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Wandering Eyes last won the day on January 25
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Michael sits down for a rare chat with the boss of Entain Australia/New Zealand, Andrew Vouris, to discuss the business & future in Aotearoa, racing & sport wagering, & AUSTRAC. And a trip to Cambridge means a check in with Little Mickey G, who’s heading to the sales in January. Guerin Report – S2 Ep.12 Ft. Andrew Vouris View the full article
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Cambridge Stud mare Jaarffi (NZ) (Iffraaj) posted yet another stakes placing over the weekend, and trainer Lance Noble is hoping she can be rewarded for her consistency with an elusive black-type victory over summer. The six-year-old daughter of Iffraaj finished third behind Qali Al Farrasha in the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe last Saturday, with Noble believing her wide alley played a significant factor. “She went super, but the barrier draw (11) beat her,” Noble said. “From that barrier draw we had to go back with her and it was pretty hard for the horses to make up a lot of ground on Saturday. The track was perfect, but when it is a perfect track, the ones in front keep running and it makes it a little bit harder for the back markers. I think she ran the fastest last 400m and 200m, so you have got to be happy.” It was Jaarffi’s fourth black-type placing, having also finished runner-up in the Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m), Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m), and Listed Legacy Lodge Sprint (1200m), and Noble is hoping she can strike in her next start in the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa next month. “She is just so honest, it would be nice to crack one, but she is running well,” he said. “We have been patient with her the whole way through, so hopefully being patient might pay off.” On the undercard at Pukekohe, stablemate Mollify (NZ) (So You Think) continued her good run of form when winning the Franklin Long Roofing 2100. It was her second win from four starts since returning to New Zealand earlier this year, and now Noble is setting his sights on some loftier targets. “It was very pleasing, she looks promising,” he said. It was her first time over ground and once they can stay it opens up a few more doors. I am very pleased with the way she is going. “She has come back and has just matured with an extra year on her. She is finding her forte, which is getting up over staying trips. Hopefully we can get her towards something like the Dunstan Stayers’ Final ($125,000, 2400m) on Boxing Day.” Noble has quickly turned his attention to racing this week, where he will have a two-pronged attack at Te Aroha on Wednesday, courtesy of Kitten Heels in the Diprose Miller Maiden 1150 and Hot Card in the Diprose Miller Chartered Accountants 1150, while Group Two winner Habana and Frostfair will head to Ellerslie on Saturday. “Kitten Heels has only had the one start for a nice third. She is going the right way and should run well again,” he said. “I thought Hot Card’s last start was good against some pretty strong company at Ellerslie. I am hopeful with those two and Te Aroha is a nice track.” Noble is also upbeat about the chances of his Ellerslie contenders, particularly Habana (Zoustar) in the Gr.3 Great Northern Challenge Stakes (1600m). “It is set weights and penalties, so he drops quite a lot of weight with the conditions of the race,” he said. “I think he gets 55 kilos, which he hasn’t carried since he was probably a maiden. “I am really happy with him. Things just haven’t gone quite to plan, but he hasn’t been too far away.” View the full article
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More than 17 years after Thoroughbred racing shut down in Kansas, the sport will be revived in the Sunflower state in October 2026. It was all made possible when the Kansas legislature and Governor Laura Kelly passed a statute that will allow for 1,000 Historical Horse Racing machines in the state. Three-percent of the gross revenue from the machines will be devoted to racing. It is estimated that the state's race horse development fund, which will allocate money to purses, will receive about $15 million from the machines. The state's breeding fund will pull in $3 million. The racing will be conducted at Eureka Downs, which is in Eureka, Kansas, and has not held Thoroughbred racing since 2008. That was the same year that the Woodlands Racetrack, which was in Kansas City, Kansas, shut down. Initially, there will be 44 annual days of racing in the state. “We are ecstatic about this development, but this has been hard,” said Peach Madl, the executive director of the Kansas Thoroughbred Association. “We have been fighting to have racing again for so many years. We know we will have to find more owners and breeders and lay the foundation so that they will raise Kansas foals again. We only have a short time to start.” According to The Jockey Club, only four mares were bred in the state in 2023. The machines will not be at Eureka Downs but at a gaming facility named Gilley's in Park City, Kansas. Gilley's is on the site of the old Wichita Greyhound Park and was purchased by Phil Ruffin and his family. Ruffin is well-known for his extensive business ventures in the state, including pioneering self-serve gas stations and developing hotels and gaming facilities. “How did we get approval for the HHR machines? It has to be the persistence of the Ruffin family and that we were aiming to get HRR machines this time,” Madl said. “The HHR machines made it where Kansas, which is a total ag state, could have horse racing again. It's ridiculous that we've gone this long without horse racing. This is a state with a lot of horse people and farmers. This took persistence and a lot of money to get the HHR machines approved.” Madl said there is the potential for more dates to be added in the future. “Since the track is being renovated now, Eureka Downs didn't want to ask for any more dates than that for now,” she said. While, on the surface, it might seem that a track in a state where so few horses have been bred in recent years, Eureka Downs might struggle to fill fields. Madl predicted that Eureka will not have a major problem putting together racing cards. “We are fortunate to be smack in the middle of a circuit that most of the trainers run at,” she said. “That's Remington, Prairie Meadows and the tracks in Nebraska. We plan not to interfere with their races. There will be a pocket for us. We can be that place that fits in with what is currently going on.” Madl said that when it comes to racing, Kansas has a lot going for it. “We have nothing but open pasture ground here,” she said. “We have the room, we have the agriculture needs. We think there is room for racing to grow in the Midwest.” Though there is not a rich history of racing in Kansas, the state's Thoroughbred industry does have a claim to fame. Kansas-bred Lawrin won the 1938 Kentucky Derby and was the first ever Derby winner for Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro and Hall of Fame trainer Ben Jones. The post Racing To Return To Kansas In 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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Four stakes written for juveniles–two each for males and females–will be featured during the upcoming six-day winter meeting at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, California. Live racing will take place Friday through Sunday on consecutive weekends between Dec. 5 and 7 and Dec. 12 and 14. The first of the added-money events is the $200,000 GII Starlet Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and a mile and a sixteenth to be run Saturday, Dec. 6. Its male counterpart, the $200,000 GII Los Alamitos Futurity will be contested on Saturday, Dec. 13 also at 8 1/2 furlongs. A pair of Cal-bred restricted races are also planned–the $100,000 Soviet Problem Stakes for the fillies runs Sunday, Dec. 7, while the closing-day feature is the $100,000 King Glorious Stakes on Dec. 14. Each race is run over a mile. The wagering menu includes a pair of $1 Pick 4's on races 2-5 and the final four races along with a $2 Pick Six as well as the Players' Pick 5–a 50-cent minimum bet with a reduced takeout rate of 14% rate–on the first five races. The Pick Six will have the standard 70-30 split with 70% of the pool going to those tickets with six winners with the remaining 30% going to tickets with five of six winners. There will also be a handicapping contest Saturday, Dec. 13 and the Los Alamitos Racing Association will offer a cash prize and a pair of berths in the 2026 National Thoroughbred Racing Association Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas. Cost to enter is $500. Of that amount, $100 will be placed in the contest prize pool with the remaining $400 going towards a live money wagering card. The post Juvenile Stakes Highlight Los Alamitos Winter Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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It's been a long time coming for Jacob West. Watching 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard' Mindframe make it to the famed stallion barn at Claiborne Farm and settle into the stall once home to the likes of Bold Runner, Secretariat, Easy Goer and Unbridled marks a full-circle moment years in the making. One year after West joined Claiborne as their Stallion Seasons and Bloodstock Manager, the farm announced this summer that Mindframe would soon be headed to Claiborne. Weeks later, West was at Churchill Downs celebrating as the son of Constitution secured a third consecutive graded stakes win, defeating champion Sierra Leone in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes. The connection between the two stretches beyond that. As part of the selection team for owners Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, West had a hand in purchasing Mindframe as a yearling and he has followed the Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables-campaigned colt every step of the way. Over the past few weeks, West has split his time between the breeding stock sales and Claiborne's stallion division, where breeders have been stopping in to get a look at the farm's newest recruit. Adding a second Grade I winner to the roster in Johannes, the first son of Nyquist to stand in Kentucky, has made the stretch even more exciting. In addition to those two newcomers, Claiborne has several other young stallions preparing to enter new phases of their stud careers next year. Prince of Monaco ($30,000) and Bright Future ($10,000) will both see their first foals in 2026 while Annapolis ($12,500) will be represented by his first crop of yearlings. Out of a stakes-winning Street Sense mare, Mindframe was in the Betz Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale when West and team first got a look at him. West said it was the colt's striking physical that led to his $600,000 purchase. “He was one of those horses that ranked near the top of our list,” recalled West. “The depth of family was an added bonus to just how good looking he was. Now he's basically a bigger version of what he was back then. He's a big horse, standing at 16.3 hands. He moves like a cat. He's correct, has good bone and a big, strong hip and shoulder. It all translated into having really fluid mechanics on the racetrack. He covered so much ground when he would stride out.” Bred in Maryland by prominent Mid-Atlantic owner Larry Johnson, Mindframe's sophomore season was highlighted by a 13 3/4-length debut win, which earned him Rising Star honors, and runner-up finishes in the GI Belmont Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes. His breeder passed away early this year, just before the colt's breakout performance in the GII Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes. “Larry had been in the business for a long time,” said West. “People had a lot of respect for him and his operation.” Mindframe displayed his versatility while collecting back-to-back Grade I wins. In the seven-furlong GI Churchill Downs Stakes, the Todd Pletcher trainee bested a field that included future Breeders' Cup champion Nysos (Nyquist) and Grade I winners Book'em Danno (Bucchero) and Mullikin (Violence). Next out in the mile-and-an-eighth Stephen Foster, he earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure in defeating Eclipse Award winner Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), GI Kentucky Derby victor Mystik Dan (Goldencents) and G1 Dubai World Cup winner Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}). “He was so versatile and he had such a high cruising speed,” said West. “To win at seven furlongs and at nine furlongs against some of the best horses of his generation just shows how good he was.” Mindframe made two more career starts this year at four. After an ill-fated break in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, where he lost jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. following a chain-reaction incident, he finished fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. He retired with earnings of $2.05 million. West predicted that Mindframe's speed and versatility on the racetrack will translate into his career at stud. “If you go back and analyze the history of Claiborne Farm, horses that were fast and could carry their speed over a route of ground have been successful here,” he explained. “This horse is no different. He's going to fall right in line with getting some incredible mares here on the farm. We have an incredible syndicate group that will back him in the likes of Repole Stable and St. Elias. They're going to be heavily invested in supporting him. The great thing about Mike and Vinnie and their operation is that they support them in the shed, in the sales ring and on the racetrack. They follow through with their stallions.” West added that Mindframe's credentials are further bolstered by the success of his sire. Constitution is currently a top-five general sire in North America. Mindframe is set to become his third son in Kentucky. First-crop sire Independence Hall, who stands at WinStar alongside his sire, has produced several stakes performers from his first crop while Ashford Stud's Tiz the Law ranks third among second-crop sires in North America. Johannes was hard to miss as a stallion prospect last year as he reeled off five graded stakes wins in eight months, dominating the turf division in California. “A son of Nyquist from a very good family and a homebred for his owners, he was a horse that we had kind of kept an eye on,” explained West. “Serious negotiations started this spring and we were lucky that we got him. He was an incredible racehorse.” Bred and raced by Joe and Debby McCloskey and trained by Tim Yakteen, Johannes developed into Nyquist's highest-earning son over the course of his four-year career. After breaking his maiden by nine lengths going six furlongs as a 2-year-old, the following year he collected wins in the Baffle Stakes and Pasadena Stakes. He took his game to the next level at four, securing five graded stakes victories highlighted by the GI Shoemaker Mile Stakes. The only slight blemish on an otherwise perfect season was his second-place finish to More Than Looks (More Than Ready) in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. “To do what he did that year was truly remarkable,” said West. “[Jockey] Umberto Rispoli said coming into the Breeders' Cup that the horse gave him a certain feel when he was on his back with the way he ran and his style. He didn't care who he was running against. He showed up every time.” Johannes made three starts this year at five, including a second straight win in the GII City of Hope Mile Stakes. “His best race would probably have to be the Shoemaker Mile, winning the way he did,” West noted. “But the City of Hope this year was also impressive with the way he was able to sit off the pace and when they turned for home, if you watch him coming down the lane, it was basically just in a gallop.” A half-brother to two other stakes performers, Johannes heads to stud on the heels of another standout year for his sire. Nyquist, the sire of four Grade I winners in 2025, will stand for $175,000 next season at Darley's Jonabell Farm. “Being the first son of Nyquist to stand in Kentucky is very interesting,” said West. “Nyquist has such a strong following and, quite frankly, is a horse that some people might not be able to get to. So when you can get to his highest-earning son here, we feel like people will love that.” Johannes will be part of Claiborne's new incentive program “Breed Twice, Breed for Life,” in which owners who breed two mares to the stallion in his first two breeding seasons, produce two live foals and pay two stud fees will be eligible for a lifetime breeding right. “As a racehorse he was the real deal,” said West. “$10,000 is value for a horse like him with his race record, sire, family and his looks. We're very excited to have him here and offer him to breeders.” The post Mindframe and Johannes: The Two New Faces at Claiborne Farm appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy–Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister), only the third filly in history to win the GI Belmont Stakes, died due to infirmities of old age, Coolmore announced Monday. Owned by Coolmore's Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, Rags to Riches etched her name into the annals of American racing history when she outbattled Curlin in a dramatic stretch duel to take the final leg of the Triple Crown in 2007, becoming the first filly in 102 years to win the race. Rags to Riches, purchased for $1.9 million at the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, also won the GI Kentucky Oaks, GI Santa Anita Oaks and GI Las Virgenes Stakes and was named champion 3-year-old filly of 2007. “Rags to Riches was a truly talented racehorse, and it's been a privilege to be around a horse of her calibre,” said Coolmore's Dermot Ryan. “Her achievements left a lasting impression on all of us, and she brought great pride to her ownership. I would like to thank Bob Davis and his team, who have cared for her with exceptional dedication for over a decade.” Rags to Riches has a 2-year-old filly by Munnings and a yearling colt by Uncle Mo. The post Belmont Stakes-Winning Filly Rags to Riches Passes Away appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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NEWMARKET, UK–After one last push over the top for the yearlings it is safe to say that the team at Tattersalls can reflect on a successful year for that sector of the market after the December Yearling Sale posted record figures across the board. The final tally included the most expensive colt ever sold at this particular auction, a Frankel half-brother to the G2 Queen Mary and G2 Temple Stakes winner Dramatised (Showcasing) out of the Listed-winning Turtle Bowl mare Katie's Diamond. The mare, who had been bought by Joe Foley for 190,000gns at Tattersalls eight years ago on behalf of Steve Parkin, is set to sell from Parkin's Branton Court Stud next week as lot 1742. Anthony Stroud and Alex Elliott, bidding from either side of the partition in the chute, took each other on for the colt from Hazelwood Bloodstock, with the latter having the final say at 425,000gns. Elliott reported that he had bought lot 85 for a partnership and added, “He looks a fast Frankel, and I am pleased to get him. He obviously should have been in Book 1 but he got a foot abscess and that needed time to grow out. “It's a fast family and I remember the mare racing for Karl Burke. She has already produced a good one in Dramatised. The December Sale has produced some good horses and hopefully he can add his name to the roll of honour.” The big-name stallions largely ruled the top of the leader board, with yearlings by Sea The Stars, Wootton Bassett, Lope De Vega, Night Of Thunder and Blue Point joining Frankel on the list of top ten yearling sires for the day. One notable newcomer to that group was Baaeed, whose first runners will be in action next year and who is the sire of Staffordstown's colt out of the Listed Height Of Fashion Stakes winner Aloe Vera (Invincible Spirit). Offered as lot 8, he fetched 170,000gns from trainer Johnny Butler. It took until the final lot through the ring for the previous record turnover to be beaten, but the sale of Shadwell's three-parts-sister to Baaeed, who sold for 100,000gns to Swan Bar & Entertainment, ensured that the aggregate of 7,287,500gns set a new benchmark. The clearance rate of 85% jumped up slightly from 83% in 2024, while the median improved by 33% to 40,000gns and by the average was up by 1% to 52,699gns. Pedigree Picks Sea The Stars was well represented in this opening session of the December Sale, with seven of his yearlings having sold for an average of 129,286gns. They included the most expensive filly of the day from the family of the great Time Charter, who sold for 260,000gns to Anthony Stroud. “The mare's been bred to Sea The Stars a number of times and all the runners she's produced have been highly rated,” he said of My Timing (Street Cry), the dam of Sea On Time, Truthful and Sea Just In Time, rated 100, 88 and 89 respectively. “The stallion's fee has gone up to €300,000 next year, so this represents reasonable value. He's undoubtedly a very good stallion.” Peter Kavanagh of Kildaragh Stud was another to pick up a Sea The Stars filly and went to 200,000gns through Blandford Bloodstock for the half-sister to Group 1 winner Dreamloper (Lope De Vega) and Santorini Star (Golden Horn). Just last week the filly's half-sister by New Bay topped the Goffs November Foal Sale at €650,000. “She's a pretty unique filly, they don't come onto the market that often and she is by Sea The Stars, who we have the utmost respect for as a sire of racehorses and as a broodmare sire,” Kavanagh said. “To get into the family is such an opportunity, it's so vibrant and current, the mare is relatively young, and there are two good runners on the page.” Consignor Luke Lillingston of Mount Coote Stud added, “We were pleased with that. She is not a perfect model, everybody who came to look at her realised that, but I think it was a good result. Olivia Hoare bought her dam here at Tattersalls for 45,000gns, I introduced her to Ed Walker who was just starting to train. She won her final race, a Listed race, as a five-year-old and she went to stud and has been a marvellous broodmare. Today's price was established by those who have come before out of the mare, most especially Dreamloper, who Ed trained to win two Group 1s in France a couple of years ago.” German Links Tempt Rau Tina Rau went back to her roots when signing for a German-bred daughter of Lope De Vega from Rathbarry Stud at 235,000gns. Lot 172, out of the wining Lord Of England mare Strawberry, is a half-sister to Group 3-winning juvenile Sea Bay (New Bay) as well as to Listed winner Samoa (Jukebox Jury), and was bred by Gestut Etzean. She had been an expensive purchase at last year's Breeding Stock Sale at Arqana, where she was bought for €175,000. “She's been bought to race for a partnership in France,” Rau said. “I obviously know the family well. She was born on a very good German stud farm. She was raised on a very good Irish stud farm. The mare is without fault. The three-year-old [Starlight Lips] is staying in training and should be a Group winner next year. The two-year-old [San Marino] is exciting too, so there's a lot to like.” Buying through Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock, MV Magnier scooped up the sole remaining Wootton Bassett yearling in the catalogue for 200,000gns. Bred by Kevin Blake's Golden Farm Thoroughbreds and sold through Tinnakill House as lot 53, the daughter of Entrancing (Mayson) is from the Cheveley Park Stud family of champion two-year-old filly Hooray (Invincible Spirit). “She's a strong filly, and what more can we say about Wootton Bassett? He is a dreadful loss to the industry and to Coolmore,” said McStay. Last Call for the Breeze-up Boys The December Sale provides a last chance for the breeze-up pinhookers to sign up a yearling and Mick Murphy of Longways Stables doubled up with Tally-Ho Stud's St Mark's Basilica half-sister to Group 3 winner Glounthaune, who was bought for 140,000gns, and a Too Darn Hot colt out of the Listed winner Frankel Light (Frankel) for 98,000gns. Murphy was responsible for breezing this year's G1 Dewhurst Stakes winner Gewan, by Night Of Thunder, but it is his friend Johnny Hassett who will take charge of a filly by the same stallion sold from the Castlebridge Consignment for 180,000gns. Lot 161, out of the winning Sea The Stars mare Sous Les Etoiles from the Hascombe & Valiant family of Golden Horn, was bought by Ghrghar Stables, whose representative Ramzi Alghul said, “She has been bought to breeze and goes to Johnny Hassett in Ireland. It is a big investment in a breeze-up prospect, Johnny was very keen to have her and she is by the sire of the moment. Hopefully, she will come back to the Craven Sale.” The first of four sessions of foals gets underway at Park Paddocks at 11am on Tuesday. The post December Sale Off The Mark With Record Yearling Session at Tattersalls appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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Lauren Biddle has been named Director of Marketing and Education at Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Biddle, most recently Executive Director of the Public Media Business Association, will lead TOBA's efforts to amplify its mission, deepen member engagement, and highlight the rich heritage of the Thoroughbred industry. Biddle has also served as Executive Director of the Paris-Bourbon County Chamber of Commerce where she spearheaded the development of the Legends of Bourbon County Thoroughbred Fund–a 501c3 nonprofit organization aimed at promoting the Bourbon County Thoroughbred industry through tourism initiatives such as public art exhibits, festivals, and 5k races on local horse farms. “Growing up in Central Kentucky, I've seen firsthand how the history and passion of this region shape the Thoroughbred industry,” Biddle said. “I am honored to step into this position with TOBA, where I can help tell the stories of the breeders, the owners, and the people behind the horses. My goal is to bridge tradition and innovation–through education, marketing, and community–to strengthen TOBA's impact across the industry.” The post Lauren Biddle Named TOBA Director of Marketing and Education appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) has been made the 6-1 individual morning-line favorite in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Thursday at noon and closes Sunday at 6 p.m. “All Others Foaled in 2023” is the pool's overall 9-5 favorite. Brant (Gun Runner), third in the Breeders' Cup juvenile, is 10-1, and Further Ado (Gun Runner), expected to go postward in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes Saturday, is 20-1. Running concurrently with Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager is the lone Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager where fans can wager on sires of Derby prospects. Ted Noffey's sire Into Mischief was made the 4-1 morning-line favorite. Not This Time is 6-1 in the pool and Gun Runner is 8-1. All other sires is also 8-1. To view complete fields for both pools, click here. The post Ted Noffey Individual Favorite for Derby Future Pool 2 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article