Wandering Eyes

Both the trainer and jockey of excitement machine Little Giant concede they are stepping into the unknown when they tackle Class One company for the first time in the Panasonic Cup (1,400m) on Saturday. The New Zealand import has been beaten just once in his injury-plagued four-start Hong Kong career but faces his toughest test yet as he progresses towards a possible Longines International Races tilt next month. Little Giant could not have been more impressive when returning from injury earlier... View the full article

Superstar jockey Joao Moreira will partner boom speedster Hot King Prawn in next weekend’s Group Two BOCHK Wealth Management Jockey Club Sprint at Sha Tin. Trainer John Size confirmed the booking of the Magic Man ahead of his five-pronged attack on the traditional lead-up race for the Group One Longines Hong Kong Sprint. Moreira is yet to ride Hot King Prawn, who boasts a record of eight wins and a second from nine starts, in a race, but he was aboard for his very first barrier trial at... View the full article

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale marched into Book 3 Thursday in Lexington with continued competitive bidding. Nine horses sold for $200,000 or over during the session, led by the 3-year-old broodmare prospect Saucy Dame (Distorted Humor) who sold to Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings for $320,000. Two weanlings topped the $200,000 mark, with a colt by Speightstown bringing the top foal price of the day when selling to Evergreen Stable for $285,000. In all, 259 horses sold Thursday at Keeneland for a total of $17,381,000. The session average was $67,108 and the median was $52,000. With 76 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 22.69%. “I think it’s great,” Tom VanMeter, whose VanMeter-Gentry Sales consigned the session topper, said of the market. “I don’t think it’s absolutely killer, but nice mares like [Saucy Dame] are selling. I’ve been trying to buy mares and getting shut out. And the weanlings are good. You walk up there, they are ferocious to buy them, if they are good. But we’ve bought a few. So we’re happy and we’re rocking on.” Bloodstock agent Chad Schumer, who sold the day’s second-highest priced weanling, said there were plenty of opportunities in Book 3 of the reformated November sale–which started with a single Book 1 session Monday. “I think this is Book 3, but it really feels like Book 2 to me,” he said. “Book 2 tends to have some soft spots because you’re transitioning from the very top of the market to the more middle of the market. So I try to work Book 2 pretty hard for that reason.” Through four sessions, 833 head have grossed $142,608,000 for an average of $171,198 and a median of $105,000. At this point in last year’s auction, which had a two-session Book 1 section, 660 horses had sold for $144,097,000. The average was $218,329 and the median was $130,000. The Keeneland November sale continues through Nov. 16 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m. Nothing Like a Saucy Dame Saucy Dame (Distorted Humor) will be joining the broodmare band at Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet after selling for a session-topping $320,000 Thursday at Keeneland. The 3-year-old filly, who sold as a broodmare prospect, is a daughter of Storm Beauty (Storm Cat), a half-sister to champion Gold Beauty (Mr. Prospector). Saucy Dame is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Buffum (Bernardini) and graded stakes placed Stormy West (Gone West) and Renaissance Lady (A.P. Indy). “She was a Distorted Humor, who is a great broodmare sire, and she comes from a great female family,” Stonestreet’s John Moynihan said of the filly’s appeal. “It’s a great female family and all of the daughters from that family have produced. If this one goes on to produce horses like some of the other daughters have, we’ll be in good shape.” This wasn’t the first time Moynihan had purchased a member of the family at auction. “I actually bought her mother years ago as a yearling,” he said. Moynihan purchased Storm Beauty for $650,000 at the 1996 Keeneland July sale. The dark bay went on to win the 1998 Miss Preakness S. and Wilma C. Kennedy S. for Robert Lewis and trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The mare sold, in foal to A.P. Indy, to Brushwood Stable for $2.2 million at the 2004 Keeneland November sale. Saucy Dame (hip 1386) was consigned to Thursday’s sale by VanMeter-Gentry Sales as agent for Louise Lally’s Summerplace Farm. Summerplace purchased the chestnut filly for $200,000 as a Keeneland September yearling in 2016. She won two of nine starts for Summerplace and trainer Eddie Kenneally. “We are pleased with that result,” said Tom VanMeter. “She is a breeder’s mare. We put her back here [in Book 3] for a reason. We wanted her to stand out and I think she did. She had 100 shows–100 shows is pretty impressive for a mare.” Summerplace Farm sold 2017 GI Ashland S. winner Sailor’s Valentine (Mizzen Mast) (hip 177) for $800,000 during Monday’s first session of the November sale. Speightstown Colt to Partnership A colt by Speightstown was the highest-priced weanling, and second highest-priced lot overall, of Thursday’s fourth session of the Keeneland November sale when selling for $285,000. The weanling is out of the unraced Magical Dream (Malibu Moon), a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Dream Rush (Wild Rush). Dream Rush is the dam of Grade I winner Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy) and the speedy Atreides (Medaglia d’Oro), both of whom were bred and raced by Stonestreet Stables. The operation’s John Moynihan signed the ticket on hip 1282 in the name of Evergreen Stable. “I bought him for a partnership,” Moynihan said. “He may be resold and he may be raced, we’ll just see.” The weanling was consigned by St. George Sales on behalf of breeder Bonnie Baskin’s Blue Heaven Farm. “It’s a great price and he is going to great owners,” Archie St. George said after watching the colt sell. “I wish them the best of luck. Hopefully we will see him down the road and that is the important part. Credit goes to the breeder; they do a very good job. The price exceeded expectations.” Blue Heaven Farm purchased Magical Dream, in foal to Pioneerof the Nile, for $210,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale. The colt she was carrying at the sale returned to bring $300,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. The mare’s More Than Ready colt sold to Spendthrift Farm for that same price this past August at Saratoga. Magical Dream was bred to Candy Ride (Arg) this year. Bachman Restocks Tom Bachman of Fairview was at the Keeneland November sale looking to restock his broodmare band. Before heading for the airport for a flight home to California, the breeder bid $230,000 to secure the 9-year-old Harbor Mist (Rockport Harbor), in foal to Frosted, from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. “She’s a young mare and I think Frosted is going to be a nice sire,” Bachman said. “We’ll breed her to a horse in California and make that [in utero foal] a Cal-bred.” The stakes-winning Harbor Mist (hip 1228) is out of Jaramar Miss (Risen Star) and is a half-sister to graded stakes placed Jaramar Rain (Thunder Gulch). The mare, then in foal to Speightstown, was purchased by WinStar Farm for $410,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. In foal to Distorted Humor, she RNA’d for $270,000 at last year’s Keeneland November sale. Fairview was represented by three of the top five lots during the final Barretts August Select Yearling Sale three months ago, led by a $230,000 son of Square Eddie. The farm topped the 2017 edition of the sale with a $300,000 filly by Bodemeister. Both yearlings are out of Bachman’s mare North Freeway (Jump Start), who also produced multiple stakes winner Take the One O One (Acclamation). “My broodmare band is getting up in average age, so I’m trying to drop it down,” Bachman explained. “So that’s what this mare is going to do. I bought a Malibu Moon mare earlier and she is going to be in the same program.” Bachman purchased Moon River Gal (Malibu Moon) (hip 487) for $270,000 at Keeneland Wednesday. He agreed the market for mares was tough in Lexington this week. “A young, good-looking mare who is bred right is very tough to buy,” Bachman said. “I was an underbidder four times yesterday, so it’s tough. But it’s getting thin now, so what is going to happen is everybody is going to focus on the same ones. The nice mares and pedigrees, everyone is going to be on the same ones.” Flatter Colt a Score for Schumer, Burke Chad Schumer saw a golden opportunity at Keeneland last January and struck, purchasing Vegas Trip (Aldebaran), in foal to Flatter, for $23,000. The mare’s Flatter colt (hip 1474), co-bred with Glidawn Stud’s Gerry Burke, returned to the Keeneland sales ring Thursday and rewarded the investment when selling for $200,000 to deMeric Stables. “The mare is a half-sister to two graded stakes winners and she had a good produce history,” Schumer said of the 10-year-old mare’s appeal. “Her previous Flatter had sold very well to a great judge in Mike Ryan. So at that price, I couldn’t resist.” Out of group-placed Nawal (Fr) (Homme de Loi {Ire}), Vegas Trip is a half-sister to Grade I winner Mast Track (Mizzen Mast) and Group 1 winner Jemayel (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). Ryan paid $70,000 for the weanling’s full-brother at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. “He was absolutely lovely when he was born, but he kind of went through an awkward stage and we weren’t entirely sure we were going to bring him here,” Schumer admitted of the weanling. “But he really came on the past three weeks, I mean unbelievably strong. So he is definitely headed in the right direction. And his half-brother, an Into Mischief, sold for $270,000 to Chad Brown [at this year’s Keeneland September sale]. That really encouraged us to go on.” Vegas Trip was bred back to Lea this spring and Schumer said of her, “Another client has the mare, so it’s still in the family.” Of his operation, Schumer explained, “We always dabble a little bit here and there with partnerships. We have been buying for clients for a long time and sometimes we take a leg here and there and we’ve done some breeding partnerships with some of the other consignors.” Burke has been buying weanlings at Keeneland to pinhook in his native Ireland for two decades, but he enjoyed two sales successes in Lexington Thursday. In addition to the Flatter colt, Burke sold a colt from the first crop of GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz for $140,000 as the first horse through the ring in Book 3. He had purchased the weanling’s dam, with the colt in utero, for $36,000 at last year’s Keeneland November sale. “We’ve become very good friends and he’s seen what I’ve done and he said, ‘I want a leg of a mare here or there, too,'” Schumer said of Burke. The partners did experience some of the lows of the sales game Thursday, as well, when forced to scratch hip 1196. “We had a beautiful Flintshire (GB) filly in today as well, but we had to scratch her because she got sick,” Schumer said. “That was a bit of a blow. Three weeks ago, I would not have thought [the Flatter colt] would have made the sale and I was sure she would shine. And it flipped. That’s the vagaries of doing this.” Upstart Colt a Career Score for Wente Longtime Indiana breeder Tommy Wente decided to make a change some four years ago and, along with partners Shane and Calvin Crain, leased St. Simon Place and set about setting up a commercial broodmare band on the 380-acre Lexington farm. The new program enjoyed its biggest success to date when a colt from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Upstart sold for $195,000 to Clear Ridge Stables Thursday at Keeneland. “When he was born, he was just a knock out from day one,” Wente said of hip 1256, who was co-bred with Scott Stephens. “He was very, very correct and very pretty. He was a pretty colt with a beautiful walk and a beautiful neck.” Of breeding to a first-season sire, Wente said, “I think you can find value because no one has them. They haven’t been on the track, so they can’t ding them on anything. So if you get a good-looking first-year baby, people are willing to take chances. But when you get on that bubble year, when those horses are starting to go to the track, we back off of them. Because it’s hard to make a stallion. A lot of them don’t make it, so you kind of want to stay away from those years. We did well with the first-year studs because you can’t really get hurt and you don’t have to put a whole lot of money into them.” Of Thursday’s result, Wente admitted, “It’s kind of surreal because he was the most expensive horse I’ve ever sold. We just basically got into this. We leased this farm about four years ago.” Wente continued, “I was an Indiana guy–I was breeding these cheap Indiana-breds and I was just not going anywhere. It’s just the same old stuff and you can’t make any money and you’re kind of stuck in a rut. So when I was offered a chance to come over here, it was either now or never because I was 45 or 46 at the time. I wasn’t getting any younger and you kind of know where you want to be, but you’ve just got to get there. We leased the farm and then we had to start from scratch.” The St. Simon Place broodmare band currently numbers 15 head, plus an additional handful of mares owned in partnerships. Wente is looking to improve the farm’s bloodstock little by little over the next several years. “We want to jump up our program every year,” he said. “So we started at the bottom and we are trying to jump our program up. This year’s babies are going to be from higher stud fees and next year’s are going to go up a little bit more.” Joyous Music is an example of that philosophy. The 10-year-old mare is currently in foal to Violence and is booked back to Street Sense. View the full article

Edited Press Release Thoroughbred Charities of America is pleased to announce the winner of the Sixth Annual TCA Youth Essay Contest. Kaelyn Penick, 18, of Appomattox, Va. has been named the winner of the contest. The contest was open to recipients of services, volunteers, supporters or anyone, 18 years of age or younger, that has been impacted by an organization that received a grant from TCA in 2018. To participate, contestants submitted an essay containing a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 600 words, describing how a TCA grant recipient has affected his or her life. Penick wrote about her experience at War Horses at Rose Bower, a Thoroughbred aftercare organization that provides rehabilitation, retraining, rehoming, and retirement services to Thoroughbreds. The organization will receive a grant of $1,000 for Penick’s essay. Read her essay here. “We greatly appreciate all of the essay submissions,” said Erin Crady executive director of TCA. “Each essay conveyed a personal narrative of the author’s experience with our grant recipients. We congratulate Kaelyn on her winning essay and applaud War Horses at Rose Bower for their continued good work.” View the full article

Beginning in 2019, NBC Sports will expand its horse racing programming by partnering with Churchill Downs on a new magazine-style series while adding two prep races to its previous schedule. The ‘Road to the Kentucky Derby’ series will debut next spring leading up to NBC’s coverage of the 145th Run for the Roses. NBC Sports Network will debut the first of four 30-minute Road to the Kentucky Derby episodes, showcasing the stars of the 2019 3-year-old crop and describing the stories behind the horses. Keith Wetzler, executive producer of broadcast at Churchill Downs, will produce the series. In addition, NBC Sports will add the $1-million GII Louisiana Derby and the $1-million GI Arkansas Derby to its lineup of 2019 Triple Crown prep races on NBCSN next spring. The first episode of the new Road to the Kentucky Derby series will debut following the Louisiana Derby on March 23. View the full article

Officials at Breeders’ Cup Limited announced Thursday that there were no positive findings for prohibited substances among the 289 horses tested both pre- and post-race at this year’s world championships at Churchill Downs Nov. 2 and 3. Out-of-competition (OOC) testing of horses that had won Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ races and other targeted possible starters in championship races both in North America and overseas began in June and continued right through Breeders’ Cup weekend. Breeders’ Cup engages an OOC testing coordinator, William Farmer, DVM who worked with regulatory associations and with testing laboratories around the world, including the British Horse Racing Authority’s Lab LGC, France Galop’s official Lab LCH and the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California-Davis. All three labs are certified by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The executive council of the IFHA also specifically endorsed the updated protocols of the Breeders’ Cup which were put in place in advance of last year’s World Championships. Some 94% (180/191) of the horses entered for Breeders’ Cup weekend were sampled in three European and 10 North American jurisdictions a minimum of one time, with some runners having been subjected to multiple sampling. Through pre-race testing, 85 of 90 individual trainers that were represented at the Breeders’ Cup had at least one horse sampled. Additionally, all horses underwent pre-race testing for total carbon dioxide (TCO2) levels in blood. Industrial Laboratories then conducted post-race testing of both blood and urine samples for prohibited drugs, including cobalt, collected from the first four finishers in all Breeders’ Cup races and any additional random horses selected by the stewards consistent with KHRC protocols. The program tested for anabolic steroids, blood doping agents and growth hormones, among others. “We would like to extend our gratitude for the cooperating racing jurisdictions here and abroad and to the participating horsemen who cooperate fully in the Breeders’ Cup out of competition testing program” said Dora Delgado, Breeders’ Cup Senior Vice President of Racing and Nominations. “This comprehensive testing program ensures that a level playing field is provided to all participants and continues the expansion of our world class programs of safety, integrity and security for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships event.” View the full article

Maximus puts Korea behind with brilliant comeback win View the full article

First Group win for Ben Thompson, quinella for Brown in EW Barker View the full article

Nowyousee gives them some sight again View the full article

All Thrusters on in Saas Fee Stakes View the full article

Syahir rides first winner for new master View the full article

A 'different rider' has taken over: Ford View the full article

Horses' body weights November 9 View the full article

Track conditions and course scratchings November 9 View the full article

Mauritius apprentice jockey Brandon Louis to ride at Kranji for three months View the full article

Early scratching November 9 View the full article

Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro–Globe Trot, by A. P. Indy), a two-time Grade I winner as a juvenile, has been retired from racing and will take up stud duty in 2019 at B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky. The $630,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase will stand for a fee of $25,000 S&N. “We felt like the best thing is, it was time to move on to his next career,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “There was certainly discussion of the GI Clark H. at Churchill and GI Pegasus World Cup. That would have been the ideal scenario. But we felt like it was best to make sure Bolt d’Oro was in good shape and ready to start career No. 2.” Campaigned by Mick and Wendy Ruis, Bolt d’Oro captured the GI Del Mar Futurity and GI FrontRunner S. in visually impressive fashion and was also third with a troubled trip in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. He was placed first via disqualification in a thrilling renewal of this term’s GII San Felipe S. and was also runner-up to subsequent Triple Crown hero Justify (Scat Daddy) in the GI Santa Anita Derby. “Bolt d’Oro is a big, scopey horse, and if you look at him, you would think two-turn horse. You wouldn’t necessarily think precocious 2-year-old,” Toffey said. “Yet that’s exactly what he was–a very precocious 2-year-old and very talented. I think when you see one that is kind of going against the bias, that speaks volumes about how talented a horse he is. Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Bolt d’Oro is a half-brother to Sonic Mule (Distorted Humor), MSW & MGSP, $264,190. View the full article

Flashback (Tapit–Rhumb Line, by Mr. Greeley), the sire of seven winners from his first crop including Grade I-placed Boujie Girl and Grade III-placed Tripwire, has been relocated to Glenn Brok’s Diamond B Farm for the 2019 breeding season. He will stand for a fee of $3,500 live foal with special consideration to mares foaling in Pennsylvania. “We are very excited about Flashback coming to Diamond B. He has active 2-year-olds and they are doing well,” commented Brok. “We have so much respect for Gary and Mary West and are happy they have chosen to enter the lucrative Pennsylvania breeding market. The state-bred program has a lot to offer breeders, and Flashback will enhance their choices when it comes time to book their mares.” Winner of the GII Robert B. Lewis S. at second asking, Flashback was second in the GII San Felipe S. and GI Santa Anita Derby and was favored in six of his seven career trips to the post. A $260,000 purchase by the Wests at the 2010 Keeneland November sale, Flashback is a full-brother to dual Grade I winner Zazu, to SW Corinthian’s Jewel (Corinthian) and GSP Art Princess (Officer). View the full article

When Alta Bambina captured the third race at Gulfstream Park West Nov. 7, Carlos David hardly had a difficult time finding the winner's circle to celebrate his first victory as a trainer. View the full article

The first thing that you notice about Worldly Slew, now known as Sonny, is how his ears are always forward. He stands placidly as the therapeutic riding instructor, Cathy Lamando, the student, 6-year-old Nero, and a volunteer prepare for the riding lesson. As part of his session at Nipper Knolls Equine Center, Nero is helping to get Sonny ready. Hence, the frequent starts and stops, and readjustments in the tack. Nero just seems to enjoy the attention. Lamando is a board-certified Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist as well as a certified PATH International registered riding instructor. She and her husband David started Nipper Knolls Equine Center to merge Cathy’s passion of helping others as a physical therapist with her love of horses. “About eight years ago we were in the market for a bomb-proof therapy pony,” explained David. “Then we got a call from Easy Street Animal Rescue that an extremely underweight Thoroughbred needed a place to recuperate from a bad situation. So, we agreed to help out. That was how we acquired Sonny. He turned out to be the perfect horse for our program.” Worldly Slew, a New York-bred by Slew the Knight raced from age two to 10. He started 104 times earning $104,000. He was slow to break his maiden but what he lacked in speed, he made up in resilience. In 1997, as a 5-year-old, he ran 28 times (an average of every 13 days) and hit the board 12 times. At ages seven and eight, he ran 14 times each year. Sonny retired at 10 while still sound and became a riding horse. He lived with one companion horse. When his friend died, Sonny was leased to a riding stable. Apparently unable to compete with his herd-mates for food and no special accommodations forthcoming, his condition deteriorated. His former owner went to visit him and found him emaciated. She turned to Easy Street for help. That was when Nipper Knolls stepped in as a foster placement and Sonny found his new calling in life. “He arrived extremely under weight and it was months before we could put a rider on him,” recalls Lamando. “I rode him first and he was lovely at a walk, trot and canter. So, Cathy began the training to desensitize him, but he had no issues with anything. He has been perfect and extraordinarily kind from the beginning.” Nipper Knolls Equine Center, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation was founded to provide equine-assisted activities to children who otherwise would never know the enjoyment and benefits of riding and working with horses. Many of the children they serve have special considerations associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder, C.P., Down Syndrome, Delayed Development and Sensory Processing Disorder that prevent them from participating in group activities or sports. Nero suffers from severe ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Conduct Disorder. His condition affects his ability to learn as well as interact with his family and other children. His grandmother, who brings him every Sunday, says his time with Sonny has changed his life. “Nero was unkind to our pets and generally hard to control,” explained his grandmother. “He is in his second year of coming to ride weekly and the improvement in all aspects of his behavior is remarkable. He is much kinder and more tolerant. He likes cats and dogs and is generally calm, especially after his riding lesson.” Nero walked and occasionally trotted in his lesson. He guided Sonny through obstacles and performed tasks such as putting a ring on a cone which is on top of a barrel. Sonny went through the 30-minute class flawlessly responding to the subtlest of cues. What does it take to keep Sonny happy and healthy? These days he has a 65-pound weight limit to carry, eats three meals a day with alfalfa for lunch and has his own volunteer veterinarian, Dr. Valerie Castora of Heart-Wing Veterinary Services. She specializes in veterinary chiropractic and acupuncture for horses. His lessons are primarily walk with occasional trotting. “Sonny’s happiness and well-being are paramount to us and to Easy Street which still technically owns him,” added Lamando. “We watch him carefully and follow Dr. Castora’s recommendations to the letter. He has given so much to us and everyone in his life, he deserves the best.” For more information about Nipper Knolls Equine Center, contact nipperknolls@yahoo.com or call 518-642-2252. Diana Pikulski is the editor of the Thoroughbred Adoption Network, a searchable database of Thoroughbred horses available for adoption. View the full article

Clarity, consistency in the adjudication of North American racing is possible with a switch to the Category 1 philosophy. View the full article

This week, champion sprinter Runhappy’s first foals went through the ring at Keeneland, with eight weanlings selling for an average of $191,250 through Book 2. What onlookers might not have noticed was that the man showing them in the ring was none other than Cordell Anderson, Runhappy’s groom during his racing career. Anderson, who handles horses in the ring for Keeneland, made sure that he was on the end of the shank for hip 193, the first Runhappy foal through the ring this week. TDN: This was a special week for you. Tell us why. CA: Well, Runhappy’s babies, or I should say my grandchildren, are now going through the sales ring. They’re lovely; such fine, magnificent animals. They’re great. TDN: Tell us about the first time you saw one, was it here at the sale? CA: Yeah, it was right here on the sales grounds. I went and saw number 193. I went down to the barn to look at him and he was great. TDN: And then we saw that you got to handle him when he went in the ring. What was that like? CA: Yes, I could not let that pass me by. The very first Runhappy; I had to get my hands on him. It was great. Good feeling. When he first walked in, he was great. And then I guess, like all the horses in the sales ring, the speaker above their head can make them get a little flighty. It’s just that it’s a different place and got so many people in there and noise. But they’re great. He was great. TDN: Physically, what was Runhappy like, and how does he compare to his foals? CA: He’s a very nice, very calm horse to deal with. He was just great. Just everything that a groom wanted with a horse. Good mind, sleeps, and doesn’t give you any trouble. He would go off and do his work and then eat grass when he was through. He was a very good doer. And body-wise, he’s excellent, physically, mentally. Great. TDN: Did he pass that temperament onto his onto his sons and daughters? CA: I think so. You know how babies are. But, yeah eventually they’ll mellow out and I think everybody is going to be happy both in the sales ring and I think with their running style. They should get out of the starting gate running. TDN: Do you ever go out to Claiborne to see Runhappy now? CA: Oh, yeah. He loves seeing me. I usually go with apples and peppermints. Once I said, `I’m going to see if he really knows who I am and I’m going to keep these things away so he won’t see them.’ So, I walked on up and he was way up in the corner and I said, ‘Happy!’ He looks. I said, ‘Happy!’ And here he comes, bombing down to the gate. And I said, ‘Oh yeah, he didn’t forget.’ It was great. That made me feel good. It’s not just the apples. View the full article

Breeders' Cup completed an extensive out-of-competition pre- and post-race testing program at this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs, Nov. 2-3, which included the testing of 289 horses. View the full article

NBC Sports will expand its horse racing programming in 2019, including a collaboration with Churchill Downs on a new magazine-style series and the addition of a pair of crucial prep races. View the full article

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission gave Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, LLC the green light to conduct at least four days of live Thoroughbred racing in 2019 at Suffolk Downs. View the full article