Wandering Eyes

In the midst of a Saratoga rainstorm, STARS AND STRIPES (c, 3, Not This Time–Pearl River, by Quality Road) faced winners for the first time and came away with another authoritative win for Bill Mott. The 4-5 favorite, who broke his maiden by 10 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct over a sloppy track June 15, took his time getting into the race until it almost seemed too late as pacesetter Rocketeer (Curlin) had a several-length cushion at the quarter pole. But, once called upon, Stars and Stripes responded with enthusiasm, quickly overhauling the leader and clearing off at will under Jose Lezcano. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-1. O-Frassetto Stables LLC; B-Pam & Martin Wygod; T-Bill Mott. Sales History: $100,000 ylg '23 KEESEP. The post Stars and Stripes Just As Good Against Winners At Saratoga appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse celebrated his 4,000th winner July 17 when It's Witchcraft prevailed in a three-way finish to win the eleventh race at Colonial Downs. View the full article

Ballydoyle's Minnie Hauk (Frankel) looks to have a relatively straightforward task of completing a Classic double in Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks at The Curragh, with three of her six rivals from her own stable. Set to start long odds-on, the Oaks heroine will be joined by Butterfly Wings (Justify), Island Hopping (Wootton Bassett) and Merrily (No Nay Never). Joseph O'Brien re-opposes again with Cayton Park Stud's Oaks fourth Wemightakedlongway (Australia), with the other runners being Craig Bernick's Bay Colony (New Bay) from the Fozzy Stack stable and Newtown Anner Stud Farm's maiden Subsonic (Lope De Vega) from the Johnny Murtagh stable. The post Minnie Hauk Faces Six In The Irish Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Dual Hall-of-Fame Trainer Mark Casse picked up the 4,000th win in his illustrious career when D. J. Stable's It's Witchcraft (Tapit) prevailed by a nose in a three-horse photo finish in the 11th race at Colonial Downs July 17. Assistant Nick Tomlinson posed in the winner's circle with the sign congratulating Casse on the milestone score. Casse was at his Saratoga base where he had numerous chances to pick up the win there. “That was a close one. It's unbelievable to me to be honest. 4,000 that's a lot of wins and I joked that that means I lost a lot (of races), too,” Casse said from Saratoga. “For someone like me, who has spent my entire life–this is all I've ever done, this is the cherry on top. I told my wife I'd retire if hit 5,000–she doesn't believe me, so I said maybe 6,000.” The score was also number 2,600 for owner D.J. Stable, who have teamed with Casse on runners like champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief), GSW Webslinger (Constitution) and MGSW Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro). 11th-Colonial Downs, $73,200, Alw, 7-17, (NW2L), 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:37.48, fm, nose. IT'S WITCHCRAFT (f, 3, Tapit–Lady's Island {MGSW, $665,575}, by Greatness) became Mark Casse's 4,000th career winner Thursday in dramatic fashion at Colonial Downs. This seven-figure daughter of Tapit, who earned a black-type placing as a juvenile in the Our Dear Peggy Stakes at Gulfstream over he same distance, was coming off back to back stakes runs and was last fourth going 1/16th longer in the Martha Washington at Gulfstream June 7. Cutting back to the mile Thursday and racing without blinkers, It's Witchcraft split the field around the clubhouse turn before making headway towards the front to challenge for the lead past the half-mile pole in :49.90. Caught between runners in a thrilling stretch duel, It's Witchcraft just prevailed by the narrowest of margins over Ambaya (Ghostzapper) to give Casse the win. The first foal out of MGSW Lady's Island who herself RNA'd at KEENOV in 2023 for $575,000, It's Witchcraft has three full-brothers all still to race behind her. Lady's Island went back to Tapit for another full-sibling in 2026. Sales History: $1,100,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: SP, 9-2-2-1, $124,833. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-D. J. Stable LLC; B-Gainesway Thoroughbreds LTD. (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. Trainer @markecasse gets his 4,000th career win! It's Witchcraft gets the headbob in R11 at @colonialdowns! @jockeygallardo was aboard. #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/OgauB1l3Sq — TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) July 17, 2025 The post It’s Witchcraft Gives Trainer Mark Casse His 4,000th Career Win In Dramatic Fashion At Colonial appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A dual graded stakes winner and millionaire, Scylla will try for her first win in more than a year when she battles Jody's Pride, R Disaster, and other female sprinters in the $200,000 Honorable Miss Stakes (G2) July 20 at Saratoga Race Course.View the full article

Darby Dan Farm's first-year stallion Blazing Sevens, a Classic-placed son of Good Magic and impressive winner of the Champagne Stakes (G1) at 2, will be shuttling to Chile for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season.View the full article

Five weeks ago, Miller Racing's Dazzling Move (Not This Time) and Alpha Delta's Raging Sea (Curlin), sent off at 12-1 and even-money respectively, met in a sloppy renewal of GI Ogden Phipps and it was the less fancied filly that finished best of the two, placing 4 3/4 lengths behind winner Dorth Vader (Girvin). Meanwhile, this season's GI La Troienne winner Raging Sea found herself 1 3/4 lengths behind the runner up that day, but has shown a definite affinity for the upstate New York oval, having won three of seven lifetime starts there while hitting the board in an additional two attempts. The pair return to Saratoga to face off in Friday's GII Shuvee Stakes. “That was terrific,” trainer Chad Brown of the La Troienne effort. “She came off a layoff and ran super. She's in great form right now and training really well.” Of her last out defeat, he explained, “Last time, on that wet track, it was speed favoring, and it didn't really set up for her. If there's some speed in the race and, hopefully, we catch a drier track, that would be great.” Brown, who also won this event with Paid Up Subscriber (2017) and Royal Flag (2021), will also send out the lightly-raced Prides Crossing (Quality Road), who makes her stakes debut for owner OXO Equine. Benefitting from the lack of pace in the Ogden Phipps, Dazzling Move won Gulfstream's 1 1/16-mile Royal Delta in her first start for Saffie Joseph Jr. before finishing fifth in the seven-panel GI Madison at Keeneland. The 4-year-old Ontario bred finished runner-up in the Allaire duPont Distaff going nine furlongs at Pimlico prior to her Ogden Phipps effort. Elliot Campbell and Gary Capuano's Malibu Beauty (Buffum) enters the fray off a pair of recent victories, including the June 14 Obeah Stakes at Delaware. “She's come back this year really running well. She's had two really good races,” said Capuano, who sends out his first Spa starter since Grundlefoot ran sixth in the 2002 Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap. “It looks like she's on top of her game and we thought we'd give it a shot and see if we can get some graded black type on her.” The post Raging Sea, Dazzling Moon Re-Engage in Friday’s Shuvee appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Kokura and Hakodate Racecourses: Saturday, July 19, 2025 5th-KOK, ¥14,250,000 ($96k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200mT OUT THE LAW (c, 2, Tiz the Law–Davida, by Animal Kingdom) is closely related to Social Code (Constitution), twice stakes-placed in Canada this season, and is out of an unraced daughter of SW & MGSP Beyond The Waves (Ocean Crest), whose seven winners from eight to the races includes Horse of the Year and five-time Grade I winner Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway), now a sire in Japan, as well as MSW Beyond Smart (Smart Strike) and GSW Emerald Beech (Maria's Mon). A $12,000 Keeneland November weanling, Out the Law was sold on for ¥11 million ($68,391) at the Hokkaido Selection Yearling Sale last July. Narvick International purchased Davida for $30,000 at KEENOV in 2023 and the mare foaled a full-brother to Out the Law in Japan last March. O-Mire Racing; B-CHC Inc (KY); T-Kenta Fujino. Sunday, July 20, 2025 4th-HAK, ¥10,600,000 ($71k), Maiden, 3yo, 1700m DANON RUSSELL (c, 3, American Pharoah–Snowy Winter, by Elusive Quality) is out of a stakes-winning and Group 1-placed dam who was led out unsold on a bid of $625,000 in foal to Gun Runner at Keeneland January in 2023 just before this colt was hammered down for $225,000. Sold to John McCormack for $650,000 the following September, the March foal is a maternal grandson of SW & GSP Pamona Ball (Pleasantly Perfect), also the dam of GSW Pamina (Street Cry {Ire}) and MSW Hieronymus (Giralamo). Snowy Winter changed hands for $570,000 at Fasig-Tipton November in 2023 and the Not This Time colt she was carrying at the time fetched $400,000 at FTKNOV last fall. The aforementioned Gun Runner colt was RNAd for $400,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale. Rachel King, who rode American Pharoah's son Luxor Cafe to victory in the Listed Hyacinth Stakes this past February, has the call for the latter's conditioner Noriyuki Hori. O-Danox Co Ltd; B-Barronstown Stud (KY); T-Noriyuki Hori The post Expensive American Pharoah Colt Makes Belated First Start at Hakodate 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-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features a daughter of a Group 1 winner. 5.15 Newmarket, Novice, £10,000, 2yo, f, 7fT QUADRILLION (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is the second foal out of Juddmonte's G1 Fillies' Mile heroine Quadrilateral (Frankel) and a key member of Harry Charlton's two-year-old crew. From the Hasili dynasty, the homebred encounters another potentially classy Kingman in Prince Faisal's Celestra (Fr), one of the Gosdens' armada who has the benefit of experience having been runner-up at Haydock on debut. 3.00 Newbury, Novice, £12,000, 2yo, 7fT MORBEH (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is one of the eye-catchers in a fascinating contest, being Shadwell's first foal out of their Group 3 winner and G1 Prix Vermeille runner-up Raabihah (Sea The Stars). Roger Varian introduces the newcomer in the race won in recent times by Chaldean, Reach For The Moon and Bayside Boy, with Godolphin's Ruler Of Time (Not This Time) another notable as a $700,000 Keeneland September purchase whose family features Monceaux Stable's bigwig Naissance Royale. The post Newmarket Debut For Quadrillion, Juddmonte’s Daughter Of Quadrilateral appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Leopardstown's opening mile maiden on Thursday has produced some important fillies of late and Kingman's Queen Of Hawaii could belong among them after taking the latest renewal with authority. Whether she will follow in the steps of the last three winners Opera Singer, Swelter and Caroline Street remains to be seen, but there was a lot to like about the way Philip Antonacci's half-sister to the dual Group-placed Up And Under (Lope De Vega) went about her business. “She had a lovely run the first day in a strong maiden and we thought she would enjoy going a mile,” trainer Joseph O'Brien said of the 100-30 shot. “I have her in here next week, but it's probably unlikely that she will come back here for the [G3] Silver Flash. We could go for the [G2] Debutante, as there aren't that many options at a mile for two-year-old fillies at the moment.” Sixth on debut in the Curragh maiden won by Ballydoyle's Composing last month, Queen Of Hawaii was more alert this time shadowing the leader Minerva (Frankel). Swamping that rival passing two out, she stayed on powerfully to score by 2 1/2 lengths with another 4 1/4 lengths back to Josh's Joy (Wootton Bassett), the newcomer named after Taylor Made's Josh Bryan. The post Kingman’s Debutante-Bound Queen Of Hawaii In Control Of Key Leopardstown Maiden appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A total of 190 horses have been catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton July Digital Sale, which is now open for bidding and will close Tuesday, July 22, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The catalogue, featuring horses of racing age, breeding stock–including mares with foals at foot–one weanling and yearlings, may be viewed online at digital.fasigtipton.com. Nearly 60% of those catalogued are racing stock, with more than 100 horses of racing age and 2-year-old racing prospects. These include five recent debut winning 2-year-olds. Among the featured offerings are hip 6, Fancy Love (Not For Love) from the consignment of Hartwell Farm, agent. The 13-year-old mare, offered in foal to Eclipse Award winner Arcangelo on a May 22 cover, is the dam of recent Bashford Manor Stakes hero Romeo (Honor A. P.), who sold for $1.7 million to top the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale on July 8. Produced by a half-sister to champion Midshipman (Unbridled's Song), GSW Fast Cookie (Deputy Minister)–the dam of GISW sire Frosted (Tapit)–and SW & GSP Regia Marina (Medaglia d'Oro), Fancy Rose is herself kin to SP Addison Run (Unbridled's Song), dam of MGISP Gouvernor Morris (Constitution) and MGSP Final Jeopardy (Street Sense). Fancy Rose sells with her Oscar Performance filly foaled Apr. 11. Taylor Made consigns hip 10, Lulu's Pom Pom (Pomeroy), to the July Digital Sale. The half-sister to the talented turf sprinter Disco Partner (Disco Rico) and SW Straight Arrow (Arrogate) is the dam of Lennilu (Leinster), winner of the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies and a cracking third in the G2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. Other potential highlights include: Hip 1, Day and Age (Omaha Beach), perfect in two starts since switching to the turf, including a June 13 Santa Anita allowance for which he was awarded an 86 Beyer Speed Figure. He holds an entry for Friday's Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar; Hip 15, Orderofthephoenix (Ire) (Phoenix of Spain {Ire}), a racing/broodmare prospect who won a six-furlong allowance/optional claimer over the Woodbine Tapeta June 3; Spectacular Grey (Not This Time) (Hip 30), who drew off impressively to win her maiden at first asking by nearly eight lengths at Monmouth Park on July 12 (video), earning 'TDN Rising Star' honors. “This is a phenomenal catalogue,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. “We have over 100 horses of racing age and racing prospects catalogued, eligible for a variety of conditions coast-to-coast as well as ship-and-win programs. “Not to be overlooked, however, is the strength of breeding stock on offer,” added Aaron. “Buyers do not need to wait until November to find collector quality breeding stock, as we have it on offer right now, including graded stakes producers and a sibling to a current undefeated 2-year-old.” The post Dams of Stakes-Winning Romeo, Lennilu Feature In Fasig-Tipton July Digital Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced juveniles from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes, sponsored by OBS Sales, highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, including links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Friday at Saratoga and for opening day of the season at Del Mar. Friday, July 18, 2025 Saratoga 6, $90k, 2yo, (S), 5 1/2f, 3:57 p.m. Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze Cerro Rico (Yaupon), OBSMAR, 230,000, :10 C-Grade One Investments; B-J Migliore for S Rocco & Adelphi Sunday Boy (Central Banker), OBSMAR, 65,000, :10 3/5 C-Top Line Sales LLC; B-Joseph DiRico Del Mar 7, $100k, 2yo, f, (S), 5f, 8:00 p.m. Blame It On Abby (Blame), OBSAPR, 60,000, :10 C-Eddie Woods, agent; B-Peter Miller The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: Friday, July 18, 2025 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In an effort to give young fans an “inside” look at the game, Del Mar launches 'Paddock Pals'–an up-close-and-personal session in the paddock on race days. Beginning Saturday, July 19, the program will see a Del Mar staff member randomly select a youngster and their family out of the crowd and accompany them into the paddock prior to certain races throughout the summer season. There the “Pal” will be in close proximity to the Thoroughbred racehorses as they are saddled up for their impending activity, listen in on chats between owners and trainers and interact with jockeys in their colorful silks as they prepare to mount up and ride. As the horses head out to the racetrack, the “Pal” will receive a final memento prior to heading back to their seat to watch 'their' race unfold–a set of official jockey goggles. “Lots of racing fans will tell you that they first learned to love the game in their youth when they went racing with their parents, family or friends,” said Del Mar's president Josh Rubinstein. “We want kids throughout the summer to not only enjoy the general experience at Del Mar, but also have a unique encounter that they can carry forward forever.” Rubinstein credits Aron Wellman, the head of the highly successful ownership group Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, with triggering the idea. Del Mar's 31-day meet continues through Sunday, September 7. The post Del Mar Kicks Off ‘Paddock Pals’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

GI Preakness hero Journalism (Curlin) headlines NBC Sports' live coverage of the “Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In” $1-million GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes on Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock from Monmouth Park. The winner of the eight-horse field will earn an automatic berth into this year's $7-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Saturday's live coverage will also include the 1 3/8-mile, $600,000 GII United Nations Stakes on turf. NBC Sports' coverage will feature host Britney Eurton, analysts Randy Moss and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, handicapper Eddie Olczyk, and reporter Nick Luck. The post Monmouth’s Haskell to Air Live on NBC, Peacock Saturday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Long Shadows Farm and ACTT Naturally will host visiting hours and tours every Tuesday, 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM, from July 22 through Aug. 26. Located 30 minutes from Saratoga Springs, in Cambridge, New York, Long Shadows Farm is the center to a pair of Thoroughbred aftercare programs: Long Shadows Charitable Foundation and ACTT Naturally. The Tuesday tours will include demonstrations in Thoroughbred retraining, introductions to retired Thoroughbred racehorses, and presentations about Thoroughbred aftercare and second careers for Thoroughbred racehorses. “Many Thoroughbreds are not immediately ready for second careers, or they may never be,” said Quinn Porter, Equine Care Manager and trainer for Long Shadows. “At Long Shadows, we give the Thoroughbreds the time they need before starting a second career or settling into a herd environment for lifetime sanctuary. We look forward to sharing our rehabilitation and retraining model with interested visitors and introducing them to our friendly horses.” Every Tuesday, training demonstrations will take place at 11:00 am and 1:30 pm, followed by a question-and-answer session. Farm tours will depart at 12:00 pm and 2:30 pm. Visitors are required to register in advance by email (Valerie@acttnaturally.org), call 518-928-6161, or by visiting www.acttnaturally.org or www.LongShadowsHorses.org. Donations, to be shared equally among the two charities, are encouraged. The post Long Shadow Farm, ACTT Naturally to Offer Saratoga Dark Day Tours appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After Book'em Danno won the True North Stakes, Mark Rubenstein and his partners in Atlantic Six Racing have brought the 4-year-old back to Saratoga for the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G2). The field also includes grade one winners Nakatomi and Mullikin.View the full article

Del Mar will begin a new effort to give its youthful fans an inside look at the game with an up-close-and-personal session in the paddock on race days starting July 20.View the full article

Tara Stud might be yet to find a buyer, but there has been a significant sale to report among the equine inhabitants of the historic farm, with Derek Iceton confirming on Thursday that star producer Dettoria has been sold to Brighton and Hove Albion owner/chairman Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy. Already the dam of the G3 Prix Fille de l'Air winner Higher Leaves (Golden Horn) and GIII Honeymoon Stakes heroine Selenaia (Sea The Moon), Dettoria has come good again this year with the two-year-old Do Or Do Not. Though yet to win a race from four starts, the son of Space Blues showed a smart level of ability when finishing second in the G2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, before filling the same position in last week's G2 July Stakes at Newmarket. Dettoria's yearling filly, also by Space Blues, was another to make headlines when fetching €150,000 at the Goffs February Sale, shortly after which time some big players came calling. “An offer came in and it was a proper offer,” says Iceton, who added Dettoria to the Tara Stud ranks when she was picked up for just 12,000gns at the 2018 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. “At the end of the day, I'm a commercial breeder and commercial breeders have to do the commercial thing. I was very sorry to see her leave, because those mares don't come around too often. She's a proper mare and a very nice person as well, if that makes sense. I was really, really sorry to see her go – my wife hasn't forgiven me, I can tell you! But I'll go and do my best to replace her.” Whilst it clearly pained him to part with Dettoria, who has done so much to keep the respected Tara Stud name in lights in recent years, Iceton is at peace with the decision in the knowledge that he's giving the mare the best possible chance of achieving further success. Of course, the injection of cash was very difficult to turn down, too, certainly in the current economic climate where many breeders will be all too familiar with the “struggle” Iceton depicts. He continues, “You can't keep them all and I have to stay in business. She [Dettoria] needed to go to a proper stallion and the cost of those stallions has got prohibitive for a regular breeder. And there's a level of risk subsequent to that, with horses going off the boil as quickly as they've come on to the boil. You're getting into very deep water when you have a proper mare like that. “As a small breeder, it's just not quite so simple at the moment. You certainly get the feeling that some small breeders don't get the rub of the green with the sales companies and are put into the lesser sales. It's a struggle. I hope I have the next Dettoria coming along, but I'm struggling this year to get a yearling into a proper sale. Then I guarantee you I'll look at catalogues in October and I'll see the progeny of 12- or 13-year-old mares who haven't produced a winner. “I'm just glad she was bought by somebody who was going to cover her properly,” he adds of Dettoria's new owners, who have already celebrated a lucrative windfall with a member of this family, having won last year's A$10-million Golden Eagle with the mare's half-brother, Lake Forest (No Nay Never). “I believe she's in foal to Lope De Vega. I know her progeny will go to the best of trainers and good luck to them all. There was nobody jumping up and down more than me when I saw the Space Blues colt [Do Or Do Not] doing so well in those good races. I enjoyed it as much as if I still owned the mare.” Not quite so enjoyable for Iceton was the experience of watching Do Or Do Not go through the sales ring. Having failed to find a buyer at 65,000gns when offered at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, he again proved not to everybody's taste when Whatton Manor Stud brought him back to Park Paddocks for Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale, much to Iceton's dismay. “We struggled to get 75,000gns for him and that was with everything going well,” Iceton recalls. “He vetted absolutely perfectly and Higher Leaves, his sister, had done well. At the time she looked like she could be a Group 1 filly – and she might be yet. “[Whatton Manor's] Ed Player, who I have great time and respect for, told me, 'We're not going too well here.' I couldn't believe it. Thankfully, Ed Sackville bought him, but walking into the sale that day in Newmarket, I was a very lonely seller. “People just didn't play on him and he was bought for little more than the reserve. Anything much less than that, I would have put him in training myself.” It was an altogether different story when Do Or Do Not's year-younger sibling went under the hammer at Goffs back in February. Never one to follow the crowd, owner Clive Washbourn shocked everyone by instructing Oghill House Stud's John Hyland to get the bidding underway at €100,000. “Jesus, I'll tell you one thing, I thought that was going to be it,” says Iceton. “But he knew what the reserve was, that's what my reserve was at the time, and he bid me fairly. I'm just damn glad somebody else went toe to toe with him for a while. I got a decent price on the day and I was delighted with who bought her. I don't know him, but I admire him from afar. He's a very colourful man and I wish him nothing but the very best of luck as well.” He adds, “I knew the colt [Do Or Do Not] was with a proper trainer [Ed Walker] and they were very happy with him. He was only a youngster, but he had the right attitude and they liked him. That's why I wasn't going to give the filly away, either. A 100,000 grand reserve on a 12 grand cover is not something I would normally do, but it all worked out, anyway.” It all worked out in more ways than one, with a twist of fate ensuring that Iceton headed to Goffs earlier this year with another exciting youngster by Space Blues out of Dettoria in tow. A return visit to the Darley stallion hadn't been the original plan, Iceton reports, but circumstances dictated that Dettoria was on her way to Kildangan Stud at short notice. “To tell you the truth, the mare was to be covered by something in England, but when she was due for covering, the stallion had been kicked or something,” Iceton explains. “The mare was to leave at sort of 6 o'clock in the evening, but then I got the phone call to say the stallion was off games the next day. “The mare needed covering, so I rang Darley. I quite liked the foal I had, and Space Blues was available, so I ended up going back. Normally, I would never have done that, but the mare was in season and I didn't want to be waiting another three weeks to go to England when the stallion had hopefully recovered. We had to do a quick runaround and that's what happened – sometimes these things are for luck.” With Dettoria having been barren last year, Iceton's direct involvement with the mare and her progeny is now at an end, but he'll always count himself lucky to have had the daughter of Declaration Of War come into his life, following a moment of inspiration when she appeared at Tattersalls as an unraced three-year-old nearly seven years ago. “It's quite incredible, when you compare the pedigree when we bought her and the pedigree today,” Iceton continues. “Various people had half-sisters and they were breeding them to good stallions. I like buying fillies from good breeders and some of them stick, some of them don't. Another one of my other mares [Nurse Nightingale] is a half-sister to four black-type horses. She was a filly who I bought from the Gredleys for 15,000gns. “I liked Dettoria a lot, but something has to give when you're buying these fillies. You can't have performance, pedigree, looks and everything. When you're in the commercial world, you have to give on something. But over the last number of years, I've been very lucky in what I've bred – most years we breed a Group 1 performer.” Iceton clearly has no intention of letting that impressive record slide, but it remains to be seen how long Tara Stud itself will be a part of that vision. The operation will move to Skryne Castle Farm on the same site if and when a sale is completed, after the Tara farm went on the market in September last year. Iceton, whose family have been at the helm of Tara Stud for 80 years, adds, “There's quite a high reserve on it, but we've had a lot of interest. It's a proper farm and, like I say, nearly every year we produce a Group 1 horse. Not many farms can say that. It's one big lump of proper land, so it's not something that's going to be good for everybody, but when someone comes along who wants to breed good horses on good land, it'll be there waiting for them.” The post Tara Stud’s ‘Proper Mare’ Dettoria Sold to Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Monmouth Park's $1,000 Haskell Handicapping Challenge returns Saturday July 19. In 2024, the contest awarded 10 seats to the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC), two seats to the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) and $50,000 cash. The Haskell Challenge can be played online through ADW partners Xpressbet, TVG and 4NJBETS. Players competing through TVG and 4NJBETS must pre-register with tournament director Brian Skirka by 3 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, July 18. Xpressbet players may pre-register with Skirka or sign up directly through Xpressbet up until 12 noon on contest day. Per contest rules there is a maximum of two entries per person. A player's $1,000 buy-in is broken down into a $500 bankroll and $500 to the prize pool. All players must bet a minimum of five races at $100 apiece. Win, place, show, exacta and doubles are permitted. All Monmouth Park live races make up the wagering menu. For players looking to win their win into the Haskell Handicapping Challenge, feeder contests are available on www.horsetourneys.com through Friday, July 18. The post Monmouth’s Haskell Handicapping Challenge Returns appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Alan Foreman has been named the recipient of the Dr. J. David Richardson Industry Service Award, according to a Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association release Thursday. Foreman will be honored at the 2025 TOBA National Awards on Sept. 6 at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Kentucky. “I am immensely honored to receive this award named for my friend Dr. J. David Richardson,” said Foreman. “I have been fortunate in my career in racing to have earned the respect and trust of so many owners, trainers, riders, industry stakeholder organizations, regulators and legislators, all of whom have given me the opportunity to lead and hopefully make a difference. I share this honor with all of them. I started in this industry working with its people, the backbone of the business. This eventually led me to devote my energies to protecting the health, safety and welfare of the horse and the future of our industry. The challenges today are great, and we must all continue to work collectively to ensure the future of our sport. The Thoroughbred industry is a part of our nation's heritage, and we need to do everything we can to preserve and protect it.” Foreman served as a former Maryland Assistant Attorney General and counsel to the Maryland Racing Commission. Establishing his own law firm in 1991, Foreman was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to the New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety that studied 21 equine fatalities at Aqueduct in 2011-2012 and he co-authored the report. Founder and current chair of the Mid-Atlantic Strategic Plan to Reduce Equine Fatalities, he was named the national Ombudsman to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit in 2023. In 2014, he was appointed by Governor Cuomo to serve on a New York Task Force on Jockey Health and Safety. Earlier in his career he was responsible for the creation of the Maryland Jockey Injury Compensation Fund. Additionally, he is the founder of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and creator of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship Series (MATCH Series). He was a part of a group that designed the concept plan for the redevelopment of Maryland's racetracks and the transfer of track ownership to an industry led non-profit entity. He was also appointed by Maryland Governor Wes Moore to the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority. Currently, Foreman currently serves as counsel to many racing industry and equine organizations, is chairman and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and vice-chairman of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. Tickets for the TOBA Awards Dinner and ceremony are available online https://wedoauctions.com/tickets/toba25/tickets The post Foreman Honored with TOBA’s Dr. J. David Richardson Industry Service Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Pyrenees (Into Mischief–Our Khrysty, by Newfoundland), winner of the GIII Pimlico Special Stakes and runner-up in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2024, will take up stallion duty at Aboreum Farm in the Republic of Korea, according to a Blue Heaven Farm release Thursday. Pyrenees, who retired in May, was bred and campaigned by Adam Corndorf and his mother, Bonnie Baskin, under their Blue Heaven Farm banner. “We're excited to welcome Pyrenees to Aboreum Farm's stallion roster for the next season. Aboreum is home to Concord Point, one of Korea's leading sires, and second-season stallion West Will Power. With his strong female family, proven race record, and physical, we believe he's an ideal fit for the Korean market. He will also be the first son of Into Mischief to stand in Korea. Special thanks to Blue Heaven Farm and our agent Jun Park for facilitating the deal,” said Aboreum Farm's stallion manager, Young Sam Kim. A homebred son of Grade III winner Our Khrysty, purchased by Blue Heaven for $600,000 in foal to Tiznow at the 2011 FasigTipton November Sale, Pyrenees won last year's Pimlico Special before finishing runner-up in the GI Stephen Foster. He was beaten four lengths in second in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. He was retired with a record of 4-3-1 from 11 starts and earnings of $786,316 for trainer Cherie DeVaux. The post GSW Pyrenees to Stand in Korea appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

If the field for the $600,000 United Nations Stakes (G2T) has a familiar ring to it, then you have an excellent memory.View the full article

Last month, Rhodes College economics professors Marshall Gramm and Nick McKinney published in these pages a study showing the estimated impacts at Aqueduct over the past four winters from CAW players during the last cycle. They found that since 2022, the percentage share from last cycle monies wagered into the Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Early Pick 5 pools (among others), had grown significantly. There was a problem, however, with the study: unbeknownst to Gramm and McKinney, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) had switched to a new Tote operator in the fall of 2023, leading to what the organization said were “material differences” in how the pool cycles are managed. With this new Tote operator came an extension to the last cycle from 10 seconds to 30 seconds. And so, how does this operational change alter Gramm and McKinney's findings? Updated Numbers According to Gramm, the estimated percentage share from CAW players of monies wagered into the Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Early Pick 5 pools at the last cycle (now moved to 30 seconds) has increased noticeably since 2022, though not quite at such marked rates as when the last cycle is calculated at 10 seconds. He found that the estimated increase in CAW participation in these pools is significantly higher than that seen in the Win, Late Pick Five, and Pick Six pools, for which NYRA has taken tough steps in recent years to curb CAW play. The largest apparent increase in last cycle money occurred in the Place pool (a 23.2% increase since 2022), and the Show pool (a 22.7% increase since 2022), according to Gramm. While Gramm and McKinney's work has focused on NYRA, the issues they've found are very much applicable industrywide. For insights into what this revised data means both locally and nationally, the TDN spoke with three influential figures from the world of gambling. In short, NYRA's efforts in recent years to curb CAW play remains something of a nationwide model that more tracks should be mirroring, they say. Still, much more needs to be done overall to need to better manage CAW play (especially in the exotics) while at the same time incentivizing retail players. Maury Woolf Maury Woolf is a retired professional gambler who has watched CAW teams significantly magnify their footprint over the years on horse racing's gambling landscape. “The question is, what does the industry want to do about this?” said Woolf, who is critical of the measures the broader industry has taken to manage CAW play. “Basically, the only handle they're confident they can grow is with the [CAW] groups, and so, they're catering to them in every legal way they can,” Woolf added. The main takeaway from the study is clear, Woolf said-these teams are being allowed to exert too great an influence on the betting pools, to the detriment of a healthy wagering marketplace. But what should the industry be doing to better manage it? In an ideal world, takeout would be reduced for all, so that the CAW teams wouldn't have their “pricing advantage,” said Woolf. And if the takeout was priced correctly, “there wouldn't be any need for rebates,” he added. Another reason to reduce takeout? “Outside of the lottery, racing is effectively the most expensive gambling product on the market,” Woolf said. At the same time, the tracks should, at the very least, adopt the same steps NYRA has taken to curb CAW play in the Win, Late Pick Five, and Pick Six pools, Woolf said, and do more to keep the CAW teams out of the exotic bets where they're cannibalizing the retail players. Not only that but shout these changes from the rooftop. “The win pool at NYRA is the best in the business,” said Woolf. “I just wish they'd promote that more than they do,” he added. “If I were running NYRA, every time there was a terrific win price against an Exacta that's way shorter than the win pool price, I'd be saying, 'hey, look at this, it's paying X dollars to win.'” Jerry Brown Jerry Brown, president of Thoro-Graph which sells high-end handicapping data to big bettors-and someone currently involved in litigation with NYRA on a non-CAW related matter-sees the findings of Gramm's and McKinney's paper as applicable to the industry nationwide. Brown pointed to the standard practice of issuing handle numbers from a meet rather than revenues-in other words, the amount of money the tracks and the horsemen keep-describing this as a way of shielding from public view the hard financial impacts to the industry from increasing CAW play. “What the industry makes from a dollar wagered from CAW is about one-third what it makes from a dollar wagered by conventional handicappers. And so, even if you're replacing dollar-for-dollar what you're losing [from retail play] with CAW play, in terms of revenue, you're only getting one-third of what you otherwise would,” said Brown. As a general rule-of-thumb, said Brown, CAW handle as a percentage of overall handle comes out to about one-third nationwide-a figure that's too high, said Brown (though obviously that can change track to track and from pool-to-pool-midway through Santa Anita's last meet, it reportedly came out to about 20%). Tracks can reduce CAW play “significantly,” said Brown, by following and broadening the steps NYRA has already taken in its Win, Late Pick Five, and Pick Six pools, potentially cutting the rebates they receive, so the tracks make more on each dollar bet. “Retail players are losing the money that caw is winning, which in the long run is unsustainable. Whether it's by having some pools restricted to retail [players], or by lowering the edge CAWs have in existing pools by cutting down rebates or by shutting them out of the pools at two or three minutes to post time, you have to reduce their play, but you don't necessarily have to eliminate their play,” said Brown, pointing out how even under restrictions, some caw teams will still be able to show a profit. “Instead of a 5% advantage on the game,” he said, “they might have a 2% advantage.” Brown said that he also understands the predicament racetracks now find themselves-that if they cut CAW play cold-turkey, they run the very real risk of driving away a key customer base, which is why he suggests tracks take these steps in incremental fashion, gradually winding back the damage done. “Cutting them off cold will cause handle figures to drop off precipitously, which racetrack executives don't want because it looks like they let business drop under their watch,” said Brown. “So, what you have to do is take incremental steps.” At the same time, Brown raised potential conflict-of-interest issues, arguing that NYRA is a not-for-profit corporation that's “supposedly serving the people of New York state,” and yet is a co-owner with The Stronach Group of Elite Turf Club, the largest CAW wagering platform in the country. “By giving the guys [CAW players] an advantage, they are giving the regular New Yorkers a disadvantage, because they're playing against them. But what makes it much worse is that they own a part of Elite, whose entire reason for existing is to facilitate caw,” said Brown. “If that's not a conflict of interest, I don't know what is.” Nick Tammaro Nick Tammaro is a long-time horseplayer and public handicapper. As he describes it, NYRA cutting off the last cycle at 30 seconds (as opposed to 10 seconds) is something of a step backwards that makes price discovery more difficult for the average punter. “The longer the cycle the worse it is for optics,” he said. In terms of curbing the impact from these teams, Tammaro said he'd like to see a cap on CAW play as a percentage of overall handle at each cycle. “For example, if you're at zero minutes to post, but you're at Tote-cycle A, you can only bet 20 percent of what's in there. If you're at Tote-cycle B, you can only bet 20 percent of what's in there,” said Tammaro. “Something along those lines.” As for incentivizing retail play, Tammaro pointed (like Woolf) to overall reduced takeout, and he suggested giving retail bettors the mechanism to batch-bet on an ADW platform in the same fashion for CAW players on their wagering platforms. “I have a friend who is about 30. He put together a small Pick Six model. He's the kind of guy that would love to be able to batch bet, but he's limited by what [his ADW] will take from a rank-and-file player,” said Tammaro. “If he had the ability to send in more bets, he would certainly make more of them,” Tammaro added. Retail players should also be given access to a larger, more comprehensive rebate system than is currently the case, said Tammaro. “If you're playing with an ADW, you should have access to at least a very basic rebate system. I don't think there's any harm in that whatsoever,” said Tammaro, adding that such a scheme would generate more play. “It's a pretty safe bet that if you're an ADW and you have anybody that bets six figures a year, if you put them into a system where they're eligible to earn up to five percent in the form of a rebate, you and I both know they're betting that money right back in. They're not withdrawing that money,” he said. And lastly, said Tammaro, racetracks can do much better at explaining and calculating projected odds. “Take last week, for example. The computed odds in the Acorn Belmont Daily-Double, which is a two-day wager, made it look like Baeza could possibly have been favorite [in the Belmont],” said Tammaro, who spoke in the aftermath of the Belmont Stakes. “That was an inefficient pool where he [Baeza] clearly got a lot of recreational money,” Tammaro added. “But when all was said and done, he was a distant third choice.” NYRA Response In a recent segment on the TDN Writers' Room, NYRA CEO and president David O'Rourke broached the CAW question by arguing that any serious, strategic approach to managing CAW play needs to be industrywide. “We need throttle controls” agreed upon across the industry as to “how much we're going to allow them in,” in terms of “pace” and percentage of pools, he said. “If we can get consistency from each of the major content providers, I think then you start to get control of the situation,” said O'Rourke. Is the industry ready for this? “I think we need to push it, and I think I should be on a couple of panels, and other people should be on them as well, pushing what we as an industry and as a group agree on what makes sense here,” O'Rourke replied. The TDN additionally posed some of the points and criticisms posed above to NYRA, which issued the following statement. “NYRA has a record of prioritizing the interests of the everyday horseplayer by actively restricting the involvement of CAW groups within our wagering pools. “In addition to the establishment of retail only multi-race wagers, NYRA's policy on CAW groups in the win pool has eliminated the dramatic late odds shifts that had become a source of frustration to betters in New York and around the country. Looking forward, NYRA is developing technology to empower retail players by providing access to high-speed order execution and sophisticated wagering models designed to enhance the horseplayer's toolkit,” wrote NYRA spokesperson, Pat McKenna. “These actions represent an approach designed to achieve a sustainable and healthy balance between professional gamblers and the wagering public.” The post CAW Analysis of Gramm, McKinney Findings: “What does the industry want to do about this?” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Windsor Castle Stakes third Rogue Legend (Havana Grey), who American owner John Stewart swooped in to buy on the eve of Royal Ascot, has been transferred from Paddy Twomey to continue his career with Wesley Ward. Rogue Legend was purchased by Twomey initially on behalf of the Rogues Gallery for just 55,000gns at Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. After making a promising debut at Cork, he confirmed himself one of the fastest juveniles in training in Ireland with impressive wins at Cork and Tipperary before being snapped up by Stewart of Resolute Racing to run at the Royal meeting. Rogue Legend lost little in defeat in the Windsor Castle, dead-heating with Azizam for third position under Billy Lee, two lengths behind the winner Havana Hurricane. Confirming the stable switch, Stewart posted on X, “Rogue Legend has arrived @keeneland in the barn of Wesley Ward. Which jockey should be riding this speedster on his debut?” The post Resolute Racing’s Rogue Legend Switched From Paddy Twomey To Wesley Ward appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

by Michael Guerin New Zealand’s best pacing mare is set to add her stamp of class to a new series of races being widely welcomed by trainers. HRNZ has announced the new Mare’s Spring Schedule to provide consistent racing for mares without having to take on the boys. The Canterbury-based series of six races starts at Addington on August 29 and runs through until Show Day at Addington on November 14, where it ends with the Bob McArdle Classic. It contains a $17,000 kick off race, one race of $25,000, another of $30,000 and then three valued at $60,000, two at Group 2 level. Already co-trainer Scott Phelan says multiple Group 1 winner Duchess Megxit has the new series of races on her radar. “That is what we are setting her for,” Phelan, who trains with Barry Purdon, told HRNZ. “She isn’t eligible for the last race on Show Day because she is a Group 1 winner but she will contest two or three of the other races and I think it is a great idea. “She is probably the best mare in the country and she showed how hard it is to compete against those open class boys so this is the type of series of races we need to keep these mares racing in New Zealand. “We are all for it and she will definitely be heading down.” Phelan’s comments were echoed by John Dunn last week while Zachary Butcher is also planning to be part of the series with Mantra Blue so it looks set to provide an intriguing spring side plot to the open class horses building into the New Zealand Cup. HRNZ’s Matt Peden says the series is designed “to provide a clear and decisive pathway for mares throughout the spring.” The six races are: August 29, Addington: $17,000 R80. Sept 12, Addington: $25,000 Woodlands First Mares Spring Sprint, $25,000, R80, with conditions for higher assessed mares. Sept 26, Addington: $30,000 Woodlands Second Mares Spring Sprint, $30,000, open. Oct 10, Addington: Woodlands Mares Spring Sprint (G2), $60,000, open. Oct 27, Ashburton: Ladies Sprint (G2), $60,000, open. Nov 14, Addington: Bob McAcArdle Southern Mares Classic (Listed), $60,000, restricted View the full article