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Trainers and owners need breeders more than the latter needs them.  NZ Breeders have alternative markets.  Surely you are not suggesting that they contribute to an infrastructure fund in Australia or Hong Kong?  Essentially what you are proposing is a tax on breeders to sustain poorly managed and maintained racecourses.  Clubs don't need subsidies they need to generate revenue and not just from their core activity. Why don't you tax Trainers and Owners who invariably don't pay enough for the assets THEY use?  Breeders don't directly use those assets.  Why doesn't Levin pay enough for the use of the Otaki track to race on?

For the second time in 2 1/2 years, the same panel of three judges on the Sixth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has affirmed the constitutionality of the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA) in a lawsuit spearheaded by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia and Louisiana. The case had alleged that the HISA Act gave a private corporation–the HISA Authority, which operates under the auspices of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)–far too broad regulatory authority. The plaintiffs claimed that was a violation of the non-delegation doctrine, which bans Congress from delegating legislative power to federal agencies without an “intelligible principle” to guide the exercise of agency discretion. This same Sixth Circuit panel, back on Mar. 3, 2023, had already upheld a lower court's dismissal of the states' lawsuit, ruling that Congressional changes to the law that were made in 2022 rendered the HISA Act completely constitutional. But the case was back before the Sixth Circuit yet again, because on June 30, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court tasked the Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Circuit appeals courts with revisiting their older decisions about HISA in light of a newer Supreme Court ruling in a similar case involving the non-delegation doctrine. (That precedent didn't exist when any of those courts issued their original opinions as far back as three years ago.) The Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Circuit appeals courts have all previously agreed that HISA's rulemaking structure is constitutional. Only the Fifth Circuit has disagreed, in part, by opining that HISA's enforcement provisions are unconstitutional. The two cases that the Supreme Court remanded back to the Fifth and Eighth Circuit appeals courts have yet to reach the oral argument stage. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the HISA Authority issued the following statement (not attributed to any executive within the Authority) on the Sixth Circuit decision: “HISA is pleased with the decision rendered by the Sixth Circuit once again affirming HISA's constitutionality and finding that the private nondelegation challenge against the HISA Act has no merit. “[The Authority] has remained singularly focused on its mission to promote the health and safety of the human and equine athletes at the heart of Thoroughbred racing and has implemented the first-ever uniform national set of rules applicable to every Thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility. These reforms are delivering transformative results, including meaningful decreases in equine fatalities, consistent standards at racetracks, a fairer and more balanced medication and drug-testing framework and an increased focus on jockey welfare. The data is clear that Thoroughbred racing is safer under HISA than ever before.” TDN has reached out to the plaintiffs, requesting their comments on the Sixth Circuit opinion. This story will be updated to include any responses. Regardless of which side won the case, it was always expected that the losing side would appeal the Sixth Circuit decision back to the Supreme Court. But as of deadline for this article, no one on the plaintiffs' side had officially stated that would happen. Going back to the Supreme Court again would likely add yet another year or two to the timetable for resolving the three highest-profile HISA constitutionality lawsuits, two of which were initiated as far back as 2021. The Sixth Circuit's Dec. 17, 2025, opinion was issued relatively quickly after the three-judge panel heard oral arguments from both sides Nov. 12. During those oral arguments, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton was the only member of the panel to question the attorneys as they made their arguments. Five weeks ago, Sutton seemed to signal where his thoughts were going on the non-delegation issue when he stated, at one point during the arguments, that, “It happens all the time that governments rely on private entities to do things.” On Dec. 17, Sutton put those thoughts in writing as the author of the panel's opinion. “Sometimes government works. And sometimes it works best after a dialogue between and within the various branches,” Sutton wrote. “In 2020, Congress enacted the HISA Act to establish a nationwide framework for regulating Thoroughbred horseracing. That led to several nondelegation and anti-commandeering challenges to the validity of the Act throughout the country,” the opinion stated. “The lead challenge–the facial non-delegation challenge–focused on the reality that the Act replaced several state regulatory authorities with a private corporation, the HISA Authority, which became the Act's primary rulemaker and which was not subordinate to the relevant public agency, the FTC, in critical ways,” the opinion stated. “The first circuit to assess the validity of the law, the Fifth Circuit, declared the Act facially unconstitutional because it gave 'a private entity the last word' on federal law,” the opinion stated. “In response to the Fifth Circuit's decision and after oral argument in a similar case in our circuit, Congress amended the Act to give the FTC discretion to 'abrogate, add to, and modify' any rules that bind the industry,” the opinion stated. “While the Constitution does not require constructive exchanges between Congress and the federal courts, it does not discourage them either, and good government sometimes benefits from them,” the opinion stated. Supreme Court | Getty “A productive dialogue occurred in this instance, and, from our perspective, it ameliorated the concerns underlying the non-delegation challenge,” the opinion stated. [In the 2023 opinion] “we upheld the Act against a facial non-delegation challenge and an anti-commandeering challenge. The Eighth Circuit took the same view. The Fifth Circuit agreed with both courts with respect to the rulemaking power created by the Act. But it facially invalidated the law on the ground that the Act afforded the HISA Authority the power to enforce federal law 'without the FTC's say-so,'” the opinion stated. “The losing parties all filed petitions for writs of certiorari in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held the various petitions while it considered a separate nondelegation challenge to another federal law that used a private entity in implementing the law,´” the opinion stated. “In FCC v. Consumers' Research, the Court considered an as-applied challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund, premised on the reality that the FCC relied on a private administrator's policy recommendations in administering the program. The Court ruled that the program did not impermissibly delegate government authority to a private entity because the FCC retained final 'decision-making authority.'” the opinion stated. “After its decision, the Court [remanded] the three certiorari petitions raising non-delegation challenges to the HISA Act. That is to say, the Court granted each petition, vacated the lower court judgments, and remanded the cases for reconsideration in light of Consumers' Research,” the opinion stated. “That brings us to our second look at the Act. In view of the guidance provided by the Supreme Court in Consumers' Research and other recent decisions, we reject this facial challenge because the Act, as amended, gives the FTC, not the HISA Authority, the final say over the Act's key rulemaking and enforcement provisions,” the opinion stated. “The HISA Authority is subordinate to the agency. The Authority yields to FTC supervision and lacks the final say over rulemaking and enforcement of the law, all tried and true hallmarks of an inferior body,” the opinion stated. With regard to plaintiffs' challenges to rulemaking, Sutton wrote this: “The HISA Act gives the FTC supervision over the rules that govern the horseracing industry. The Act permits the HISA Authority to draft proposed rules on racetrack safety and anti-doping matters. But they are just that: proposals. No such proposal becomes a binding rule until the FTC approves it, and the Act permits the agency only to approve proposed rules if they are 'consistent' with the Act,” the opinion stated. “In addition, the Act gives the FTC authority, as it 'finds necessary or appropriate,' to 'abrogate, add to, and modify the rules.' The FTC's power to review proposed rules, to abrogate existing rules, and to add new rules makes clear who is in charge and who has the final say,” the opinion stated. The post Sixth Circuit Affirms HISA’s Constitutionality A Second Time appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Mister Punch could work out a beneficial stalking trip from the outside post and deserves a long look in the Dec. 20 Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds.View the full article

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) has allocated an extra £4.4 million to prize-money for 2026 compared to this year, following a further increase in the Levy yield to just shy of £109 million – the highest since the 2017 reforms that extended the scope of the Levy to overseas betting operators. Details of the statutory Levy – which climbed to £108.9 million, up from £105.3 million the previous year – were released on Wednesday as the HBLB published its 2024/25 Annual Report and Accounts. This increase came despite a third consecutive year of material decline in betting turnover. Higher than anticipated bookmaker gross profits in February and March this year, in particular, pushed income above expectations, according to the Annual Report. HBLB reported total income of £113 million, up from £108.7 million in 2023/24, when taking into account interest on cash deposits, which helped to boost reserves to £58.7 million. It's reported that the Board adopted a prudent approach to its overall financial position and revised its target reserves range from £21m-£31m to £25m-£35m, reflecting increased spending in recent years and the need for a strong financial cushion. This has facilitated the increased contribution to prize-money for 2026, plus an extra £1.2 million for regulatory and integrity services, among other grants. In her statement as interim chair of HBLB during the year, Anne Lambert noted that the Board was delighted to have been able to increase its grant expenditure on the previous year, but noted that “racing is facing significant challenges”. In the year as a whole, average betting turnover per race was down by 8% on 2023/24, representing a 15% fall versus 2022/23 and 19% versus 2021/22. Meanwhile, in his Chief Executive's Report, Alan Delmonte emphasised that the Board's willingness to support funding of more innovative projects such as 'Project Pace' and 'Project Beacon' illustrates that “if racing is to continue to be a leading sport and leisure activity, it needs to ensure that it is presented and structured in a way that is attractive to the modern consumer”. In June 2025, the Board published a new three-year business plan, with progress to be reported in future annual reports. An updated summary of the 2022-2025 business plan is included within the Annual Report. The post HBLB Annual Report Reveals Further Increase in Levy Yield to Almost £109 Million appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The New York Racing Association plans to run 196 racing days at Aqueduct Racetrack, Saratoga Race Course, and the new Belmont Park in 2026. View the full article

A chance to travel around two turns as a 2-year-old in a Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying race awaits a field of 12 in the Dec. 20 Remington Springboard Mile at Remington Park.View the full article

7th-GP, $58k, OC 62k/C, 3yo/up, 1m, 3:30 p.m. ET WinStar Farm, CHC, Inc. and Cold Press Racing's Tappan Street (Into Mischief) will make his highly anticipated return facing six rivals in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park Friday. He is the 4-5 program favorite. Last seen defeating leading Horse of the Year candidate and GI Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) in the GI Curlin Florida Derby Mar. 29, Tappan Street was forced to miss the Kentucky Derby after suffering a condylar fracture in his right front leg. “We've been looking forward to this ever since he got hurt,” WinStar's Elliott Walden said in these pages earlier this week. TJCIS PPs 1st-GP, $56k, Msw, 3yo/up, 1mT, post time: 12:20 p.m. ET Highlands Way (Not This Time), a $1.35-million Keeneland September yearling, debuts for Robert and Lawana Low and trainer Todd Pletcher. The half-brother to GISW Bell's The One (Majesticperfection) is drawn wide in post 11 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard. Pletcher will also saddle fellow firster Make It Make Sense (Into Mischief), a $600,000 Keeneland September graduate campaigned in partnership by Repole Stable, Spendthrift Farm, Big Easy Racing LLC and Titletown Racing Stables. The latter is a half-brother to SW & MGISP Shoplifted (Into Mischief). TJCIS PPs The post Friday’s Insights: Florida Derby Winner Tappan Street Returns at Gulfstream Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin Tonight is one of the most unique night on the New Zealand racing calendar, bringing the top class and battlers together racing for the same money under the same conditions. The Golden Gait series is designed to reward horses who regularly start at Alexandra Park during the year with 10 mobile mile finals all worth $50,000. That means former Miracle Mile runner-up Sooner The Bettor (R5, No.7) goes around for the same money over the same trip as 10-year-old veteran Benjamin Button (R7, No.8) who will be having his 153rd career start. Here is the best way to tackle tonight’s 10 Golden Gait Finals : Race 1 (R43-51 Pace) :  Plenty of early speed here could set the race up for those who stay out of the early burn, the two most obvious being Double Parked and Ultimate Racy Girl. The latter may be slightly the better horse but Double Parked could have tactical advantage. Bet: Double Parked (6) to win. Race 2 (3YO Trot) : One of best fields of night with several future open class trotters. Ya Rite Darl beat the older mares at G1 level last Friday and if she races up to that form can win again but Youneverknow has x-factor and potential to get in front of key rival. Bet: Youneverknow (8) on top but be patient, price could drift closer to start time. Race 3 (3YO Pace) : Again plenty of depth but no doubting Captain Sampson is the best horse here. Faces a second line draw but has won coming wide in fast times before. Bet: Captain Sampson (12) to win but Final Change (7) at $3.10 Top3 also a good bet. Race 4 (2YO Trot) : Save A Prayer galloped in both his last two starts at Addington but before that won well here in good time. Looks the most talented and if he trots throughout clearly the one to beat in a race where manners will be the key. Bet: Save A Prayer (6) to win, Somebody a nice Top3 option. Race 5 (R55-R90 Pace) : Race of the night with Sooner The Bettor coming out of the NZ Cup last start against last year’s winner of this race Jolimont. Sooner The Bettor has great gate speed and won both the Spring Cup and Holmes D G here in the spring so has to be the one to beat. Bet: Sooner The Bettor (7) to win. Race 6 (R55-85 Trot) : Really deep field with all the major players in form. But Hillbilly Blues went to a new level beating Mighty Logan and Oscar Bonavena here last Friday. Has yet to win in three mobile starts but has been quick off the gate when asked so should stay handy. Walkinonsunshine, Belle Neige or American Muscle could all test the favourite if things don’t work out for him early. Bet: Hillbilly Blues (3) looks one of the bets of the night and is a juicy $3 with Box Seat Boost (under Futures on TAB website). Race 7 (R35-42 Pace) :  A real “reward for turning up race” for plenty of the Alex Park regulars who have rarely visited the winner’s circle. Dave Duley stands out after being close second in strong and fast run Metro Final last start. Bet: Dave Duley as a multi maker as $1.50 too short for many win punters. Race 8 (R42-53 Trot) : One of the most even races of the night with multiple winning hopes. Bravehearthighlander was fourth in the race Hillbilly Blues won last Friday, Bolt For The Hill has a stack of ability, Shesgold is a sharp sprinter and Loteria could do something special if saved for one 600m surge. Even Westar Milly or Father Barry could win without surprising. Bet: Enough value to back Bolt For The Hill (7), Loteria (11) and Father Barry (1). Race 9 (2YO Pace) : Cyclone Rebel was a certainty beaten here last Friday against older horses when he never got clear. Some handy opponents here but he really should win. American Falcon has gate speed to make his own luck while Prince Lincoln was very brave in smart field last Friday. Bet: Cyclone Rebel (5) should win but again maybe only a multi play. Prince Lincoln Top2 at $1.85 another option. Race 10 (R35-41 Trot) : If you had told people a few months ago Crazy would be a $1.80 favourite to win a $50,000 race they would have thought you were.. um.. crazy. But the veteran troublemaker has found his sweet spot in mobile races and won a strong Metro Final last start yet still sneaks into this race. If he trots throughout he should win, if he doesn’t then Miss Bebe is the clear next best option. Bet: Crazy (7) to win but maybe with small cover on Miss Bebe just in case. View the full article

As usual, we start our annual quest for value among Bluegrass sires by treating the rookies as a case apart. From here we'll work our way through fee tiers of those already at stud, starting with four-figure bargains and working our way up to the big guns. In this notoriously unpredictable environment, there's one certainty on which you can hang your hat. Almost all the horses we examine today are about to cover the biggest and best books of their careers–though charging a fee that few will ever command again. But we all understand how the system works nowadays. Commercial breeders, knowing that they can bank on customers for a new stallion, typically flit from one to the next. As a result, it has become necessary for the stud farms to pay for their stallions more or less in a single season. You can't blame the farms for setting “excessive” fees, then, any more than you can blame commercial breeders for anticipating the most reliable demand. Both camps need to put bread on their tables–plenty of which already have woodworm! The source of the problem is instead at ringside, where investors claim that the unproven sire gives them their one affordable chance of landing on an Into Mischief in the making. That would be a lot more credible if they didn't run away screaming from those same stallions when, though still unproven one way or the other, their fees and books start to plummet pending the appearance of their first runners. Admittedly there is a self-fulfilling element to the equation, in that the quality and quantity of mares sent to a new stallion will represent his best chance of producing a runner. But if farms could rely on solid support right through “the bubble,” then they would not have to launch these horses at such stiff fees. As it is, the stampede is concentrated precisely where investment is most likely to fail–at least in terms of producing a racehorse. I will never tire of reiterating that there should be nothing more commercial than to put a winner under your mare. But a lot of people today instead hope to have won their “Derby” the moment the hammer comes down. As a result, and as can be seen from the way breed-to-race programs are dominating so many big races, there can seldom have been a better time to be an end user. Yet today we'll play the game, attempt the same kind of guesswork as everybody else, and try to land on one or two of the very few that typically last the course. No less than anyone else, we will need to be lucky to do that. As always, this is a notoriously subjective exercise. First and foremost people need to find the right physical match for their mares, and for every Not This Time that I may have stumbled across, I will have recommended a dozen turkeys. Nonetheless… once more unto the breach, dear friends! Sierra Leone | Benoit OVERVIEW OF THE INTAKE The sporting decision by connections of Sierra Leone and Fierceness to continue their rivalry this year certainly paid off for the racing public, and now gives the incoming cohort a star quality somewhat lacking in the previous cycle. Conversely, those whose budget was best served last year, when eight of 23 stallions were introduced between $30,000 and a peak of $40,000, find themselves with a choice of two in that bracket this time round–while as many as four of the 18 newcomers will start at higher fees. SIERRA LEONE has somehow made himself well bought as a $2.3-million yearling, which tag measured his eligibility–in physique and pedigree–to convert any kind of athletic achievement into a stud career. He has filled out the missing element in the equation magnificently, and even contrived to upgrade his page when thwarted, in his GI Breeders' Cup Classic defense, by his own “cousin”! After that, I think most of us would have estimated his start-up fee just where it has ended up, at $75,000. If hardly an obvious type to give you a maiden winner at the Keeneland spring meet, this 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' is assured helpful material and plenty of it. With his length of build and stride, equally, he will surely help some very fast mares to stretch out their foals. Bottom line is that he has everything it takes to figure prominently among sons of Gun Runner aiming to complete his resume now as a sire of sires. LOCKED, a Grade I winner at two and four and fellow 'Rising Star', offers the same cross for $35,000 at Gainesway. The Santa Anita Handicap might not be the race it was, but you try and win it by eight and a half lengths, and tell me how you get on. Don't back off his European granddam, either: she additionally produced a GI Acorn Stakes winner. For bargain access to Gun Runner, meanwhile, you can catch up with IL MIRACOLO in TDN's recent visit to that exemplary farm, Crestwood. Fierceness -at-Ashford-Stud-2_Coolmore_print_Sara-Gordon.jpg" alt="" width="599" height="435" /> Fierceness | Sara Gordon Back at Ashford, Sierra Leone is joined by two champion juveniles. The relative precocity of his old rival FIERCENESS–who these days could probably have found a place at stud straight after his 11-length 'TDN Rising Star' debut success at Saratoga–will keep the door revolving at $50,000. He consolidated unequivocally with maturity, as a Grade I winner at three and four, and it is a stallion's page. Literally, in fact: dam a half-sister to Outwork, granddam a half-sister to Cairo Prince. The other champion 2-year-old entering this roster got very close to our Value Podium. But that already features one son of Into Mischief out of a Distorted Mare, with rather more margin for error in their respective fees. Nonetheless CITIZEN BULL would be my pick of the more expensive covers in this intake, and I feel confident that he will become big value should he end up taking the customary fee clips towards his “bubble.” A revival at the end of his career reiterated all the class he showed as a youngster, and his strength and balance guarantee the breadth of support that can generate its own momentum. With all that juvenile quality on his page–his dam is a half-sister to Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon), a dual Grade I winner at two, out of a half-brother to Favorite Trick (Phone Trick)–he seems bound to be a player in the freshman title. The arrival of MINDFRAME at Claiborne feels like quite an event and he, like Fierceness, can be confident of astute support from his own camp. He, too, opens at $50,000. That's commensurate with the natural ability that got this 'Rising Star' within half a length of the GI Belmont Stakes (admittedly not a 'real' Belmont!) on only his third start, and the speed that subsequently won him a Grade I at just seven furlongs. On the same farm, JOHANNES combines Nyquist and elite turf performance in a fashion that looks modestly priced at just $10,000. He was beaten by a single horse, at the Breeders' Cup, across six starts in the best of company in 2024 and would certainly have been able to charge rather more had he packed up then. Lane's End are also walking the walk, when it comes to all the talk we hear nowadays about expanding opportunities on grass in North America, with 'TDN Rising Star' CARL SPACKLER (Ire) joining his old rival More Than Looks on the roster that has also lately launched Up to the Mark. At $15,000, Carl Spackler allows Bluegrass breeders to tap into elite European sire Lope De Vega (Ire); while his dam is a Grade II-winning half-sister to a Grade I winner. Carl Spackler | Coady Media He started out in Book I at Tattersalls, but his new buddy RAGING TORRENT–who opens on the same fee–has a very different profile, as a rags-to-riches son of Maximus Mischief with a ton of dirt dash crowned by a frontrunning defeat of Fierceness in the stallion-making GI Met Mile. Airdrie consistently works a great angle for breeders with its imaginative recruitment and both the farm's novices look extremely tempting. If MYSTIK DAN's career proved rather uneven, his Derby form is rock solid and don't forget that he broke his maiden as a 2-year-old by eight lengths over 5.5f at Churchill for a 96 Beyer. On his day he was unplayable, and his granddam is sister to Siphon (Brz). JONATHAN'S WAY also made an explosive start to his career in 'Rising Star' fashion but was then unluckily derailed, and this farm has shown its flair developing this kind of project with Beau Liam. At $8,500, he looks a legitimate roll of the dice from the family that produced Dynaformer and Monarchos. Another recommendation is ARTHUR'S RIDE at Taylor Made: capable of very smart form on his day, from a fine family and a very nice Tapit physically. He looks fairly priced at $12,500. VALUE PODIUM Gold: PATCH ADAMS Into Mischief–Well Humored by Distorted Humor WinStar $30,000 As noted above, this is the same cross as Citizen Bull–who may well end up the pick of the bunch, in the longer term. But this 'TDN Rising Star' is not starting at quite so tough a fee, and in his own right has a great deal to recommend him. First and foremost he received a warm endorsement from one of the best judges of our time, who praises the light, balanced gait with which he carries his brawn. His temperament, moreover, seems to be maintained with similar equilibrium. While Into Mischief has deployed his upgraded mares to turn himself into a legitimate Classic influence, Patch Adams was a throwback to the way he made his name. A 10-length juvenile maiden romp at the home of the Derby (just a tick off Groupie Doll's 7f track record, for a juvenile class high Beyer of 98) prompted an understandable experiment with a couple of the early trials, but while he did end up returning to Churchill on the first Saturday in May, it was in order to drop back to sprinting. That worked out so well that he was elevated to Grade I company at Saratoga for what proved to be his final two starts, winning both the Woody Stephens and the Allen Jerkens with big numbers. The same cross has launched another exciting stallion on this farm, in Life Is Good, and has worked out pretty well for Practical Joke in his second career. But that basic structure supports some solid genetic detail, as the first starter out of a stakes-winning half-sister to Grade I winner American Patriot. Their dam is a sister to G1 Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed (Tiznow), and half-sister to the granddam of Cyberknife (Gun Runner). This farm has loaded a ton of speed onto its roster, with MULLIKIN and STRAIGHT NO CHASER offering affordable access–both $10,000–to two of the fastest sprinters around. But WinStar has put three generations of work into this horse and will surely be giving him every chance to maximize his impact on a fourth. Chancer McPatrick | Sarah Andrew Silver: CHANCER MCPATRICK McKinzie–Bernadreamy by Bernardini Spendthrift $25,000 This is the solitary recruit to the hectic roster of a farm that has dominated the freshman table in recent years and looks a safe bet to thrive as the sole beneficiary of its knowhow this time round. His precocity and powerful build will surely go down well among those who routinely rely on Spendthrift to make the numbers work. He's all business, in every sense: a really purposeful way of going, at the walk, and a blatant commercial profile. A $725,000 juvenile purchase, he followed up his debut 'TDN Rising Star' success at Saratoga by pairing up the two New York juvenile Grade Is. He didn't really build from there, albeit bowing out with a highly creditable effort against the pace in the GI Dirt Mile; and it was a similar story for the best horse on his page, granddam Dream Empress (Bernstein), after emerging among the cream of her crop at two. But that won't trouble many of his clientele in the slightest! Those who do prioritize a second turn at three can find plenty of hope in the seeding of his family: first four dams by Bernardini, Bernstein, Nijinsky, The Axe. His sire remains something of a puzzle, but the good ones appear to be very good; and the damsire, of course, is as solid as they come. In a game of chance, he appeals as the very opposite of a mere Chancer. Bronze: FIRST MISSION Street Sense–Elude by Medaglia d'Oro $10,000 Darley This is a working man's fee for a 'Rising Star' with some fairly aristocratic traits. His orderly mechanics support very smooth motion, which he deployed through three campaigns that left him just shy of elite quality–as, for instance, when taking a step on the podium below Mindframe ($50,000) and Sierra Leone ($75,000) in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes, having won the GII Oaklawn Handicap on his previous start for a 109 Beyer. His pedigree combines two farm legends and taps into a seam of Argentinian gold through his granddam Forty Marchanta (Arg) (Roar), a triple Group 1 winner whose family is saturated with quality performers and/or producers. A lot of smaller breeders–also likely to appreciate the top-class genes and handicap performances of HIGHLAND FALLS at the same fee–will surely be grateful for another young stallion to build up the eventual legacy of Street Sense. Like his buddies Maxfield and Speaker's Corner, of course, he will also benefit from access to the home herd, with all that entails. The post Kentucky Value Sires For 2026–Part 1: New Stallions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article