Wandering Eyes

Curatolo believes Lightning can strike twice View the full article

Emirates Singapore Derby post position draw reactions View the full article

Peters hopes Golden Horseshoe fits for Mr Hooper View the full article

Emirates Singapore Derby 2018 Post Position Draw View the full article

What is The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF)? According to the press release announcing its formation, it has been established to create an active forum for the exchange and curation of ideas which will improve the overall prospects for the Thoroughbred industry, its stakeholders, and fundamentally, the horse. Those are huge goals and the person running the ship will be Patrick Cummings, formerly the executive manager of public affairs for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He will be the executive director of TIF and starts his new job August 1. Cummings was a recent guest on the Thoroughbred Daily News podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made. Excerpts from that podcast appear below. TDN: Many people don’t know what the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation is, how it will work or what its goals are. Can you please explain? PC: There is a reason for that, because we are truly just getting started. This is the brainchild of Craig Bernick, who wanted to start something that is completely different. He has sat on many of the boards of the industry organizations that are out there, he’s been in the meetings and was of the opinion that the complex ideas–and even the simple ones–aren’t getting completed. The sport is not improving as it should be. It should be growing and it should be more innovative. It got to the point where Craig said the heck with it, I’m going to start something on my own. He assembled a tremendous board of nine people coming from all areas of the industry. Too often like-minded people in racing go to their like-minded corner and talk about like-minded topics and reiterate those same talking points. We have people coming from many different areas. For example, we have Paul Matties, who is a significant bettor. The extreme opposite is Gary Stevens. It’s a very diverse board and the goal is to bring together active people who want to change the sport for the better. What we won’t be doing is talking about the pie in the sky or these lofty issues that are seemingly impossible to fix. The goal for us is to take issues that can be tackled and work within racing’s existing infrastructure. For us, the state of North American Thoroughbred racing can be summed in three main statistics over the last decade or so: handle is down roughly 20%; foal crops are down almost 40%; the number of races being run is down about 25%. If you take those three big factors and say what has happened, you have to ask yourself what are we doing to stop this? We’re starting from scratch. We want to take this venture from nothing to try to inspire the industry and advocate for change. I’m very excited to be coming home to do it. TDN: It sounds like this will be a horse racing think tank. You want good ideas that will help the industry. Where will they come from? How will they be formed? PC: You hit the nail on the head. Our new website will be racingthinktank.com. The ideas are not just coming from the board or from me. We are going to solicit input from anyone, industry stakeholders, fans, gamblers. A good idea can come from anywhere in this sport, just like a good horse can come from anywhere. But it’s about time that we started to curate those ideas and work together. A lot of people criticize what goes on in the social media landscape, but there are a lot of good ideas out there that get tossed about. It’s just that very little gets done. What we’re hoping to do is take some of these ideas, curate those ideas, have people submit ideas through racingthinktank.com and go from there. One of the heartening things about this is that once it was announced that I was coming back from Hong Kong to lead the organization, I had four different racing executives–and two from particularly big tracks–reach out and say how can we work with you? I think the industry is ready for this. A lot of people are exhausted and there is a lot of industrial malaise when it comes to talking about these very large issues, like Lasix, medication rules and state regulations. Those are not the types of things we are interested in tackling. We are looking for some simple solutions, for some broken windows and certainly some bigger fixes. The thing is, they’re out there. TDN: Perhaps coming up with good ideas isn’t even the hard part. If you come up with something innovative and positive, will people in a sport that is notorious for not changing listen to you? Does that worry you? PC: Yes. Horse racing is full of losers. By that I mean, there are far more losers in horse racing than in any other sport. It’s significantly different than any team sports that are out there. In the team sports, one team loses, one team wins. Half of the people, half of the fans, half of the sides are gratified; the other half are not. On any race day, the majority of people walk away as losers. You have to deal with a lot of losing in horse racing. So when topics arise where there is no easy way to win, people just fight. People fight tooth and nail to come up with any victory that they can–even when it’s obvious that changing something is vital. I keep going back to the numbers. Handle down, foal crops down, total races run down. Can we afford to keep doing the same thing and not try something different? We really have to. We’re going to approach this positively and very inclusively and see if changes can’t be derived. Frankly, we just have to try. We know most people want to reject change in racing, but we just can’t afford to anymore. TDN: If I wanted to bet on tonight’s Yankees/Orioles game, there is a wealth of information available to me about the teams, the pitchers, how they match up, who can and cannot hit left-handed pitching, on-base percentages, etc.. And it’s all free. Not only does racing not have nearly as much data available, but whatever data is available is not free. In fact, it’s quite expensive. How can racing compete with other forms of gambling that give data away when we charge an arm and a leg for ours? PC: This is an important point and something we want to tackle. We want to work with Equibase to come to a resolution and advocate for players as a whole. Of course, Equibase is partially owned by the racetracks and you would think the racetracks would want their customers to have as much information as possible. But it seems they more want the money that comes from the data more than they want people to have free access to it. Free access to the information could potentially yield greater play. You have to try some things first to see if that would work. I agree wholeheartedly that other sports are doing a far better job than what we are doing in America from a racing perspective. There are so many statistical programs and analytics experts out there. I would have to think a lot of people would like to get their hands on racing data, but they don’t have the opportunity to do so in an easily accessible format. There’s so much more that racing could have. I understand that there are limits and there are expenses associated with acquiring that data. Call me crazy but I could go to a racetrack and I could sit there in the stands and chart the races myself. The fact that any particular horse ran first, second or third doesn’t seem to me to be proprietary information that someone should pay for. It almost seems like it’s a public event that has taken place. I could chart the races myself, but Equibase does it for us. But the basic results should be widely available and they aren’t. That’s very frustrating to the modern player who is looking for as much information as possible. I’d like to posit maybe the opposite. What would happen if we unshackled the data and invited teams from universities to come in and have at it? Let people run wild with it and see what they can come up with on their own and then see what the impact on handle would be. Try to invite people to come in. The opportunity would be fantastic to take this age of analytics and apply it to racing. Let’s take the shackles off. View the full article

The Breeders’ Cup has announced the election results to Board of Directors by the 44 Breeders’ Cup Members. Elliott Walden, WinStar Farm; Gavin Murphy, SF Bloodstock; Barbara Banke, Stonestreet Stables and Walker Hancock, Claiborne Farm were each elected to serve a four-year term. Banke and Walden were re-elected as Directors. William S. Farish, Jr., Lane’s End Farm and Alex Solis II, Solis/Litt Bloodstock were each elected to serve a three-year term. Farish was re-elected as a Director. Dan Pride, Godolphin, was re-elected and will fill a one-year term. The terms were filled in descending order based upon the number of votes cast for each candidate. Following the election, the Board of 14 Directors is as follows: Barbara Banke, Stonestreet Stables; Antony Beck, Gainesway Farm; William S. Farish, Jr., Lane’s End Farm; Craig Fravel, President & CEO of the Breeders’ Cup; Walker Hancock, Claiborne Farm; Fred Hertrich (Chairman), Watercress Farm; Bret Jones, Airdrie Stud; Anthony Manganaro, Siena Farm; Clem Murphy, Coolmore Stud; Gavin Murphy, SF Bloodstock; Dan Pride, Godolphin; Mike Rogers, The Stronach Group; Alex Solis II, Solis/Litt Bloodstock and Elliott Walden, WinStar Farm. “We welcome new Directors Walker Hancock, Gavin Murphy and Alex Solis II to the Breeders’ Cup Board and congratulate Barbara Banke, Bill Farish, Dan Pride and Elliott Walden on their re-election,” said Fred Hertrich III, Breeders’ Cup Chairman. “On behalf of all of us, we also extend our great thanks and appreciation to Craig Bernick, Bobby Flay and Roy Jackson for their commitment to the Breeders’ Cup during their time as Directors.” View the full article

Unknown to most of the racing world heading into a sweltering mid-June night at Churchill, Thomas Conway’s King Zachary (Curlin) announced his arrival emphatically under those Twin Spires with a 4 3/4-length score in the GIII Matt Winn S. Under the lights once more this Saturday at Indiana Grand, the pricey chestnut will look to solidify his credentials as a dangerous second-half sophomore when going postward as the likely favorite in the GIII Indiana Derby. Bought for $550,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, King Zachary broke his maiden by 7 3/4 lengths third out Mar. 18 at Gulfstream, but was a non-factor sixth when stepped up into the GII Wood Memorial Apr. 7 at Aqueduct. Narrowly victorious in a sloppy Churchill allowance May 5, he ran away with the Matt Winn at over 12-1. “He’s a good horse, just coming into his own,” trainer Dale Romans told the Indiana Grand notes team. “I think the Matt Winn is going to be his breakthrough race. He came out of there training like a man, like he’s figured the game out. I think he’ll just keep moving forward. I look for him to run a huge race.” The third and fourth-place finishers from the June 23 GIII Ohio Derby return in this spot. Brinley Enterprises’ Trigger Warning (Candy Ride {Arg}) broke through at the stakes level in the Tom Ridge S. May 21 at Presque Isle and nearly pulled off a shocking upset at Thistledown, leading into deep stretch at 86-1 before just succumbing to be third. Charles Fipke’s Title Ready (More Than Ready), not particularly fancied that day either at 15-1, also hung in through the lane to be fourth, beaten just 1 1/2 lengths for the money. Sharon Alesia, Mike Burns, Ciaglia Racing and Robin Christensen’s Dark Vader (Tale of Ekati) is a progressive sort who merits attention. Third as a maiden at 36-1 in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. over the winter, the $150,000 OBS March pickup earned his diploma with a 95 Beyer May 11 at Santa Anita, and validated that effort with a narrow third in the Easy Goer S. last out June 9 at Belmont. Calumet Farm’s Funny Duck (Distorted Humor) will look to turn the tables after finishing a well-beaten fourth behind King Zachary in the Matt Winn. Prior to that, the chestnut scored a near 40-1 shocker in the GIII Pat Day Mile May 5 at Churchill. View the full article

Grade 2 winner Untamed Domain will try to secure his first win of the season July 14, when he starts at Delaware Park for the first time in the $200,000 Kent Stakes (G3T), a 1 1/8-mile turf race that has attracted nine 3-year-olds. View the full article

Grade 2 winner Untamed Domain will try to secure his first win of the season July 14, when he starts at Delaware Park for the first time in the $200,000 Kent Stakes (G3T), a 1 1/8-mile turf race that has attracted nine 3-year-olds. View the full article

Team Valor International, Rodolphe Brisset and Stephen McKay’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Talk Veuve to Me (Violence), an ultra-impressive maiden-breaker who has acquitted herself very well in two subsequent graded stakes tries, will look for her first black-type triumph while traversing two turns for the first time in Saturday night’s GIII Indiana Oaks at Indiana Grand. Second in her debut last August at Ellis, the $20,000 Keeneland September graduate blew apart a field of Fair Grounds maidens Mar. 25 with an 11 1/4-length romp under wraps to earn her ‘Rising Star’ designation. Put into stakes waters in the GII Eight Belles S., the dark bay finished a strong second against the more seasoned Mia Mischief (Into Mischief), and she followed that up with another quality runner-up effort behind division leader Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in the GI Acorn S. last out June 9 at Belmont. Certain to be a prohibitive favorite in this test, Talk Veuve to Me shows a trio of interim breezes at trainer Brisset’s Keeneland base, capped by a half-mile spin in :48 4/5 (6/30) July 8. A one-two punch from trainer Brad Cox appears to have the best chance to rattle the chalk. Qatar Racing, Hunter Valley Farm and Marc Detampel’s Figarella’s Queen (Medaglia d’Oro) was purchased privately from Grupo 7C Racing Stable after a game victory in the turfy Sanibel Island S. Mar. 31 at Gulfstream. Backing up to finish ninth after dueling on the lead in the GIII Edgewood S. May 4 at Churchill, the $250,000 KEESEP buy annexed a second-level allowance on the main track there June 3. Dawn and Ike Thrash’s Kelly’s Humor (Midnight Lute), winner of the Ellis Park Debutante S. last summer, has kept good company since then, running second in both the GII Pocahontas S. and GIII Beaumont S. Finishing eighth in the GI Kentucky Oaks, she most recently was second-best behind next-out GIII Victory Ride S. runner-up Classy Act (Into Mischief) in a Churchill allowance June 1. View the full article

Delaware Park will honor the rich history of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame by naming an overnight race in the Museum’s honor as part of its live racing card on Wednesday, July 18. Along with the race, Delaware Park will be promoting the Museum throughout the day with videos as part of its on-track and simulcast programs, as well as featuring the Museum in its print program. “Delaware Park has such a great history in the sport and we’re thrilled they are helping bring awareness to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame through their audience,” said Cathy Marino, the Museum director. “We are making it a priority to work with all the tracks throughout the country to promote our shared histories. We’re excited to work with Delaware Park and help promote their great track here at the Museum through our social media channels.” View the full article

NEWMARKET, UK—Horses of varying ages with a connection to the beleaguered South African businessman Markus Jooste dominated the first day of Tattersalls’ July Sale, at which the thrice-raced, regally-bred Award Winning (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) set the pace when sold for 350,000gns. The 3-year-old half-sister to Group winners Royal Bench (Ire) (Whipper), Mayhem (Ire) (Whipper) and Memphis Tennessee (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), offered as lot 221, was signed for by Blandford Bloodstock’s Tom Goff, who saw off underbidder Bertrand Le Metayer with his final offer on behalf of an Irish client who wished to remain anonymous. “She’s for a client who has been talking about buying a Dubawi mare for a long time,” Goff said. “It’s a wonderful outcross pedigree and considering what she made as a yearling we’re very pleased to get her. She’s a filly we’ve been watching for a while.” The last time Award Winning had been seen in the same ring was three years ago at the December Foal Sale when she was sold by co-breeder Knocktoran Stud for 720,000gns to the Mayfair Speculators. In her three starts, which included victory in a Wetherby novice stakes in April, she raced for the partnership of Sue Magnier, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Markus Jooste. Just two lots earlier (219), Goff had picked up another well-bred filly from the Castlebridge Consignment for a different but also unnamed client, this one based in America. C’est Ca (Ire), the daughter of Galileo (Ire) and GI Frizette S. winner A Z Warrior (Bernardini) who raced once in France for the Mayfair Speculators and Michael Tabor, will now cross the Atlantic after being bought for 320,000gns. Her Book 1 yearling price was 750,000gns. “She has a lovely page and if you think how strong the December Sale is here then this is a great opportunity to buy fillies like this at this time of year,” Goff added. Earlier in the day the agent had also signed for lot 142, Baby Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) at 160,000gns and she too will be heading towards the United States. The 3-year-old is out of the Group 3 winner Dress Rehearsal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and from the family of treble Group 2-winning sprinter Muthmir (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). “She’s a lovely broodmare prospect and has been bought for a US-based breeder,” Goff said. “We know the family well—I bought her half-brother Christophermarlowe (Ire) for $200,000 at Saratoga and he is all Galileo, just like her.” Last year’s record-breaking trade will be hard to emulate as the sale continues through the next two days. During the sale’s opener, there were 19 fewer lots offered than in the corresponding session last year and the aggregate dipped significantly, by 23%, to 5,407,000gns. The average of 25,995gns was down by 17% and the median of 9,000gns dropped by 10%. A clearance rate of 77% was attained for 208 horses sold from the 270 put through the ring on Wednesday. Early Yearling Stars While domestic fans waited for a good result for England in the World Cup, it was Italy and then Germany who scored first in the sales ring as the July Sale’s curio—three yearling fillies by champion sire Galileo (Ire)—sold to Federico Barberini and Ronald Rauscher. The German agent waited until the last of the trio was in the ring and went to 300,000gns in pursuit of lot 191, the late May foal out of Milanova (Ire) ((Danehill), a Group 3-winning half-sister to Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). Rauscher could not name his client but said, “We haven’t quite decided where she will go into training eventually but there’s plenty of time to think about that. I thought she was lovely for her birth date, she handled herself well and vetted well. She’s very typical of the family and there’s plenty that’s not even on the page, such as Night Shift and Encosta De Lago (Aus).” The filly is a great grand-daughter of Jean-Louis Lévesque’s champion racemare and producer Fanfreluche (Can) (Northern Dancer), whose offspring include the Canadian champions Medaille d’Or (Can), L’Enjoleur (Can) and La Voyageuse (Can). Rauscher added, “I have to admit I’m a bit biased towards the pedigree because it’s an old Jean-Louis Lévesque family and I worked at Windfields, but she has plenty of future paddock value.” Barberini, acting on behalf of Paul Dunkley’s Apple Tree Stud and standing in the gangway with Robert Thornton, struck first to buy lot 189, the filly from Meon Valley Stud’s great foundation family of Reprocolor (GB), for 220,000gns. Having secured the good-moving daughter of Timbuktu (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) for under their budget, the duo acted quickly to ensure that the following lot (190) will also eventually make her home in the paddocks of the Gloucestershire-based Apple Tree Stud. The daughter of GI Garden City Breeders’ Cup S. winner Luas Line (Ire) (Danehill) brought the hammer down at 150,000gns. “It’s all about our broodmare band and we’re building it up slowly,” said Thornton, a former leading jump jockey who now manages Apple Tree Stud for Dunkley. “We’re taking our time doing things and these fillies will be raced and then come back to the farm for life. We had intended only to buy one but we’d had them all vetted and we decided you don’t get that many chances to buy fillies like this.” He added, “We have seven broodmares at the farm at present and some fillies in training, and we have another two yearlings to go into training with these two.” Teofilo Chips In When Galileo wasn’t dominating the days more expensive purchases, his son Teofilo (Ire) was also playing a leading role and featured as the sire of Crystal Diamond (GB) (lot 163), the 7-year-old French listed winner who was offered in foal to Pivotal (GB) from the Godolphin draft. Matt Houldsworth placed the final bid of 150,000gns on behalf of Coolmore Australia’s Michael Kirwan and said, “She is in-foal to Pivotal, who is a great stallion. She is a stakes winner and I thought she was a stand-out today.” Teofilo’s well-travelled son Arod (Ire) (lot 245) brought a bid of 145,000gns from Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock who confirmed that the 7-year-old will continue to be trained by David Simcock for a new syndicate. Raced initially by Qatar Bloodstock, Arod won the G3 Diomed S. and G2 Summer Mile at four for Peter Chapple-Hyam and later joined Simcock after a stint in Australia with Chris Waller. His most recent success came in the listed Foundation S. at Windsor on May 14. “This was almost a no-brainer,” said Brown. “We know him well, he retains his form, he can run in a lot of valuable races, he can travel and he is entered on Saturday in the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot, a race he has won before. If he goes home from the sales here and is healthy and David is happy with him, we will run.” Lot 220, the G3 Lodge Park S winner Czabo (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}), was a 340,000gns vendor buy-back in December and this time around the 5-year-old mare, offered in foal to Lope De Vega (Ire), was knocked down to Ross Doyle for 220,000gns. Trade continues at 9.30am today, with a post-racing session resuming at 5.30pm. View the full article

Belinda Stronach, the president and chairman of The Stronach Group, wrote a letter to congress in support of H.R. 2651, the Horseracing Integrity Act of 2017. Frank Stronach, founder and honorary chairman of The Stronach Group, previously expressed his support for the legislation in April 2017. H.R. 2651 would require that a uniform anti-doping and medication control program be developed and enforced by a private, non-profit, self-regulatory organization known as the Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority. On June 22, the subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, part of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, conducted a hearing on the bill. The bill currently has 126 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. With the addition of The Stronach Group’s support of H.R. 2651, track associations and organizations that support the bill now represent 59% of all pari-mutuel handle generated and 63% of all graded races run for Thoroughbreds in North America in 2017. This group includes Breeders’ Cup Ltd., Indiana Grand, Keeneland Association, and the New York Racing Association. “Our sport will benefit greatly from a level playing field, uniformity and federal oversight,” Belinda Stronach wrote. “Presently, there are 38 racing jurisdictions with different rules, regulations and penalties. These inefficiencies are both ineffective and costly and compromise the integrity of our sport.” Click here to read the letter in its entirety. View the full article

When the calendar turned to 2018, West Point Thoroughbreds’ Untamed Domain (Animal Kingdom) looked for all the world to be a budding star in the sophomore turf division. Visually impressive in his ‘TDN Rising Star’-earning graduation last July at Saratoga, he captured the GII Summer S. two starts later and passed 11 horses with a wide run to be second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf after that. Now coming into the fifth start of his 3-year-old campaign, however, the bay colt is a virtual afterthought amongst his peers. He’ll try to change that, and mount a second-half charge, as the likely favorite in Saturday’s GIII Kent S. at Delaware. A heavily-favored third in the GIII Dania Beach S. Feb. 3 at Gulfstream, the $90,000 Keeneland September buy finished a well-beaten sixth when trying dirt in the GII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 10. Rebounding with a dead-heat second next out in the GII American Turf S. May 5 at Churchill, he failed to make an impact when fourth in the GIII Pennine Ridge S. June 2 at Belmont. Given a 5-2 chance on the morning line, he shows a pair of easy drills in the interim at trainer Graham Motion’s Fair Hill base. Second choice on the morning line is Reddam Racing’s Blame the Rider (Jimmy Creed). The steadily-progressing bay upset the Singletary S. at 15-1 May 5 at Santa Anita and was second in the Rainbow S. there June 16. Donegal Racing’s undefeated Carrick (Giant’s Causeway) will look to go from claimer to graded stakes winner in just two starts. Debuting for a $40,000 tag May 12 at Belmont, the chestnut won off by 4 1/2 lengths at 15-1. Protected next out in a Big Sandy starter allowance June 21, Carrick scored a professional victory going this distance. Susan and Jim Hill’s lightly-raced Way Early (Tizway) hopes to build on a career-high effort last out. Runner-up in a New York-bred allowance Apr. 22 at Aqueduct, the gelding was aggressively spotted in the GII Penn Mile S. June 2 at Penn National and responded with a good second at over 20-1 despite running greenly in the stretch. The George Weaver trainee adds blinkers for this engagement. Woodford Racing’s Hot Springs (Uncle Mo) comes in off a pair of good-looking turf successes at Churchill. Earning his diploma by 4 1/4 lengths June 3, the $750,000 KEESEP pickup repeated in a first-level allowance under the Twin Spires June 29. Jump Sucker Stable’s Duc de Calas (Fr) (Dunkerque {Fr}) makes his North American debut for trainer Christophe Clement. The gray should have a stamina edge, with all six of his career outings coming at about ten furlongs, and he registered back-to-back successes over synthetic tracks Feb. 5 and 24 in France. View the full article

China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm’s Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy), who was found to have filling in his left front ankle, will travel to trainer Bob Baffert’s summer base at Del Mar as his connections continue to monitor the condition, Baffert confirmed to the TDN Wednesday. As first reported by the Daily Racing Form, the setback will cause him to miss a potential start in the GI Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park July 29. “Two to three weeks,” Baffert told the TDN when asked how much time the star colt would be given until the next evaluation. With Justify limited to walking the shedrow as the Baffert crew takes a cautious approach with the undefeated ‘TDN Rising Star,’future racing plans remain up in the air. Baffert said the filling appeared last week, subsided soon after, but reemerged in recent days, prompting the decision to back off on his training. Justify’s rapid rise to the top of the game began with a maiden victory at Santa Anita Feb. 18 and saw him add four consecutive Grade I victories, culminating with a sweep of the Triple Crown in the GI Belmont S. June 9. “To go from a maiden winner in February to an undefeated Triple Crown winner in June has been an incredible ride,” WinStar Farm President/CEO and Racing Manager Elliott Walden said Tuesday. “He is too special to the owners, our team, and all the fans he has around the world to not be 100% healthy.” View the full article

An agreement has been reached between AmTote International, Inc. and Sportradar that enables the former to provide comprehensive sports betting services, including trading and risk management, across the U.S. marketplace. AmTote, which is wholly owned by The Stronach Group, is the North American racing industry’s wagering technology and services leader. Sportradar is the worldwide leader in B2B Managed Trading Services (MTS) and sports data delivery solutions. “We have long looked forward to the day that we could fully leverage our Spectrum wagering platform for our traditional customer market in the U.S., combining its extensive fixed-odds sports betting capabilities with our pari-mutuel products,” said AmTote’s president, Keith Johnson. “The addition of Sportradar to our solution provides a truly best-in-class turnkey product that will allow AmTote’s U.S. customers to implement sports betting in a manner that integrates seamlessly into their existing infrastructure and operations.” View the full article

The Jockeys’ Guild and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association have reached an agreement to increase the losing mount fees for jockeys at the NYRA tracks, it was announced Wednesday. It is the first change in the losing mount fee schedule for NYRA’s riders since 2008. The new fee schedule, which lines up with the new NYRA purse distribution, will be launched for the Saratoga meet that opens July 20. NYRA purses are divided as follows: 55% for first, 20% for second, 12% for third, 6% for fourth, 4% for fifth and 3% divided from sixth through last. “Through what were highly constructive negotiations with the Guild, we were able to reach what we believe is an equitable arrangement for the NYRA riders,” NYTHA President Joe Appelbaum said. “We all know the risks that the riders face on a daily basis, and we are fortunate to have such an elite jockey colony in New York. “We are also pleased to announce that, as part of the deal, NYTHA will underscore our commitment to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund,” Appelbaum continued. “Since 2014, we have contributed $1 per mount, which has totaled around $17,000 a year. Going forward, we will guarantee a $20,000 annual donation to the PDJF.” New York’s horsemen also donate $5 per start to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and NYTHA contributes $300,000 a year to the TAKE2 and TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred retirement programs. Starting with the 2018 Saratoga Meet, NYRA’s riders will donate $1 per mount to the PDJF, and $1 per mount to TAKE THE LEAD. View the full article

Toast of New York is set to embark on another American adventure next month that could climax in another tilt at the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), the race he came so close to landing at Santa Anita Park in 2014. View the full article

Multiple grade 1 winner Elate will start her 2018 campaign at the track that kicked off her stellar second-half run last year when she faces eight challengers July 14 in the $750,000 Delaware Handicap (G2) at Delaware Park. View the full article

After back-to-back blowout Grade I wins in the second half of her sophomore campaign, Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Elate (Medaglia d’Oro) appeared to have concocted a late championship bid, but a fourth-place effort as the chalk in the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff soured that opportunity. Saturday, over eight months after that disappointment, the homebred will make her 4-year-old debut in the GII Delaware H. at Delaware Park. Breaking her maiden with devastating ease in November of 2016, Elate took some time to get back to that effort, but got in gear at this oval with an easy score in the Light Hearted S. last June. The dark bay followed that up with a narrow miss when second by a head in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks before truly arriving with a 5 1/2-length romp in the GI Alabama S. Aug. 19. Next came an 8 1/4-length drubbing of the GI Beldame Invitational field Sept. 30, which led to 2-1 favoritism at Del Mar, but the Bill Mott trainee never fired in an even effort. Attempting the rare feat of winning at ten furlongs off a long layoff, Elate shows a handful of stamina-building breezes on the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga, including a seven-furlong move in 1:26 2/5 (1/1) June 30. The lone other Grade I winner in the Del ‘Cap lineup is Red Oak Stable’s homebred millionaire Unbridled Mo (Uncle Mo). A winner in seven of 11 career outings, the bay scored a signature victory with an upset of champion Unique Bella (Tapit) in the GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 13 at Oaklawn. The Todd Pletcher pupil couldn’t replicate that effort when finishing a distant third last out in the GI Ogden Phipps S. June 9 at Belmont. Reddam Racing’s Mopotism (Uncle Mo) rates an off-the-pace chance should Elate stumble. Capturing the GII La Canada S. Jan. 13 at Santa Anita, the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton March buy was then second to Unique Bella in the GII Santa Maria S. Feb. 10 and most recently checked in third in the GII Fleur de Lis H. June 16 at Churchill. The runner-up from that event also re-opposes in Coffeepot Stables’ Farrell (Malibu Moon), but the speedster figures to face a good deal of early pressure in this initial try beyond nine furlongs. View the full article

8th-BEL, $90K, Alw, 3/up, f/m, 1 1/4mT, post time: 5:18 p.m ET George Strawbridge homebred SMART TOGETHER (Smart Strike) is repatriated to continue her career after breaking her maiden at second asking while under the care of John Gosden at Haydock Park last May (video) before earning black-type when third in a listed event going this trip at Newbury the following month. The filly’s dam, Forever Together (Belong to Me), needs no introduction, as she tallied four Grade I events, including the 2008 GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf which secured her the Eclipse Award as this country’s top turf distaffer. Michael Matz also conditions Smart Together’s full-sister Truly Together, third in this year’s GIII Lambholm South Endeavour S. at Tampa. TJCIS PPs View the full article

Tabcorp and Inglis have extended their partnership until 2020, the wagering company and sales company announced on Wednesday. It has been 11 years since the partnership began. “Tabcorp is the biggest supporter of Thoroughbred racing in Australia,” said Tabcorp Managing Director Wagering and Media, Adam Rytenskild. “Our businesses return A$1 billion to the racing industry each year and our partnership with Inglis is yet another demonstration of our commitment to Australian racing.” Inglis’ Managing Director Mark Webster described the deal as exciting and reassuring and said, “We are the market leader in our field and have been for a long time. And TAB is market leader in its field and has been for a long time. We have had a fantastic relationship with the TAB team for more than a decade and I’m thrilled we have been able to come to terms to extend that again.” View the full article

Zac Purton took a massive step towards the jockeys’ championship on Wednesday night with a double that leaves Joao Moreira requiring a miraculous final day to win a fourth-straight title. Moreira opened the night at Happy Valley with a win on Letsgofree to close the gap to two at the top of the championship but Purton hit back with wins on Charity Wings and Saul’s Special to finish the meeting up by four. Given Purton has a massive edge in the tiebreak of number of seconds, that... View the full article

Toast of New York is set to embark on another American adventure next month that could climax in another tilt at the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), the race he came so close to landing at Santa Anita Park in 2014. View the full article

The delights on the Newmarket July meeting kick off on Thursday with a headline act of the Princess of Wales’s Stakes and we’ve got RaceBets ambassador and ITV and At The Races presenter Luke Harvey to mark you card. Listen below as Luke previews the 4 ITV races and provides his best bets for the day’s action! We’re also giving you some insurance on all the ITV races. If your horse finishes 2nd to the SP Fav we’ll give you your money back up to £25 as bonus cash! Check out the Newmarket cards here. Open to all customers from UK and IE. Subject to min 5 runners. Min stake £5. Max £/€25 total refund and bonus cash 3 x wagering at 1.5+. Win/win parts of each-way bets. 18+ BeGambleAware.org. The post Harvey’s Horses – Luke Harvey July Festival Day 1 Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article