Jump to content
NOTICE TO BOAY'ers: Major Update Complete without any downtime ×
Bit Of A Yarn

The Rest of the World


76,134 topics in this forum

      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 108 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 105 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 116 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 110 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 107 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 111 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 105 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 117 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 4.9k views
    • Journalists

    Lookin At Lee to Stand in New York

      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 792 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 117 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 133 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 112 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 135 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 103 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 138 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 113 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 122 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 115 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 129 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 118 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 129 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 123 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 116 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 140 views


  • Posts

    • True about Betfair, it was a bit micky mouse in some ways but a serious punter could request odds wait to get matched and a cashout offer, a fair one was always on screen, the issue is live info which was on 365 is gone, I used to get notifications when points were scored in rugby or league, goals and corners in soccer, home runs or runs in baseball,etc etc no sight does that now, have no issue with what TAB offer in live sport as such but it's almost like we've regressed back to the 70s 80s or 90s, if you push everything off the web from accessing then many don't know thd difference after time so new punters don't know, maybe the new punters will take up the slack from the ones they lose. As for racing I'm easy o about what the TAB offer, whether or not the patronage increases remains to be seen, I just have doubts spending will increase, for me I will still have a burst now and then, for Sport probably a lot less if at all, I'm not alone on that from what I'm hearing or reading.
    • Think Newmarket July and the image conjures up the panama hat, the beautiful tree-graced pre-parade ring, steel bands (in the old days), ice cream, great racing. Here are five things to concentrate on during the next three days of action on the track. This Ballydoyle Wootton Bassett Thing One of the big stories of 2025 has been the thrusting of Wootton Bassett onto the leading stage of international racing theatre and while the current Classic crop is doing much for his burgeoning reputation, it's his two-year-olds who are threatening to send him stratospheric. Albert Einstein, Beautify, Daytona, Dorset, Italy and Brussels are just some of his Ballydoyle contingent to have made a notable impact so far and we'll get to see at least two this week. Italy could be the one for Saturday's G2 Superlative Stakes, for many of the purists the meeting's most exciting race, the one that hosted Dr Devious, Dubawi, Native Trail and City Of Troy and is always a key Guineas pointer. Brussels is the selection for Thursday's G2 Kingdom of Bahrain July Stakes and he comes here off a win in The Curragh maiden won by the sire's Henri Matisse and Unquestionable. Both are TDN Rising Stars with copious amounts of potential, which is what this meeting's juvenile contests are all about.  More Classic Gold To Be Prospected In The Old Strutt & Parker? We love the July Cup, the Bunbury Cup and all that group-race action, but come on now, we're all just waiting for the next big thing to emerge, right? Where better than Friday's Weatherbys British EBF Maiden Stakes for two-year-old colts and geldings, probably the most storied maiden in Britain known in the past as the “Strutt & Parker” when it was sponsored by the estate agency. Alhaarth beat Mark Of Esteem in it in 1995, it was won the following year by Bahhare, in 2001 by Dubai Destination and in 2007 by Rio De La Plata. Oh, and last year Field Of Gold, so pay close attention. Not surprisingly, Charlie Appleby takes this very seriously and has a pair of entries at present including the €1.9-million Arqana May Breeze-Up topper Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder), a son of George Washington's only foal Date With Destiny, while Aidan O'Brien has one of his envied bounty of Wootton Bassetts engaged in Constitution River. Field Of Gold's stable has the one entry, Frankel's Oxagon in the colours of Prince Faisal, while Andrew Balding has Jeff Smith's homebred Venetian Prince, a son of St Mark's Basilica and the Juddmonte International heroine Arabian Queen. One for the video recorders, as we middle-aged fanatics used to say. Can Milers Win The July Cup? Well, the quick answer is yes. Most top-class milers have the pace to mix it with the sprinters, but it's probably more of a case of mentality switch than anything else. The list of those who have succeeded over six furlongs and a mile at the highest level is long and includes this race's winners Chief Singer, Green Desert, Soviet Star, Royal Academy and Alcohol Free. Godolphin's Notable Speech is the latest to shorten up, but he has the speed to make a serious impact, no doubt. The stronger pace scenario is what will really suit and it's just a question of whether he can do those sub-11-second splits that won him his mile races earlier in the piece. Charlie Looks To Break His Duck Perhaps the man with most on the line this week is Charlie Appleby, with the Festival in his own back yard. He has maintained an impressive 36% strike-rate at the track over the last five seasons, but there are two major omissions from his big-race tally to date and they both come this week. His only two prior runners in Friday's G1 Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes, Wuheida and Certify, were second in 2017 and seventh in 2014, while he is zero from five in the feature G1 July Cup on Saturday. He has leading chances in both this year, with Cinderella's Dream (Shamardal) almost favourite for the fillies' contest and the aforementioned Notable Speech and talented Sandy Lane winner Symbol Of Honour (Havana Grey) forming a strong double act in the big sprint. In Thursday's July Stakes, Appleby's unbeaten TDN Rising Star Maximized (Mehmas) bids to improve the stable's record of two third placings from three runners, while one area in which the stable excels is in Saturday's Superlative. He has had five winners from 11 runners in the contest and this year's entries Wild Desert (Too Darn Hot) and Saba Desert (Dubawi) will be afforded due respect as a result. Royal Ascot Bounce? Forget It With Royal Ascot not too far in the rearview mirror, there could be an argument that this comes too soon for those who endured the heat of battle in Berkshire. That does not appear to be the case for the two-year-old generation, with recent trends suggesting a bold showing there has been no bar to success in the July Stakes for one. Whistlejacket stepped up from a fourth in the Norfolk to land last year's day one six-furlong feature, Persian Force improved on a Coventry second in 2022 while Tactical had also struck in the 2020 Windsor Castle. Up against Ballydoyle and Godolphin this time, connections will be hoping that the Ascot savvy of Do Or Do Not (Space Blues) and Comical Point (Blue Point), runner-up in the Coventry and fifth in the Norfolk respectively, will give them the edge they need. If the July Stakes points to Royal Ascot experience being no hindrance, it seems an essential qualification for Friday's G2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes, where the fillies take centre stage over six furlongs. Last year's winner Arabian Dusk is the outlier, having skipped the Royal meeting, as eight of the previous nine winners had contested the Albany. Four of those were completing the double, while the 2016 winner Roly Poly was bouncing back after running eighth in the Queen Mary. This year's Albany scorer Venetian Sun (Starman) looks only to have to turn up on those trends, whereas Shine On Me (Havana Grey) and Spicy Mara (Starspangledbanner) fit Roly Poly's Queen Mary profile. Where Royal Ascot drops away in relevance is in the Superlative, with the last 10 winners fitting the more unexposed Classic profile of maiden or novice to here. Of those still entered, Coventry seventh Raakeb (Ten Sovereigns) and eighth Bourbon Blues (Space Blues) and the Chesham fourth Venetian Lace (Masar) will seek to buck the historical trend. The post The Newmarket July Festival: Five Things To Watch Out For appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – From her office at Barn 83 on the Oklahoma Training Track, all trainer Cherie DeVaux has to do to get a glimpse of the horse is look out the window. And she sees him, across the way, standing in his stall. “He has this big, white face looking at you,” DeVaux said, and she smiles. Gets her every time. 'He' is a 2-year-old colt who goes by the name of Dr. Agne (Into Mischief). He has never run but will on Friday when he starts his career in a one mile, $100,000 maiden turf race. DeVaux will be rooting hard for the young horse because, sure, she wants to win. But the back story is one that resonates because of the history DeVaux has with Dr. Agne's dam. That is Lady Eli, who defied the odds and became a champion in 2017 when she was running for trainer Chad Brown. DeVaux was an assistant to Brown back then and Lady Eli started her career with six straight wins, the last of which was the GI Belmont Oaks on the Fourth of July in 2015. Things changed right after that when, on her way back to the barn following the Oaks, Lady Eli stepped on a nail. She then developed laminitis, which can prove fatal. In stepped DeVaux, who was with Lady Eli every step of the way through her long journey to becoming an elite racehorse again. “I was on a bucket with her the whole time,” DeVaux said. “I was there for her whole recovery.” Lady Eli | Sarah Andrew She, along with Dr. Robert Agne of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga and Dr. Bryan Fraley of Fraley Equine Podiatry in Kentucky, did everything they could to give Lady Eli a chance to make it back. And make it back she did. After over a year away from the races, Lady Eli returned and would run eight more times, winning four and finishing second three times. While the story is heartwarming, there was nothing fuzzy about Lady Eli. She was never one to be confused with a barn pet. “She was vicious, vicious,” DeVaux said. “Most horses, kids can go up to, but she was not a kid's horse. But she was really nice to me. I couldn't go up and kiss her or anything. She was tolerant, I would say, of me. We were a huge part of each other's stories at that time.” Then, a second gut punch. On Labor Day of 2015, Dr. Robert Agne, 54, was killed when he was hit by a car while cycling in Vermont. Dr. Agne would drive from Saratoga to Belmont whenever he was needed to help Lady Eli. DeVaux, shattered when she heard the news of Dr. Agne's death, remembered thinking they would have to name a horse for the fallen doctor. “I didn't think I would really have one that would be [Lady Eli's] or I would be a trainer for that matter,” said DeVaux, who went out on her own in 2018. Dr. Agne the horse will be Lady Eli's first foal to race in the United States. He came to DeVaux's barn after he was purchased by a group of Lady Eli's former owners, particularly Sol Kumin, who raced under the name Sheep Pond Partners. Dr. Agne is owned by Kumin's Madaket Stables LLC, Twin Brook Stables and Belladonna Racing LLC. Dr. Agne, who DeVaux said is “much nicer” than her cranky mother, will be ridden by Jose Ortiz in his debut, which is the sixth race Friday. She said that Dr. Robert Agne's widow, Carrie, is expected to be at Saratoga to see the debut. “It will be hugely emotional,” DeVaux said.   Chad Brown Aiming For 5th Consecutive Spa Training Title Trainer Chad Brown has had a stranglehold on the Saratoga training title in recent years and he is hopeful that continues for the fifth straight summer. Brown, who is from nearby Mechanicville, has been the leading trainer at Saratoga for the four summers (he shared the title with Linda Rice in 2023). Overall, the five-time Eclipse Award winner for outstanding trainer, has won the Saratoga title seven times, the first one coming in 2016. Last summer, Brown rolled to the title with 45 wins ($5,848,233 in earnings) to easily outdistance Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and Mike Maker, who both finished with 22 visits to the winner's circle. The 45 wins was one shy of the record 46, which Brown set in 2018. “It's important to have a good meet up here,” Brown said outside his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track. “We focus a lot of our annual business around summer racing, and we target this meet every year.” Brown, 46, is coming off his ninth Belmont spring/summer meet championship, which was held at Aqueduct while Belmont Park continues its massive reconstruction. Dynamic Pricing takes the Just a Game Stakes at the Spa | Sarah Andrew Opening weekend at Saratoga will see Brown take aim at the $500,000 GI Dunkin' Diana Stakes, a race he has won eight of the last nine years and nine times overall. He will saddle Dynamic Pricing (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) and Excellent Truth (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), the one-two finishers in the GI Just a Game Stakes at Saratoga last month. Also in Brown's barn is Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), last year's champion 3-year-old. “I have a lot of high-quality horses,” Brown said. “I have a high-quality training business. It just fits to be focused on this meet. It's not only this meet, but it's sort of the centerpiece of our season.” Brown said that he does about 80 percent of his racing and earns about 80 percent of the barn's price money from April through Thanksgiving. Right smack dab in the middle of that time is the 40-day Saratoga meet. You bet he is going to be geared up for it. “Some of the very best racing in the world is summer at Saratoga,” Brown said. “I am from up here, my friends and family are from here, a lot of my clients enjoy racing here. A lot of the most prestigious races in our country are right here at Saratoga.”   And Irad Looking For 4th Straight Spa Riding Title Lately, Irad Ortiz Jr. winning the Saratoga riding title has been as constant as August thunderstorms and Hattie's fried chicken in the Spa City. The 32-year-old Ortiz Jr. has dominated the Saratoga jockey colony like no other in recent years. He has claimed the riding championship the last three summers and has won it six times in the last 10 years (he also won in 2015, 2018 and 2020). Irad Ortiz with trainer Chad Brown | Sarah Andrew His brother, Jose, has three titles of his own in the last decade. The only non-Ortiz to win it was Luis Saez, the 2021 champ. “It always means a lot,” Irad Ortiz Jr. said after morning workouts on the Oklahoma Training Track. “I just have to keep grinding and working hard. I love this place. They have some of the best horses, a lot of the best trainers in the summertime.” He will take nothing for granted and knows he'll have to grind and work even harder than ever this summer. The competition in the jockey's room–as it always is–is stiff. Last year, Ortiz won 52 races to edge Flavien Prat, who finished with 45 wins. Prat, the reigning Eclipse Award winner for outstanding jockey, is coming off his first New York Racing Association title. He was the winner of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet with 43 wins. “It's crazy how many good riders we have right now,” Ortiz Jr. said, rattling off the names of Prat, his brother, Saez, Dylan Davis, Junior Alvarado, Manny Franco, John Velazquez, Javier Castellano, just to name a few. “Those guys are really good. Riding against them and having the opportunity to ride live horses and win a meet here is just a blessing.” The post Saratoga Notebook: DeVaux Has Special Bond With 2-Year-Old Colt Dr. Agne appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • The city of Ruidoso, N.M., hammered by wildfires and flash flooding last summer, experienced damaging flooding July 8 after heavy monsoonal rains. The floodwaters impacted homes and businesses, including the racetrack, Ruidoso Downs.View the full article
    • Duke of Cambridge Stakes (G2) one-two Crimson Advocate and Cinderella's Dream face off in a fascinating rematch after both were declared for the July 11 Falmouth Stakes (G1) at Newmarket Racecourse.View the full article
  • Topics

×
×
  • Create New...