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Randy Winick, trainer of the 1993 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Brocco, died Feb. 15 at age 76. He trained many stakes winners throughout his career, including grade 1 winners Dontstop Themusic, Country Queen, Mitterand, and Spence Bay.View the full article

They do at their Pukekohe venue. Licensing laws and the cost of security/compliance killed the boot party.  If you will NEVER go back to Ellerslie then I wouldn't class you as a racing enthusiast.  Have you been there since the upgrades?  A wide range of options are available for the public and like most businesses the market differentiate their racedays. That is exactly what their sell out days are doing.   Is there any evidence of that actually happening?  Regardless Ellerslie have at least two family oriented days during the season.  For example The Summer at the Races Day on 31 January.  https://www.aucklandracing.co.nz/racedays/summer-raceday/  General Admission is Free and you can take a picnic.

They also do not cater for what you could call your 'average' racing enthusiast, or those just looking for a 'country style' day at the races.  Long gone are the wonderful days of picnics, boot parties and limited BYO, when the infield had thousands of such people.  I would class myself as racing enthusiast but will never go back to Ellerslie.  Word gets around, when a venue has some momentum going and it attracts people as the place to be.  Ellerslie has unfortunately lost that, and with it many other associated flow on affects.  An enjoyable picnic style day at the races will arouse the interest of a certain percentage in going again and potentially becoming involved.

Five different tracks produced our fastest maidens this week, and the list includes nothing but winners – no runners-up. 5. CREED'S VISION, TAM, 2/14-2nd, 6 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-89 (g, 4, by Jimmy Creed–Moon Vision, by Pollard's Vision) O-West Point Thoroughbreds, Michael P. Lyden and CJ Stables. B-Country Life Farm and Moon Vision Broodmare (Md). T-Arnaud Delacour. J-Charlie Marquez. West Point could have another solid Maryland-bred on its hands. Jaxon Traveler was recently retired after a remarkable run of sprint stakes wins every year from age 2 to 7, and now Creed's Vision has seemingly turned his career around at Tampa. His back-to-back Beyers of 84 and now 89 are 20 points higher than what he recorded in five starts as a 2- and 3-year-old at Laurel. He's modestly-bred–the first foal to race from a dam who squeezed $234k out of 44 starts–but he's a gelding, so who cares? 4. SEA VISTA, AQU, 2/12-1st, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-90 (c, 4, by Street Sense–Sara Louise, by Malibu Moon) O/B- Godolphin (Ky). T-Brad Cox. J-Manny Franco Given her fine Godolphin pedigree, Sea Vista had been an underachiever. Her full sister Sara Street placed in three stakes including a strong half-length 2nd in the Gazelle Stakes (Gr. II), and stakes-winning half-brother Nash ran fast races, as well. But in her sixth start, she got over the hump with a determined odds-on victory for a career-high Beyer. Three-time GSW Sara Louise has had difficulties getting into foal lately, but was bred in 2026 to Speaker's Corner. 3. PUBLISHER, OP, 2/15-2nd, 1 1/16 miles (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-90 (c, 4, by American Pharoah–Indian Pride, by Proud Citizen) O-Gus King and Estate of Brereton Jones. B-Brereton Jones (Ky). T-Steve Asmussen. J-Erik Asmussen. Yes, this is the same Publisher who was 2nd in the Arkansas Derby last year to earn a starting spot in the Kentucky Derby. Yes, he was still a maiden after a dozen starts, including back-to-back odds-on losses against maiden company. But at 3-to-5 Sunday, this time, the $600,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga graduate he overcame brief traffic issues to deliver in a big way. Asmussen has no peers at spotting horses like this in the right stakes races around the country, so you'll probably be encountering his name the rest of the year. 2. TROUBLE CALLING, FG, 2/14-2nd, 6 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-91 (c, 3, by Dialed In–Into Trouble, by Into Mischief) O/B- Donamire Farm (Ky). T-Greg Foley. J-Luis Saez Trouble Calling proved his recent sharply improved Beyer–which previously earned him a matching No. 2 ranking on Five Fastest Maidens–was no fluke. He couldn't quite deal with debuter Knock It Off that day, but Saturday at Fair Grounds he sailed home by 6 1/4 lengths in a sprint Beyer only two points slower than Paladin earned in the Risen Star later on the card. Donamire dam Into Trouble won the Arlington-Washington Lassie and has also produced top turf sprinters Troubleshooting (Gr. I winner) and Big Trouble. 1. THE LAST STRAW, SA, 2/15-2nd, 6 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-93 (c, 4, by Into Mischief-Bast, by Uncle Mo) O/B-Spendthrift Farm (Ky). T-Richard Mandella. J-Marco Demuro. The proverbial racing lightbulb went on in his fourth lifetime start, as he showed signs of living up to his illustrious Spendthrift pedigree. Into Mischief….enough said. Bast is a familiar name as well–a three-time Gr. I winner who was third in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Her racing career ended prematurely after taking the Gr. II Santa Ynez in January of her 3-year-old season, and Spendthrift bought her at that year's Keeneland November for $4.2 million from Baoma Corp. owners Charles and Susan Cho. The Last Straw is Bast's second foal to race. The post Five Fastest Maidens: Feb. 9-15 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A classy sprinter since he burst on the racing scene as a juvenile, 6-year-old Damon's Mound pursues a seventh stakes victory in his 19th-career race in the Feb. 21 Gulfstream Park Sprint.View the full article

Inspired by the strong performance of purse sources, Fair Grounds announces the addition of two race dates to the 2025-26 meet. The additional days will be Monday, March 9, and Monday, March 16.View the full article

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has added two additional  race dates to the 2025-26 meet, the track announced Tuesday. The additional days, which were “inspired by the strong performance of purse sources” according to the release, will be Monday, March 9, and Monday, March 16. “Following the purse meeting with the Louisiana HBPA and Racing Commission, all parties involved were confident that the addition of two race days fits within our current projections and reflects a shared commitment to the strength of the meet,” said Jason Boulet, senior director of racing at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. The Thursday-through-Sunday schedule remains intact for the remaining dates in February. March will now include two five-day race weeks: March 5-9 and March 12-16. Closing week remains Thursday, March 19, through Sunday, March 22. The post Fair Grounds Adds Pair Of Mondays To 2026 Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Unraced since winning the Aug. 23 GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga, Sovereignty (Into Mischief) got back to work Sunday morning at Payson Park in Florida, working three furlongs in 37.40 breezing. It was the first workout this year for the 2025 Horse of the Year and 3-Year-Old Champion. “We've got him back on a regular training schedule,” trainer Bill Mott said. “We're a ways away from sorting out exactly where he will run. There are a couple of races in mind. We don't think he'll be ready until April, so we will potentially look at the (April 18) Oaklawn Handicap or the (May 1) Alysheba. We got behind and missed Dubai. That was something we would have thought about, but we just got a little behind schedule. With the travel and with him not being able to get a prep in we just thought it was too much to ask.” Mott said that the work did wonders for the now 4-year-old. “He looks great,” he said. “It's amazing. Just with putting the one little easy breeze into him, it's like all of a sudden he flipped a switch. He came out looking pretty sassy after that.” Sovereignty was expected to end his year in the 2025 GI Breeders' Cup Classic, but had to be withdrawn due to a fever. “It was unfortunate that he missed out on the Classic,” Mott said.  “But who knows? There are a lot of what-ifs, but maybe if he would have won the Classic, he wouldn't have been brought back this year. Who knows? It could turn out well.”   Mott also gave updates on several other star horses in his stable: Chief Wallabee (Constitution): Winning his career debut on Jan. 10 at Gulfstream, he was one of the more impressive maiden winners at the meet. Initially, Mott said he would not push the colt to make the GI Kentucky Derby, but is now saying that he hasn't ruled anything out. “With Chief Wallabee, we are looking for a spot for him,” he said. “He is nominated for the (Feb. 28) Fountain of Youth, which really isn't my normal progression, to bring a horse into that kind of race in just their second start. But he is nominated. He's also nominated for the (Feb. 28) Gotham. We will look at those races. It is a lot to ask to run that type of horse in one of those races. It's not the normal progression. Most of those horses have had several races and have a foundation under them, which we don't have.” On the same day that Chief Wallabee broke his maiden, Mott sent out another impressive first-time winner in Thunderously (Gun Runner). He said that horse is “on the shelf.” Baeza (McKinzie) With the passing of trainer John Shirreffs, GI Pennsylvania Derby winner Baeza has been transferred to the Mott barn. The colt has yet to arrive at Mott's Florida headquarters. While still under the care of Shirreffs, he has had three works this year. Mott has not picked out a spot for him yet. “He has not traveled yet,” he said. “He's only had three works, a couple of easy three-furlong works and a half,” he said. When asked if it might be hard to keep Baeza and Sovereignty apart, Mott said: “Maybe not so much early in the year. It's doable. If it falls into a situation and they are compromised by a timing issue and they have to run against one another, that's just the way it is. Otherwise, there is certainly a good possibility you could separate them until you get toward the end of the year. Hopefully, we will have that issue when it comes to the Breeders' Cup. Hopefully, one or both of them are good enough and sturdy enough to make it to the Breeders' Cup Classic. Everybody would like that to happen. Let's hope we will have that issue when we get to the Classic.” Knightsbridge (Nyquist): An impressive winner of the GIII Fred W. Hooper Stakes, Knightsbridge will make his next start in the Feb. 28 GIII Gulfstream Park Mile. The post Sovereignty Is Back On Work Tab; Could Resurface In The Oaklawn Handicap Or The Alysheba appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Bob to busy wrapping  cotton  wool on latest yearling sale purchase  for 👢  ?