Forums

Fourteen countries on five continents will host races from the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In as the international qualifier for the Breeders' Cup World Championships enters its 20th year in 2026. View the full article

Morplay Racing LLC's 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Shisospicy (Mitole), who beat the boys in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and is a finalist in no fewer than three Eclipse Award categories, will begin her 4-year-old campaign in the Middle East before following a similar course to the Breeders' Cup as in 2025. The news was revealed by Morplay's Rich Mendez and trainer Jose D'Angelo on FanDuel TV midday Thursday. D'Angelo is set to be represented for the second straight season in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint on the Saudi Cup undercard at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 14. Howard Wolowitz contested the same event in 2025, finishing 10th. All things equal, Shisospicy would press on to Dubai for the G1 Al Quoz Sprint over the straight 1200 meters at Meydan Racecourse Mar. 28. The Al Quoz is one of five elite-level events on the Dubai World Cup program and the D'Angelo stable could also be represented by GI Breeders' Cup Sprint hero and fellow Eclipse finalist Bentornato (Valiant Minister) in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. The back end of 2026 could look similar to 2025, according to connections. Mendez and D'Angelo indicated the filly could make a return to Kentucky Downs, where last year she took out the GII Music City Stakes en route to the Turf Sprint. As that is an age-restricted affair, Shisospicy has the GII Kentucky Turf Sprint Stakes against the boys over six furlongs or the GII Ladies' Turf Sprint at 6 1/2 panels as options. The 2026 Breeders' Cup will be held at Keeneland. “She had a huge year last year, beat the boys as a 3-year-old,” D'Angelo said on FanDuel TV. “The way she's training, I feel she can compete at this level.” Shisospicy is five-for-six on the grass, her only defeat coming when down the field in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last June. Following her victory at Del Mar, achieved in partnership with Qatar Racing, Shisospicy went through the ring at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, where Morplay bought out their partners on a bid of $5.2 million. The gray returned to the worktab in late December, most recently going three-eighths of a mile in a bullet :36.30 (1/11) at Palm Meadows on Dec. 31. Though clearly biased, Mendez is confident his filly could lock horns with the horse most consider the world's best turf sprinter, Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}). “The money makes a difference. For the competition, the better opportunity for her is out there, show the world,” Mendez said. “Some people say she wasn't fast, but I'd love to see a match race between her and Ka Ying Rising.” Shisospicy would depart for Riyadh on a direct flight departing Feb. 2. The post Morplay Reveals Shisospicy Plans For 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The first foal by the high-class sprinter Mill Stream was born at Yeomanstown Stud on Wednesday when the Dark Angel mare Silver Rose delivered a bay filly. Silver Rose, a full-sister to the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 hero Golden Goal, has already produced the Listed winner and Group 3 runner-up Eternal Elixir (Shaman). Stud manager David O'Callaghan said, “Delighted to have Mill Stream's first foal on the ground. She's a belter, a big, strong, bay filly, with good limbs.” Mill Stream, a Group 1 winner when landing the 2024 July Cup at Newmarket, covered 170 mares in his first season at Yeomanstown in 2025. He will stand the upcoming season at a fee of €10,000. The post First Foal by July Cup Winner Mill Stream Born at Yeomanstown Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Shisospicy is set to begin her 2026 season in Saudi Arabia, competing in the 1351 Turf Sprint (G2T) on Saudi Cup (G1) night Feb. 14.View the full article

The air is getting thinner now, as we explore those stallions standing between $30,000 and $59,999, but this penultimate instalment of our series does open access to genuine elite quality. Several in this range have a proven ability to sire horses who go on, in turn, to take a lucrative place at stud; and a number, within that group, have reached a stage in their careers where their fees have been cut temptingly within reach. Take MACLEAN'S MUSIC. Doubling his fee to $50,000 for 2022–after two sons contested the finish of the GI Woody Stephens the previous summer–looked reasonable enough when the resulting yearlings averaged $135,739 (median $100,000) in 2024. Things did not play out so well for his clients in the next cycle, however, with his latest crop sliding back to $97,264 and a particularly unhelpful median, throwing in keep and prep costs, of $65,000. But Maclean's Music has now taken his second cut since, to just $30,000, and that brings him right back into the realm of value as sire of four popular young sons at stud in Kentucky. Conserving a male line for Distorted Humor makes him eligible for somewhat historic stature, hardly reflected in a fee like this, and he has maintained numbers well with another 130 mares last spring. The reality is that GII Pat Day Mile winner Macho Music remains his solitary graded stakes scorer over the past two years, but hopefully his upgraded mares will be stopping that rot pretty soon. MUNNINGS has also put himself under a bit of pressure, owing his one graded stakes success in 2025 to a 6-year-old in a Grade III sprint at Aqueduct. But plenty of people will forgive a flat spot in one that spent the preceding five years as a fixture in the top 10 of the general sires' list. It did feel as though his reputation had been a little over-egged when exalted as a six-figure cover in 2023, but a third consecutive cut brings him steeply down to $45,000–a number that stacks up most agreeably against a $159,470 average ($120,000 median) for the 56 yearlings he has just sold, of 79 offered, from that crop conceived at $100,000. Sure, he has a lot of volume behind his 88 stakes winners, but they represent a rock-solid 6.5% percent clip of named foals and include Jack Christopher among half a dozen Grade I winners. Munnings | Coolmore VIOLENCE is another with heirs at stud, but could have done with more than three stakes winners in 2025, at a time when his book needs careful management. Those did at least include a 10-length winner of the GIII Sanford Stakes and one of the best juvenile prospects in the west, in Boyd, and he's still supplying the same genes that have so far produced 43 black-type scorers (5% of named foals) including five at Grade I level. Moreover the Medaglia d'Oro glamor of his stock remained evident at the sales, where 21 of 30 yearlings averaged $169,000 (albeit not even half that sum, by median). Having briefly touched $60,000 only a couple of years ago, he represents excellent value at half that fee, whether your agenda is oriented to the sales or the racetrack. It makes ample allowance for such fertility issues as have impeded the rise of Violence, and ensures that the breeder who adapts patiently to his needs can profit from a limited supply of goods that should remain reliably in demand. When he's good, Violence can be very good indeed, and few sires at this kind of money have so high a ceiling. His champion son FORTE renews a challenge we have repeatedly set during this series. If he was genuinely worth $50,000 as a blank page in 2024, he's presumably worth $35,000 as sire of 24 weanlings sold (of 28 offered) at an average $166,875 (median $157,500). ELITE POWER has made an identical slide despite faring better yet on his sales debut, processing 17 of 20 weanlings as $182,352/$170,000. But since they will presumably depreciate again this time next year, you can pounce just as they are about to show their wares on the racetrack. On the same basis, we'll certainly be leaving last year's rookies to stew in their commercial juice for the time being. Forte | Sarah Andrew The dividends available from sticking with a bubble sire can be sampled in MAXFIELD, who was trimmed to $35,000 for his third season, in 2024, but will stand at $50,000 this spring after his first juveniles put him behind only Yaupon on the freshman table. Though an emphatic Grade I winner at two himself, he won his other elite prize in the November of his third campaign, so his stock should continue to thrive. Just as well, mind, as this class is guilty of historic underachievement and Maxfield mustered a solitary stakes winner from his 60 starters. Whether he has done enough to merit a higher fee than his own sire is a question reserved for our Value Podium! In the preceding intake, TIZ THE LAW has by now put together a rather more substantial resume–crowned by his first Grade I winner only a few days ago–but we must raise an eyebrow that he should have been the busiest stallion in the land with 274 mares last spring. His latest yearlings cashed in on his strong start, 34 sold of 41 at $134,321 (median $90,000), but a fee returned to $40,000 (from $30,000) may give some pause to those who know that catalogues must soon be fairly inundated. In the meantime, as we keep saying, true believers will have got to him at $20,000 on the bubble and will have a coveted commodity to take to the upcoming yearling sales. Be all that as it may, there's no denying that seven graded stakes winners from 165 starters to date is a really auspicious foundation. Two Grade I winners for CITY OF LIGHT in 2025 consolidated rather than refreshed a reputation that has at times depended heavily on one of them, Fierceness, to sustain a fee that has now stabilized at $35,000 (having been cut from $60,000 for 2024). But his other elite scorer has at least shown that his stock will continue to flourish much as he did himself. Having become City of Light's second Grade I breakthrough late in his sophomore career, turf star Formidable Man was better than ever at four and saw off all but one of the Europeans at the Breeders' Cup. While there may yet be plenty of slow burners out there, for now City of Light must settle for less extravagant market expectations than when rewarded with a fee hike simply for selling his first yearlings so well. His latest crop retailed at $129,704/median $80,000. With our customary apologies to those overlooked in what is necessarily a highly subjective survey, we now turn to three stallions, at very different stages of his career, who should appeal strongly if happening to meet other, more fundamental criteria for your mare. VALUE PODIUM Bronze: LIAM'S MAP Unbridled's Song–Miss Macy Sue (Trippi) $50,000, Lane's End Here's a stallion in his absolute prime, now 15 and celebrating Grade I winners in 2025 from each of his last three crops onto the track, taking him up to seven overall. His security of tenure at this level is reflected by a hike from $40,000, but even that looks worth embracing when you consider how consistently he rewards his clients at the sales. The gray's latest crop of yearlings not only averaged $178,515 for 63 sold (of 84 offered) but also maintained a much narrower gap to the median, at $150,000, than many others we have reviewed in this category. Remarkably, the purchasers of Napoleon Solo had to give just $40,000 to an outstanding nursery for the runaway GI Champagne Stakes winner; whereas GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes scorer Burnham Square had been retained by his breeders; and 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Deterministic, winner of consecutive Grade Is on the turf at Saratoga, was a $625,000 yearling. And that spread shows what you get with Liam's Map: a racehorse sire, whether for trainers or breed-to-race programs, but also a sire that can achieve dividends at the sales. With his son Beau Liam making a flying start, moreover, and juvenile star Brant suggesting that his daughters may also contribute to his legacy, Liam's Map is achieving a stature that makes look quite a center of gravity for the entire market. Of course, you also get half the genetic package being expensively purveyed by Not This Time! If overall his 31 stakes winners have come at a rather pedestrian 4.1% of named foals, his reliability at the sales means that Liam's Map–fully subscribed as usual last spring–is going to keep looking after an awful lot of breeders. Silver: GIRVIN Tale of Ekati–Catch the Moon (Malibu Moon) $30,000, Airdrie Bit of a no-brainer, this one. Having introduced himself with a series of startling talents, bred for no money in Florida, Girvin earned a passage to Kentucky in 2023. His first Bluegrass-breds will duly enter the starting gate only this year, and with unusual volume by the restrained standards of his exemplary farm: he covered 181 mares for 139 live foals, up from 53 in his final Ocala crop. Even those were sired at no more than $20,000, and paid their way impressively at the yearling sales: 82 sold of 93 offered at $120,719. If the mixed quality of his mares told in a median of $60,000, some supporters were celebrating home runs of $700,000, $535,000 and $500,000. Girvin -Airdrie-PRINT-EquiSport.jpg" alt="" width="1155" height="840" /> Girvin | Equi-Photo Meanwhile Dorth Vader is still thriving, last summer becoming the second Grade I winner from Girvin's debut crop; and likewise Damon's Mound, who won his latest graded stakes at the age of five. His final Florida crop, meanwhile, has put onto the Classic trail Dazzling Dame, who last week won the Busanda Stakes–already her third black-type prize–by a dozen lengths. Even as things stand, Girvin has 15 stakes winners from no more than 197 lifetime starters conceived at $7,500 and $6,000. A mild increase, from $25,000 to $30,000, acknowledges that this horse potentially stands on the brink of a giant leap forward. It feels like an imperative moment to jump into the slipstream. Gold: STREET SENSE Street Cry (Ire)–Bedazzle (Dixieland Band) $40,000, Darley Like a few others in this category, this is a stallion of proven prowess now seriously undervalued by a fee that must respond to somewhat porous commercial performance of late. Certainly a median of $80,000 for his latest yearlings was not a helpful dividend to those who had paid a $75,000 conception fee, albeit the shinier ones took his average to double that: $164,565 for 38 sold of 44 offered. But Street Sense has now taken a third consecutive cut to what would appear an absurdly generous level–if it weren't for the fact that his neighbor Hard Spun is offering pretty much the same resume at half as much again! Street Sense has actually accumulated his 96 stakes winners at an even better ratio of 6.8% of named foals, with his ninth Grade I scorer La Cara confirming a continued ability to get performers of elite caliber. In turning 22, along with Hard Spun, Street Sense must face the self-fulfilling prejudice against ageing sires. Medaglia d'Oro certainly had a good laugh at that, during his final season before retirement. But there's no question that anyone who can reach Street Sense's diminishing fee will be grateful to tap into a legacy that can produce the kind of dividends generally way beyond this kind of budget. Remember, we're talking about the sire of McKinzie, Maxfield, Speaker's Corner and First Mission. With time, moreover, it appears increasingly evident that he has inherited something of his father's exceptional influence as a broodmare sire: daughters of Street Sense produced 23 stakes winners in 2025, 11 at graded level including Mindframe (Constitution) and Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro). In other words, you certainly wouldn't mind retaining a filly. More commercial rivals may have to go about things in a different way. But one way or another, this farm's strategy for keeping older stallions in the game results in some tremendously sporting fees. We saw that with Medaglia d'Oro, some of whose former partners will doubtless now be dividing their favors between Street Sense and Hard Spun. Don't be surprised if they both enjoy an Indian summer of their own. The post Kentucky Value Sires For 2026: Part 5–Approaching the Snow-Line appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

On Wednesday's TDN Writers' Room podcast, Hill 'n' Dale Farm at Xalapa owner John Sikura challenged the Breeders' Cup to use some of their estimated $98.5 million endowment to shore up California racing and help to ensure its future. “I've always been a huge critic of the fact that the Breeders' Cup keeps $100 million of nominators' awards for a rainy day fund,” Sikura told hosts Bill Finley, Randy Moss, and Zoe Cadman. “In order to have a rainy day fund that needs a hundred million dollars, there will have to be a torrential flood of epic proportions. I might be a loner in the minority so far as my critique goes, but I don't believe the founders of the Breeders' Cup, in their original statement and in their original mission, believed it was necessary to put away $100 million. When you have current crippling issues in our business that are affecting the validity of breeding programs in states and, maybe even the existence of some markets, that money, in my strong opinion, should be put into use to help the Thoroughbred industry. And if there's a cause more important than the survival of California racing, I don't know what it is.” The Breeders' Cup responded that the endowment was managed by an investment committee, and that all decisions regarding the endowment were evaluated and approved by the board of directors. They said that as a non-profit whose mission is to conduct the Breeders' Cup World Championships with the highest levels of quality, safety and integrity and to promote the growth of Thoroughbred breeding, racing, and sales, they must exercise prudent fiscal stewardship while leveraging the endowment and related income to enhance the World Championships and advance their mission. On Thursday, Sikura responded as follows: “The Breeders' Cup's response to my critique only defended their management of the $98.5 million endowment,” he wrote. “That's typical of a non-responsive self-congratulatory group. The concerns raised and possible solutioins to the crisis (in California) were ignored and received no reply. John Gaines, the founder of the Breeders' Cup, often warned of `self-appointed guardians of the turf.' An apt descipton of the current state of affairs–a continuum of non-action and self-praise.” To watch the entire podcast featuring Sikura, click here. The post Sikura Responds to Breeders’ Cup Regarding Endowment appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin Champion trainer Barry Purdon is adamant Meant To Be (pictured above) has the motor of a good open class trotter. But tonight’s $40,000 Trotters Flying Stakes (7.01pm) at Cambridge could be a little too soon to see that motor pay dividends. Meant To Be is a trotting rarity having looked like an open class horse even when winning as a two-year-old, an age when most young trotters are still trying to work out where their legs are supposed to go. After a luckless back end to his three-year-old season he has just turned four and Barry, who trains him with Scott Phelan, knows there is nowhere to hide. “He has to step up to open class at some stage and I have no doubt he is good enough,” Purdon says. “Whether he can win this week, first time against race fit, hardened open class trotters I am not sure but he will get there for sure.” Tonight Meant To Be is a victim of his own impressive record of nine wins from 16 starts as he comes into open class as a Rating 84 horse, so under tonight’s preferential draw conditions he starts from the outside of the front line. He will probably enjoy having some room to move early in his first start off the unruly but it is incredible to think the youngster is rated 14 points higher than Hillbilly Blues, who has won just one less race but the Group 1 National Trot at Alexandra Park last week. While Hillbilly Blues has raced only sparingly left-handed he has shown good gate speed and if he rolls to the front from barrier 3 tonight it is hard to see how Meant To Be, or any of his rivals, will catch him. Belle Neige, who has been a consistent improver and was huge in the National Trot, and the wonderful old statesman of New Zealand trotting Oscar Bonavena are the obvious dangers. Oscar Bonavena has won this race twice but has been beaten, usually with merit, in his last seven starts as he is finding it harder to give away the starts he often does with his usual sit-and-swoop racing style. If they burn early tonight Oscar could win and look stunning doing it but the days of him being sub $3 in most open class races, even one of as mixed quality as tonight, must surely be coming to an end. The early burn for positions could also determine tonight’s Pacers Flying Stakes (7.37pm) which only has four starters but may not be as straight forward as it looks.  Akuta has barrier 3 and Merlin barrier 4 and the market suggests Akuta will use that advantage to lead, which would make it extremely hard for Merlin to beat him. But the two pacers drawn inside the favourites, Little Spike (1) and Jolimont (2) are Arna Donnelly stablemates and the Cambridge trainer is rarely scared to give her horses their chance in front, especially with aggressive reinsmen Andre Poutama and David Butcher aboard. If Akuta leads he should win but if the Donnelly stablemates fancy the lead-trail scenario that makes Akuta the horse who will have to come sit parked at some stage with Merlin almost certainly on his back, the latter then becoming the horse to beat. “It is going to be very interesting,” says Purdon, who also trains Merlin. “He can obviously win but so much is going to depend on what they all do early.” View the full article

Breeders' Cup has announced that 14 countries on five continents will host 'Win and You're In' qualifiers in 2026 as the Challenge Series enters its 20th year. A selection of the premier contests in Argentina, Canada, Chile, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Uruguay feature as part of the 2026 Challenge Series. The 45-race international schedule is available to view here, with the North American portion of the Challenge Series, including races in Canada, set to be announced in the spring when racing schedules have been finalised. In addition, Breeders' Cup has allocated a record $6.5 million in free entry fees to this year's 'Win and You're In' qualifiers, with all winners guaranteed a starting position in a corresponding race at the 43rd Breeders' Cup World Championships, which take place at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky on October 30-31. “Global participation is a cornerstone of the Breeders' Cup, and the Challenge Series remains the premier pathway for horsemen worldwide to secure automatic qualification for the World Championships,” said Dora Delgado, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Officer of Breeders' Cup Limited. “We are grateful to the racing authorities and partner organizations spanning five continents for their continued commitment, which is essential to the strength of the Challenge Series, and we anticipate another outstanding edition of the World Championships at Keeneland this fall.” Last year, 46 Challenge Series winners competed at the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar and three won their respective divisional races: Forever Young in the $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic; Notable Speech in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile; and Ted Noffey in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The 2026 Challenge Series launched in December last year, with Obataye winning an entry to the $5 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf through the G1 Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini Stakes in Argentina. On January 6, the international action continued with Herr Kitten securing a berth in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile via the G3 Gran Premio Pedro Pineyrua in Uruguay. Obataye and Herr Kitten, along with every other Challenge Series winner based outside of North America, will be offered a $40,000 travel allowance by Breeders' Cup. In order to receive the reward, each winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup programme by the pre-entry deadline of Monday, October 19. The post Fourteen Countries to Host ‘Win and You’re In’ Qualifiers for 2026 Breeders’ Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The already struggling racing and breeding industries in New Jersey were hit by potentially devastating news on Wednesday when it was reported that there are bills afloat in the state capital in Trenton that could eventually allow Monmouth Park to reduce its meet to 25 days a year. Is this the beginning of the end for one of the sport's most iconic and picturesque tracks? Not necessarily. (I'll get to that later). But it's hard not to be pessimistic about Monmouth's future. As with so many things that have become the real wheels that now make this sport churn, this is all about alternative sources of revenue from gaming. Monmouth is to the East Coast what Santa Anita is to the West Coast. The first casino opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey way back in 1978. Over the next 48 years, Monmouth, along with the Meadowlands, has fought the good fight. Those in charge have done everything imaginable to try to get casinos or at least slot machines to call their own or to get the Atlantic City casinos to do something to help the horse racing game. But the casinos have immense political power, particularly in the southern half of the state, and their many cronies won't budge. They have protected Atlantic City at all costs. Horse racing be damned. A band-aid was offered in 2019 when then-Governor Phil Murphy approved a $20 million package from the state to supplement purses. Half went to Monmouth and half went to the Standardbred industry. With that money, Monmouth was able to hold a 50-day meet, which didn't include nine extra days of all-turf Thoroughbred racing at the Meadowlands. By today's standards, the purses weren't anything special and the meet was way shorter than it needed to be. But, with the $10 million, Monmouth Park got by. But there have been strings attached. The purse subsidies were often guaranteed for only one year at a time and that left the Monmouth team to return each year to Trenton to all but beg for more help. The other problem is that on Jan. 20, Murphy will no longer be the governor. This is the day that new governor, Mikie Sherrill, will be sworn in. She seems like a reasonable person and, as a fellow Democrat, has never seemed to have issues with Murphy or anything that he has done. She has given no indication that she will be an Atlantic City sycophant. But no one has any idea how Sherrill feels about horse racing and its place in the future of her state. If Sherrill does continue with the purse subsidies, then Monmouth's future will be safe, at least in the short term. The other hope is that, finally, some form of casino gaming will come to the state's racetracks. Legislation that approved casinos in the New York City metropolitan area is now in effect and three casinos are set to open within the five boroughs. The timeline is anywhere from this spring to 2030. One will be at the site of Aqueduct, which will cease being a racetrack later this year and will become a full-fledged casino rather than a “racino” with limited gaming options. Jeff Gural, the owner of the Meadowlands, is as perceptive as they come and has a lot of friends in political circles. He has expressed optimism that, with the new New York casinos just a short drive from the New York-New Jersey borders, politicians in the Garden State will finally wake up and put a stop to the exodus of New Jersey casino gamblers heading to New York and Pennsylvania, contributing nothing to the state they live in. Picnics at Monmouth Park | Sarah Andrew Barring the unforeseen, Monmouth is not going to get a casino. It is too far away from New York City and too close to Atlantic City. But should the Meadowlands get a casino, the conventional wisdom is that it will be required to split the revenue with the Thoroughbred game. The Meadowlands sits in the middle of one of the most densely populated areas in the country, and a casino there would surely be among the most successful on the planet. There's that, but there's also the harsh reality of a possibly dire situation. Dennis Drazin, who heads the management team that runs the racetrack, has said that he does not want to cut dates but has to keep that option open if the purse subsidy goes away. “We have no intention of ever cutting days unless we're forced do so because we don't have revenue,” Drazin told the TDN. “If we don't have revenue, then our choice is do we close down the operation or do we go to the horsemen and ask them to reduce days?” The problem with his logic is that a 25-day meet will never work. The first blow would be to the state's breeding industry, which is already hanging on by a thread. With a guarantee of only 25 days of racing, no one is going to breed a horse in the state. The larger issue is that finding horsemen to stable and race at Monmouth with only 25 days of racing available to them will prove to be an impossibility. What trainer is going to come to Monmouth when there will be so many better options in the Mid-Atlantic region? All they have to do is look some 70 miles to the west at Parx, where there is year-round racing, fat purses and the state's breeding program is thriving. For someone who has lived most of his life within a short distance of Monmouth Park, I find this highly upsetting. It is where my father used to take me to the track almost every Saturday and taught me to love the sport. (You still had to wear a jacket and a tie to get into the clubhouse in those days). It was where I had my first “real job” as a horse racing journalist, covering what was then a robust Garden State-Monmouth- Meadowlands circuit for the Daily Racing Form. It is a beautiful place with an atmosphere not unlike that at Del Mar. It is nestled next to the Atlantic Ocean and an afternoon spent there on a beautiful summer day at the Jersey Shore is an afternoon spent in heaven. If you've ever been there, you know exactly what I mean. But times have dramatically changed, and the sport has lost way too many racetracks in recent years, and there are legitimate fears about the future of racing in California and Florida. Will Monmouth Park be the next to be given its last rites? I hope not. But I fear that it will. The post A Sobering Day For Monmouth Park: An Analysis appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article