Forums

"Virginia Thoroughbred Week" concludes March 14 with a Virginia Derby day edition of HRRN's popular Saturday morning Equine Forum show, which airs weekly from 8-11:00 a.m. ET.View the full article

After missing the break and finishing sixth in Sunday's GIII Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita, GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies victress Super Corredora (Gun Runner) seems no worse for the wear, according to John Sadler's assistant trainer Juan Leyva. “It was a very disappointing performance,” said Leyva. “The break just cost us big time. (Jockey) Hector (Barrios) said she stepped back just as they kicked it, so she obviously missed the break, and it was just too much to do from there.” Super Corredora went off the 8-5 favorite, and her race was described as such by the Equibase chart caller: “Super Corredora threw her head and hopped at the start, climbed at the back early, traveled three deep in the middle stages, entered the far turn in the four path, chased three deep past the five-sixteenths pole, tipped out in the lane and had little left for the drive.” She finished 40 lengths behind the winner, Forced Entry (Charlatan). “She ate a lot of dirt going into the first turn,” said Leyva, “and then she had to be wide the whole way around–just a lot of work. We'll keep checking her out really well but so far, she is walking sound. It was just a really bad start. It's really hard to come back from that, especially when they went those kinds of fractions. They didn't even have to go fast–they went [a half mile in] 47–so it's just unfortunate that she missed the break.” Her co-owners, West Point Thoroughbreds, said that they would let the dust settle before making any future plans for her. The post Super Corredora Sound After Santa Ysabel Disappointment appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fasig-Tipton will introduce a new format, date, and restored name for the annual fall yearling sale in Timonium, Maryland for 2026, the auction house announced Monday. Previously known as the Timonium Yearling Sale, the auction will once again be known as the Eastern Fall Yearling Sale, reflecting the deep roots and enduring importance to breeders, owners, and trainers in the region. Major regional developments–the new racetrack construction at Pimlico and Belmont Park–marked a beginning to a new era for the Midlantic and Northeast racing circuits, and spurred changes which include a reorganization of the catalogue to focus on state-bred programs with entries in the sale. Said programs include the new Maryland Million starter bonus series throughout the year; a record 48 days of racing at Colonial Downs this year; and purse parity for New York-breds, now matching open company levels on the NYRA circuit. “Fasig-Tipton has a long, storied history of selling horses in Timonium, and this sale has been an important fixture in this racing-rich area for decades,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “There is a bright future ahead for the region, and we feel that now is an opportune time to reorganize our yearling sale to promote this regional momentum and bring renewed focus to the strength of Eastern racing and what it offers.” “We are going to reorganize the catalogue to bring increased focus to each of the state-bred programs represented in the sale each year. We are also shifting the sale to late October to tie it to Jim McKay Maryland Million Day, an important race day that is also being enhanced for 2026.” Regional Focus and Catalogue Reorganization The reorganized Eastern Fall Yearlings catalogue will spotlight the region's six state-bred programs: Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The catalogue will be structured to provide each state-bred program with its own dedicated section, with all yearlings from that state grouped together. Each section will begin with an introductory page outlining that state's breeding and racing incentives. In addition, informational pages will detail the Delaware-certified and Virginia-certified programs, providing buyers with expanded insight into additional regional incentive opportunities. “This revised structure is designed to let every state-bred program shine,” Browning noted. “It should be of particular interest to New York breeders, offering them a smaller but similar feel to our New York-bred yearling sale in the summer, as all the New York-breds are catalogued together.” Date Change Information, Fasig-Tipton Sponsors Both Divisions of Sandy Bottom at Colonial The Eastern Fall Yearlings sale will now take place on Tuesday, Oct. 27, a strategic change scheduled around Maryland Million Day at Laurel Park. The card will be held the preceding Saturday. As part of Fasig-Tipton's continued investment and commitment to Eastern racing, the organization will also sponsor both divisions of the Sandy Bottom Stakes on the Virginia Derby undercard at Colonial Downs, set to run Saturday, Mar. 14. Fasig-Tipton representatives will be on-site that day to answer questions regarding the Eastern Fall Yearlings Sale and the new format. The post Fasig-Tipton Revamps Timonium Yearling Sale for 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The worst part about my debut at the National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas 11 years ago wasn't picking 30 straight losers and finishing dead last. The worst part was agreeing to document the trip for the TDN, so the entire Thoroughbred world got to watch my horseplaying nightmare. Undeterred, I returned the following year to both the NHC and the pages of the TDN, redeeming myself with a 36th-place finish and collecting $11,200. Since then, I've posted two more in-the-money finishes in seven starts. As I celebrate my 10th year as an NHC contestant, I'll share share how my approach to the tournament has evolved and why it remains one my favorite event of the year. The Group Dynamic When I first qualified for the National Horseplayers Championship, the routine was pretty simple: My best friend Brent Schraff and I would arrive in Vegas, dive into the past performances and start convincing ourselves that this was the year we had it figured out. However, even with a wingman, the contest itself felt like a pretty solitary, results-obsessed exercise. Me against the past performances. Against the rest of the room. Against my fragile psyche. With prize money the only determinant of success. A few years ago, my attitude toward the NHC started to change. I began to realize I could consider the trip a win before I even fired my first contest bullet, thanks to the group of friends who had become part of the experience. With all due respect to 'The Hangover', I now have my own NHC “wolfpack” to share a table with. The group–pieced together by our outspoken friend Justin Dew–has been fueled by regular meet-ups at NHC Tour events and a group text where opinions fly about horses, politics, sports…even marital advice. Brent is in it, no longer a wingman but a five-time qualifier. We've also got two of the best bettors I know of–last year's fifth-place finisher Dylan Donnelly and 2025 Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge winner Frank Mustari. Throw in NHC Hall of Famer Rich Nilsen and 2019 NHC fifth-place Steve Simonovic, and table talk sounds a lot smarter than what Brent and I were having 10 years ago. The problem with surrounding yourself with great handicappers is that your own form is impossible to ignore. And I'm one of the coldest horseplayers in America right now. Sneaking In At The Wire Qualifying for this year's NHC was an exercise in frustration. I couldn't win a seat anywhere. By Christmas, I still hadn't punched my ticket to Vegas. The only path left was the NHC Tour, where the top 75 non-qualified point earners get an entry. I was in 83rd and needed only one decent finish to move up. Every weekend, I tried and failed until Feb. 22, which was the last day to score points. I finished eighth of 130 entrants, earning enough points to vault me into the top 75. And do you want to know how I found out about my accomplishment? The group text. I was at a charity event that night and not following the results. My phone started blowing up with messages from the crew both celebrating the accomplishment while simultaneously (and rightfully) mocking the struggles I had getting qualified. But that's the beautiful thing about the NHC: no matter how cold you've been leading up to it, once you sit down in that ballroom, the slate feels clean again. The Puzzle and The Payoff When Friday starts, I'm as live to the $800,000 top prize as NHC Tour Champion Dave Nichols, celebrity participants (who earned their way in) Eddie Olczyk and Dave Portnoy, or any of the first-time players experiencing what I wrote about 11 years ago. The NHC reminds me why I fell in love with this game in the first place. For three days, the conversation isn't about the problems with horse racing, it's about the puzzle and the payoff.   Handicapping races until you can't see straight despite blackjack and craps tables distracting you at every turn. Deciding whether the low-priced horse you think can't lose is easy money, or a sucker bet. Looking for that “cap horse” the rest of the room overlooked (a horse whose odds exceed the NHC points cap of 20-1 to win and 10-1 to place) and being the only one in the room cheering the longshot in deep stretch.   There's a lot of talk about what ails the industry and how to solve it. I hope industry leaders recognize the importance of the degenerate horseplayers who fill that ballroom and love it because of the unique gambling product that it is. Everything that hinders their experience–excessive takeout, short fields, or late odds changes–harms the sport's future. Staying Balanced The final key to a good NHC is finding balance and having a strong itinerary away from the tournament. On Wednesday night, the crew will get together for dinner at Amaya at the Cosmopolitan, where the handicapping conversation will inevitably shift between brilliant insights, wildly overconfident predictions and uncontrollable laughter. On Thursday we head to T-Mobile Arena to watch my hometown Penguins take on the Golden Knights–which means that we'll go from cheering hard checks on the ice to cursing jockeys for checking in traffic in under 24 hours (Edzo, you're invited). But then it's back to the ballroom. Back to the PPs. Back to the mandatories and optionals. Back to the possibility that for one magical weekend everything clicks. And if it doesn't? That's okay, too. Because I've learned that the NHC isn't just about trying to win the whole thing. It's about the friends you see once a year, the stories that get a little better with each retelling and the eternal racing puzzle that keeps drawing us back. And if I somehow manage to pick 30 consecutive losers again, at least this time Brent won't be the only one who has to hear about it. Steve DeCaspers is an executive consultant in the fiber broadband industry and lives in Chicago with his wife Bethany and their dog Popeye. He was an assistant editor at the TDN from 1998 to 2001. The post NHC Or Bust–A Decade Later appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A $350,000 bonus will be awarded to breeders of record for horses competing March 27 at Turfway Park, in conjunction with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association.View the full article

Laurel Park has canceled the race card scheduled for Saturday, March 14, due to insufficient entries. View the full article

Live racing has been canceled at Laurel Park for this coming Saturday, Mar. 14 due to insufficient entries, the track announced Monday morning. With the impending meeting at Colonial Downs set to kick off Thursday, Mar. 12, and two Points races for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 14 at that venue, Laurel Park will move all originally scheduled races for Saturday to Sunday, Mar. 15 as overnight extras. There will be live racing Friday, Mar. 13 with an eight-race program with first post at 12:00pm EDT. The post Saturday Live Racing at Laurel Canceled appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Good to see that you took my advice and can now tell which way she veered, though I'm afraid I can't see any unexpected obstacle that she was confronted with myself.

A $350,000 bonus will be awarded to breeders of record for horses competing Friday, Mar. 27 at Turfway Park, in conjunction with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and the Kentucky HBPA, the track announced Monday morning. Breeders will compete for $35,000 in bonuses across each of the 10 races that night. The winner of each race could earn up to $21,000 if the horse is a registered Kentucky-bred. Payments will be based on a purse-style distribution: 60% to the winner, 20% to second, 10% to third, 5% to fourth and 3% to fifth. Sixth through last will receive 2%. The bonus is in addition to the traditional breeder's awards. Breeders will receive hospitality accommodations that evening at Turfway Park. More details will be available in the coming days. Entries for Friday, Mar. 27 will take place Friday, Mar. 20. The post $350,000 Breeders Bonus to be Awarded at Turfway appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article