Palm Meadows Training Center, almost 50 miles north of Gulfstream Park, was not a viable alternative. The surrounding community of Boynton Beach was not exactly hospitable. Real estate values there loomed as another long-term threat to racing. And racing interests preferred not to remain dependent on the site's owner, the Stronach Group. This opened a path for a new generation of horsemen, in partnership with John Brunetti Jr. and his nephew, Stephen Brunetti Jr., to revive Hialeah, as Widener and Bradley did nearly a century before. Importantly, revenue from one of Florida's top-performing casinos at Hialeah has saved the track's owners from converting coveted trackside standing room into premium seating. At Hialeah's apron and paddock, blue-blooded snowbirds–who arrive conveniently via two nearly adjacent airports–still rub elbows with blue collars from Miami's surrounding neighborhoods. To paraphrase 20th century turf writer Joe Palmer, Hialeah is one of the last places where the casual racegoer “can see racing. Elsewhere, he merely sees races, which isn't the same thing at all.” For fans of racing in the East, it's as if some tracks had to die and go to heaven before the sport could enjoy this rebirth. In Florida, as in New York and Maryland, they say happiness is having something to look forward to. Writer Carter Wilkie lives in Boston, where Suffolk Downs closed in 2019. The post Letter To The Editor: Reimagining Racing In The East In 2028 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 Road: a look at contenders on the Triple Crown trail.View the full article
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