Wandering Eyes

FOX Sports’s “Saturday At The Races,” the live racing broadcast launched in 2018, returns this Saturday, Feb. 2, The New York Racing Association, FOX Sports and The Stronach Group announced Wednesday. Airing on FS2 and produced by NYRA, the telecast will be a 2 1/2-hour long show offering live coverage of the GIII Withers S. from Aqueduct, the GII Holy Bull S. from Gulfstream and the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. from Santa Anita. This is the first of 12 editions of Saturday At The Races, focused on the Triple Crown prep season, running through Apr. 20. The full schedule can be viewed here. “FOX Sports Saturday At The Races kicks off year one of our expanded coverage of the very best in horse racing,” said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Research, League Operations & Strategy. “The races we are showcasing this Spring have produced five of the last six Kentucky Derby champions, including the immortal American Pharoah. As a horseplayer, you simply can’t be prepared for the Triple Crown without seeing these races. We are very excited to present these key stops on the road to the Triple Crown.” View the full article

The bitter chill blowing across much of the country this week has forced a number of tracks to cancel racing cards, headlined by The New York Racing Association’s announcement that Aqueduct will not run its scheduled Thursday card. In addition, training at both Belmont and Aqueduct and the Belmont Café simulcasting center will be closed Thursday. Charles Town, which had already canceled Wednesday’s races, is also postponing Thursday’s card, as is Laurel Park. Penn National previously announced the cancellation of its live racing from Wednesday through Saturday. View the full article

The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NYTHA) is sponsoring a stall at the New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program’s Lexington facility named in honor of the late Rick Violette, Jr. An accomplished trainer and former president of NYTHA, Violette was a steadfast supporter of New York’s horsemen and backstretch workers. He also believed passionately in aftercare for retiring Thoroughbred racehorses, creating the TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program and NYTHA’s TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred Retirement Program, and serving as founding Board member of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). “We are deeply thankful to NYTHA for naming a stall at our Mereworth Farm location in honor of Rick,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations Thoroughbred Program Director. “Rick was an avid supporter of Thoroughbred aftercare and he became a wonderful friend as well as advocate for our program; he was always excited to hear how we were growing and expanding. I know he would be extremely pleased with this generous tribute from NYTHA–hundreds of retiring racehorses will be housed in this stall over the coming years as they begin transitional training for second careers. I know in my heart he would be profoundly happy to know the impact of his legacy.” View the full article

A New York state panel with jurisdiction over the New York Racing Association is praising the not-for-profit corporation for the way it handled the recent controversy that led to the resignation of Chris Kay as NYRA president. View the full article

Every breeder will recognize the parallel. You stand in the icy water and patiently dip the sieve again, hope never failing no matter how often that momentary glint turns out to be just another worthless piece of grit. Because you know that somewhere upriver, beneath the snowy uplands, lies a seam of gold. And it’s just the same with Thoroughbreds: pan enough tributaries of the gene pool, someday you’ll trap that stray nugget. So if Charles E. “Chuck” Fipke has his own way of going about trying to make a stallion–his stable almost exclusively comprises not only homebreds, but homebreds by homebred sires–it’s not hard to see why. The only reason he can afford to do it, after all, is because he saw the world in a different way from every other geology graduate. They all knew there were no diamonds in Canada, until Fipke demonstrated that they were wrong. In much the same way, very few Thoroughbred breeders would have tried the formula that has continued to produce a series of elite Fipke performers, the latest being Seeking The Soul (Perfect Soul)–runner-up in the $9-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream last Saturday, and now on his way to the G1 Dubai World Cup. Fipke is every bit as singular a character as he is individual a thinker: squat and pugnacious in aspect, freewheeling and buzzy in conversation. He’s telling you about his latest hit, a massive silver deposit in the Yukon. “And I’m really excited about it,” he says. “Because you know, hey, I’ve got this horrible, horrible addiction.” Really Chuck? This is quick: we’ve only just met. “I’m just horribly addicted. I wish I was an alcoholic, hey, or a heroin addict. It’d be a way more economical.” He’s on a roll now. (We’ll quit including the “hey” from this point; but you should know that the staccato exclamation continues as a kind of bass rhythm to his freestyle riffs of thought.) “I’ve tried to find psychiatrists and therapists that could help me, but there is none. I looked in the yellow pages. I asked around Keeneland and they said, ‘We had any of them? We’d run them out of town. Bad for business!’ Yeah, it’s horrible. There’s only been one person, lives nearby, Russ Bennett, he’s been a leading breeder. He’s finally told me the one way I can get rid of my horse addiction.” And how’s that, Chuck? “Death.” That’s awkward. “Yeah. That is. The problem was, I was spending quite a bit of money. Around $14 million a year. It was really eating up my savings. And then just in the nick of time I found this new one [mine]. I’ll be able to last longer now.” Using the old prospecting methods, most of Fipke’s wealth would almost literally have slipped through the net. Because the “indicator” particles from those icy rivers are so small, so fine, that you can barely see them; too fine to settle in water, they were panned away by the old timers. His team reduces 12- or 15-kilo gravel deposits to a concentrate of five to ten grams, using a variety of separating techniques such as magnetism or conductivity. And within these filtrates, they can find a spectrum of flaked mineral fingerprints–for everything from diamonds to base metals–measuring just four or five microns. It’s not even that expensive. They needed only 2,500 samples to read 50,000 km2 of the Yukon, ultimately leading them to a claim of 20km by 25km. They drilled down, found the gold, and then stumbled over silver-lead-zinc deposits surpassing the three richest in the world: Broken Hill and Mount Isa in Australia, and Sullivan in British Columbia. To give you a sense of the find’s historic stature, those respectively date to 1883, 1923 and 1909. And now there’s more. “Just recently we think we have another,” Fipke says. “I rarely say this, but it’s so rich that it just went off scale. The interesting thing is, Sullivan, Mount Isa and Broken Hill, they’re all in protozoic rocks, about 1.3 billion years old, and they’re all in marine clastic sediment. And so is ours, it’s in the same geologic environment.” The same patented methodology had previously led Fipke to four gold mines in Nevada; and, famously, to the diamonds that were not supposed to be in Canada, tracing them back through glacial “tills” (sediment pushed ahead of the ice) to the south. It’s a staggering outcome from the curiosity of a kid raised in modest circumstances on the outskirts of Edmonton, Alberta, with a passion for the outdoor life. In the meantime he has worn out his knees–now mostly titanium–but never his enthusiasm, through all those epic meanderings in desolate, remote regions, with little or no company. “I love it out in the wild, it’s so peaceful: the lakes and the rivers and the streams, and going out in the bush,” he says. “You see all kinds of animals. Minx and otters. Grizzly bears. Yeah, grizzlies. You never back away, because they think you’re prey, they go after you. It’s like playing poker. You’ve got to bluff them a bit. “I worked two years in New Guinea with head-hunters everywhere. They thought you were like a god coming down from the sky with a helicopter. One time the helicopter took off, but then came back. I thought, ‘What the heck’s this guy doing? I haven’t had enough time to collect my sample.’ So I thought I’d teach him a lesson, take that much longer. He’d go off and he’d come back, put the skid up against me, and I ignored him and just did my job. Then when we took off, a whole bunch of arrows came at us. And what had happened was, he’d seen all these warriors coming up the drainage with bows and arrows, so he kept buzzing them and trying to get me.” There were personal prices to be paid. As a young, first-time father, he spent four months away in the Yukon. As his family grew, so did his commitments; it proved too much, and Fipke ultimately made the papers with Canada’s most expensive divorce. But even in working six and a half days a week, there was still Sunday afternoon. And on one such, fatefully, he was taking the kids along a creek on their Shetlands and Welsh ponies. “And we went through this farm, Mission Creek, and they had a whole bunch of yearlings in the barn, a yearling in each stall,” he recalls. “So we went with all the little horses through the barn, and going through I saw this filly. I just stopped. She just took the breath out of me. I went up and down, and I came right back to her. I just fell in love.” He knew practically nothing about Thoroughbreds, but phoned the stable manager of neighbors Russ and Lois Bennett. She told him the filly he had picked out was by Irish Ruler, and just about the pick of an upcoming sale. Fipke, hooked, was reeled in: he bought the filly. On her debut, she tore clear but stopped dead in the last sixteenth. That was as good as it got: she deteriorated, turned out to have a bone chip. Suddenly Fipke found he was a breeder. He mated his young mare with various Kentucky stallions, but her best foal was bred on his doorstep with the Bennetts’ own stallion, Travelling Victor, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 1983. “Travelling Spirit, he was called, and he was the leading 2-year-old in British Columbia,” Fipke explains. “So I got a taste of it. I think that’s how I got addicted. And yeah, it is like minerals, we’ve developed our own methods.” On the face of it, a similarly maverick approach to his hobby would seem doomed to invert the yield he has achieved in his business. Because trying to breed your own stallions is–well, it’s worse than standing in the river with one of those old pans. “Well, why I do this is, I find it more challenging,” he says with a shrug. “Going to the sales and picking out a great horse, I’ve done that. Doesn’t always work [either] and it’s just not as challenging as actually breeding the mare yourself and covering her with your own stallion. It’s far more challenging, the way I do it. That’s probably why I do it. I don’t want to take the easy way out, you know? But it’s also the only way I could ever even think of breaking even, to have a good stallion.” And, albeit it evidently helps if you can keep turning up ore deposits, Seeking The Soul’s performance on Saturday confirms his eligibility–he is already a Grade I winner and had also chased home City Of Light (Quality Road) in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile–to emulate several other homebreds already at stud. Already Fipke has four of those standing at Darby Dan–Perfect Soul (Sadler’s Wells), Tale Of Ekati (Tale Of The Cat), Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati) and now Bee Jersey (Jersey Town)–plus others in California, Canada and on his own farm in Kentucky. Bee Jersey looks a particularly interesting prospect, having won the stallion-making GI Met Mile in a lightning time, as he’s from one of the great families in the Stud Book (fourth dam is Lassie Dear). Being from the first crop of a horse raced and retired by Fipke, he’s a characteristic model. Fipke has a heroically stubborn fidelity to a project most would view as a virtual guarantee of expensive failure. Even the most expensive broodmares will be given a chance with his own stallions, albeit they stand on the lower rungs of the commercial market. His $1.7 million purchase Title Seeker (Monarchos), for instance, was bred to Perfect Soul–as, subsequently, was the Seeking The Gold filly she was carrying at the time of her acquisition. Named Seeking The Title, she was a graded stakes winner and the result of her mating with Perfect Soul was none other than Seeking The Soul. Then there was the $600,000 mare Bourbon Belle (Storm Boot), whose resume would have qualified her for any stallion in Kentucky. Instead Fipke sent her to Not Impossible (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), an unraced brother to Perfect Soul whose stud career was almost entirely his own doing. The clue is in the name he had given the horse. And the result of the mating was Not Bourbon, who in 2008 won the premier Canadian Classic, the Queen’s Plate. It is not hard to share his belief in Bee Jersey. “Yes, the A.P. Indy line–and he had a beautiful running style,” Fipke says with enthuiasm. “He’d go right to the lead and had enough oomph to just barrel on. And if you go out and look at him, he’s absolutely gorgeous, just so perfectly balanced. Just ask John Phillips, he said to me: ‘I can’t believe how beautiful that horse is.'” Jersey Town (Speightstown) himself has now moved to Daehling Ranch, California; and the hardy Canadian Classic winner Danish Dynaformer (Dynaformer) is starting out on home soil at Colebrook Farms in Ontario, with a fee of Can$2,500. “I’m hoping to get a Storm Cat or something to try and make my operation break even!” exclaims Fipke. “It’s tough, because I don’t know how to find a stallion–and actually I don’t think anybody else can. Viceregal was a Canadian Horse of the Year; Vice Regent only won $70,000. And they’re full brothers. Vice Regent became a fantastic stallion, and Viceregal was a dud. So it’s really, really tough. I don’t think anybody really knows. The only thing you can do is try them.” That said, he has firm tenets: a strong believer, for instance, in the kind of “kin breeding” exemplified by the great mare Coup De Folie (Halo), whose grand-dams were both out of Almahmoud. He calculates distance aptitudes, viewing them more or less as gospel, and likes elite performers multiplied across a mare’s family. And he counts WTC president Sid Fernando as an invaluable adviser. “But there’s only one rule I really, really go on; that I never, ever contradict,” Fipke stresses. “And that’s the one that says rules were made to be broken.” And that, of course, is exactly why he is in a position to do it in the first place. He casts his mind back to his earliest days as a prospector. “One time, I had this big hike, it was about 40 miles and I had to collect samples,” he reflects. “Between myself and where I had to go, there was this big mountain in the way. And I could’ve went around the mountain. But I decided to climb it. I made it up to the top of this mountain and I felt really good. And I looked over there, and there was a mountain that was a little higher. And over there, another one that was a little higher again. “What happens is, I set these goals that seem impossible, and try and reach them. Just for the fun of it. People thought there were no diamonds in Canada, only in Africa and Russia. It was like impossible. We worked at it, and did it. Same with horses. It’s impossible to get another Storm Cat. So that’s what I’m trying to do.” View the full article

A New York state panel with jurisdiction over the New York Racing Association tonight is praising the not-for-profit corporation for the way it handled the recent controversy that led to the resignation of Chris Kay as NYRA president. View the full article

The arrest of Australia’s leading trainer Darren Weir by detectives from the Sports Integrity Intelligence Unit has sent shockwaves through the entire industry. Weir, 48, along with two other men, one aged 38 from Yangery and the other aged 26 from Warrnambool, were arrested by Victoria Police on Wednesday morning after a series of stable raids, which included the Ballarat and Warrnambool properties of the Melbourne Cup winning trainer. According to a Victoria Police statement, the men were questioned over sporting integrity matters including ‘obtaining financial advantage by deception, engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of an event or event contingency, use of corrupt conduct information for betting purposes, and attempt to commit indictable offence namely obtain financial advantage by deception’. “Today’s warrants shows that Victoria Police will investigate allegations of corruption in sport and racing and that we do that in partnership with Racing Victoria,” assistant commissioner Neil Paterson said. Police executed warrants at the two properties around 6 a.m. and seized a number of items, among which were a firearm and conducted energy devices. Police later revealed that there were four electrical devices recovered, which were referred to as ‘jiggers’. “We have initially located a number of items which have been seized, including what we believe is an unregistered firearm, three conductive energy devices, commonly called tasers or in the racing industry, jiggers and at another property we also seized a fourth conductive energy device and a small quantity of what we believe to be cocaine,” Assistant Commissioner Paterson said. The investigation continues and Assistant Commissioner Paterson described it as complex. “We are looking at a number of matters. The investigation is ongoing and I don’t want to prejudice that investigation with further comment” he said. No charges have been laid, and Weir left the Ballarat West police station around 2 p.m. on Wednesday. RV Integrity Involved in Raid Racing Victoria released a statement confirming its Integrity department had been conducting an investigation into Weir’s training operation for some time. “During the course of our investigation we sought the support of Victoria Police’s Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit on the matter, instigating their investigation,” Racing Victoria executive general manager Integrity, Jamie Stier, said. “The Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit this morning executed warrants at properties in Warrnambool and Ballarat where they arrested three licensed persons for questioning. “Members of the Racing Victoria Integrity Services team attended licensed stables to assist Victoria Police and to investigate potential offences against the Rules of Racing. Racing Victoria is committed to maintaining the highest integrity standards in our sport and, where appropriate, we will continue to work with Victoria Police on those investigations.” Police later confirmed it became involved in the investigation as early as last August. A Wealth of Success Weir has been phenomenally successful, training 36 Group 1 winners, including most famously, Prince of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire {GB}) in the 2015 G1 Melbourne Cup. He has rewritten Australian records, training an extraordinary 491 winners in 2017/18, breaking Australian and Commonwealth records in the process. His stable has become one of Australia’s biggest, with 100s of horses spread across his three properties at Miner’s Rest near Ballarat, Warrnambool and his new property at Maldon. He emerged from a humble background as a kid from Berriwillock in northern Victoria who initially set up a small stable at Stawell, while he also worked as a farrier. She’s Archie (Aus) (Archway {Ire}) first launched him into the public eye when she won the 2002 G1 South Australian Oaks. Eighteen months later, she went within 1 1/2 lengths of winning a G1 Melbourne Cup, beaten only by the triple Cup winner Makybe Diva (GB) (Desert King {Ire}). A dominant trainer on country circuits in Victoria, the move to Ballarat helped spark Weir’s career, and in 2013 he collected his second Group 1 with the mare Platelet (Aus) (Strategic {Aus}) in the Robert Sangster S. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength. He built from 183 winners in 2012/13, to 253 in 2013/14, 298 in 2014/15, 347 in 2015/16, 449 in 2016/17 and 491 last season. Prior to Wednesday’s raids he had 265 winners in the first six months of this season, on track to break the 500 mark. Last spring carnival in Melbourne he won the G1 Victoria Derby, the G1 Manikato S. the G1 Toorak H., the G1 Thousand Guineas and the G1 Memsie S. He has been permitted to continue to train by Racing Victoria stewards. (This article originally appeared in the TDN AusNZ of Jan. 31, 2019.) View the full article

Newmarket, UK–It seems unlikely that there will be a repeat of last year’s excitement at the Tattersalls February Sale when Willie John (GB) (Dansili {GB}) smashed the European record for a colt in training sold at auction. The winter gathering in Newmarket, which lay under a light carpet of snow on the eve of the event on Wednesday, is something of a mixed bag for the two-day sale. The majority going through the ring are colts and fillies both in and out of training, but some useful broodmares as well as 2-year-olds and yearlings are included. Willie John’s contribution of 1,900,000gns by moving to Roger Varian’s stable helped the sale’s turnover to reach 8,037,150gns last year, an improvement for the fourth year in a row despite impressive gains in 2017. The average of 26,880gns was also a record. The first event of the year in Park Paddocks might be one of the lowest-key, but could yet give some pointers to the financial climate ahead. Godolphin has already made a strong early impression to 2019 at the Dubai World Cup Carnival and several of the members set to leave the team could add a little lustre. Its consignment now numbers 36, predominately consisting of those who have raced, and much the best-known name is that of Atty Persse (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) (lot 375). He had looked a Classic prospect after an impressive juvenile success and struck for trainer Roger Charlton in the King George V H. at Royal Ascot in 2017 before his fortunes dwindled. Ambassadorial (Elusive Quality) (lot 315) had a similarly attractive profile for Michael Halford after taking the Listed Star Appeal S. at Dundalk, but he too has failed to build on that promise. In terms of finding a younger horse with potential close to that of Willie John, the credentials of Patrick Sarsfield (Fr) (Australia {GB}) (lot 188) are sure to be scrutinised. He was trained in Ireland by Eddie Lynam last term and was unlucky to run into G2 Champions Juvenile S. scorer Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) and Group 1 runner-up Sydney Opera House (GB) (Australia {GB}) on his only two starts. John Gosden is responsible for several of the more recently in-form offerings with War Eagle (Ire) (Australia {GB}) (lot 353) and recent Lingfield scorer St Peters Basilica (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 352), a half-brother to the far speedier pair Caspian Prince (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) and Spirit Quartz (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), having some reasonable form on the board. Harvey Dent (GB) (Mayson {GB}), (lot 180) did himself no harm in winning in impressive fashion on only his third start at Lingfield a few days ago and is being offered on behalf of trainer Archie Watson by The Castlebridge Consignment. John Murphy’s Confrontational (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) (lot 333) has also been in terrific heart of late, scoring at successive meetings at Dundalk, as has the William Haggas-trained Deputise (GB) (Kodiak {GB}) (lot 369). Green Room (Theatrical {Ire}), who ended up being the dam of last year’s G1 Oaks scorer Forever Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), changed hands at this sale a few years ago and there are certainly options for those with breeding or another season of racing in mind. Several likely types are being offered through Baroda and Colbinstown Studs on Thursday. Among their six are Kalandara (Ire) (Rainbow Quest), whose dual Group 3-winning daughter Luminate (Ire) (Lawman {Fr} sold for 900,000gns at the 2018 Tattersalls December Sale. Although the mare is now 16, she is believed to be carrying a filly foal by Lope De Vega (Ire) and is one of the best of the earlier lots as lot 69. One lot before her (lot 68) is Art Of Dance (GB) (Medicean {GB}), a Bloomsbury Stud-bred mare who is in foal to the much in-demand young buck No Nay Never. This could be a busy few minutes as another in-foal to No Nay Never is the useful race-mare Hestia (Fr) (High Chaparral {Ire}), an eye-catching entry by the National Stud as lot 66, whilst lot 67, the unraced All I Need (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) has an attractive Wildenstein pedigree. Ellery Lane (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) (lot 163) has not yet become a broodmare after leaving Brian Lynch in Canada but was stakes-placed in both Ireland and America. Highclere Stud’s Snazzy (Ire) (Kodiak {GB}) (lot 159) ought to have similar credentials as she was listed-placed for Charlie Fellowes and hails from the illustrious extended family of the likes of Cassandra Go (Ire), Magical (Ire) and Rhododendron (Ire). Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said, “The Tattersalls February Sale has firmly established itself as Europe’s premier midwinter sale and there is no shortage of high-class breeding stock in this year’s catalogue, as well as horses in training, 2-year-olds and yearlings to appeal to the usual diverse mix of domestic and international buyers who descend on Park Paddocks each year.” At 11am, prior to the sale commencing half an hour later, will be the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Flat stallion parade. Ten stallions who are about to embark upon their first and second seasons at stud in Great Britain will feature. They include Whitsbury Manor Stud’s acquisition Havana Grey (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), the G1 Flying Five S. hero, and G1 St Leger scorer Harbour Law (GB) (Lawman {Fr}, who is to stand at Batsford Stud. A pair of ex-Aidan O’Brien performers are also on show in top sprinter Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), now moving to Bearstone Stud, and the National Stud’s Lancaster Bomber (War Front), who signed off winning the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup S. Sophomore stallions Ardad (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) are also on parade with a handful of other more established stallions on hand for viewing afterwards in the Left and Right Yards. In this period of calm before the storm during which breeders and buyers will be in town, some of the leading local studs are also holding an ‘open house’ over the next couple of days and there is the opportunity to visit both Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor and Darley’s Dalham Hall headquarters, among others. View the full article

DREAM CASTLE was one everybody in the yard was looking forward to seeing last week and he put in a brilliant performance to win the Al Rashidiya. He’s a horse who has really turned the corner since coming out to Dubai. He’s had his setbacks along the way but he’s one we’ve always thought a […] The post Kieren Fallon Dubai World Cup Carnival Blog appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Keeneland has expanded the 2019 April Sale, which traditionally features 2-year-olds in training, to include horses of racing age, the sales company announced Wednesday. The April Sale is scheduled for Tuesday, Apr. 9, immediately following the Spring Meet opening weekend, which begins Thursday, Apr. 4. “Keeneland’s Spring Meet is a convergence of horsemen heading home from their winter bases,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston said. “The addition of a horses of racing age component to the April Sale complements our racing program and offers variety to buyers in town for opening weekend.” The entry deadline for the online horses of racing age catalog is Friday, Mar. 15. Supplemental entries will be accepted after that deadline. Entries for the 2-year-olds in training catalog close Saturday, Feb. 1. Keeneland conducted the April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale from 1993-2014. The sale has been on hiatus since 2015. At the 2014 April Sale, future champions Lady Eli (Divine Park) and Roy H (More Than Ready) were sold. View the full article

It wasn’t quite a fairy-tale finish, but Douglas Whyte was given a hero’s farewell after riding his last race at Happy Valley. The 13-time champion didn’t snare a winner, but he bowed out like one, parading in front of the fans, shaking hands and throwing signed goggles into the crowd before being given a guard of honour by his fellow jockeys. Whyte only had a book of three rides – Iron Bravo, Good Omen and California Gungho, with the middle one considered his best hope... View the full article

The winter weather forced a number of tracks to cancel upcoming race cards. View the full article

Irish racing last year enjoyed an increase in registered owners as well as horses in training, prizemoney and sponsorship, while bloodstock sales and betting on racing were largely down, according to Horse Racing Ireland’s 2018 Irish horse racing and breeding industry figures, which were released on Wednesday. With almost 800 new owners registered in Ireland last year, the number of new owners was up by 16.2% year-on-year, and the total number of owners was up 3.5% to 3,817. The number of horses in training climbed 2.4% to 8,688. “Increasing ownership was one of the main priorities for Horse Racing Ireland in 2018 so it is pleasing to see that strategy pay off with significant increases in the number of new owners, total owners and the consequent increase in horses-in-training,” said HRI Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh. “This will be felt by trainers all over the country with syndicate ownership rising 33% year-on-year. Owner retention is over 73%, the highest rate it has been since 2007. The rise in owners is reflected in an increase in horses-in-training and increases in entries and runners for both Flat and National Hunt racing.” Weather-related cancellations and postponements were blamed for racecourse attendance being slightly down (-0.5%) at 1.274-million, but a look at meetings from July through December shows a very slight increase (0.2%) in attendance. Prizemoney and sponsorships were up across the board-purses were up 3.9% to €63.5-million, commercial sponsorship rose 5.3% to €5.2-million and EBF sponsorship climbed 11.1% to €2.2-million. “Prizemoney grew by 3.9% in 2018 to €63.5-million and a further increase of €2.9-million is budgeted for 2019,” said Kavanagh. “The international environment has rarely been as competitive and prizemoney remains one of the key factors in attracting owners to have horses in training in Ireland. The newly developed Curragh Racecourse will see a prizemoney uplift for some of its flagship races as will the Dublin Racing Festival this coming weekend, and the festival meetings at Punchestown and Galway. Twenty Grade 2 and Grade 3 racecourses will also share €500,000 to enhance the value of their feature races, races that are typically accessible to the majority of the horse population.” Flat and National Hunt entries were both up (5% and 1.6%, respectively), putting total entries up 3.2%. In other good news for owners, individual winners were up 4.6%. Kavanagh suggested that the Israeli government’s decision to ban betting this time last year had a negative impact on wagering, and indeed total Tote betting was down 33.3% to €69.2-million, and bookmaker betting was down 11% to €54.8-million. “Overall, the downward trend in on-course betting continues and reflects the changing nature of the betting market,” Kavanagh said. “Bookmakers and the Association of Irish Racecourses are examining ways in which on-course bookmaker betting can recover and be sustained. Horse Racing Ireland is undertaking a strategic review of Tote Ireland and considering a number of future options in order to maximise its return to Irish racing.” A bright spot in the Irish bloodstock market in 2018 was the fact that the number of countries Irish-foaled horses were sold to was up 6.4%, from 31 to 33, but bloodstock sales at public auction in Ireland were down 8% to €161.5-million. Export sales of Irish-bred horses at public auction internationally were down 1.9% to €263.1-million. “While the market for Irish-bred National Hunt horses made gains again in 2018 and showed a 3% increase, the 2018 sales cycle was a very challenging one for vendors, particularly those selling Flat horses,” Kavanagh said. “It meant that the gains made in 2017 across the spectrum of sales were reversed in 2018 with the uncertainty created by Brexit the biggest of a number of factors. Irish-bred horses continued to succeed at the highest levels internationally and the value of Irish-foaled exports sold at public auction was €263.1-million. Encouragingly, the attraction of Irish-foaled horses to international buyers was confirmed with Irish-foaled horses sold through auction exported to 33 countries. This is a tribute to the quality of the Irish horse and its global reputation for excellence.” Reflecting on the figures as a whole, Kavanagh said, “Horse racing generates a very significant return to the rural economy in Ireland and positive international profile for our country–that contribution has been independently valued at €1.84-billion, supporting directly and indirectly almost 29,000 jobs. None of this success could be achieved without the support provided by Government through the Horse and Greyhound Fund. But, in Brexit, with the uncertainty it has caused and the difficulties it has the potential to create, we are facing a formidable challenge. “It is always worth bearing in mind that, despite our size, we are the third-biggest producers of Thoroughbred foals in the world. Naturally, this means that we are significant exporters and 80% of those exports go to Britain. The challenges in terms of movement of animals, customs and tariffs, and potential protectionism that Brexit could visit upon us, could have detrimental consequences. Throughout the Brexit process we have been working closely with our international racing partners, including in Britain and France, and politicians and officials in Dublin and in Brussels, and we will continue to do so on behalf of the industry. “Away from Brexit we continue to hold great ambitions for the racing and breeding sector, and the 2018 success in areas around ownership, horses-in-training and the continued support of commercial partners is a solid foundation on which to build more growth in 2019.” View the full article

National Weather Service calling for sub-zero windchill. View the full article

15:20 Lingfield Minuty is a fascinating contender here for this 7f handicap. Rae Guest’s charge showed loads of promise over 6f in novice grade company and now steps up in trip for her first try at Handicap level. The four year old looks open to any sort of improvement now handicapping and is completely unexposed […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Wednesday 30th January appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Darren Weir is one of two men being questioned by police over allegations of corruption and the use of electric-shock devices on racehorses. View the full article

An unraced 3-year-old colt by Goldencents (hip 251) topped Tuesday’s opening session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s Winter Mixed Sale when bringing a final bid of $200,000 from Susan Montanye’s S B M Training and Sales, as agent. Montanye, who signed the ticket on behalf of two undisclosed partners, said the sophomore will head to the Oaklawn Park stable of trainer Brad Cox. “I think he’s a beautiful horse,” Montanye said. “I watched him breeze at the breeze show and he did it right. I looked at the horse afterwards for them just to make sure he was sound and I passed my information along, since I was there and they could not be at the sale. So, I wish them all the best of luck with him. He seems to be the real deal.” The bay colt, who worked four furlongs in a bullet :44 flat during Monday’s under-tack preview, was consigned by Woodside Ranch. He is out of multiple stakes placed Angels Trace (Bellamy Road). Woodside’s Bryan Rice purchased the colt for $10,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale and re-offered him at last year’s OBS April sale. “I thought he had a really good frame and I really liked the way he moved,” Rice said of the colt’s appeal as a yearling. “And I was pretty encouraged about the sire–a freshman sire at the time–so there were a handful of things, both physical and pedigree that caught my eye.” The colt sold for $100,000 after working a furlong in :10 1/5 at the April sale, but eventually made his way back to Rice’s care. “We had him sold last year,” Rice explained. “But the horse got pretty sore in his shin and the people that bought him came to me and said, ‘This horse is struggling a little bit. What do we want to do?’ I told them I wanted them to be happy. We took him back and did right by him. We gave him the summer and started getting him fit again and he’s done very well. The horse has grown and improved in the course of those six months.” Of the opportunity to offer a ready-to-run horse at the January sale, Rice said, “My first priority is to sell these horses; to do right by them and sell them. And the January sale was the only one that was really available to me in the time frame. The horse is pretty much ready to run right now. I either needed to run him and sell him privately or present him at sale.” Multiple stakes winner Noble Commander (Forestry) (hip 198) also topped the six-figure mark in Ocala Tuesday, selling for $135,000 to Agave Racing Stable. The 4-year-old won last month’s Woodchopper S. at Fair Grounds for owner John Oxley and trainer Mark Casse. He was consigned by Moonshadow Farm. During the horses of racing age section of the Winter sale, 62 horses sold for $1,204,000. The average was $19,419 and the median was $8,500. A trio of yearlings shared the top price of $75,000 during Tuesday’s short select session of the OBS Winter Mixed Sale. A colt by Distorted Humor (hip 28) was first to hit the mark when selling to Tami Bobo’s First Finds. From the Select Sales consignment, the chestnut is out of Inspeight of Us (Speightstown), a half-sister to Grade I winners Daddys Lil Darling (Scat Daddy) and Mongolian Saturday (Any Given Saturday). Also from the Select Sales consignment, a colt by Bernardini (hip 70) brought a final bid of $75,000 from Calumet Farm. The bay, who RNA’d for $37,000 at last year’s Keeneland November sale, is out of graded stakes winner Palanka City (Carson City). Completing the trio of yearlings was a colt by Bayern (hip 31). Consigned by Stuart Morris as agent for Highclere, the dark bay is out of Jera (Jeblar) and is a half-brother to multiple Grade I winner Jeranimo (Congaree). Tuesday’s session missed out on a six-figure yearling when a filly by American Pharoah (hip 86) was led out unsold at $240,000. In all, 103 horses sold during the select section for a gross of $1,749,100. The average was $16,982 and the median was $12,500. During last year’s select session, 147 horses sold for $3,452,700 for an average of $23,488 and a median of $10,000. The OBS Winter Mixed sale concludes with an open session Wednesday. Bidding commences at 11 a.m. View the full article

Updates on stewards' follow-ups to Friday meeting View the full article

Walker expects Time Lord to be in his element on turf View the full article

Peter Magnier, a member of one of the world's most prominent racing families and a successful breeder under both codes in his own right, passed away Jan. 28. View the full article

Under the 2019-2020 state budget proposed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the state’s OTBs would have the option to drop betting on horse racing entirely or merge with another OTB district. There are five distinct OTB districts in New York, which cover the entire state with the exception of New York City. New York City OTB ceased operations in 2010. It appears that the primary reason Cuomo would allow the OTBs to stop taking bets on horses is because most of the districts have been losing money on racing and some have branched out into the slots business. Nassau OTB is the recipient of revenue from 500 slot machines at the Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct Racetrack, money that goes neither to NYRA nor purses. Suffolk OTB operates 1,000 machines at a casino in Suffolk County, Long Island. Western OTB also operates the Batavia harness track, which has slots. The OTBs are also candidates to take sports betting once laws on that are formulated in the state. New York’s OTB network was established in the 1970s, when horse racing and the lottery were the only legal forms of gambling in the state. But the landscape has changed dramatically over the last 40 odds years, and the OTBs have found it harder and harder to make a profit on racing as casinos began to proliferate in the state and racing’s popularity has declined. According to Newsday, Suffolk OTB went bankrupt in 2011 and has about $41 million in debt. The paper also reported that Nassau OTB is about $8.8 million in debt. “The agencies have not turned a profit on horse betting in over a decade as racing has become a losing proposition throughout the country,” Nassau OTB president Joe Cairo told Newsday. According to multiple sources, Cuomo put the OTB language into his budget proposal as a way not only to free some OTBs of a financial drain, but to benefit Capital OTB, which covers the Saratoga-Albany area. Unlike Nassau and Suffolk, Capital has no connection to slot machines and is also widely viewed as the most successful OTB in the state. Should Cuomo’s budget pass as is, Capital would be in position to take over the racing portion of the business from any of the other OTBs who want out of the horse business. It was not immediately clear if Capital or any other OTB district could re-open OTBs in New York City. “It depends on what other OTBs decide,” Capital OTB President and CEO John Signor said when asked if his company would look to take over other OTB districts. “Other OTBs have VLTs and Western has VLTs and a racetrack. At Capital, we have just come off a profitable year. I think one of the reasons is horse racing is the only product we have, so we really focus on it and try hard to make it profitable for us. If any opportunities come about to branch out and expand our OTB operation, we’d certainly be interested in talking to people about it, analyzing it and reviewing it. There is no doubt about it that we support what the Governor has put in his budget.” Should Capital take over more of the off-track betting in the state, the prize would be the customers who have ADW accounts with the other regions. However, Signor said that with any merger of OTB districts, the new operator can keep the bricks-and-mortar facilities open if they chose to do so. “We do that all the time,” he said. “We look at all our branches to make sure they are as profitable as can be. We look at handle, expenses, the rent. The ones that are profitable obviously stay open. If an individual branch is not making money we have to look to see if it makes sense to keep it open.” The fact that New York is not only the only state that has more than one OTB operator but has five has been a controversial subject for years and many believe the system was set up that way to provide as many patronage jobs as a possible. For that reason, a consolidation of OTB operations will likely be welcomed in many corners of the industry. If OTBs handle does not significantly decline if and when changes are made, NYRA’s purse account should not be affected. However, one person close to the situation wondered why Cuomo did not open the doors to allowing NYRA and its NYRA Bets ADW the option to take over some of the OTB districts. “Really, that’s what would be best for racing,” the source said. “NYRA is good at what they do, especially with NYRA Bets and they should have been given the chance to throw their hat in the ring. That’s what would have been best for New York racing.” View the full article

Peter Magnier, who ran Brittas House Stud in County Tipperary and enjoyed success as a breeder under both codes, passed away on Monday, the Racing Post reported. Magnier was the son of Tom Magnier and Evie Stockwell. He was a brother to Coolmore’s John Magnier, as well as David, who manages Castlehyde and Grange Studs and Anne O’Callaghan, who owns Tally-Ho Stud with her husband Tony. As a breeder, Magnier enjoyed his greatest success with Brigid (Irish River {Fr}), the dam of Irish highweight Sequoyah (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), herself the producer of G1 English/Irish 2000 Guineas hero Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo) and fellow Irish highweight Listen (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells). Brigid is also the ancestress of many other high-class runners Magnier is survived by his mother and siblings, partner Annabel, family Trini, Scobie, Tash, Ed and Coco and grandchildren. A viewing will be held at his residence from 4 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 30. A requiem mass is scheduled for Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at the Church of the Assumption at Knockavilla, followed by burial at Kilcrumper New Cemetery in Fermoy. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations should be made to the Solas Cancer Support Centre. View the full article

Leading trainer Darren Weir has been reportedly been arrested and stables raided by police in a dawn operations on Wednesday morning. View the full article

Leading trainer Darren Weir has been arrested and his stables raided by police in a dawn operations this morning. View the full article

When I went down to Gulfstream for this year's installment of the Pegasus World Cup Day, it felt as if I was seeing it for the first time. There was something off about it. Something just didn't feel right. View the full article