Wandering Eyes

Juddmonte has announced mating plans for some of its best mares, including Arc heroines Enable and Bluestocking, who will visit Dubawi in 2026. Meanwhile, Emulous, the dam of Bluestocking, and Viadera, will be covered by Camelot. Lead Artist, the brilliant winner of the Lockinge Stakes, who will stand for £12,500 in his first season at Banstead Manor Stud, will receive strong support. Exemplify, the dam of Breeders' Cup winner Expert Eye, and Kilo Alpha, the dam of Jenny Wiley Stakes winner Juliet Foxtrot, are just a couple of mares that will be sent his way. His debut book will also feature stakes-winning mares Alocasia, Classical Times, Diaphora, Scottish Jig and YesYes. Lead Artist hails from the signature Juddmonte family of Hasili and Dansili, and the son of Dubawi was said to be well received by breeders during the Tattersalls December sales. Chaldean will also be supported strongly off the back of his strong debut performance at the foal sales, which yielded an average of £106,107 for 33 sold. He will be mated with Midday, a champion filly and dam of four stakes performers, Quail, responsible for Group 3 winner Faiyum, and the Grade 3 scorer and Grade 1-placed Grand Jete. Frankel will cover a host of Group 1 winners and producers while Princess De Lune, the dam of Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Field Of Gold, will return to Kingman. Lope De Vega, Mehmas, Havana Grey, Night Of Thunder, Siyouni and Starspangledbanner are just some of the other outside stallions that Juddmonte will also be sending mares to next year. The post Arc Heroines Bluestocking And Enable To Visit Dubawi As Juddmonte Releases Mating Plans 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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He’s been inundated with messages from people around the world after helping save Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin, but Chris McMullen has deflected praise for his role in the incident. Images and video of the Jockey Club’s assistant starter stepping in to tackle a protester who ran onto the track as the Cup field turned for home went viral on social media, with McMullen drawing praise for his quick thinking. The Cup, won by champion galloper Romantic Warrior for a...View the full article

Andrea Atzeni is hoping Super Unicorn is up to the task when he goes for a brilliant hat-trick in the Class Three Sea Eagle Handicap (1,650m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday evening. The Sardinian is fresh off a brilliant second on Giavellotto in Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Vase (2,400m), finding just Sosie too strong when trying to defend his title. “It was a brilliant run – we had a nice trip following the winner but it was a bit of a messy race,” said Atzeni. “We didn’t go much of a gallop,...View the full article

By Jonny Turner Is 20m a long way in a Group 1? That’s the question harness racing fans will need to ask themselves ahead of the Group 1 Ascot Park Hotel Invercargill Cup on Friday. Race favourite and defending champion Republican Party will be back in the south ready for a repeat of his brilliant 2024 victory in Southland’s biggest race. An outstanding fresh-up victory at Addington last week left no doubt about what kind of shape he is in ahead of his title defence. That means considering whether Republican Party is fit enough or good enough to go back to back is a rather pointless exercise. But the key factor looks to be how much of an influence moving back from a 10m handicap last year to 20m this year is going to have on the six-year-old. A swift getaway set up last year’s win and with how Republican Party has been beginning in his recent standing starts, his manners have to be considered a big plus. On the other side of the equation is that the star pacer will still be giving away a head-start to genuine open class horses. Among them is the rising star of New Zealand’s open class ranks in The Lazarus Effect. There was little doubt about the pacer’s potential beforehand, but he confirmed his star status with an outstanding effort to finish second to Kingman in his first taste of Group 1 racing in The Christian Cullen. Trainer-driver Bob Butt tuned The Lazarus Effect up for his Invercargill Cup tilt with an effortless win in the Geraldine Cup. The Lazarus Effect shares the front line with another serious winning threat in We Walk By Faith. The Hayden and Amanda Cullen trained pacer was comprehensively beaten by Republican Party at Addington last week. However, in their prior meeting in the New Zealand Cup, We Walk By Faith beat Republican Party home off level marks. Punters will need to consider how much to read into that last run from We Walk By Faith, who raced keenly in the lead in full blinds. Wedged between the front-markers and backmarker Republican Party is Alta Meteor, who split Republican Party and We Walk By Faith at Addington last week. To see the Invercargill fields click here The five-year-old is part of a powerful squad Stonewall Stud are hoping can add to their great recent run on Southland’s premier days. View the full article

Patience, a diminishing commodity in the modern environment, remains a key marker for Raumati couple Christopher and Susanna Grace, two of New Zealand racing’s longest serving and most successful participants. No better example is the latest star of the Graces’ home-bred racing string, the Andrew Forsman-trained Hinekaha, who completed a hat-trick with her all-the-way win in Saturday’s Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa. Midway through last season, the daughter of Savabeel was being touted as an Oaks or Derby prospect, but even after winning the Listed Grangewilliam Stud Oaks Prelude (1800m) in early February, the decision was made to scrap any such plans. “Susanna and I don’t go to the races so much these days, but we were getting very nervous about putting her under too much pressure, so we drove all the way up to New Plymouth to see for ourselves,” Grace said. “She duly won the race, but my observation to Andrew was that while she looked alright in front, she was getting very light behind. We decided that she could have one more run, but if she didn’t perform that would be it for the season.” That race was the Gr.2 Avondale Guineas (2100m) at Ellerslie, and the decision was easy when Hinekaha finished well out of the placings and she went to the paddock at the Graces’ Surrey Farm property in Bulls. “That has been the making of her,” Grace said. “She developed and put on 50 kilos under the care of our very capable farm managers David and Kylie McKinnon, and she was a different horse when she went back to Andrew.” A first-up fifth was followed by wins over 1400m in Rating 75 company at Ellerslie and Waverley, which prompted the decision to step up to last Saturday’s weight-for-age fillies and mares’ feature. “In my lifetime not often have I seen a Rating 80s horse beat those in the 100s at weight-for-age, so after discussing the best tactics in the small field it was the sensible thing to do, go to the front and take away the chance of the race becoming a sprint home. “The name Hinekaha is Maori for strong woman and knowing our mare could stay, we decided we had to be brave. “Craig (Grylls, jockey) got it exactly right and it was very satisfying for all of us to see her win like that.” Those involved in Hinekaha include Mount Maunganui retirees Michael and Priscilla Hurley, friends from the Graces’ farming days in Hunterville. “We used to race our horses by ourselves but a few years ago we decided to keep a 50 percent interest and take in others to race them with. “Others include a team of younger Wairarapa people who have had 15 wins from 31 starts with three horses of ours, and now it’s wonderful to have the Hurleys in this mare.” Virtually all bar the Graces’ dual Australian Group One winner Shillelagh and others related to her are connected to the first horse Grace bought as a young man at the National Yearling Sale at Trentham. Named Hakawai, she died before Grace was able to breed from her, so he deferred to the same source and bought a close relation from Australian trainer Colin Hayes. From that Without Fear mare, Clearness, the Graces founded a dynasty and in the case of Hinekaha, a particularly strong line with her dam, the Fastnet Rock mare Hinerangi, and second dam Hinemoa are also stakes winners. The Graces’ gold, green and white colours have also been carried by close relations such as Gr.2 Wellington Cup (2400m) winner Graphic, Gr.3 Manawatu Cup (2300m) winner Tullaroan and Listed Wairarapa Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) winner Reputation. While the Graces are keenly anticipating further feature racing with Hinekaha, they will also be involved as vendors at next month’s Centenary National Yearling Sale with two lots. Catalogued close together as Lots 443 and 453 in the Little Avondale Stud draft on the second day of Book 1, they are colts by Proisir from Galway and by Savabeel from Glimpse. “We sell all our boys when we can and sell the fillies if we don’t need them,” Grace said. “We couldn’t afford to race all the horses we breed.” View the full article

Cranbourne trainer Gavin Bedggood will spend Christmas on this side of the Tasman as he prepares his Group Three winner Kingswood (Roaring Lion) for Group One action at Ellerslie on Boxing Day. With a view towards Kingswood’s prospective stallion career, Bedggood is heading to New Zealand in the hope of securing an all-important elite-level scalp to enhance his credentials prior to transitioning to stud duties. The British-bred six-year-old hails from a rich pedigree, being by ill-fated Group One-producing stallion Roaring Lion and out of multiple stakes winner All At Sea (Sea The Stars), a daughter of three-time Group One winner Albanova (Alzao). Kingswood is also the half-brother to dual Group One winner and Champion European three-year-old stayer of his year Eldar Eldarov (Dubawi). “He is a stallion and he has got a great pedigree,” Bedggood said. “He is probably not commercial in Australia but if he were able to win a couple of good races over in New Zealand, he might be able to find a future home over there when he is finished.” Kingswood has already accrued a solid record, placing in the Gr.3 Gallinule Stakes (2011m) at the Curragh in Ireland as a three-year-old before continuing his racing career in Australia last year where he had two starts for Maddie Raymond before joining Bedggood’s barn. He won his first two starts for the Cranbourne horseman last spring, including the Gr.3 Coongy Cup (2000m) at Caulfield, before a near 12-month hiatus from racing after he underwent surgery earlier this year. “He came back in the autumn and did three weeks work and we weren’t 100 percent happy with him,” Bedggood said. “We sent him off for an MRI and they found the very beginning of a hairline fracture. They put a screw in and he hasn’t had an unsound day since.” Kingswood resumed with a runner-up effort behind subsequent Group One performer Golden Path (NZ) (Belardo) over 1700m at Flemington in September, and he returned to the iconic track on Melbourne Cup Day to win the Listed Kirin Ichiban Plate (1800m). “He was good there and he got perfect ground for him,” Bedggood said. Kingswood has had just the one run since, finishing fourth in the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m) on unsuitable footing. “He is a little bit of a Goldilocks, he doesn’t want concrete ground and a track like Ballarat was too rain-affected for him,” Bedggood said. Bedggood is now looking forward to testing his entire’s talent against some of New Zealand’s best at Ellerslie next week. While he has yet to campaign a horse in New Zealand, racing on this side of the Tasman is nothing new for Bedggood, with the former jumps jockey having ridden at Ellerslie a little over 10 years ago, and he doesn’t expect the right-handed track to pose any concerns for his charge. “I came over 10 years ago to ride at the Northern meeting where I had a ride for Mark Oulaghan,” he said. “I have been there and had a look at the track before and it shouldn’t pose any issues, the horse has raced in that direction in Ireland and Sydney.” Bedggood will meet Kingswood at Auckland Airport on Sunday morning and he will base himself at Pukekohe in the lead-up to the Gr.1 Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic (2000m) on Boxing Day. “He flies out late Saturday evening and arrives on Sunday morning,” Bedggood said. “I will come over for the week and hopefully we can get a result.” Depending on his Boxing Day performance, Bedggood said Kingswood may stay in New Zealand in pursuit of other feature targets. “We will reassess after this one, but there is the Herbie Dyke (Gr.1, 2000m) at the beginning of February, which could be an option,” he said. “There are also races for him through the autumn, which we would strongly look to come back for if he was competitive on Boxing Day.” View the full article

If you are looking to back a runner who can confidently operate under center, shoot the A-gap and get to the next level, streak along the sideline and tip-toe ever so elegantly for the score, then look no further than Louisiana-bred Touchuponastar (Star Guitar), who took home his fourth Champions Day Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds on Saturday–the mark surpassed his stellar sire and moved him closer to $2-million in career earnings. The 6-year-old's ride for brothers Jake and Jeff Delhomme took them to new heights earlier this year when their horse famously defeated champion and future sire Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) in the GII New Orleans Classic. Replete with black-type on his page from the Pelican state, Touchuponastar has won 19 races in 26 starts. The Delhommes are Louisiana-bred themselves and getting to run any of their horses in their own backyard is a dream come true, no matter the outcome. In case you did not know, Jake was a standout quarterback for several NFL teams, namely the Carolina Panthers, and with that franchise he went to the Super Bowl. As the principal behind Set-Hut LLC, Jake works closely with his brother Jeff, who serves as the trainer for their stable. Touchuponastar, a $15,000 purchase out of the 2020 Texas Yearling sale, is the equivalent to a season's worth of game-winning touchdowns for the pair. Delhomme & Co. at Delta in February | Hodges Photography “Every experience that we have had is not only good for the stable, but it's better for the family and friends because of the happiness it spreads,” said Jeff, who on Sunday was heading to meet Jake at the Superdome where the former signal caller was covering the Saints-Panthers game on the radio for Carolina. “It goes further out than just Jake, my Dad, me, the groom, the jockey and the exercise riders. When you can touch that many other people's lives, it just makes every event just larger than life.” Growing-up around horses because of their father, the Delhommes have built a small, but effective operation in Louisiana. Jeff says he wants to impart that same love of the horse to his son, James, who is ever-present in the paddock and back at the barn. “My son will ask if I am nervous,” said Jeff. “Of course I am, but not when Touchuponastar gets in there because we are going to win. Really, it doesn't matter if we win or lose because he has accomplished so much.” What makes Touchuponastar so unique is his versatility when it comes to speed and distance. Regularly posting 100-plus Beyers, the gelding can take tight turns, can wire fields and can be tactical when necessary. Like in football, speed serves many ends. “A fast horse is a fast horse,” he said. “It really baffles me how Touchuponastar can do that. We've known [jockey] Eddie Delahoussaye forever and he told me once that A.P. Indy could have been a champion sprinter also. Again, when they are fast, it doesn't matter if it's four furlongs or a mile and a quarter.” Jeff credits Jake for mapping out a plan for their stable star, which has helped keep the veteran runner fresh moving forward. Like a pro quarterback who shies away from thinking about games later in the season, the Delhommes apply the same standard when thinking about what is to come. Jake Delhomme (left) with Touchuponastar and jockey Tim Thornton at Fair Grounds on Saturday | Hodges Photography “We've had offers to run in races like the Pegasus [Gulfstream], but we are having so much fun in Louisiana-bred races where all our family and the local people can enjoy them together,” Jeff said. “So I don't think either is the wrong move. Going back to the New Orleans Classic would be great, but if the race doesn't set up in our mind, then that's not where he's going to go.” What is potentially on tap is a return to the LA Bred Premier Night Championship Stakes at Delta Downs in early February, which is a race Touchuponastar has already won the past three years. Wherever he shows up next, the 6-year-old bay will garner attention from his fans. “This is beyond our wildest dreams,” said Jeff. “My son says he wants to get into this business and be just like me and his Uncle Jake. He was asking me how many Louisiana-breds win graded races and I told him I didn't know the exact number. Roger Heitzmann [Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association] brought him the list. James was looking at it and was interested to see who was on it. To have your horse on there is pretty special.” One of 35 graded winners in the history of the state according to records, Touchuponastar is in good company. As for the Delhommes, they are happy to just to be on the field with him. The post Down…Set…Hut!: Touchuponastar A Deep Threat For Delhommes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A fresh approach will be key to She’s A Dealer’s bid for higher honours during her summer preparation. The exciting daughter of Ace High confirmed plans for two major targets when she romped to a Rating 75 victory at Te Rapa on Saturday, the fourth victory of her seven-start career. She’s A Dealer is prepared by Roger James and Robert Wellwood for breeder Rich Hill Stud, who race the mare with Mark Neill, Richard Kidd, Ian Hart and Peter Merton. The four-year-old will firstly aim for an appropriate success at northern headquarters on New Year’s Day. “She’s gone to the next step, I think she has a bright future and might be a spring and autumn horse,” James said. “I don’t know that the really hard tracks are going to be her friend, but we are planning on racing her at Ellerslie and that doesn’t get too hard, so that might really suit her. “She’ll go to the Rich Hill Mile (Gr.2, 1600m) and then hopefully the Aotearoa Classic (Gr.3, 1600m).” She’s A Dealer is also expected to be a major force to be reckoned with when she steps up in trip in time. “We’re purposefully keeping her as fresh as we can, I have no doubt that her forte will be further than the mile as she proved last season,” James said. “She is a stronger mare now, but they are worthy of races trying to keep her fresh for.” Out of the two-time Group One-winning Pentire mare Say No More, She’s A Dealer won twice last season before crossing the Tasman. Against older opposition, she finished runner-up over 1800m on a heavy Randwick track and was then a creditable fifth on soft ground in the Gr.1 Queensland Oaks (2200m). Meanwhile, stablemate Cosmic Dream completed a weekend double for the stable when she was a dominant maiden winner over 1000m at Trentham. “She was impressive and really kicked away the last bit, so I was pretty happy with her,” James said. “She jumps and gets travelling very quickly and there’s a three-year-old race over 1200m for her at Ellerslie that we’ll look at.” James and Wellwood purchased the daughter of Cosmic Force out of Polar Lodge’s draft for $45,000 at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale in 2024. She is out of the Rock Of Gibraltar mare A Little Prayer, whose half-brother Romantic Touch won an edition of the Gr.1 JJ Atkins (1600m). View the full article

HONG KONG, CHINA – Hong Kong International Races day began under gray skies and chilly temperatures, but heated up quickly with an opening performance from K-Pop legend RAIN, who brought out the sun for a legion of fans lined up outside the paddock with signs bearing his name and had even HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges bopping along to his performance. The day's expected headliners and hometown heroes Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) and Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) delivered in spades, but the quartet of international races opened with a record-breaking victory for the French team when Sosie (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) gave legendary trainer Andre Fabre a fourth win in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase. “Sosie is definitely a wonderful horse,” said Engelbrecht-Bresges. “I would like to send my appreciation and thanks to Andre Fabre, who just had his [80th] birthday and that hopefully is a little birthday present for him.” Fans crowded onto balconies and lined up all around the paddock as local hero Ka Ying Rising–the world's highest-rated sprinter–came out for the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint. With the outcome in no doubt well in advance of the wire, one fan, commenting on action in Chinese, switched to English. “Game over. Game over,” he repeated several times as the gelding sailed under the wire a much-the-best winner. “He's just in a league of his own,” jockey Zac Purton said after the winner's circle celebration. Trainer David Hayes added succinctly, “He just was superb today. They're not running fast times today, but he did. I think on the eye, that was as spectacular a win as he's done.” Ka Ying Rising completed the 1200 meters with little urging in 1:07.70. Asked how fast he thought the 5-year-old could run, Hayes said, “If they were offering $1 million for a record, I reckon he could go in 1:06.” Voyage Bubble (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}), largely overshadowed by the headlining duo, still seemed to attract the day's loudest cheers. With the Chinese fans encouraging him on with synchronized chants of 'jiayou,' the Hong Kong Triple Crown winner was all heart when outbattling Japanese rival Soul Rush (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile. Romantic Warrior completed the big day for the home team when he dominated the field to win his record fourth straight G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup. James McDonald | HKJC photo An emotional James McDonald, with tears in his eyes returning to the winner's circle, said, “He's so special, he's so special. He's just a freak. I don't know what to say. I just love him. I love him.” McDonald celebrated with fans with high fives on his way back to the jock's room. Trainer Danny Shum made it clear the international warrior had become a member of the family. “My son says I love him, but I love Romantic Warrior more,” Shum said, not offering any contradiction to his son's assertion. As dramatic as Romantic Warrior's victory was, the race was almost struck by tragedy when a protester rushed out onto the course. Assistant starters subdued the man and held him down as the field rushed past into the home stretch. “We had an incident on the track,” said Engelbrecht-Bresges. “The person is obviously very angry and he wanted to launch a petition to ask for a further inquiry into the deaths in the Tai Po fire.” Festivities around the international races were more subdued this year in the wake of the devastating apartment fire which claimed the lives of some 160 people in late November. In recognition of the tragedy, the HKJC had pulled advertising for its marquee day of racing, which Engelbrecht-Bresges said likely contributed to a decrease in attendance–which was close to 50,000–and in turnover. “We definitely had to overcome a significant challenge in light of the tragedy,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said. “You can see that emotions in the community are still very deep. So this has to be taken into consideration when we look at the race day today. We still believe that this was one of the greatest days in Hong Kong racing.” The award for the day's most committed fans would have to go to the large group of women lined up several deep around the winner's circle with their cameras at the ready throughout the afternoon as they tried to catch a photo of Chinese actor Yosh Yu. Yu, who was acting as Longines Ambassador of Elegance, was down in the winner's circle for the Hong Kong Cup, eliciting loud cheers, but he put his finger up to his mouth to hush his vocal fans. The post ‘Jiayou!’: Hong Kong Runners Thrill Fans At Sha Tin appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Despite being a "strange" and "awkward" horse, Layabout's talent has Newbyth Stud's Kevin Doyle and Andy Smith dreaming of top level races with their homebred.View the full article

Woodbine Entertainment has cancelled the remainder of Sunday's live Thoroughbred racing at Woodbine Racetrack following the seventh race due to cold weather.View the full article

Oklahoma-based trainer Federico Villafranco secured his 1,000th training victory Dec. 13 when Joan Charlton and Michael Lacy’s All Aflutter crossed the finish line first in a claiming race at Remington Park near Oklahoma City, Okla. View the full article

Sent off the 9-5 favorite for his unveiling at Oaklawn Park, D'code (Speightstown–Dos Vinos, by Twirling Candy) went to the front early and increased his advantage throughout, by open lengths over fellow firster Silver Prince (Cairo Prince) in this TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard-earning performance. The colt, who is trained by Ray Ashford Jr., is out of multiple winner Dos Vinos. Bred by Tom Durant, the grey brought $775,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in Training sale, however, makes his debut here for his breeder. Final time for the one-mile test was 1:09.57. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $60,000. O/B-Tom Durant (KY). T-Ray Ashford Jr. The post Speightstown’s D’code Rolls to Rising Star Score in Oaklawn Unveiling appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The topic of the diminishing North American Thoroughbred foal crop (estimated 17,000 for 2026) came up several times during last week's Global Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program in Tucson. This is often referred to as our industry's “horse shortage” problem. I try to avoid that term in my reporting unless I am directly quoting someone who says it. Instead, the sport has long been dealing with an “owner shortage.” Breeders stand ready and willing to start producing more racehorses if only more buyers would step up to purchase and campaign them. Another metric that doesn't get as much attention–the number of Thoroughbreds who make at least one start in a calendar year–can also be useful to watch. Through this past Saturday's racing, that number stood at 42,198 with 2 1/2 weeks to go in 2025. That figure, courtesy of the publicly available “by racing year' tabulations on Equibase, can be drilled down even further to see how many starts each of those horses have made. I've always had both respect and a soft spot for the grizzled “war horse” veterans of the Thoroughbred world, probably because growing up on the now-defunct New England circuit, it was common see past performances of claimers whose ages were in double digits with lifetime starts in triple digits. You generally don't see those types of horses these days for a variety of reasons–training methodologies have shifted toward a “less is more” approach; greater regulatory and veterinary scrutiny discourages running horses back too often, and there are far fewer racing stables competing at far fewer tracks–just to name a few. The other day I was sorting the stat columns on Equibase to rank the horses this year by how many starts they have made. Before I say what stood out, take a moment to quiz yourself: How many Thoroughbreds in 2025 do you think have started at least 20 times? For extra credit, try to guess what that statistic was 25 years ago. The answer, so far in 2025, is 24 horses with 20 or more starts. A start | Sarah Andrew I would have bet the “over” on that one, figuring it was higher. That equates to .05% (one-twentieth of one percent) of the entire group of 42,198 starters. Three are tied with 23 to top the list. The rest fall between 20 and 22 starts. (Side note: Those 24 horses at the 20-plus-start level were sired by 23 different stallions, with only Collected represented by two offspring.) Turning the clock back to 2020 yielded a skewed set of numbers, because the COVID-19 shutdowns resulted in a massive loss of training and racing dates for the final 10 months of that year. But still, as a benchmark, there were more starters in the pandemic year than there will be this year: 2020 featured 46,683 starters, with 19 hitting the 20-start mark despite the truncated season (.04% of all starters). Two tied at 24 races to top the year. Ten years ago, in 2015, a total of 54,496 Thoroughbreds made at least one start, and 209 of them ran at least 20 times (.38%). Two tied atop the leaderboard with 28 starts. In 2010, the pool of all starters was 69,689, with 348 horses racing 20 or more times (.49%). Two tied for most starts with 30. In 2005 there were 74,282 starters, of which 440 started 20-plus times (.59%), with two topping the leaderboard at 31 starts each. The year 2000 is the farthest-back the Equibase online database goes for these types of rankings, and it yields the most mind-boggling numerical nugget: Although there were fewer starters (71,156) in 2000 than there would be in 2005, an astounding 1,101 horses 25 years ago (1.5%) made at least 20 starts. And that group of 1,101 in the 2000 season included a subset of 23 who raced at least 30 times (the high-start mark was 36). Put another way, the same number of horses who started 30-plus times a quarter-century ago is nearly equal to the number of 20-start horses this year. Ain't building 'em like before… The above exercise isn't meant to say that Thoroughbreds aren't as capable of starting as often as their contemporaries from earlier in the 21st Century. While that statement certainly could be true, there aren't as many racing outfits or opportunities to prove it either way. Todd Gralla on the new Belmont Park | courtesy of The Jockey Club But they definitely aren't building racetracks like they used to, and the reasons why were articulated in an intriguing talk at the U of A Symposium by Todd Gralla, the director of Equestrian Services for Populous, a global architecture firm specializing in sports and entertainment facilities like Camden Yards, the Sphere in Las Vegas, and the currently under-construction New Highmark Stadium, the soon-to-be home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Over the past four decades, Gralla has played roles in the development of more than 400 racing and equestrian venues worldwide, including the Olympics, the current rebuilds of Belmont Park and Pimlico Race Course, plus renovation projects at Churchill Downs. In a panel called “Building the Future of Racing: Major Construction Projects Transforming America's Tracks,” Gralla gave perspectives on what shaped the designs at the three Triple Crown tracks. Churchill Downs wasn't being built from scratch and already had an iconic design feature in its twin spires, so that distinction didn't need tweaking, Gralla said. “Belmont, as we kind of looked at the historic structure that was there, the new arena that we built next to it, [the question became] 'What's the next step for architecture over there?' And the leadership wanted something a little bit more contemporary. So our inspiration was the ribbon, which symbolizes victory. And that's kind of the way that the design came together.” Populous describes the new Belmont as “draw[ing] inspiration from the flowing, mutable shape of a ribbon–the traditional symbol of victory–and mark[ing] an intentional departure from the current Belmont style.” Pimlico's cupola and weather vane | Horsephotos The new design is supposed to “introduce greater transparency” and “reduce the scale of the building to be properly sized” for changing needs and trends, the company's website stated. “Now at Pimlico, what's interesting is there wasn't a lot there that was great to work from,” Gralla continued. “The existing buildings that we just tore down in the last couple months were not architecturally significant at all,” Gralla said. “What was architecturally significant [was] the original clubhouse that burned down in 1962, which has the weathervane and the replica of the cupola that was the winner's circle. So we're using that for inspiration at Pimlico, and trying to do something that's real Baltimore, that kind of goes back to the original history of 'Old Hilltop.'” Gralla said the barns that will house GI Preakness Stakes horses and entrants in other big stakes will be brought close to the frontside paddock. “Part of the reason we pulled those up front is we're trying to give visitors a horse experience,” Gralla said. “We want them to be able to see the trainers, horses, jockeys in their daily routine. “And then we're using a lot of the stretch apron area to build a pavilion to support a lot of picnicking, tailgating out there, as well as [temporary structure] overlay during the Preakness Stakes,” Gralla said. Butt-in-seat? No way! So what's driving the main changes in sports architecture right now? “One is revenue,” Gralla said. “Our clients in the professional sports business are making tons of in-venue revenue. And it's not gaming, and it's not wagering on sports. In fact, at the New Highmark, the clients don't want sports wagering facilities in the physical facility because it's not worth the square footage. “That's really interesting, when a client tells you, 'Giving up square footage for wagering on sports is not worth putting in my sports stadium,'” Gralla said. “That's the complete opposite of kind of where we are in racing right now. “We are also making venues smaller,” Gralla said. “And in those venues, we've designed over the past 20 or 30 years? We're going back into those major-league sports venues and we're removing capacity. We're changing seats into clubs and into social areas. Because that's what the younger generation wants. They don't want 'butt-in-seat' for two or three or four hours. “We're also really looking for unique experiences in those stadiums [based] around that game day. And racing is really full of those,” Gralla said. “When we look at a typical game day for a fan at an NFL stadium, we kind of try to assess what their pre-game looks like, what time they arrive, what their in-game [behavior] looks like, and what does it look like outside [after] the game day. Because where we're getting money and revenue is pre- and post-game right now, assuming that everyone is already in there for the game. Churchill's Homestretch Club | courtesy of CDI “For horse racing, we don't have just one game, right? We have 10 or 12, so you break [the card] down into even more tiny little segments,” Gralla said. “When we started working with NYRA, one of the first things that was done was to look at entry scans for the Belmont Stakes, for example. And what we learned is that most people going to the Belmont Stakes–and any kind of stakes or big race day, really across the board at any track–people aren't even there for the first half of the card. How do we get them there for the first half of the card to spend more, wager more? “And then also they're leaving very quickly after that [feature] race, even though we may have one or three races after that. How do we keep them [and] keep them engaged?” Gralla asked. Gralla answered his own question, from an architectural standpoint. “We're looking at unique experiences, we're looking at more social spaces versus seats, and even trying the eke more out of every square foot of that building as possible. “We know that moving low seats from up high in a stadium down to field-side makes them worth more. We've done similar things at Churchill, when you look at the Homestretch Club, where we've got all the loge or banquettes down at trackside–very popular, worth a lot of money, and worth coming for the entire card.” A key, Gralla said is freedom to move around. Better food and beverage offerings are great, Gralla said. Spreading them out around the property is even better. “So we're not keeping people just in one area of the building,” Gralla said. “In a lot of our current tracks–like all of the facilities at Pimlico we just tore down–you weren't free to move around. You had a certain space, and you were kept there.” The post The Week In Review: 20 Is The New 30 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article