Britain and Ireland are on course to benefit from additional World Pool meetings this year as part of an expanded fixture list, pending Hong Kong government approval.View the full article

The New York Racing Association reports multiple grade 1 winner Leo O'Brien—trainer of New York-bred millionaires Fourstardave, Fourstars Allstar, and Irish Linnet—died Jan. 8 at the age of 85 following a lengthy illness.View the full article

Stark Contrast (Caravaggio) did very little wrong during his juvenile season, and kicked off 2026 in a similar vein, winning his sophomore bow in Thursday's Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita. Stark Contrast didn't appear to appreciate the main track when finishing fourth in a six-furlong dirt maiden at Del Mar in August, but immediately turned things around to win next time going a mile on that venue's turf course on Sept. 6. Making it two-straight when coming from off the pace to take the one-mile GIII Zuma Beach Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 5, he was overlooked at 58-1 odds and was nonetheless only 3/4 of a length behind winner Gstaad (GB) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at the seaside oval on Oct. 31. Once again settled just off the early pace, the hot 1-5 choice tracked 17-1 chance Brigante (More Than Ready) through initial splits of :24.42 and :49.03. Taking control passing the quarter pole, he drew off to score over the early pacesetter by 2 1/4 lengths. “He's a neat little horse to be around,” said winning trainer Michael McCarthy. “He kind of showed his hand early in Del Mar, he put in a couple of good works in the morning. He ran just well enough on the dirt and from the gate to go ahead and warrant a start on the dirt. Things didn't work out. In his pedigree, Caravaggio gives him a little bit of speed and Quality Road gives him the stamina.” Out of GSP Catch the Eye, Stark Contrast has juvenile sister by Oscar Performance and a yearling sister by the Mill Ridge sire. EDDIE LOGAN S., $100,000, Santa Anita, 1-8, 3yo, 1mT, 1:35.38, fm. 1–STARK CONTRAST, 122, c, 3, by Caravaggio 1st Dam: Catch the Eye (GSP, $126,902), by Quality Road 2nd Dam: Turns My Head (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire) 3rd Dam: Egyptian Queen, by Storm Cat O-Amerman Racing, LLC; B-Jerry Amerman (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy; J-Kazushi Kimura. $60,000. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP, 5-3-1-0, $342,800. 2–Brigante, 120, r, 3, More Than Ready–Cheeky Charm, by A.P. Indy. O-Calumet Farm; B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Chief Stipe F. O'Neill. $20,000. 3–Unrivaled Time, 122, c, 3, Not This Time–Margot Machance (GB), by Creachadoir (Ire). O-Innergy Racing Corp and Pais, Alfred; B-Alfred A. Pais (CA); T-Leonard Powell. $12,000. Margins: 2 1/4, 3, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.30, 17.80, 3.90. Also Ran: Iriseach (Ire), Third Beer. Scratched: Caro Buono (Fr), Plutarch. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.   The post Caravaggio’s Stark Contrast Takes Santa Anita’s Eddie Logan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

I think if you made races of 6 starters or less penalty free it woudnt make that much difference, 4 in the main race at Cambridge, nothing will change for the winner but the maiden trot in Nelson, would anyone of those win at Methven, Motukarara against 14 others, probably not, no one can manipulate the field size, itsI just one of those things that happens now and then, i don't know if there is a ratings rule but fillies and mares should only get half points for winning too if they are restricted to one sex, probably in reality you could also reduce the rating penalty to 3 points if there are 7 8 or 9 starters, even reduce the top rating to 80 and exempt any horse from a ratings drop for 4 starts after a penalty bearing win. Once upon a time there were 10 classes, no drop back, was it right that's subjective.

Trainer Leo O'Brien, a long-time New York fixture as well as father-in-law of rider John Velazquez, has passed away, according to a release from the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA). He was 85. Officials at NYRA penned a tribute to O'Brien. It appears here in its entirety: NYRA mourns the loss of the legendary Leo O'Brien–trainer of New York-bred millionaires Fourstardave, Fourstars Allstar and Irish Linnet–who passed away Thursday morning following a lengthy battle with Lewy Body Dementia, at the age of 85. O'Brien and his late wife, Joan, raised two children together, including their son, Keith, a longtime horseman, who worked with his father from 1997 until the elder O'Brien's retirement in 2022; and their daughter, Leona, who grew up in the sport, worked in the NYRA press box from 1992-95 and is married to Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. The Irish-born O'Brien, a native of Newcastle in County Dublin, rose to prominence in the United States as a steeplechase jockey from 1964-76. When his riding career was cut short due to injury, he returned to Ireland to begin training steeplechase horses with his brother Michael, also a former steeplechase jockey who became a trainer following a riding accident, earning Championship honors in 1980. “He came here from Ireland in 1964 to ride over jumps and fell in love with New York racing–he fell in love with New York, and, in time, he made it his home,” said Keith O'Brien. “He was a quiet man; a dignified man and he always gave his best. He gave everything he had to the game, and he got a lot back out of it. He loved horse racing, and he loved racing in New York. It was always very special to him.” Leo O'Brien returned to the U.S. in 1981 with a solitary horse, Sports Reporter, who captured the International Gold Cup Steeplechase Handicap that September at Ligonier and one month later finished sixth in the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Handicap, at Belmont Park. “Sports Reporter was a hurdle horse in Ireland and not only did he win over jumps, but he also broke his maiden over the flat at Belmont Park one day,” O'Brien said. “I remember Allen Jerkens was furious, saying, 'the horse had won eight races over the jumps, how can he be a maiden!'” O'Brien would make his name on the flat with the illustrious multiple graded stakes-winner Fourstardave, who won at least one race at Saratoga Race Course each year from 1987 to 1994, earning him the nickname, 'The Sultan of Saratoga.' Richard Migliore was the regular rider for Fourstardave's last two seasons of racing and was aboard for his final score at Saratoga on July 24, 1994. “My last win on Fourstardave was my favorite. It was the last hurrah, the last go-around, and there was so much pressure that day to keep the streak alive and go out a winner at Saratoga,” Migliore said. “The horse ended up being much the best that day and I just had to keep him out of trouble. He was a special horse–how many horses will even race up there eight years in a row, let alone win eight years in a row.” Migliore credited O'Brien for giving him–and many other riders–not only a leg up, but for setting an example on the importance of family. “Leo was very good with everybody. If you were willing to work in the morning and get on horses, he was going to give you an opportunity,” Migliore said. “He had a real old-school way about him, but he rewarded hard work. “Family was everything to him and, to me, the measure of a man is his family,” Migliore added. “Leo and his wife, Joan, who passed before he did, were inseparable and their children are everything I would hope for in my children. They raised really good people.” Upon his passing, Fourstardave was laid to rest at Clare Court on the Saratoga backstretch and each summer NYRA runs the GI Fourstardave Stakes in his honor. “Dad was immensely proud of his New York-bred millionaires,” O'Brien said. “Fourstardave was extremely special because he came along at a time when he really needed him and he only had a small amount of horses. “Fourstardave was kind of obscure breeding, by Compliance and out of an unraced dam,” O'Brien added. “What he became was a source of immense pride to Dad. Just the fact that he came back year-after-year to win in Saratoga, he loved the horse and that he was able to do that for him. Presenting the Fourstardave trophy was always a high point of dad's summer. It was a huge thing for him.” While Fourstardave enjoys legend status in Saratoga, his full-brother Fourstars Allstar, would make history for O'Brien, becoming the first American-trained horse to win a European Classic by taking the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas in 1991 with future Hall of Famer Mike Smith at the helm. Keith O'Brien recalled that an overseas trip was no small task, made that much more special by the fact that Fourstars Allstar won a race at Belmont Park just one week before strutting his stuff at The Curragh. “Dad was telling me about this idea when Fourstars Allstar was a 2-year-old and had finished second to a very good horse [River Traffic] at Laurel,” recalled O'Brien. “He told me he was going to take the horse over to Ireland for the 2000 Guineas. I said, 'What are you talking about dad, are you crazy?' But he said to me, 'I think this horse is special, he might be able to do it.' I laughed, like a lot of people did, but he had a plan, and he trained him over the winter for it. “Fourstars Allstar ran a week before he was to go to Ireland and won a really good allowance race on the turf at Belmont and dad said, 'Now, I know he's ready,'” O'Brien continued. “Seven days later, he won the Irish 2000 Guineas.” Fourstars Allstar banked in excess of $1.5 million in a 14-win career that included scores on the New York circuit in the GII Bernard Baruch Handicap [1992, 1995], GIII Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap [1993], and GIII Fort Marcy Handicap [1995]. O'Brien and his son-in-law John Velazquez teamed up with a number of the venerable trainer's top horses, including the multiple graded stakes-winner Irish Linnet, who won 19-of-62 starts for purse earnings in excess of $1.2 million; and the supremely talented four-time Grade I winner Yanks Music, who captured 7-of-9 career starts topped by wins over future Hall of Famer Serena's Song in the GI Ruffian Handicap and GI Beldame in 1996. Yanks Music sustained an ankle injury training up to that year's Breeders' Cup Classic and was retired in January 1997. “Yanks Music was a spectacular horse,” O'Brien said. “She came from nowhere–her breeding didn't suggest she was going to be that kind of filly, and you wouldn't have looked twice at her being a little on the small side, but boy did she have an engine. She could run.” O'Brien said his father had a special gift that allowed him to connect to the equine athletes that he trained, a trait that carried him through a lengthy career in the sport he loved so well. “He was always very patient and liked to listen to the horses. He let them tell him when they were ready and what they were ready to do,” O'Brien said. “He wasn't afraid to run them. If they were sound and happy, he would run them. He loved going to the races and he loved running horses.” According to Equibase statistics, O'Brien posted a record of 6,477-568-677-691 for purse earnings in excess of $27 million over his storied career. In addition to his children Keith and Leona, he is survived by his grandchildren Lerina, Michael, Darby, Liam, Jacinta, Muireann and Jonjo. Funeral details are pending. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in his name to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and/or the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy. The post Leo O’Brien, Trainer of Fourstardave, Dies at 85 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

Fresh off a successful 2025 season, The Maryland Jockey Club rings in the New Year Jan. 9, the opening day of the Laurel Park winter meet. In 2025, there were 1,109 races over 119 live racing days at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course. View the full article

The Maryland Jockey Club (TMJC) kicks off its 2026 season with the opening of the Laurel Park Winter Meet on Friday following a successful 2025 ledger. Between Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, the TMJC staged 119 days of live racing comprising 1,109 races. Average per-race handle was $365,637, an increase of 14.29% over 2024. Average daily handle at Laurel and Pimlico was $3,407,493, representing a 13.49% gain over the previous 12 months. Field size was ahead marginally from 7.48 in 2024 to 7.65 last year. The handle for 'Preakness Preview Day on Apr. 19 was $5,537,002, nearly double the amount from 2024. The afternoon featured 'Win Today, See You In May' events, with the winners of the Federico Tesio Stakes and Weber City Miss Stakes earning automatic entry into the GI Preakness Stakes and GII Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, respectively. Jim McKay Maryland Million Day generated $5,707,200 in handle, up from $4,660,001 the prior year. The Winter Meet will take place on Fridays and Saturdays in January before adding a Sunday program in February and March. The highlight of the meet comes Saturday, Feb. 14, with a four-stakes program topped by the $200,000 General George Stakes and Barbara Fritchie Stakes. The post Laurel Park Winter Meet Opens On The Back of 2025 Handle Increase appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features a sought-after Not This Time filly. 5.05 Dundalk, Mdn, 3yo, f, 8f (AWT) BLANC DE BLANC (Not This Time) makes her keenly-anticipated debut for Amo Racing and Robson De Aguiar, having cost $575,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Sale. The dam Wonderful (Galileo), who raced for Ballydoyle, is a full-sister to their Irish 2,000 Guineas and Breeders' Cup Turf hero Magician, from the excellent family of the star Sadler's Wells fillies Listen and Sequoyah. The post Amo Unveil Not This Time’s Blueblood Blanc De Blanc appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article