Wandering Eyes

Jockey and veterinarian Ferrin Peterson has launched her latest “The Boundless Podcast,” and her guest is Dr. Kayce Anderson, who is the daughter of WinStar Farm co-founder Bill Casner. Anderson is the executive director of the charity “For the Good.” In her bio on the organization's website, she is described as “a humanitarian, ecologist, mom, explorer, and student.” The For the Good website describes the charity's work as follows: “We work in a region of Kenya that has been labeled as 'not wanting education.' Our experience shows us the opposite: that many Maasai parents recognize the value of education and desire it for their children. We work with them to address barriers of access to affordable education, especially those experienced by girls.” During the podcast, Anderson shares how For the Good began with a simple but massive barrier: many girls miss school during puberty because they don't have access to menstrual hygiene products. What started as providing reusable sanitary pads–paired with reproductive health education–evolved into something even larger: enrolling out-of-school students (most of them girls) and partnering with Maasai communities in Narok County to build local, affordable secondary schools. You'll hear why humility matters more than “having the answers,” what it really takes to earn trust with elders and educators, and how sustainable impact is built through shared ownership–sometimes literally one goat at a time. Anderson breaks down the community-matching model that funds these schools, the patience required to work at the “pace of the earth,” and why education is both a lifeline and a tool for preserving culture and protecting land rights. This conversation is a powerful reminder that real change isn't fast, flashy, or imposed–it's relational, community-led, and built to last. To learn more or support For the Good, click here. The post Latest Episode Of Ferrin Peterson’s “The Boundless Podcast” Features Interview With Dr. Kayce Anderson appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Legendary Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury died at his home the morning of Feb. 10. He was 92. His horses won 6,508 races and earned $64,693,537. Leatherbury captured 52 training titles in Maryland and four meet titles at Delaware Park.View the full article

If a Chad Brown-trained 3-year-old son of Gun Runner lining up for the Risen Star Stakes (G2) feels familiar, it's for good reason. Sierra Leone took that path two years ago, and now Paladin is following suit.View the full article

Big returns to the races was the hallmark of many of the five fleet fillies this week, but it wasn't the 2025 champ who took down the number one spot. 5. ME AND MOLLY McGEE, SA, 2/7-6th, 7 furlongs (Video) Beyer Speed Figure-93 (2nd). (f, 4, by Vekoma-Molly McGee, by Quality Road) O-Exline-Border Racing, Aaron Kennedy, Mike Burns, Susanna Wilson and Dan Hudock. B-Four Pillars Holdings (Ky). T-Peter Eurton. J-Hector Berrios. This was a best-case-scenario return after she was vanned off the Saratoga track following the GI Test Stakes last August with a left-hind splint bone fracture and a laceration. Fortunately, her injuries didn't require surgery, and she made a splashy comeback in the GII D. Wayne Lukas Stakes despite the layoff to clearly hold second behind 2/5 Splendora (below) after setting the fractions–and now she's Grade II stakes placed. 4. RUNAMILEINMYSHOES, SA, 2/6-8th, 1 mile (Video) Beyer Speed Figure-94 (m, 5, by Street Boss-Intoitagain, by Into Mischief) O-Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber. B-Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal (Cal). T-Peter Miller. J-Emisael Jaramillo. First time back off a $50,000 claim, she immediately picked up a $54,600 payday with a solid win. And it was on dirt, which might be the key. She had run 17 of her 19 races on grass, but now is 3-for-3 on dirt–and even if you don't look at figures, this jumps out as her strongest effort to date. She's well named, too: 15 of her 20 starts have been at a mile. 3. SPLENDORA, SA, 2/7-6th, 7 furlongs (Video) Beyer Speed Figure-96. (m, 5, by Audible-Miss Freeze, by Frost Giant) O-By Talla Racing. B-The Elkstone Group (Md). T-Bob Baffert. J-Juan Hernandez. Splendora | Benoit The talented GI PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint heroine picked up right where she left off in the newly- christened D. Wayne Lukas Stakes, and this time even overcame a somewhat sluggish break. She lost an Eclipse Award to Shisospicy (Mitole) in what looked like a coin-flip decision, but that's the only loss she has suffered over the last 6 1/2 months. 2. NITROGEN, OP, 2/7-9th, 1 1/16 miles (Video) Beyer Speed Figure-97. (f, 4, by Medaglia d'Oro-Tiffany Case, by Uncle Mo) O/B-D J Stable (Ky). T-Mark Casse. J-Jose Ortiz. Jose Ortiz rode her like a 1/5 shot, and once he woke her up at the 3/16ths she powered past improving stablemate Nerazurri (Protonico) and the GIII Bayakoa Stakes trophy was in the case. With his 1-2 finish, Casse's 45% Oaklawn juggernaut continues and Nitrogen surely looms the early favorite for the Apr. 11 GI Apple Blossom Handicap. 1. MOON SPUN, GP, 2/7-10th, 5 furlongs (turf) (Video) Beyer Speed Figure-99. (m, 5, by Hard Spun-Moonlit Bay, by Malibu Moon) O-Town and Country Racing. B-Jack Liebau Sr (Ky). T-Brian Lynch. J-Javier Castellano. “She always beats the gate,” jockey Javier Castellano said of Moon Spun, and that was definitely the case in Gulfstream's Ladies Turf Sprint. She can be tough and spirited, and the waters will surely get much deeper than this ungraded stakes–but she has won four straight including three her return from a forced 13-month layoff. The post Five Fleet Fillies Of The Week, Feb. 2-8 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Easterly and Bless Her both break their maidens at Gulfstream Park to earn recognition for this week's Maiden Watch. View the full article

Kentucky's horse industry is strong by any measure: economically, culturally, and politically. But that strength did not happen by accident. It was built through years of consistent engagement with lawmakers by groups such as the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA), the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club (KTFMC), and the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP). Participation by industry members at KEEP Day at the Capitol on Thursday, February 12, is critical, even without a pressing legislative crisis. For legislators, KEEP Day is not about a single bill or budget line. It's about relationships and understanding. Lawmakers are responsible for hundreds of issues each session and often only hear from industries when problems arise. When horse industry participants take time to introduce themselves, explain their work, and share how horses support jobs and communities back home, it creates context that lasts far beyond one meeting. Speaker of the House David Osborne highlighted this during the 2025 KEEP Day, pointing to challenges facing the horse industry in states like Florida and California. In those cases, lawmakers are scrambling to understand an industry they haven't been consistently engaged with. Kentucky has avoided that scenario precisely because the horse industry has stayed involved during both good times and bad. Former Senate Floor Leader Damon Thayer also noted the importance of consistent engagement and would frequently highlight the work of the optometrists who would bring an army of advocates to Frankfort every year, whether they had an issue before the legislature or not. I have seen first-hand how exposure to horses can completely alter a person's perspective on our industry. I have experienced this with KEEP Day, too. Giving lawmakers a view of the industry and building those relationships opens up new perspectives that they previously did not have. Legislators frequently note that it is far easier to support an industry when they know the people behind it. A breeder, farm employee, veterinarian, or small business owner brings meaning to economic statistics and reinforces why sound policy matters. Those relationships were essential to past successes, from protecting historical horse racing to establishing and protecting industry incentive funds. KEEP Day at the Capitol also matters because the General Assembly is always changing. New lawmakers arrive each year, many representing horse country but lacking direct exposure to the industry. Early, informal conversations help shape how they view future policy questions. Kentucky's horse industry may be thriving, but legislators will tell you that success requires vigilance. Engagement prevents complacency and helps ensure Kentucky remains a national model rather than a cautionary tale. Showing up matters. KEEP Day at the Capitol is a simple but powerful way to protect the industry's future, by continuing the relationships that have already served Kentucky so well. RSVP to KEEP Day here. Rob Tribbett Watercress Farm KEEP Vice Chair The post Letter to the Editor: Why Showing Up Matters: KEEP at the Capitol appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury, whose career spanned eight decades and included 52 training titles combined at Pimlico and Laurel, has passed away. He was 92 and died Tuesday at his home. “He's one of a kind, said one of his twin sons, Taylor Leatherbury. “There's never been a man more appropriately named than my father.” Born in Shady Side, Maryland, Leatherbury was raised on a farm where his father had horses. After graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in business administration, Leatherbury went to work on the track and won his first race in 1959 at Sunshine Park, now known as Tampa Bay Downs. But it was in Maryland that he made a name for himself. The quartet of Leatherbury, Grover “Bud” Delp, Richard Dutrow and John Tammaro Jr., also known as the “Big Four,” dominated the circuit throughout most of the seventies and eighties. Leatherbury's specialty was claiming horses. He had a knack for finding cheap horses with an upside, ones he thought he could maneuver up the claiming ladder. “My people would claim horses for $20,000, $10,000, $5,000 and buy a yearling for $22,000, something like that,” Leatherbury told Tom Pedulla in 2020. “I didn't have big clients who wanted to spend $1 million for a horse or $100,000 even.” Between 1972 and 1997, he won at least 100 races every year and from 1974 to 1984, his total hit 200 annually. He led all trainers in wins in 1977 and 1978, winning 322 in 1977 and 304 the next year. In addition to his training titles at the Maryland tracks, he won four titles at Delaware Park. “I was making good claims,” Leatherbury told Pedulla. “You have an owner and you start winning for them and they claim more horses.” With 6,508 career wins, he is the fifth winningest trainer of all time. Occasionally, Leatherbury would come up with a stakes horse. His Taking Risks won the GI Iselin Handicap and the GIII Baltimore Budweiser Breeders' Cup Handicap in 1994, and his Thirty Eight Go Go won eight stakes from 1987 through 1990. Leatherbury won the GI Hempstead Handicap with Catatonic in 1994. “Nobody in the history of racing…has done what he's done the last 25 years: that being training the horses from speed figures, the Racing Form, using top assistants and veterinarians,” Delp told turf writer Vinnie Perrone in the May 20, 1993 edition of The Washington Post. “Believe me, King Leatherbury can train any racehorse that ever lived, and train him to perfection.” Having compiled so many wins over so many years, Leatherbury had what some considered Hall of Fame-worthy credentials, but his status as a claiming trainer always seemed to hold him back. That all changed with the emergence of Ben's Cat, who took the veteran trainer on a ride beyond anything he had ever experienced before. Bred and owned by Leatherbury, Ben's Cat was by Parker's Storm Cat, who won only one of four career starts and earned $40,800. The dam was Twofox, a winner of 3 of 23 starts. Ben's Cat suffered a broken pelvis at 2 and did not race until his 4-year-old year in 2010, but what was to become was something right out of a storybook. A sprinter, Ben's Cat won 32 races, 26 of them stakes, and earned $2,643,782. He was named Maryland-bred Horse of the Year four times, from 2011 to 2014. A year before Ben's Cat retired, Leatherbury was inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was an honor, he said, that never would have happened if Ben's Cat had not come along. “The excuse (for why he had not been voted into the Hall of Fame) was years ago that Leatherbury wins a lot of races, but he doesn't perform at the top levels,” the trainer told Frank Vespe in 2017. “That was true, but I had to deal with the horses that I had. But Ben's Cat did perform at that level.” At age 11, Ben's Cat retired in 2017. For Leatherbury, Ben's Cat's accomplishments marked one last chance to enjoy the spotlight. The trainer, well into his eighties, saw his numbers dwindle down to a precious few. Between 2019 and 2021, the same trainer who had had as many as 365 wins in a single year, won just six races. He retired in 2023, starting just one horse that year. “I'm 87 years old, for God's sake. Nobody is going to give me horses,” he told the TDN in September, 2020 after winning his first race of the year, which marked the 62nd consecutive year he had at least one winner. “I feel perfectly good and healthy but when I visit my family plot down there, where my whole family has been buried, there's this little sign. It says, 'King Leatherbury, coming soon.'” he jokingly told the TDN. Leatherbury is also a member of the Anne Arundel County Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award from the Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. He served as president of both the Maryland Horse Breeders' Association and Maryland Million Ltd, and served on the board of directors at Timonium. He is honored each year at Laurel Park with the running of the King T. Leatherbury Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Linda Marie Heavener Leatherbury, 82; twin sons, Taylor and Todd, 58; and grandson Heavener, 18. The post Hall Of Fame Trainer King Leatherbury Passes At 92 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's Win, Place, Show: The Annual Student Art Exhibition, presented by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, will open to the public in the Museum's von Stade Gallery on Feb. 14. The exhibition, which will feature more than 60 works of art from Capital Region students in grades 3-7, will run through Mar. 15. A second exhibition for grades 8-12 will open on Mar. 28 and runs through Apr. 26. Submissions for the grades 8-12 show will be accepted through Mar. 15. Each entry must be accompanied by a submission form. To access, click here. Completed entries can then be dropped off at the Museum during normal operating hours. A panel of judges will select a first-, second-, and third-place winner from each exhibition. The first-place winner for each will receive a slate of prizes. All student artists, their families, and anyone in their party will receive complimentary admission to the Museum during the duration of the exhibition. Student artists and their families are invited to participate in a closing ceremony, held on the last day of each exhibition at 2 p.m., to enjoy complimentary refreshments courtesy of Stewart's Shops. The Museum will also host The Forgotten Foundation: How Black Equestrians Helped Build American Thoroughbred Racing, scheduled for Feb. 16 and Feb. 19. The seminar explores the impact and legacy of Black equestrians in American thoroughbred racing. From early trailblazers to Gilded Age legends to today's participants in the sport, this lecture traces the history of Black equestrians and their vital contributions to racing. The seminars will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 16 and at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The event is free for Museum members and is included with paid admission for non-members. As the seminar on the 19th takes place following regular Museum hours, paid guests will be given a voucher to visit the Museum at another date of their choosing–no pre-registration is required–simply arrive at the Museum, and a staff member will direct you to the lecture location. For more information, please visit www.racingmuseum.org. The post Win, Place, Show: The Annual Student Art Exhibition Opens Feb. 14 at the National Museum appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Byron King's Top 12 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, presented by Spendthrift Farm.View the full article

Penn National will raise purses by 5% for the 2026 racing season that begins Feb. 19 and lower takeout rates for the Trifecta and Superfecta.View the full article

Henry Beeby says that Goffs “can't wait to get going for the year” ahead of the February Sale which features progeny by Havana Grey, Mehmas, New Bay, Night Of Thunder, Sands Of Mali, Sea The Stars, Walk In The Park and Starman as well a brother [lot 53] to recent Grade 2 mares' hurdle winner Feet Of A Dancer (Authorized). Pinhookers resembled happy cows being let out to spring grass for the first time on the eve of the two-day February Sale, which kicks off the Goffs sale season at 10am on Wednesday. Beeby said, “Our February Sale is always a reactionary catalogue to the autumn sales and it is a very good and balanced catalogue. The Wednesday session is up from 248 to 266 weanlings and there is obviously more Flat than National Hunt. There are some very smart pedigrees in there and the pinhookers will be out in force. You see a lot of the serious buyers have been here on Monday and Tuesday and we have some good drafts from Moyglare Stud and more. We finish off with a newly-introduced point-to-point section and that is a definite reaction to requests given a number of point-to-point handlers were asking for a sale in Ireland at this time of the year.” He added, “The pinhookers always come to this sale. It's a very diverse catalogue so it appeals to everyone. Along with the strong domestic buying bench, we have lots of Eastern Europeans here, people from France and a lot of British buyers as well. It's very funny, because when you get to December, everyone is on their knees as it's the end of the sales season and all people want to do is go home. Come this time of year, all people want to do is get out of their house and go to the sales! So there's a great atmosphere around the place and we can't wait to get going for the year.” Well-known bookmaker Brian Keenan, who breeds 10 to 12 National Hunt mares every year and consigns under Ballymurray Farm, will offer the Affinisea half-brother to Feet Of A Dancer. That Paul Noaln-trained mare couldn't have been more impressive when landing a Grade 2 contest at Doncaster last month and is just 10-1 for the Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham. Keenan, whose father Brian had his recognisable pink silks carried by the smart Noel Meade-trained chaser Sir Oj over 20 years ago now, said the slew of good results with Feet Of A Dancer presented too good of an opportunity not to present the latest offspring by Leah Claire at public auction. He said, “The Affinisea is a baby June foal and, normally, you'd be thinking about keeping them and letting them mature. But I just thought, with the page after exploding into life and with Affinisea really doing well, I thought now was the time to bring her to the sales.” He added, “I got a massive kick out of Feet Of A Dancer winning at Doncaster – you'd swear I owned her myself. She won her Listed race by nine lengths, went on and gave Wodhooh a fright at Christmas and then won the Grade 2 at Doncaster. It was great fun. We bought the mare a couple of years ago in foal to Masked Marvel. I have a Santiago three-year-old for the store sales this year and this fella as well. “Given he was born in June, it became way too late to cover her so we said we'd wait until this year and get her good and early. Feet Of A Dancer's brother, Act Of Authority, was actually second to Wodhooh in the Martin Pipe last year so she could do with clearing off! But look, Leah Claire was a nine-time winner herself and was Stakes-placed over both codes so it's not a fluke. She's obviously breeding horses with plenty of ability. I've had plenty of luck with later foals at this sale – fillies especially. So, when we saw the pedigree update, we had absolutely no hesitation in coming here.” Meanwhile, Whitsbury Manor Stud will offer one of the most sought after lots of the entire sale through the Baroda Stud-drafted Havana Grey filly [260], who is a full-sister to Listed winner Havana Ball. Like Keenan, Whitsbury has enjoyed luck at the Goffs February Sale in the past, and the stud's Joe Callan is optimistic the good run can continue at Kildare Paddocks. He said, “We have always liked this filly. We took her here in November, where we thought she would stack up quite well, but she picked up a minor knock just a few days beforehand and we were forced to withdraw her. We decided there and then that she was too nice a filly to be showing with a wrap on and we said we'd give her a chance to come to this sale, which has been good to us in the past. We know the buyers always turn up to this sale so we're hoping that she might stand out.” The post “We Can’t Wait To Get Going” – February Sale Gets Goffs Up And Running For 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Del Mar's 2026 stakes schedule will offer $7,775,000 in purses, including five overnight stakes each carrying a $100,000 prize. The seaside Southern California track will present six grade 1 stakes over the course of its eight weeks of racing. View the full article

Following a review of its contemporary Hall of Fame voting panel and a comprehensive evaluation of the overall nominating and election process, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame has made several updates prior to the 2026 election cycle. A voter survey was conducted in December 2025 to guarantee an electorate that is deeply connected to the sport, knowledgeable, passionate and responsive. That survey resulted in more than two dozen voters who received ballots in last year's election being cycled off prior to the 2026 process. Additionally, several new voters were invited to participate this year, resulting in a contemporary voting group comprised of 154 members in 2026, down from 172 voters in 2025. Retired candidates selected by the Nominating Committee as finalists may appear on the Hall of Fame ballot a maximum of 10 times. Previously, there was no limit to the number of times a candidate could be a finalist within the 25-year eligibility window before timing out and transitioning to the Historic Review process. This policy will apply to all horses and retired jockeys and trainers. There will be no limit to the number of times an active jockey or trainer can appear on the ballot, as their credentials are evolving. Hall of Fame voters will receive past voting percentages as a reference tool to help evaluate the viability of candidates and how they are trending. All Hall of Fame voting will be done electronically (email) through the independent auditor McKenna and Franck CPAs, PC, based in Saratoga Springs. Ballots will no longer be physically mailed to voters. Materials for the 2026 election will be emailed to voters in mid-February when the finalists are announced. These changes were made by Museum management in conjunction with recently appointed Nominating Committee Chair D. G. Van Clief, after consultation with the Nominating Committee, and were approved by Museum Board Chair Charlotte Weber. “Our goals are to ensure this process is always defined by absolute integrity and that it yields the most deserving class of Hall of Fame inductees each year,” Van Clief said. “We are fortunate that our Nominating Committee is both eminently capable of and fully dedicated to supporting these goals. With this year's updates to our process and the changes to refresh our voting roster, I am confident that the Hall of Fame will be welcoming inductees to its ranks who will make the sport proud and stand the test of time.” “I fully support the changes D. G. Van Clief and Museum management have made concerning the voting panel and overall election process,” Weber added. “Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is the greatest honor in any sport. It is of the utmost importance for the Museum to continually evaluate its procedures and evolve with the best interests of the institution and the sport as its guiding foundational principles.” The post Hall of Fame Voting Panel and Procedure Updated appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Retired candidates selected by the nominating committee as finalists may appear on the Hall of Fame ballot a maximum of 10 times. Previously, there was no limit to the number of times a candidate could be a finalist within the 25-year window.View the full article

The official logo for the 158th running of the GI Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, which will be held at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday June 6, was released by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) on Tuesday. This year will mark the third and final edition of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga. Beginning in 2027, the Belmont Stakes will return to its permanent home on Long Island at a new Belmont Park. The 2026 Belmont Stakes logo is centered around the Marylou Whitney Entrance at Saratoga, featuring three flags to acknowledge the conclusion of an unprecedented period when Saratoga played host to the Belmont Stakes. The Marylou Whitney Entrance was dedicated by NYRA in 2019 to honor Whitney's legacy and pay tribute to her passionate support for horse racing and commitment to the Saratoga Springs community. The five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be held from Wednesday, June 3, through Sunday, June 7 at Saratoga Race Course. Tickets for the 2026 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 12 at www.BelmontStakes.com. The post 2026 Belmont Stakes Logo Unveiled appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article