Wandering Eyes

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) on Tuesday approved a Thoroughbred racing calendar for 2024 that largely mirrors the template that has been in place for the past three seasons. The board's unanimous approval included a conditional “optional dates” placeholder for Ellis Park's July and August calendar that has to be solidified into a three-dates-per-week commitment before the end of this year. The gaming company Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), which owns Ellis, Churchill Downs Racetrack, and Turfway Park, had requested additional time to figure out if swapping Fridays for Mondays will be feasible for 2024. So Ellis got awarded 18 mandatory dates (which will be run on Saturdays and Sundays) and 30 optional dates. Waqas Ahmed, the KHRC's executive deputy director, told commissioners that he expected Ellis would eventually end up picking up seven more mandatory dates from that optional allotment of 30. “The obvious goal at Ellis is to run three days a week,” Gary Palmisano, Jr., CDI's executive director of racing, said during the KHRC meeting. “As we approached the race dates application deadline, the idea was tossed around of potentially running Saturday, Sunday, Monday rather than [this season's] Friday, Saturday, Sunday.” Leaving that placeholder for now, Palmisano said, “is going to allow our team a little bit more time to conduct some due diligence [and] make sure the horsemen are on board; make sure test barn workers can get there; make sure we can actually cover potential Monday racing.” CDI must notify the KHRC by Dec. 31 as to how it will satisfy the commission's condition that calls for “at least” three days of racing per week at Ellis in 2024. Assuming Ellis ends up with 25 mandatory dates, the total number of race dates in Kentucky will rise slightly in 2024 compared to the assigned dates for 2023, up from 211 to 215. The total mandatory dates for the other tracks are Churchill (83), Turfway (67), Keeneland (33) and Kentucky Downs (7). Here's a chronological look at the state's 2024 Thoroughbred schedule: Turfway: Jan. 3-Mar. 30 on a Wednesday-Saturday evening schedule. Keeneland: Apr. 5-26 on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule. Churchill Downs: Apr. 27-June 30 on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule, with exceptions on GI Kentucky Derby week and the Memorial Day holiday week. Ellis Park: July 4-Aug. 27 with Saturdays and Sundays anchoring the schedule, plus additional dates to be announced and an opening-day Thursday card on Independence Day. Kentucky Downs: Aug. 29-Sept. 11 for seven dates with three “optional” dates in case of rainouts. Churchill: Sep. 12-29 on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule. Keeneland: Oct. 4-26 on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule. Churchill: Oct. 27-Dec. 1 on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule. Turfway: Dec. 4-28 on a Wednesday-Saturday evening schedule with a Christmas Day exception. The post 2024 Kentucky Race Dates Set appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Maybe our sport is still capable of bringing together four such people round a dinner table. But you have to doubt it. “They were comparing the theaters that they had played on the Vaudeville circuit,” Dave Johnson recalls. “Which had the best backstage dressing rooms? Which had the best eating places, that you could walk to still with your costume and makeup on?” These memories were being shared between Johnson's mother and Fred Astaire. Moreover, both of those who were listening on, fascinated, had remarkable stories of their own: Astaire's wife, the former jockey Robyn Smith, and Johnson himself-the man whose call, for those present at the 1973 Belmont S., will forever be synonymous with one of the greatest performances in the story of the breed. Whether or not the world has moved on, it has certainly turned plenty since. Next Saturday, indeed, is the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's final start. And this dinner itself took place over 40 years ago, in Los Angeles, during Johnson's tenure as the caller at Santa Anita. “Afterwards Fred sent my mother an autographed picture,” Johnson recalls. “I think things like that helped keep her alive. My dad died early, he was only 52. But my mother passed away at 93. I have a picture of her as a dancer in 1930, when she was nine or so, with the whole McLeod Troupe on the Orpheum Circuit: my grandfather, my grandmother, their oldest son who was an attorney, then a daughter who was in the chorus, and then my mother, and then baby Jackie, who was about four or five.” It was a different world, clearly. His grandparents, indeed, were blackface comedians. But the timeless dividend, for Johnson, was to be raised on the stories of a nomadic community, full of incident and character; and, moreover, with a genetic flair of his own. Because it was performance, of course, that united all four of those gathered round the table at the Palm that night. McLeod Troupe on the Orpheum Circuit: Johnson's mother is second from the left next to brother Jackie | Dave Johnson “Robyn was much younger than Fred, but each was equally dependent on the other,” Johnson recalls. “Robyn's a wonder. She was a terrific rider, but a great person. Still is. And of course Fred was just a hell of a guy. Loved the game. He would get emotional about his horses. If one got claimed, just like Burt Bacharach, he would buy it back. “At one point during that dinner Fred leaned across the table to me, just so serious, and I thought, 'Oh gosh, what's coming now?' And he said, 'Dave, I really have an important question to ask you.'” Johnson pauses and chuckles. “'Dave,' he said. 'How do you win the Pick Six?'” Now here we are, on the opposite coast, in the Manhattan apartment that Johnson even then called home. (He bought it 51 years ago.) And we're wondering what has happened to our game since; how to retrieve the glamor of those days, when the golden age of the silver screen retained at least a copper glow; when Marje Everett ran Hollywood Park and made sure that friends like Elizabeth Taylor would show up for the inaugural Breeders' Cup. Johnson knows that horseracing today is a very different world from when his mother taught him, aged just four or five, how to read the Racing Form: they were on the train from St. Louis to New Orleans, in the last months of the war, visiting his father's military posting. “The arc of what has happened, in racing, seems so evident to me,” Johnson says. “I first started to go to the races as a very young guy. My family was never in the game as owners, trainers, anything. But we all loved to go to Fairmount Park, over the river from St. Louis, and it was always a wonderful holiday. “In 2023, racing is a television production. There's no longer people at the track, or only very few. For the Derby, Oaks, the Breeders' Cup, Royal Ascot, a destination like Saratoga or Keeneland: yes. But on a day-to-day basis, year round, it's a television production. So what we have now, with some racing executives, is people making decisions about television without knowing anything about broadcasting. Of course, some are terrific. I've worked for good and bad; and it's no different on the TV side, some know their racing, some don't.” At 82, naturally enough, Johnson doesn't find it quite so easy to get around. But he remains fully engaged, and feels due gratitude for precisely the reach of all the broadcasting platforms that are available today. Shortly before welcoming TDN, indeed, he had already been watching British racing on his phone over a morning coffee. But breadth of access does not equate to breadth of engagement. Dick Enberg and Dave Johnson at the 1984 Breeders' Cup | NBC Sports One of the things that sustained the sport's popular heyday, he feels, was simply the way horses were bred or trained (or both). Johnson wonders whether longer intervals between races have partly become standard because of medication levels; less speculatively, he deplores the sensitivity of trainers to their win percentages, above all now that so many potential runners are concentrated in so few hands. Johnson remembers when even someone like Woody Stephens would have no more than 40 horses. “I knew Woody very well, and his assistants Sandy Bruno and David Donk,” Johnson recalls. “I knew that whole barn. Wonderful people. And Lucille, Woody's wife. That was before the age of flying horses around, which was really started by Wayne Lukas. I mean, how would you begin to know 200 horses? I don't know how they do it. “Woody was very funny. And very self-centered! 'Let's see what time it is. Oh, by the way, did I tell you that Laurel gave me this watch for winning five Selimas?' But he was a hell of a horse trainer, wasn't he? I mean, a real hardboot. Hardworking, old school. A throwback. Owners had some input, too, but the trainers ran their horses where they thought. I mean, Woody is a perfect example: winning the Met Mile with Conquistador Cielo Monday, and winning the Belmont on Saturday. I think there are some traditions which should stay, including the Triple Crown. To move the Met Mile to the Belmont undercard, that hurt me. Maybe I'm old school too.” But maybe that's just what we're missing-the sense of participation that spreads down from the barns to the public. Horses weren't just financial or career devices, whether for breeders or trainers: they put on a show. After all, Johnson himself would never have got started without an innate sense of theater. “I called my first race in '65 at Cahokia Downs,” he recalls. “And it's like the script of a B movie. I was 24, working for a law firm. I'd do wills, I'd go out and take pictures of where an accident happened, I'd go and talk to a guy in prison. Anyway we had a box at the track, for the clients, and that evening I'd gone over there to wheel a horse in the double. And the announcer, Todd Creed, became ill. A stretcher went by, behind the box, and an announcement was made: 'Ladies and gentlemen, there'll be no more announcing tonight. Please watch the tote board. Thank you, and good night.' “Now, I knew the general manager, Ann Detchemendy. She was an Ethel Merman type: a brash, wonderful lady. She'd say to me, 'Hey sweetheart, you want to split a double with me?' 'Oh yes, Miss Ann, I'd love to.' Her office was right behind, so I went in and said, 'Miss Ann, I could call the races for you. I can memorize the 10 points of the Yalta Agreement, so I can certainly manage the seven horses in this race.'” Miss Ann picked up the phone, there was some back and forth, and she hung up. “Thanks, Dave, but the announcer's son is going to fill in.” “That was Todd's son, Mike,” Johnson recalls. “So he's in there with the engineer, and the 'musician' who would put the stylus on the record to play the bugle. (They had to have a member of the Music Union do that for every race!) And so the three of them stood there as the horses broke out of the gate.” “That's number five going to the lead,” says Mike. “I don't think it's the five,” interjects the engineer. Then a third voice: “I think it's Blue Boy.” “And you heard the three of them argue for five furlongs,” Johnson says. “It was hilarious. Immediately after the race, Miss Ann came into the box. 'You're next!'” Johnson pauses and smiles. “I'd told my friend Tony Marino that I was going over to the track, but he was going to have some dinner first and drive over later. So he parks his car, and as he's coming through the parking lot he hears the fourth or fifth race being called. And he said, 'Geez, that sounds like Dave.'” Johnson shakes his head and chuckles. “And that was it. And here we are, almost 60 years later.” Johnson did other stuff around the track, too: booked group parties, wrote stories, did selections for both the local newspapers. (They had to be different!) He carried on working during the day and called races at night. Meanwhile he was still reading history at Southern Illinois University, albeit graduation had to be squeezed in between the fourth and fifth races one night. “And the people, I loved the people,” he stresses. “That's what is so wonderful about working at the track. They're like family. Because you spend more time with them than you do at home.” Calling a race just came naturally: that performance gene coming through. Having provided cover on other, less extempore occasions, Johnson took over at Cahokia and Fairmount when Creed went to Ak-Sar-Ben. Then, in 1970, he got the NYRA gig on the retirement of Fred Capossela. Secretariat was foaled that year, and so the wheel of destiny turned. Pete Axthelm, Dick Enberg and Dave Johnson in 1984 | NBC Sports With time, Johnson's trademark call (“And down the stretch they come…”) became literally that: he was able to charge its unauthorized use to charity. But however entertaining his style, he always felt that his first priority was to inform. “Say what you see,” he says. “That was my only job. All the extraneous B.S. of the announcer coming on, and telling who they like, that's somebody else's job.” That said, even the informing was constrained in the old days. “At the track, you had to shut the microphone off at the 16th pole,” he recalls. “That was because of a federal law called the Wire Act. They didn't want the result to get outside the confines of the racetrack, for fear that illegal bookmakers would churn the money. Prior to the first race, the string of payphones at Belmont Park would be locked up-and they'd only unlocked after the ninth.” There was one time, admittedly, when Johnson finished the call too early even for the strictures of the Wire Act-in a race at Cahokia that he called as a sprint when it was really a route. (“I saw these jocks with the brakes on,” he recalls. “And I thought, 'Oh my God, it's a fixed race!' They went around the clubhouse turn, I hung up the microphone off, and the engineer said to me, 'Dave, they go around again!'”) Not all change is for the worse, plainly. “No, that's true,” Johnson acknowledges. “One time Angel Cordero was going for his fourth win of the day. And early in the stretch I said, 'And Cordero moves to the front.' And then at the 16th pole I said who was in front, who was second, shut it off. [Next day] my boss Pat Lynch called me in and said, 'I got a memorandum. From a board member. “Please inform Mr. Johnson, it's horse racing-not jockey racing!” The mentality… I mean, see how much it's changed? “But if you listen to Fred Capossela-a wonderful man, just a great human being-his calls were never jockey-, or trainer-related. But it was all very good. And that's our job: to identify, and give the margins, and who's moving. And from the top of the stretch, maybe only concentrate on the horses in contention.” One way or another, however, Johnson showed that inherited flair for performance. And, in time, that actually extended as far as playing roles on stage and screen. Back in St. Louis, for instance, he performed in musicals like My Fair Lady, Can-Can and Unsinkable Molly Brown in front of 12,000 at the outdoor theater in Forest Park. Above all, however, Johnson has adapted his racetrack nose for a wager to investment in Broadway productions. “That also came from a St. Louis connection,” he says. “Rocco Landesman, who I knew from the racetrack 20, 25 years ago. Owned six theaters here in New York, called the Jujamcyn Theaters. We had always talked about The Producers, which was one of my favorite films, with Zero Mostel. So when he said there was a chance he might do it as a stage play, I said, 'Count me in.'” Johnson had already backed a theatrical winner in London, a city he would get to know very well through attending 24 consecutive Royal Ascots. In 1983 he saw the West End debut of Michael Frayn's Noises Off, and virtually camped on the producers' doorstep. “I begged them to take my money!” he says. “And it was a big success, mainly because they sold the film rights for $5 million. But I didn't invest in another show until The Producers, nearly 20 years later. Rocco came up to me at the memorial service for David Merrick and said, 'I think we've got Matthew Broderick.' And that was it. Biggest bet I ever made. But it paid very well.” The show opened at the St. James Theater on 19 April 2001, and ran for 2,502 performances, harvesting a record 12 Tony Awards. And Johnson remains immersed in that cosmopolitan community, still telephoning and corresponding with folks from behind and in front of the footlights. Asked what draws him to their world, his answer is succinct and emphatic. “Talent, and honesty,” Johnson declares. “I have a lot of friends whose talent I really admire. They give it all. But it's not just the performing, it's everything that goes into making any of these things: a television show, a commercial, a stage show, a movie. Because, really, can't you see through people that are phony? I can, at least I think I can. So it's not just talent, it's also the honesty: people, like Rocco, who always do the right thing. I don't want anything to do with anybody who isn't above board, who's shady, who cuts corners.” But come on, Dave, how does that account for where you spent the rest of your time? You must have seen a few phonies on the racetrack. “Oh, yeah!” he says with a chuckle. “And in the management of racetracks, too.” This, in fact, is one of his pet vexations: track executives who didn't come up through the game; people who would never go to the races on their day off. But the beauty of Johnson's own story is the way he has straddled the margins between these two cosmopolitan, theatrical worlds: the stage and the Turf. “There's only one job at the racetrack that is a performer,” he reflects. “As announcers, we are performers. If you're doing it on television, you're not doing it for the crowd. Yeah. Isn't that funny? Only one job. “And it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. In anything, like a movie, that's going to be on videotape or film, you can change it. You can do take two, whatever. At the racetrack, you get one shot, and it'll never be the same. Ever. Run the same horses, your call is never going to be the same.” What luck, then, that he took his cue that night back in 1965: an unscheduled audition for the rest of his life. “There's a little article in The New York Times called Tiny Love Stories,” Johnson says. “It has to be 100 words or less. And so many times it's about people who met their mate in a cab, or on a corner, or in a rainstorm. I love those stories. It's the same kind of thing. What if I hadn't gone to the track that evening? Who knows? How lucky was I? And then I get to see Secretariat, Ruffian, Affirmed. I really have been lucky. I have no regrets. I've had a great career, and a wonderful life. I love the line in the movie Braveheart, where Mel Gibson says: 'Every man dies. But not every man lives.' And boy, have I lived.” The post Dave Johnson: What a Performance! appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Seabhac (Scat Daddy) will stand for €4,000 at Haras du Taillis in 2024, the stud announced on Tuesday. He stood for €3,000 this season. A winner of the GIII Pilgrim S. in the U.S., the 8-year-old's eldest foals are 3-year-olds of this year. Both Angers (Fr) and Rue Boissonade (Fr) have won Group 2 events, the former the G2 Mehl-Mulhens Rennen and the latter the G2 Prix de Malleret. Of his 65 runners worldwide, the stallion sports 27 winners. Alexandre Lacour, speaking to Jour de Galop on behalf of the syndicate that manages Seabhac, said, “He is a stallion who produces and is certainly transmitting quality. We want to capitalise on the success of his first starters by leaving his fee at a very low, attractive price for 2024.” The post Seabhac’s Fee Released By Haras Du Taillis appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A homebred for Gary Seidler and Peter Vegso, Unrivaled Belle's Breeders' Cup win came at the expense of the following year's Horse of the Year Havre de Grace, who finished third. The two mares would eventually share common ownership, both being purchased by Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, and live together at Timber Town before Havre de Grace's passing earlier this year. The crown jewel among Unrivaled Belle's foals to date is two-time champion Unique Bella. Unrivaled Belle has a 2-year-old full-sister to Unique Bella named Tap My Belle, as well as yearling and weanling colts by Into Mischief. She was bred to Flightline for next term. “Our time with Unrivaled Belle was amazing and super fun,” said Vegso, best known outside of racing as publisher of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series. “She was a wonderful horse and loved racing. Bill Mott did a super job with her; he's a special soul as is 'the Belle.' It's always so special when a horse we foal does so super well; makes having a farm and mares and mating–and the Mother Nature surrounding that comes with it–magical.” Unrivaled Belle (2006 gray or roan mare, Unbridled's Song–Queenie Belle, by Bertrando) Lifetime record: GISW, 14-6-6-1, $1,854,706 Breeders' Cup connections: B/O-Gary Seidler & Peter Vegso (KY); T-Bill Mott; J-Kent Desormeaux. Current location: Timber Town Stable, Lexington, Ky. The post Catching Up with 2010 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic Winner Unrivaled Belle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wedneday's Observations features a son of six-time American Grade I winner Abel Tasman (Quality Road) at Dundalk 15.30 Dundalk, €15,000, Mdn, 2yo, 7f (AWT) Aidan O'Brien trainee HALLOWED (Galileo {Ire}) is a son of six-time Grade I heroine Abel Tasman (Quality Road), who was knocked down for a sale-topping $5-million at Keeneland's 2019 January All-Aged sale. The April-foaled bay encounters a baker's dozen on debut, headed by twice-raced stablemate Greenfinch (Justify), who is kin to three-time Group 1 winners Roly Poly (War Front) and U S Navy Flag (War Front) out of four-time elite-level victrix Misty For Me (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Rivals also include Teme Valley Racing's hitherto untested Celestial Reighn (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who is a Joseph O'Brien-trained full-brother to G1 Gran Premio Del Jockey Club hero Ventura Storm (Ire). The post Son of Six-Time Grade I Heroine Abel Tasman On Deck for Dundalk Bow appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Golden Mile and Senator Ken Maddy Stakes are two $150,000 open turf stakes carded as race 1 and 3, respectively, Nov. 3, on Breeders' Cup Friday at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

MGSW Tom's Ready (More Than Ready) was euthanized on Monday, Oct. 30 at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, due to complications following colic surgery, Old Friends Farm announced on Tuesday. The 10-year old dark bay stallion was donated to Old Friends by owner Gayle Benson in November of 2020. The $145,000 Saratoga Select Yearling amassed a career line of 21-5-4-3, $1,036,357 over three seasons and captured the 2016 GII Woody Stephens S. and GIII Ack Ack S., and the 2017 GIII Bold Ruler S. He also placed in six other graded stakes in the care of trainer Dallas Stewart. “Tom's Ready helped Old Friends a lot,” said Michael Blowen, President and founder of Old Friends. “He was donated by Gayle Benson of GMB Racing, sending a message that a first rate breeding and racing operation trusted us to provide superior retirement and health care for their horse.” The post Old Friends Resident Tom’s Ready Dead at Age 10 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

ARCADIA, USA–Against the most stunning backdrop in world racing, just as the pre-dawn sky started to pinken with promise, a metaphorical dark cloud was cast across Santa Anita racetrack. Practical Move (Practical Joke), a leading contender for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack on his way back in from exercise in front of onlookers on the apron. The screens arrived eventually, but not soon enough to remind those present of the occasionally desperate nature of the sport we love, and how such a scene threatens its very future. This fatality, coming on the back of Saturday's serious injury to supposed Classic runner Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) and the withdrawal on Tuesday morning from that same race of Arcangelo (Arrogate), one of this season's feel-good stories, means that the 40th running of the Breeders' Cup will take place in less than auspicious circumstances. Work continued on the track after a pause. It had to, of course. This was the morning when the international shippers were released from quarantine and into the big wide open expanse of the Santa Anita dirt, wrapped around the turf. Take your pick. John Gosden, striding down the track alongside his long-term lieutenant Tony Proctor, chose the green grass of home for the first spin of Mostahdaf (Ire) and Inspiral (GB). It made perfect sense, as the son and daughter of Frankel (GB) are the leading lights in their respective targets, both on that surface. Gosden is of course more familiar with Santa Anita than his fellow travellers, having been based here for a time during the 1980s and among the winners of the inaugural Breeders' Cup at Hollywood Park in 1984, when Royal Heroine (Ire) landed the Mile for Robert Sangster. With the post-work debrief drifting from his own horses to the outstanding performance of Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) at the weekend, Gosden cast his mind back to that champion's great grandsire. “He is an absolute freak, isn't he, an extraordinary horse,” he said of Sunday's GI Tenno Sho winner. “When you look at him, he looks almost like a Stubbs painting, or a JF Herring Sr painting. He's not what we are used to. He's just one of those extraordinary athletes who can go at an incredibly strong pace and maintain and maintain it. “The Japanese breed for this. Deep Impact went two miles, and what a star he was. Sunday Silence, such a great horse, trained by Charlie [Whittingham] right over there,” he added, gesturing across to the barns beyond the quarantine facility. “This aversion to horses who can win over a mile and a half, a mile six, we've gone too far the other way, and we have to be careful. Suddenly a mile and a half becomes a marathon.” Of his own pair, Gosden added, “They're very happy, they were pleased to get out. They've been behind those screens [of the quarantine area] and they were thrilled to get out and have some fresh air. They flew on Saturday and they cleared quarantine at six o'clock last night.” Frankie Dettori was aboard Inspiral for her morning exertions, ponied on and off the track by a companion, while Mostahdaf followed at a distance on his own, each of them having an easy stretch of a canter on the turf before taking several turns of the paddock. Once they and the trio of Japanese turf workers, Win Marilyn (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}), Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Jaspar Crone (Frosted), had made their way back to the barns, another wave of Europeans took to the track. The O'Brien clan was out in force. Led by Joseph and Lumiere Rock (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Donnacha took to the saddle of a quarter horse to accompany Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) and the Juvenile Turf Sprint reserve Asean (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns). Finally Aidan, along with a group including his wife Annemarie, owner Paul Smith and vet John Halley, made his way along the apron close to the winning post to watch his team of ten trot the reverse way round the track before turning and hack-cantering back. The dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire), himself from the final crop of the aforementioned Deep Impact, took in his surroundings with a keen eye, with the sturdy juvenile Mountain Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) a little on his toes some way behind him, and the neat and composed Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) further back still and looking every bit as delightful as her name suggests. Ralph Beckett, who has enjoyed a tremendous season back home and notched another stakes win only a day earlier at Saint-Cloud, was on foot between his duo of State Occasion (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) and the youngster Starlust (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) as they proceeded to the main track for an easy exercise. The riding skills of Robson Aguiar were on show aboard the Norfolk S. winner Valiant Force (Malibu Moon), a horse plucked from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale by him and Roger O'Callaghan and now trained by Adrian Murray for a partnership involving their two wives and Amo Racing. Aguiar has also been associated with Champion S. winner and Breeders' Cup Turf runner King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) since his early days, having broken him in for the Amo team, of which he is a key part. He was back on board the giant grey on Tuesday morning and reported that he felt in good order after the exertions of Ascot less than a fortnight ago. “It is a short straight though,” he cautioned of the Santa Anita turf track. When the sun has risen fully over Santa Anita, defining the contours of the San Gabriel mountains that set the stage for the unmistakable “Great RIP”, the visual assault is so striking that it is hard to feel that there is much wrong with the world. Young Thoroughbreds appear from every which way, the equine players adorned here and there with colour-coded Breeders' Cup saddle cloths to identify the 'special ones'. But anyone involved closely with horses should know that they are all special, whether they make it to this exalted level, or perhaps just run with great heart in a bog at Catterick, as this correspondent's shared horse was doing, watched from a small screen in the palm of a hand, with the almost bizarre juxtaposition of Auguste Rodin striding alongside in the Californian sun. Even with such brilliant beauty close at hand, it was hard to revel in what should have been a joyful morning as the image of the prone Practical Move lingered on in the mind's eye. The post Europeans Unleashed as Santa Anita is Struck by Tragedy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Join hosts Greg O’Connor and Michael Guerin for this week’s edition of The Box Seat. View the full article

James Doyle will quit Godolphin to ride for the Emir of Qatar's fast-growing Wathnan Racing operation in 2024, a move the jockey described Monday as an "amazing opportunity."View the full article

As is the case every four years, the approximately 9,000 members of the France Galop Association, in charge of horse racing in France, voted from Friday to Tuesday to elect their representatives within the institution. These representatives are categorised as owners, breeders, trainers, and jockeys. In total, 7,926 votes were counted, 15% fewer than in 2019 when electronic voting was first introduced. Among the owners, two lists gained one seat each: Alliance Galop went from two to three elected representatives, while the Association of Trainers-Owners (AEP) now has two representatives, compared to just one in this category in 2019. Among the breeders, the French Thoroughbred Breeders' Association leads with 43.3% of the 1,528 votes and gains a fourth representative, while Alliance Galop maintains its three seats. These three associations secured 15 of the 18 available seats in these two main categories. Alliance Galop, which participated in its first elections in 2019, brings together many figures from the jumping world but not only, as this year it welcomed more Flat owners and breeders, including Anthony Baudouin (Haras du Hoguenet), who led the list of breeders. The Thoroughbred Breeders Federation is a traditional player on the French and European scene. The list was led by Pierric Rouxel (Haras de Maulepaire), but Loïc Malivet has been the association president for 12 years. Loïc Malivet, Vice President of France Galop, could not run in the election due to reaching the age limit (72 years). Haras d'Etreham's Nicolas de Chambure was also elected on the French TBA's list. The third winning list is the Association of Trainers-Owners, created by highly involved professionals often cumulating functions, as their name suggests. Probably more radical in its approach, it benefited this year from the support of Philippe Germond, President of PMU (French Tote) from 2009 to 2014, who was elected among the owners. In the trainers' category, Nicolas Clément and Gabriel Leenders were elected for the Trainers Association, while Cédric Boutin and Isabelle Gallorini will represent AEP, bringing the representation of this organisation to five seats. Thierry Gillet, the sole candidate among the jockeys, remains their representative. The regional representatives of France Galop members were also elected during this vote. On November 30, the regional bodies where these local representatives sit will, in turn, designate their five representatives to the France Galop Committee, bringing the total number of elected members on the Committee to 28. The Committee consists of 56 members, with the rest being co-opted members, racecourse presidents, or regional council members. This newly formed Committee will convene for the first time on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, to elect the new President of France Galop, as Edouard de Rothschild steps down after 16 years in charge. Upon the proposal of the next President, Vice Presidents for Flat and Jumps, as well as the other nine members of the Board of Directors, will be elected for four years. Detailed results can be found on the France Galop website. The post France Galop Committee Set; Presidential Selection Next appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Dr. Schivel (Violence-Lil Nugget, by Mining for Money), a Grade I winner at both two and three, will retire after making his final start in this weekend's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint and take up stud duty at Taylor Made Stallions in 2024, the farm confirmed Tuesday. A fee will be announced at a later date. First or second in nine of 14 lifetime starts, the earner of $1,327,100 was campaigned by Red Baron's Barn, Rancho Temescal, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, and William A. Branch, and trained by Mark Glatt. “We are very excited for the opportunity to stand Dr. Schivel in partnership with Tim Cohen, Dean Reeves, and Bill Branch,” said Taylor Made's Travis White. “It's very special to have a horse that was talented and precocious enough to win a Grade I at two and then come back to win another Grade I as a 3-year-old, beating older horses. Dr. Schivel, who has defeated 13 Grade I winners in his career, has been a sound, extremely consistent horse and his Breeders' Cup Sprint as a 3-year-old was a remarkable performance.” Winner of the GI Del Mar Futurity at two, he returned at three to add a win in the GI Bing Crosby S. and GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship before rounding out the season with a close-up second in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. This year, he was third in the Bing Crosby and won the Santa Anita Sprint Championship in his latest start Sept. 30. White added, “He has remained in Grade I form throughout his racing career, and Mark Glatt said Dr. Schivel has been all class from day one. He is a big, good-looking son of Violence and breeders will really like what they see.” Bred in Kentucky by William A. Branch and Arnold R. Hill, the 5-year-old is out of Lil Nugget, a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner and millionaire Ultra Blend. Dr. Schivel's first two dams are both Grade I producers. Dr. Schivel is the second-highest earner for his sire Violence, a Top 10 General Sire in 2023. In addition to Dr. Schivel, Violence is also represented by the reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Male Forte, a four-time Grade I winner. Violence is also the sire of GISW Volatile, who had yearlings sell for $1,150,000 and $700,000 at the Keeneland September Sale. With a current yearling average of $134,973, Volatile has the third-highest yearling of all first-crop sires. The post MGISW Dr. Schivel to Stand at Taylor Made After BC Sprint Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

His Highness The Aga Khan Studs' draft took pride of place during Tuesday's Goffs Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale. The top two lots bore the forest green blankets and crimson trim of His Highness, as they circled the ring yesterday. Leading proceedings was the 3-year-old New Approach (Ire) colt Kadeen (Ire) (lot 85), who sports one victory–at the Curragh–and four placings in five starts to date. He was picked up by Gordon Elliott and Bective Stud for €100,000. His dam, the listed winner Kadra (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), is from the same family as the top-class Kahyasi (Ire) (Ile De Bourbon)), etc. Second on the list was the 3-year-old colt Zariygann (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) (lot 58), who went to Joe O'Flaherty for €62,000. The bay is a half-brother to multiple Grade 2-winning hurdler Zanahiyr (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who has been placed at the highest table six times. Rathbride Stables' Fernao (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) (lot 97) was sold to Carol Walsh for €55,000, while John McConnell snapped up Churchwarden (Ire) (Parish Hall {Ire}) (lot 33) from Baroda Stud for €54,000. The clearance rate, for the 92 sold of 121 offered, was 76%. They grossed €1,275,700. The average was €13,867 (-18%) and the median was €7,500 (-32%). Said Goffs Group chief executive Henry Beeby, “As is nearly always the case on this day of the year we reflect on a busy and vibrant day of trade for horses-in-training but bemoan the lack of entries. We so want to do more and will continue to strive to grow the catalogue as the time and date makes so much sense with so many overseas buyers combining a visit with our large two-day Autumn Yearling Sale. Goffs HIT is a convenient, low-cost option when compared to the alternative and is promoted around the globe by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing and our network of international agents, but they can only work with what we have which makes it a challenge. That said trade today has been strong for those that stood out and, as ever, we are indebted to the HH Aga Khan draft who have topped the sale with another six-figure winner. “So I make no apology for repeating our annual cry following this sale as we're here, we're keen and everything is in place for today to be the natural choice for Irish horses-in-training but, as with every category, we cannot do it without the horses. The buyers are here as today's results will see horses heading for the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Sweden as well as the UK whilst, of course, many will stay on these shores and the prices exceed expectations in so many cases. So it's really up to Irish owners and trainers to give us the chance as we are confident we will deliver. All that said it is disappointing that the statistics have fallen back although the upper end of the market has proved marginally stronger with a higher top price and more at €50,000 and above. We now turn our attention to yearlings and our two-day Autumn Yearling Sale that is once again packed full of potential and value.” The post Aga Khan Studs’ Draft Popular At Goffs Autumn HIT Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner collapsed following a gallop at Santa Anita Park. His rider was reportedly uninjured. The 3-year-old son of Practical Joke had been entered in the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).View the full article

Cody's Wish aims to defend his title Nov. 4 in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).View the full article

Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo will be scratched from the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), trainer Jena Antonucci said in an interview on the Breeders' Cup social media channel on X.View the full article

Garrard has been named as the official partner of Team British Racing (TBR), the internationally renowned jeweler and Great British Racing International (GBRI) announced on Tuesday. TBR was established by GBRI to highlight the participation and success of British trainers when they have horses competing globally at premier race meetings, with the aim of promoting Britain's world-leading trainers to an international audience. Founded in 1735, Garrard has long been associated with the world of horseracing. Official Trophies and Silverware supplier to Royal Ascot, Britain's most prestigious horse racing event. Garrard crafted the very first Gold Cup in 1842, while they have also been the trophy-maker of choice for the Bahrain International Trophy at one point, as well as the Saudi Cup. The newly branded Team British Racing kit, including the eye-catching Union Jack flag horse rugs featuring Garrard's logo, and will be on display on TBR runners during the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita on Nov. 3-4. Joanne Milner, Chief Executive of Garrard, said, “Ever since our silversmiths crafted the first Gold Cup for Royal Ascot in 1842, Garrard and the world of horseracing have been closely intertwined. As official partner of Team British Racing, we aim to further strengthen Garrard's global ties with this incredible sport.” Rod Street, CEO, Great British Racing International, added, “Garrard are a brilliant and appropriate brand for Team British Racing. Like British racing itself, Garrard has a long-established history steeped in tradition. Its links with some of the world's most prestigious races aligns perfectly with our aims and we look forward to working together to celebrate British-trained success on the world stage.” The post Garrard Named Official Partner Of Team British Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

ARCADIA, CA – As the unbeaten Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) looks to emulate her legendary dam Beholder (Henny Hughes) with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the duo have something else in common that you won't be able to find in Friday's program at Santa Anita. Before heading out to join Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella in Southern California, they were both broken and trained on behalf of Spendthrift Farm at Raul and Martha Reyes's King's Equine in Ocala, Florida. Like mother, like daughter? “Actually, Tamara was a little different as a yearling than Beholder was,” Raul Reyes said. “Tamara was a little bit more of a rebel. She was a little harder to break for a couple of weeks–she had her own mind. Then, she changed and became a regular filly. On the other side, Beholder was very pleasant all the time. She never gave you any trouble.” Reyes continued, “Beholder was a little more stocky and had more muscle. Tamara has really filled out since Mandella has had her.” Tamara is the fourth foal produced by the four-time champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner. Beholder's first two offspring–Q B One (g, 5, by Uncle Mo) and Karin With an I (f, 4, by Curlin)–failed to find the winner's circle and were a combined 0-for-6 at the races. Tamara's 3-year-old half-sister Teena Ella (War Front), winner of this spring's grassy GIII Senorita S. at Santa Anita, became Beholder's first winner as a broodmare in February. Beholder's yearling colt by Curlin, meanwhile, brought a sale-topping $4 million from Zedan Racing at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale this summer. Barren for 2023, Beholder was covered by Jackie's Warrior for next season. Tamara, ears up, toying with the competition in the GI Del Mar Debutante S. | Benoit Reyes and Mandella would often chat about and compare notes on Beholder's offspring during Mandella's visits to King's Equine, Reyes said. Mandella has trained all of Beholder's progeny to date. “I told him that I didn't know how good this filly (Tamara) was going to be, but she sure was better than her siblings,” Reyes said. “I broke all of Beholder's (offspring) and Tamara looked more racey. She breezed way better than all of them–way way better. She used to outrun the company when I used to breeze her here. The filly before her (Teena Ella) won a Grade III and she was O.K. But Tamara was exceptional. We didn't know that she'd go on and win these races like that. But she was the best one of the siblings by far.” Carrying the namesake of B. Wayne Hughes's daughter–sounds like the folks at Spendthrift concurred with Reyes's assessment–Tamara overcame a stumble at the start from her rail draw to launch her career in style with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance at Del Mar Aug. 19. Tamara ran to the billing as the 6-5 favorite and then some with a 6 3/4-length tour de force over 11 rivals in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. Tamara will be heavily favored as she tries two turns for the first time in the Juvenile Fillies. She has been installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite. “The way she runs, she makes you think that she's gonna be alright,” Reyes said. Beholder seeks to become the fifth Breeders' Cup winner to also produce a winner at the two-day Championships. Living the American Dream… Growing up a mile from the racetrack in his native Tijuana, Mexico, Reyes wanted to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, a quarter horse jockey in Texas. Reyes began working on the backstretch at the tender age of 10 back in 1975–yes, you read that correctly–and just six years later, began to pursue his career in the saddle in California. “I came to the United States and worked for a couple of good trainers, but I was too big to be a jockey,” Reyes said. “I had to quit riding when I was like 20. It was hard for me because I couldn't speak English very well. Can you imagine? It's hard enough for an American kid to make it here.” King's Equine's Raul Reyes | Fasig-Tipton Reyes subsequently relocated to Florida to begin training and caught his big break while working the yearling sales for Taylor Made in Kentucky. Everything began to fall into place from there. “They gave me the opportunity of a lifetime,” Reyes said. “That opened my eyes. I learned how to sell horses and how to deal with people. I must say, my friend (Taylor Made's Vice President of Sales) Frank Taylor, he's the one who really made it happen for me. He introduced me to all these good people–the biggest clients in the world all come to Taylor Made. And then I met Wayne. That's really how I got started.” Wayne, of course, is B. Wayne Hughes, the late founder of Spendthrift Farm who passed away in 2021. “We became pretty good friends,” Reyes said. “And we've had pretty good success together. They are great people to work with.” Reyes typically trains approximately 100 head at his 84-acre training center and is also a leading consignor at the 2-year-old-in-training sales. Spendthrift Farm has been a client of his for nearly two decades now. “We try to keep it simple,” Reyes said. “It can get very complicated if you start looking for ways to do it differently. People have been doing this for a 100 years. They say the good things don't change.” In addition to Beholder and Tamara, other King's Equine training graduates include: champion Letruska (Super Saver); MGISW Miss Temple City (Temple City); GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Silver Train (Old Trieste); and GISWs Jimmy Creed (Distorted Humor) and Hit the Road (More Than Ready). King's Equine's 2-year-old sale alumni include: GISW Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) ($200,000 2yo '20 EASMAY); MGSW millionaire Stanford (Malibu Moon) ($550,000 2yo '14 BARMAR); MGSW Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) ($140,000 2yo '17 BARMAR); and GSW and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) ($245,000 2yo '18 OBSMAR). “I've been in Ocala for 25 years already,” Reyes said. “This is a place that's been very good to me. That's a lot of good seasons that I've had here now.” Reyes's 2023 season is about to get even better at 2:40 p.m. PT on Friday afternoon. The post A Pair of Queens for King’s Equine appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jockey Saffie Osborne will not ride the rest of the year due to torn ligaments in her knee sustained in a race fall at the beginning of October, but is planning on returning in January. Osborne has ridden since the incident occurred, however, she has decided to give herself plenty of time off to recover. The 21-year-old rode 70 winners in 2023, including Metier (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) to win the Chester Cup in May. Another highlight was the victory of Random Harvest (Ire) (War Front) in the G3 Valiant S. at Ascot in July. She was also named the top rider in the Racing League for the second year in a row. “It's obviously hugely frustrating to miss any time in the saddle but my knee has been causing me some pain,” said Osborne. “I am hoping to be back riding in January. I'm hugely grateful to all the owners and trainers who have supported me this year and I can't wait to be back riding in 2024.” The post Knee Injury Benches Saffie Osborne Until January appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Under the white-trimmed, navy blue silks of Amerman Racing, will appear Endlessly in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T), a bay colt seeking to duplicate the efforts of his sire seven years ago.View the full article

The Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner collapsed following a gallop at Santa Anita Park. His rider was reportedly uninjured. The 3-year-old son of Practical Joke was entered in the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).View the full article

Cody's Wish aims to defend his title Nov. 4 in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).View the full article

Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo will be scratched from Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), trainer Jena Antonucci said in an interview on the Breeders' Cup social media channel on X.View the full article

German Horse of the Year and established sire Iquitos (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) will move to Gestut Rottgen beginning in 2024, the stud announced on Tuesday. Standing for a partnership of Gestut Ammerland, Gestut Graditz and Mulligan Stable, his fee will be €6,000. A multiple Group 1 winner, the son of Irika (Ger) (Areion {Ger}) has already been represented by Group 3 winner Mr Hollywood (Ire), who was second in the G1 Deutsches Derby, and listed winner and group-placed Drawn To Race (Ger) from his first crop of just five foals who are 3-year-olds. A three-time top-level winner from 2000-2400 metres, Iquitos raced for four seasons internationally in France and Japan and was given a rating of 122 in his 26th and final start when winning the G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern. He began his stallion career at Gestut Ammerland and moved to Gestut Graditz in 2021. “We are thrilled to be able to offer a tough, consistent and high-class racehorse who has made such a good start as a stallion,” said Gestut Rottgen's manager Frank Dorff. “Adlerflug proved to be one of the best middle-distance sires in the world and we look forward to giving Iquitos every chance to follow his sire's path and establish himself as a top sire in Germany and Europe.” The post Iquitos On The Move To Gestut Rottgen appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In a movement spearheaded by Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, a group of 36 prominent horsemen have joined together in support of the fight against antisemitism. The horsemen have pledged a donation of a portion of their Breeders' Cup earnings to the organization Stand Up to Jewish Hate. “Together, we support the fight against Jewish hate and antisemitism and stand with Israel's mission to eliminate all forms of terrorism,” a statement from the group read. “In a united effort, we are committed to donating a portion of earnings from the Breeders' Cup this weekend to benefit Stand Up To Jewish Hate. We welcome everyone from the Thoroughbred Horse Racing community and all its fans to join us. Please visit www.standuptojewishhate.org to learn more or donate.” The statement is signed by: Rory Babich of St. Elias Stables, Craig Bandoroff of Denali Stud, Gary Barber, Antony Beck of Gainesway Farm, Craig Bernick of Glen Hill Farm, Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds LLC, Alex Bregman of Bregman Family Racing LLC, Gary Broad of Walmac Farm, Mark Casse of Casse Racing, Everything's Cricket Racing, Gary Fenton of Little Red Feather Racing, Al Gold of Gold Square, Stuart Grant of The Elkstone Group, Len and Jon Green of DJ Stables, John Heims, Racing Secretary Monmouth Park, Larry Hirsch of Highlander Training Center, Jay Hovdey, Billy Koch of Little Red Feather Racing, Sol Kumin of Madaket Stables, David Levine, Mike Levy of Muirfield Insurance, Michael McCarthy of Michael McCarthy Racing Stable, Peter Miller of Peter Miller Racing Stable, Graham Motion of Herringswell Stables, Todd Pletcher of Todd A. Pletcher Racing Stables, Inc., Jay Privman, Eddie Rosen, The Roth Family of LNJ Stables, Len Scheifler of Pantofel Stable, Brian Spearman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Vinnie Viola of St. Elias Stables, Adam Wachtel of Wachtel Stable, Bradley Weisbord of Elite Sales, Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Steve Weston of Parkland Thoroughbreds and Aron Yagoda. Founded by Robert Kraft, Stand Up to Jewish Hate's mission, according to its website is “to win the hearts and minds of non-Jews and Jews through powerful positive messaging and partnerships, motivating and equipping them to be defenders of and upstanders for the Jewish community.” The post Prominent Horsemen Pledge Breeders’ Cup Earnings to Support Fight Against Antisemitism appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article