Wandering Eyes

A monument by sculptor Jocelyn Russell commemorating the story of the late Cody Dorman and 2023 Horse of the Year Cody's Wish will be installed at the Kentucky Horse Park, with dedication scheduled for this October. Titled “The Bond: Two Hearts—One Spirit,” the monument's creation will be documented at CodysWishMonument.com. “The relationship we share with the horse is special,” said Lee Carter, Director of the Kentucky Horse Park. “It can raise our spirits and improve our well-being. There is no better example of this than the bond between Cody Dorman and Cody's Wish. Creating the monument, “The Bond: Two Hearts—One Spirit,” will celebrate this special relationship. We are honored to place this monument at the Kentucky Horse Park as a reminder that our lives can be lifted up by a horse that leans down.” Financial support is being accepted, with donor plaques at the site available with pledges of $5,000 or more. All donations are tax-deductible through the 501(c)(3) corporation Angels Without Wings, Inc. “Our hope for this monument will stand not only as an inspiration but an example that you can conquer the mountains that lie in your path especially when you have love in your heart for everyone around you,” said the Dorman family. “This above all, is the message that Cody and Cody's Wish gave us, they made each other better. And as we all watched, we became better ourselves. God bless and thank you once more for your support now and throughout this journey.” The post Cody’s Wish Monument Slated for Horse Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

GI Arkansas Derby winner and GII Risen Star Stakes winner Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) has had his first mare checked in foal, Taylor Made Stallions officials announced Thursday afternoon. In addition to his graded scores, the Albaugh Family Stables runner also was third in the 2023 GI Kentucky Derby behind Mage and Two Phil's, where he earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure. Angel of Empire is standing his first season at Taylor Made for $7,500 S&N. The post First In-Foal Mare for Angel of Empire appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Canterbury Park racing officials have released a condition book for the first 10 days of the 2025 season that runs 51 days, May 24-Sept. 20, and its Thoroughbred stakes schedule.View the full article

Bloodstock agent Clay Scherer was scouting horses for Jon Hansen's partnership Net Birdie and noticed a bay New York-bred colt by the promising young New York stallion Honest Mischief at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.View the full article

This year’s Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) March 1 at Gulfstream Park drew a solid field headlined by recent Holy Bull Stakes (G3) winner Burnham Square and Sovereignty.View the full article

Canterbury Park racing officials have released a condition book for the first 10 days of the 2025 season that runs 51 days, May 24 through Sept. 20, and its Thoroughbred stakes schedule.View the full article

Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. has cross-entered the promising colt McAfee, a half brother to 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna, in both the March 1 Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack and the City of Brotherly Love Stakes March 4 at Parx Racing. View the full article

There are nine horse racing meetings set for Australia on Friday, February 28. Our racing analysts here at horsebetting.com.au have found you the best bets and the quaddie numbers for Canterbury and Moonee Valley. Friday’s Free Horse Racing Tips – February 28, 2025 Canterbury Racing Tips Moonee Valley Racing Tips As always, there are plenty of promotions available for Australian racing fans. Check out all the top online bookmakers to see what daily promotions they have. If you are looking for a new bookmaker for the horse racing taking place on February 28, 2025 check out our guide to the best online racing betting sites. Neds Code GETON 1 Take It To The Neds Level Neds Only orange bookie! Check Out Neds Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit today. “GETON is not a bonus code. Neds does not offer bonus codes in Australia and this referral code does not grant access to offers. Full terms. BlondeBet Signup Code GETON 2 Punters Prefer Blondes BlondeBet Blonde Boosts – Elevate your prices! Join BlondeBet Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GAMBLING WITH? full terms. 3 Next Gen Racing Betting Picklebet Top 4 Betting. Extra Place. Every Race. Join Picklebet Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you really gambling with? Full terms. Recommended! 4 It Pays To Play PlayUp Aussie-owned horse racing specialists! Check Out PlayUp Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Full terms. Dabble Signup Code AUSRACING 5 Say Hey to the social bet! Dabble You Better Believe It Join Dabble Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. THINK. IS THIS A BET YOU REALLY WANT TO PLACE? Full terms. Bet365 Signup Code GETON 6 Never Ordinary Bet365 World Favourite! Visit Bet365 Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. GETON is not a bonus code. bet365 does not offer bonus codes in Australia and this referral code does not grant access to offers. What’s gambling really costing you? Full terms. Horse racing tips View the full article

New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame trainer Mike Moroney died in Melbourne Feb. 27 at the age of 66.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 dual Group 1 winner Watch Me (Fr) (Olympic Glory {Ire}). 3.10 Chantilly, Mdn, €27,000, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f (AWT) WHY NOT AGAIN (FR) (Siyouni {Fr}) is the meeting's most significant debutante as the first foal out of the G1 Coronation Stakes and G1 Prix Rothschild heroine Watch Me (Fr) (Olympic Glory {Ire}). Entrusted to Fabrice Chappet by her owner-breeders Haras de Saint Julien and Regula Vannod, she faces nine rivals on this Polytrack bow. The post Daughter Of Watch Me Debuts At Chantilly appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The first mare bred to Grade I winner and stakes-record setter 'TDN Rising Star' Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) has been checked in foal, Claiborne Farm announced Feb. 27. The mare Itgetsgreaterlater (Justify) hails from the family of GISW Cupid (Tapit). Prince of Monaco, winner of the 2023 GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity and narrow runner-up in the 2024 GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., stands at Claiborne Farm for $30,000 LFSN. The post First Mare Checked In Foal to Prince of Monaco appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fifty years ago this spring John Magnier moved into Coolmore Stud ahead of the the now infamous and audacious annual raids on the Kentucky yearling market. At the Keeneland July Select Sale of 1975, Magnier, along with the esteemed trainer Vincent O'Brien and key ally Robert Sangster, started their recruitment drive of what O'Brien described as “baby stallions”. In his biography, O'Brien stated, “We would try and turn the tide: we would organise a syndicate to buy yearlings which I would train, and from which we could make our own stallions.” Neither O'Brien nor his soon-to-be son-in-law Magnier was new to the stud business. The Magnier family was already renowned in National Hunt breeding through its ownership of Grange Stud and the successful stallion Cottage. By 1973, Magnier had set up Castlehyde Stud and stood three stallions across the two farms. O'Brien, in turn, had founded Ballydoyle Stud in 1952 and later Longfield and Lyonstown were added to the portfolio along with a share in Coolmore with Tim Vigors, whose family had owned the property since 1945. As Vigors departed Ireland, Magnier, by then engaged to O'Brien's daughter, Sue, was installed as the manager at Coolmore which was then merged with Castlehyde. So began a formidable operation which would change the face of the stallion business. For all the notable training achievements of O'Brien, and later his unrelated namesake and successor at Ballydoyle, Aidan O'Brien, perhaps none is more important in the career of either man than their respective records in the Derby. Vincent won the great race six times between 1962 and 1982, while last year Aidan extended his record to ten. My father has always believed in tradition and in particular in the Epsom Derby – MV Magnier Vincent O'Brien's particular focus on the offspring of Northern Dancer among the stallions he most admired on his North American jaunts is understandable. After all, the great sire had already delivered, in his second crop, Nijinsky, who remains the last horse to win the British Triple Crown, in 1970. Thereafter, The Minstrel, bought on that first foray of the Coolmore syndicate back in 1975, triumphed at Epsom, followed by Nijinsky's son Golden Fleece. Northern Dancer has not just a lingering influence on the success of Coolmore; his bloodlines now dominate the breed. For Coolmore in particular this has been largely through his son Sadler's Wells, bred by Robert Sangster's Swettenham Stud and trained by Vincent O'Brien to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas, Eclipse and Irish Champion Stakes of 1984 before taking up residence at Coolmore a decade after Magnier had arrived there. Their names will be forever entwined in bloodstock lore. Fourteen sires' championships of Britain and Ireland would follow and by the time Sadler's Wells died in April 2011 at the age of 30, his son Galileo (Ire) had already been champion sire twice. He would go on to add another 10 championships to his record. Six-time Group/Grade 1 winner Auguste Rodin at Coolmore | Racingfotos Half a century later, the Derby still looms large in the Coolmore stallion yard. Australia (GB), himself a son of Galileo and the brilliant Ouija Board (GB), is stabled alongside Camelot (GB), who was the European champion sire of 2024 and is by Sadler's Wells's son Montjeu (Ire), who made a significant mark on the Derby roll of honour despite dying relatively young. It seems almost churlish to stride on past two such good horses, but on a soggy morning in February with the covering season now in swing, the current head of Coolmore in Ireland, MV Magnier, is on a mission to show the three newest recruits to the stallion yard. It is almost certainly unprecedented to have two consecutive winners of the Derby retiring to the same stud in the same year, but here they are: Auguste Rodin (Ire) and City Of Troy, whose achievements run way beyond just that one Classic but who, in delivering at Epsom, continued an essential Magnier tenet. “My father has always believed in tradition and in particular in the Epsom Derby,” says Magnier as he watches City Of Troy stride out across the stallion yard. The son of Justify now lives in the stable – more akin to a bespoke stallion cottage – once occupied by Danehill, whose own legacy at Coolmore and beyond should not be overlooked. Quizzed as to whether his team now finds it a harder 'sell' to stand Derby winners, he replies simply, “It has always been the race to win. Without Classic-type stallions, how can you breed the next Classic winner?” It's a fair point. Happily, others agree. “The response from breeders to both City of Troy and Auguste Rodin has been extremely positive so through the support of our clients along with plenty from our own broodmare band, they'll both be given the best possible chance to succeed,” he adds. “The Epsom Derby provides the ultimate test for the Thoroughbred, requiring a blend of speed, stamina, balance, conformation and temperament, so to have two winners of it retiring in the same year is pretty extraordinary. The fact that they are both Group 1-winning two-year-olds by top stallions out of great racemares from exceptional families makes it all the better.” We can add the name Henry Longfellow (Ire), the third retiree, to the latter comment. The homebred winner of the G1 National Stakes is by Dubawi (Ire) but, as ever, Galileo isn't too far from the reckoning. In fact, he appears as the broodmare sire of all three new stallions at Coolmore, their respective dams Rhododendron (Ire), Together Forever (Ire) and Minding (Ire) united further still in that they were all winners of the Fillies' Mile among their Group 1 triumphs. John and MV Magnier at Tattersalls | Racingfotos Of course, with an enviable supply of high-class racemares by Galileo, comes the decision of where to send them once they retire to stud. Together Forever has resided at Coolmore's American base throughout the early years of her stud career, visiting War Front at Claiborne and the Ashford Stud stallions Uncle Mo and Triple Crown winner Justify. Her second tryst with the latter resulted in City Of Troy. “Aidan [O'Brien] certainly hasn't hidden his admiration for Justify as a sire and I suppose his success shouldn't have come as a huge surprise as he was a phenomenal racehorse by a very good sire in Scat Daddy, who looked set to become one of the dominant stallions in North America before his untimely passing,” says Magnier. Coolmore has long had an association with the Yoshida family's Shadai stallion operation in Japan, and their patronage of the late Deep Impact (Jpn) has resulted in the Classic winners Snowfall (Jpn), Saxon Warrior (Jpn), Fancy Blue (Ire) and now Auguste Rodin. He continues, “Obviously we haven't seen too many Deep Impacts in Europe but Study Of Man has made a very promising start and Kizuna was crowned champion sire in Japan last year. Sunday Silence and Deep Impact have been very much like Sadler's Wells and Galileo here in Europe so maybe Auguste Rodin will be the Frankel.” The global market for high-class middle-distance horses is stronger than it has ever been – MV Magnier Coolmore's commercial arm is more than just about selling stallion nominations. Each year a number of horses that don't quite reach the top level will be sold on. Prague (Ire), who won last year's G2 Joel Stakes for Dylan Cunha, is one such example, and others go farther afield. “The global market for high-class middle-distance horses is stronger than it has ever been,” Magnier avers. “Demand for the Classic-type horse from Ballydoyle is very strong as that's where the big prize-money is, be it in Australia, the USA, Hong Kong or the Middle East. “Under Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Hong Kong has seen a shift in their racing programme which sees it focus less on short distances. Massive Sovereign, a son of No Nay Never, was an impressive winner of last year's Hong Kong Derby on only his second start after being sold from Ballydoyle. Ron Winchell has put on the Nashville Derby, worth $2.5 million, in Kentucky Downs. It is remarkable what he and Mark Falcone have done there.” He adds, “David Redvers alluded to it in an interview last year, that from an owners' and trainers' point of view the commercial stallion is actually the one that gets middle-distance horses who command a serious resale price. Likewise at Tattersalls Book 1, the big demand is for the horse with Classic potential. Even guys like Paul McCartan, who used to specialise in two-year-old and sprinter-type sires, is now pinhooking foals by the likes of Camelot.” There's a cutting framed on the wall at Coolmore's stud office which features an article on Vincent O'Brien with the headline 'Quiet man who let his horses do the talking'. John Magnier is not one for regular public pronouncements either, and the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree when it comes to the youngest of his three sons. The expansion of the Coolmore operation has coincided with the growth of the family. MV, 39, has two sisters, Kate Wachman (wife of former trainer David) and Sam Pearson, as well as two brothers, Tom, who runs Coolmore's Australian operation, and JP, a former amateur jockey who works in finance in London. So was MV ever tempted, like JP, by life in a different field? “We were always brought up with it and…was it always something I was going to do? To be honest, I wasn't much good at school or anything like that,” he says, smiling but doubtless wishing to be back out in the yard looking at stallions rather than being subjected to a gentle grilling. How about those winners he rode, including three in one week at the Galway Festival of 2004? “Yeah, but Aidan O'Brien trained them,” he says, laughing now. “If I didn't win on them, they were going to be asking a lot of questions. It's actually when Dad realised how good Aidan O'Brien was.” He continues, “Mum and Dad always led us down the right path and I suppose I was always interested in it from a young age, and so were all of us really. And we've been lucky over the last 10 or 20 years with the horses and the results, and hopefully it'll continue.” That continued success owes plenty to the loyalty of many long-term members of the Coolmore team, a theme which was highlighted recently in a fascinating behind-the-scenes piece by Martin Stevens which featured many of the folk who have worked with the horses from their early years before welcoming the best of them back to the stallion yard. To the outside world, there is a raft of familiar faces in the throng at the sales and races; trusted allies of the Magnier family, just as Sangster was at the outset along with the likes of Tom Cooper and Billy McDonald. “It's rare, isn't it?” Magnier suggests at the mention of the longevity of the Coolmore team, which is regularly bolstered with members of the next generation. “We've a load of young people around here and a lot of older people that are very good friends of ours, too. We all enjoy working together. And it's not a day's work when you come in here really. Everybody working here gets along and there's no hierarchy. It's a true working place and the whole team is close, be it here, America, or Australia. I think that's very important in an organisation. “And in America and Australia, all of those guys started here. We all know them really well and we're all friends.” City Of Troy, co-top-rated horse in the world in 2024 | Emma Berry The foundations remain strong then, and a solid base is undoubtedly important in a business where the slings and arrows are as prevalent as trophies and accolades. While it takes an above-average colt to earn a place at stud in the first place, time and again we have seen sires emerge and thrive from unheralded sources. Pedigree and performance are two good things to have on your side, however, and plainly Coolmore's Irish team will be hoping that these two Derby winners from lines that have worked well elsewhere can lay down roots in Tipperary. Magnier certainly believes so. “Two minutes after Auguste Rodin won the Derby, Dad rang up and said, 'This is the most important thing that has happened to Coolmore since Galileo won it.' He's such a well-bred horse, by Deep Impact, out of a champion, he won the Derby so impressively, was a Group 1-winning two-year-old, and he kept going. He had the odd little blip, but plenty of them do,” he says. “The big thing I remember is that Derrick Smith saw Galileo win the Epsom Derby and he said, 'I want to get in this game.' And that's how he got in it, and that's why he got in it. It was the Epsom Derby that brought Derrick Smith in. There wasn't anything else. “Going back to when Michael Tabor came in – his first horse was a Kentucky Derby winner [Thunder Gulch] and then he just got the bug. And, ever since, that's all he wants to do is win the Kentucky Derby again. It's all about those Classic races. It's the aim of the game really.” Indeed, from the Kentucky Derby winner Northern Dancer so much has sprung, and Magnier is quick to acknowledge the transatlantic heritage of Coolmore. “It's all because of the American horse really,” he says. “What my grandfather did with Northern Dancer – through Nijinsky, Sadler's Wells, so on – that's how we got Galileo. And Danzig with Danehill; Storm Cat then Hennessy to Scat Daddy, now to Justify. That's what this place has been built on and what Ballydoyle has been built on. Be it American Pharoah or Justify or the next good horse over there, we will give them the chance to work on both sides of the pond and try and create the next Northern Dancer.” He points to the success of Wathnan Racing's Norfolk Stakes winner Shareholder, by Taylor Made Farm's swiftly rising stallion Not This Time, as an example of the potential for dual-surface thinking. Not This Time is himself by Giant's Causeway, the son of Storm Cat who did so much for Ballydoyle on the turf and for Coolmore at stud. And he went agonisingly close to becoming the perfect crossover racehorse when losing out on the Breeders' Cup Classic by a neck to Tiznow. The latest to attempt what for the European arm of Coolmore has become something of a holy grail was of course City Of Troy, whose own attempt on the Classic fell short when he failed to act on the dirt of Del Mar last November. “One thing we would never do is die wondering,” says Magnier of this particular quest. “It has nearly worked three times, with Giant's Causeway, Declaration Of War, and Henrythenavigator, even though that was on Tapeta. Andre Fabre did it [with Arcangues]. So we'll definitely keep trying.” In Coolmore's private Legacy Gallery – a boutique museum that provides a history lesson more riveting than any that could be taught in the classroom – stands the taxidermied Sadler's Wells, so skilfully preserved that it is hard not to imagine that his head might yet turn or tail flick. Soon he will be joined there by his most celebrated son, Galileo. The human legacy means that Magnier has been bestowed with the names Michael Vincent in honour of his grandfather and passed a baton, which must weigh heavy in his hand at times, to continue the work of his two forebears, both towering figures in the sport. Of O'Brien, who is widely considered to be the greatest trainer of all time, he says, “Well, I just feel sorry for him that I got named after him. He was an incredible man, what he did, with the National Hunt, and when he started flying those horses from Ballydoyle in a matchbox. The foresight that he had was incredible.” He adds with a grin, “And I think, everything good that came of us came from our mother, I'd say. It wasn't Dad at all.” Magnier continues, “With Pops, Dad would be telling stories about their days in Keeneland and [Vincent] would just look at horses by certain stallions and he wouldn't look at anything else. He wouldn't go to other farms, he'd just look straight down the barrel with blinkers on. He would stare at the yearlings for 20 minutes, he wouldn't look left or right. He stuck to his plan and the plan worked.” It is hard to imagine that even a trio with the horsemanship of O'Brien, business nous of Magnier, and enthusiasm and largesse of Sangster could have imagined that their plan would work so spectacularly. Fifty years after it was deployed, it has played a significant role in propelling Ireland to the forefront of the global Thoroughbred business, with Coolmore its strongest brand, recognisable and revered by racing fans the world over. The post MV Magnier: ‘Without Classic Stallions, How Can You Breed the Next Classic Winner?’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kevin Plank has listed the 400-acre Sagamore Farm in Reisterstown, Maryland for $22 million, according to a report in The Baltimore Sun. “It's time for the next steward to carry the torch and continue its legacy for generations to come,” said Plank, who purchased the historic property for $4.99 million in 2007 with plans to operate a Thoroughbred breeding and racing operation. The Under Armour founder discontinued breeding and training on the property in 2020 and announced plans to use the land to grow corn and rye for his Sagamore Spirit whiskey brand and to house retired racehorses. The farm was begun in 1925 by Isaac Emerson and passed down to Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Jr. in 1933. Over the century it has been home to champions such as Native Dancer, Bed O'Roses, and Discovery. The Sagamore property includes three fully renovated barns, paddocks, and a Tapeta track. The residences on the property include a 16,000-square-foot home with seven oversized en-suite bedrooms. The post Plank Lists Sagamore Farm for $22 Million appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A bill introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly Feb. 19 would divert 0.1% of all money wagered on live racing and historical horse race (HHR) betting to a to-be-created local government fund. The communities that would benefit from the fund would be the cities and towns that have racetracks and HHR betting facilities. According to HB 782, “local governments may use appropriations from this fund to address the social costs of problem gambling, including but not limited to: (a) Law enforcement retention; (b) Homelessness; (c) Affordable housing; and (d) The policing, regulation, and administration of the facilities live and HHR racing facilities are located.” Kentucky currently directs all proceeds from bets on horse races back into the industry or into the state's general fund. The sponsors of the bill are Reps. Al Gentry, George Brown Jr., Nima Kulkarni, Adam Moore and Rachel Roarx, all Democrats. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Committees. The post Bill Would Divert One-Tenth of One Percent of Kentucky Horse Bets to Address Social Costs of Gambling appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Alpinista (GB), the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner and world champion racemare of 2022, has delivered her second foal, a colt by Lanwades' Study Of Man (Ire). The first foal of the daughter of Frankel (GB) is now a yearling filly by Dubawi (Ire) and Alpinista will travel next to France to visit Siyouni (Fr) at the Aga Khan Studs. Study Of Man, whose percentage of black-type winners was top among the second-season sires of 2024, will this year cover both Alpinista's dam Alwilda (GB) (Hernando {Fr}) and her half-sister Alpenblume (GB) (Kendargent {Fr}). They are expecting foals this season by Sea The Stars (Ire) and Frankel respectively. “The colt foal is very representative of his sire; correct and well-balanced with great presence,” said breeder Kirsten Rausing. “I am of course delighted Alpinista has produced such a good individual, again, after her first foal last year.” Trained by Sir Mark Prescott to win six Group 1s among her 10 victories from 15 starts, Alpinista is a fourth-generation homebred for Lanwades. Last October, her full-sister was bought by Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing for 2.5 million gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. Now named Alpinara (GB), she is in training at Prescott's Heath House Stables in Newmarket. The post Lanwades Welcomes Study Of Man Colt for Alpinista appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

NBC Sports presents continuing coverage of the 1/ST RACING TOUR Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on CNBC and Peacock. The two-hour program, featuring six live races, will be headlined by the GII DK HORSE San Felipe Stakes from Santa Anita and the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes from Gulfstream Park. The additional stakes races that will be presented live on CNBC and Peacock include the GIII Honey Fox Stakes and the GII Mac Diarmida Stakes from Gulfstream Park. Britney Eurton hosts Saturday's coverage, alongside analyst and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, analyst Randy Moss, and reporters Michelle Yu and Matt Bernier. Yu will report on-site from Santa Anita and Bernier will report on-site from Gulfstream. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via authentication. The post 1/ST Racing Tour, Presented by MyRacehorse, Continues Saturday on CNBC and Peacock appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

It's hardly a shock to the system to see an unbeaten New York State-bred step into a wintertime open stakes. To see two of them in the same graded race? Welcome to the Gotham Stakes (G3).View the full article

The annual National HBPA Conference concluded its educational presentations Feb. 26 first with a session on how retired racehorses are transforming the lives of first responders and military members, as well as school children of backstretch workers.View the full article

For its 86th summer season, Del Mar is planning a $7,825,000 stakes program that provides 38 opportunities for a piece of its distinctive black type headed by the iconic track's piece de resistance—the $1 million Pacific Classic (G1) Aug. 30.View the full article

FanDuel TV's “Road to The Kentucky Derby” will feature live, expanded coverage of all the official Kentucky Derby points races, with in-depth coverage of Derby contenders and their human connections, feature stories, interviews and analysis from FanDuel TV's roster of racing experts and handicappers, including Todd Schrupp, Christina Blacker, Simon Bray, Larry Collmus, Caton Bredar, Joaquin Jaime, Michael Joyce, Scott Hazelton, Gabby Gaudet, Matt Bernier, Andie Biancone, Matt Carothers, Ashley Mailloux, Dave Weaver, Joe Talamo and Kurt Hoover. “The Kentucky Derby is one of the most anticipated races on the horse racing calendar for our fans and we are excited to highlight all the prep races with more wall-to-wall coverage than any other network,” said Senior Vice President and Executive Producer for FanDuel TV Michael Shiffman. “We have a deep commitment to covering horse racing and value the ongoing relationship we have fostered with Churchill Downs.” Kentucky Derby prep races this weekend are the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes from Gulfstream Park, the GII San Felipe Stakes from Santa Anita, and the GIII Gotham Stakes from Aqueduct. The post FanDuel TV Offers Expanded Derby Prep Coverage appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The $1-million GI Pacific Classic will highlight the $7.825-million stakes schedule for the upcoming Del Mar summer meet. The track's signature race will be held on an Aug. 30 card which includes more than $2 million in purses and a pair of Grade II races–the $300,000 Del Mar Handicap and the $300,000 Del Mar Mile. In addition to the Pacific Classic, the track will host five other Grade I races during the meet, which runs from July 18 through Sept. 7. Leading off the top-level races is the $400,000 GI Bing Crosby Stakes July 26, followed by the $400,000 GI Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Aug. 2; the $300,000 GI Del Mar Oaks Aug. 16; the $300,000 GI Del Mar Debutante Sept. 6; and concluding with the $300,000 GI Del Mar Futurity Sept. 7. The meet will also host nine Grade II races and six Grade III stakes. Nineteeen of the 38 stakes races, which include five overnight stakes, will be contested on the turf, and eight of the stakes will be for California-breds, offering a total of $1 million in purses. Additionally, the five overnight stakes each will carry a purse of $100,000. “Our stakes schedule is a very compelling program with something for everyone,” said Del Mar vice president and racing secretary David Jerkens. “The initial feedback from our owners and trainers has been very encouraging. We can't wait to get started.” The post Pacific Classic Highlights $7.825-Million Del Mar Stakes Program appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Michael O'Sullivan will be honoured at this year's Cheltenham Festival with the opening Supreme Novices' Hurdle set to be run in his memory, the Jockey Club and Sky Bet announced on Thursday. The Grade 1 event, the first race of the meeting on Tuesday, March 11, will be staged as the Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices' Hurdle, paying tribute to the National Hunt jockey who died after being seriously injured in a fall at Thurles on February 6. He was 24. It was in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle that O'Sullivan enjoyed his greatest day in the saddle when partnering Marine Nationale (Ire) to a memorable success in the 2023 renewal of the two-mile contest. He later celebrated his second Festival winner when Jazzy Matty (Fr) won the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle on the same afternoon. “We are deeply proud of Michael's incredible talent and the legacy he left in the world of racing,” began a statement from the O'Sullivan family. “Renaming the race that marked the pinnacle of his career is a fitting tribute to his skill, dedication, and passion for the sport. “As a family, we have always admired Michael's achievements both on and off the track, and it means so much to us to see his talent recognised in this way. The outpouring of tributes over the past week has been a testament to the impact he had on so many lives. “We would like to sincerely thank the Jockey Club and Sky Bet for giving us this opportunity to honour Michael's memory and celebrate his remarkable career.” Guy Lavender, CEO of Cheltenham Racecourse, added, “Michael was an outstanding jockey and recognised by everyone as a wonderful young man. “When you read the heartfelt tributes paid to him over these past days, you can see how highly regarded he was in the racing community on both sides of the Irish Sea and beyond. “Given that it was at Cheltenham that Michael enjoyed his biggest success as a rider back on that magical Tuesday afternoon in 2023, we felt it was only right to pay tribute to Michael in this way. “Our sincere thanks go to our sponsors of this race, Sky Bet for making it possible. All our thoughts continue to be with Michael's family, friends and weighing room colleagues at this difficult time and for allowing us to pay tribute in this way.” The post Cheltenham Festival Curtain-Raiser to be Run in Memory of Michael O’Sullivan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The annual National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association Conference concluded Wednesday in Safety Harbor, Florida with a session on how retired racehorses are transforming the lives of first responders and military members, as well as school children of backstretch workers, and a session showcasing products using cutting edge technology to provide 24/7 security for stables and state-of-the-art software to help trainers do their jobs. Sally Jane Mixon, a Canterbury Park backstretch chaplain, exercise rider and mental-health counselor with a BS in Human Development Studies and an MS in Professional Counseling, as well as certifications as an equine specialist and mental-health professional, discussed her more than two decades incorporating off-the-track racehorses to help military and first responders suffering from stress, anxiety, coping struggles and other mental-health challenges. “The thing about talk therapy is it doesn't work for everybody. It didn't work for me,” she said. “I almost died of anorexia in my college years, a long time ago. I never half-assed anything, being the daughter of a Marine, so I was a really good anorexic…. So much therapy when you're talking with people, if you don't trust people, it's not going to work. For me, the horses saved my life at a really young age. I grew up riding. I was 5 years old, fell off my first horse and I was hooked. Horses have an innate ability to heal.” Using her therapeutic model Abijah, Mixon pairs a mental-health professional at a Master's level and an equine specialist with a minimum of 4,000 hours per dynamic. “Abijah's is the bridge between a racing industry and community wellness, pairing off-track Thoroughbreds with professional counselors,” she said. “We meet the mental health needs on the backside communities of the tracks to the front lines where our first responders and military serve…. These incredible animals are so intuitive. They're going to pick up what's going on internally and they play it out. This works, and it's completely mind-blowing. My job is to watch miracles.” Mixon said she believes the program's results are so powerful that it will transform, not just participants, but the image of horse racing. “We're going to do it at racetracks or farms around racetracks,” she said. “That's going to give incredible PR for racetracks. It's going to become known for saving lives, horses and humans. We're not going to be talking about breakdowns. We're going to be talking lifting people up, lifting horses up. We're meeting the need in a really unique way.” The Abijah's program expanded with a youth component at Canterbury Park when it joined forces with Furlong Learning as a summer program for the school kids of backstretch workers. The concluding session of the National HBPA conference was titled “Helping Horsemen Through Today's Technology” and featured Jeff DeAngelis, head of sales for Horcery, and Michael Novak, a technologist and software engineer entrepreneur who founded Backstretch, a web-based management platform for horse-racing stables. Horcery, a new National HBPA corporate sponsor, produces the Stall Monitor, a cutting-edge system that provides 24/7 monitoring with AI-enabled cameras and real-time alerts. Horcery bills the system as helping to protect equine investments, improve stable management and ensure horse safety while empowering horsemen to reduce risks and optimize performance. “It's an AI that learns your horse's behavior from the minute they step in the stall,” DeAngelis said. “If there are any deviations, any anomaly, it will actually set that off and you will get a customized alert to your phone to let you get out there before an accident turns into an emergency situation. “With everything going on, regulations changing, there's more of a need than ever to have something like this in all of your stalls… The traditional CCTV cameras were fine in their time. They simply record and you can go back and view data, but it doesn't actually help you get ahead of a problem. Now this is a real solution. We built it out of necessity. It's there to protect the welfare of the horse, as well as to protect the horsemen who care for those horses.” The post National HBPA Conference Concludes with Talks on Aftercare and New Technology appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Robert Croteau's first weeks on the job as general manager at Fair Hill Training Center have included their share of challenges as winter weather threatened more than once to disrupt activity at the Maryland facility, but the vagaries of the February forecast failed to dampen his enthusiasm for his new position. “It's been great,” Croteau, a native of Massachusetts, said of his first weeks on the job. “It's the best job ever.” For Croteau, who succeeded longtime Fair Hill general manager Sally Goswell Feb. 1, the position is the culmination of a lifetime of working with horses. His father trained Thoroughbreds on the New England Thoroughbred Circuit at tracks like Suffolk Downs, Rockingham Park, Lincoln Downs, Narragansett Park and Green Mountain Park. Occasional forays to the seasonal fair circuit of North Hampton, Great Barrington, Berkshire Fair, as well as Brockton and Marshfield Fair added variety and a certain character to their sporting life. Adding in an uncle who trained show horses and fox hunters north of Boston in Hamilton, Massachusetts, a career working with horses seemed almost a foregone conclusion, but Croteau admitted it wasn't always such a clear-cut decision. “I was conflicted about it because it doesn't lead to a model of family life,” Croteau said of a life in the racing industry. “I had a stay-at-home mom, and my brother, and a sister and myself. Dad was on the road a lot of the time. “Up north [in Hamilton], it was more of a family affair,” he continued. “We would all work in the barn and then we'd get on the green horses take them out fox hunting, and go cross country and basically do that sort of thing. We would give some lessons and show some prospects, buy and sell a few, that kind of stuff. So, it was more of a horse country life.” Still, Croteau was tempted by a life outside of the horse world and he attended Boston University with an eye towards what might be considered a more traditional career path. “I went to school as an English major with a minor in theology, and I really was enamored with the idea of teaching or writing, but it just didn't work out,” he said. “I just kept getting drawn back into the horses. I always ended up migrating back towards my core, my roots, I guess you could say. Going to school in town in Boston, it's a lovely city, I loved it, but there's nothing like being with horses out in the country.” Croteau followed his passion for horses and never looked back. He took out his trainer's license and had a small string of horses for a decade or so before moving south and on to stints working for legendary trainers Mickey Walsh and Jonathan Sheppard. “It was quite clear to me that, while the industry was contracting up north, the region on the upswing was due south and was more established in the Mid-Atlantic,” he said. Of working with Walsh and Sheppard, a pair of Hall of Fame trainers, Croteau said, “I learned quite a bit, mostly about how to work really hard. I learned the kind of lifestyle it takes to turn out good horses–the day in and day out of farmwork and being conscious of the agricultural mindset that makes you a better horseman.” His time with Walsh and Sheppard also taught Croteau to look at horses in a more holistic method. “Both Jonathan and Mickey introduced me to something I hadn't experienced while training at a typical oval/racetrack, the practice of turning everything out before they were trained,” he said. “It didn't make any difference whether the horse was a jumper or a flat horse. When they were at the farm, they all went out, whether it was five minutes, 50 minutes or longer. Their point of view was that it got all the twisty bits out of them, and that they focused a bit better on their job afterwards. Clearly, it did that and more.” Irish War Cry training at Fair Hill in 2017 | Sarah Andrew That education met its perfect match at the Fair Hill Training Center. Founded in 1983 and situated on a bucolic 350 acres in northern Maryland with 18 privately owned barns, as well as dirt and Tapeta tracks, the training center epitomizes that holistic approach to horsemanship and it is a key part of Croteau's new position. “Obviously being here at Fair Hill resonates with all those things,” Croteau said. “Here you can hack out through the Department of National Resource Land. You can turn them out, graze them whenever you want. I guess you could say in a rural setting like this, you can let the horses get back to being horses. I mean, being here is so good for all involved. Being able to train a horse with such versatility offers immense flexibility.” Croteau's journey has taken him to Iron Spring Farm, a sport-horse operation where he worked with stallions, young horses and competition horses, and to the equine therapy company Cool Systems Game Ready where he became international sales director. Most recently, he spent 11 years working in equine nutrition as an account manager for the Pennsylvania-based Stoltzfus Feed and Supply. “I've been fortunate to be able make the decision to change things up when I've accomplished the promise made when I entered a position,” Croteau said. “It was always my goal to raise any operation to a certain height, as well as purposely do the best for the horses and their connections.” Of his newest challenge at Fair Hill, Croteau said, “What I want to accomplish here is basically to accomplish that elevation, to see if, in my own particular small way, I can just help get things smoother. Sally and Mike Goswell created something special here and it's an honor to be involved in something so very special.” Croteau sees opportunity in the challenges facing the racing industry and thinks Fair Hill, and places like, it have an important place in the industry's landscape. “I see potential in some of the changes in the Thoroughbred industry,” he said. “You get a chance to engage with people, you can talk to them and you can find out the most important thing, which is what do they think?” Back in his college days, Croteau chose horses over academics and years on, he clearly has no regrets. “I would be useless in whatever I tried in my life if I didn't have a horse attached to it somehow,” he said. “This is not really hard work for me. It's my life more than it is a career. I look back at what I've done and the industry has been really good to me.” The post ‘It’s the Best Job Ever:’ Robert Croteau Finds a Home at Fair Hill Training Center appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Forever Young (Jpn) earned a Timeform rating of 131 when winning Saturday's $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, identifying him as the highest-rated dirt horse in the world. Trained by Yoshito Yahagi, the son of Real Steel (Jpn) had shown very smart form as a three-year-old when he won the G2 UAE Derby and the G1 Tokyo Daishoten, as well as finishing placed in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic. However, Forever Young raised his game another notch and produced a top-class performance by Timeform's reckoning when getting the better of a thrilling tussle with Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in Riyadh, posting the best effort in the world's richest race since it was established in 2020. With a rating of 131, Forever Young is now 2lb clear of Romantic Warrior, who shares his rating of 129 with last year's G1 Dubai World Cup winner Laurel River (Into Mischief). That identifies Forever Young as very much the one to beat should he come up against the defending champion in the 2025 running of the Dubai World Cup, which is scheduled to take place at Meydan on Saturday, April 5. Timeform handicapper Jake Price said, “Forever Young capped off yet another fine international meet for Japanese-trained runners by landing the most valuable race on the planet in the Saudi Cup. He took his form up a significant notch with a hard-fought success in ending Hong Kong's Romantic Warrior's eight-race winning streak, that rival proving himself equally effective on dirt as on turf with yet another high-class effort. “Whilst Forever Young isn't the flashiest, he's as genuine as they come and sure knows how to win. He also has some of the best international form on the dirt from last year to his name and, with prior experience of Meydan to boot, should take plenty of beating in the Dubai World Cup.” The post Forever Young Becomes Timeform’s Highest-Rated Dirt Horse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article