Wandering Eyes

Last year’s G2 Railway S. winner Beckford (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) is out of consideration for the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot after sustaining a fracture while working, according to Daily Racing Form. The bay, who won twice at The Curragh last year and finished second in both the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. and G1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S. for trainer Gordon Elliott, had been under the care of trainer Brendan Walsh in the U.S. since finishing fifth behind Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Beckford was an eye-catching winner of the Listed William Walker S. at Churchill Downs on seasonal debut on Apr. 28. “It’s something he should be able to recover from, but obviously it’s disappointing,” Walsh told DRF, adding that the colt had had surgery and that he was hopeful of a return to racing next year. View the full article

If Blended Citizen were to upset Justify's Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), or even finish on the board, it would reward those who took a shot when they purchased him as a slow-developing 2-year-old. View the full article

James Miller's multiple graded stakes-winning filly Lovely Bernadette leads a field of 11 fillies and mares that were entered for the $100,000 Old Forester Mint Julep Handicap (G3) June 9 at Churchill Downs. View the full article

Inference (Aus) (So You Think {NZ}–Pontiana {Aus}, by Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), winner of the G1 Randwick Guineas in 2017, has been retired to Chatswood Stud in Victoria, Australia where he will stand for A$8,800 (inc. GST). Trained by Michael, Wayne, and John Hawkes, the 4-year-old son of Group 2-placed Pontiana (Aus) was also runner-up in the G1 Rosehill Guineas and third in the G1 Victoria Derby. Out of a daughter of SW and GSP Liberty Rose (Aus) (Royal Academy), the bay retires with a record of 17-4-2-2 and earnings of $779,605. “The Chatswood team recently inspected Inference with Inglis and his presence was undeniable from the moment he stepped out of his barn,” said Chatswood’s Greg Willis, who noted shares are available in the son of So You Think (NZ). “He has a lovely nature and we knew we had to secure him.” View the full article

BEYOND REASON (IRE) (f, 2, Australia {GB}–No Explaining {Ire}, by Azamour {Ire}), runner-up over six furlongs at Newmarket May 19, broke well from her wide draw and soon led. Stretching her rivals after the turn for home, the 1-2 favourite was eased late to record a four-length success from Hawayel (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}). In doing so, she became the first winner in Europe’s main racing nations by her first-season sire (by Galileo {Ire}) after he had got off the mark in Russia. Sales history: 370,000gns Ylg ’16 TATOCT. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, £5,421. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Godolphin; B-Paget Bloodstock (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. View the full article

Most of us would settle for the upgrade from The Lieutenant (Street Sense). At the time, he was listed under the dam of Hip 789 only as “winner at 3” of $40,320. Since acquiring his half-sister by Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker) at Keeneland last September, however, R.S. Evans and West Point Thoroughbreds have seen The Lieutenant, now five, make his stakes breakthrough in the G3 All American S. at Golden Gate Fields. Nice. First foal of the mare now a GSW. But she had something else brewing when Evans approached Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds last September, to see if they might go shoulder-to-shoulder for her daughter by Pioneerof the Nile. Because the catalog also vouchsafed that Stage Magic (Ghostzapper) had “a 2-year-old of 2017.” At Barn 29, around the Glennwood Farm consignment, Finley remembers talk of this colt; he was at that time being schooled for WinStar Farm by Rodolphe Brissett. “We knew there was a Scat Daddy,” Finley says. “And it’s always a good sign when you have an active family in the hands of good trainers and a good operation. At that time he was still with Rodolphe, he hadn’t yet gone to Bob Baffert, but I remember them talking about the fact we had some other shots to improve the pedigree a little bit.” The Pioneerof the Nile filly had initially caught the imagination of agent Patrick Lawley-Wakelin and trainer Christophe Clement; after being sounded out by Evans, Finley asked West Point’s yearling touchstone David Ingordo to take a look. Ingordo loved her, too, and the new partnership secured her for $230,000. In February, Finley received a text from one of a handful of investors he had put together for West Point’s share: “Did you see the half-brother to our Pioneerof The Nile filly run off the screen out west?” Finley quickly looked up the video. “And, man, that was pretty impressive,” he recalls. “Of course, you never get a true sense what’s behind them. But we ended up running against him in his next start, with a solid horse. And our horse, he got beat six lengths and it could have been 26. Anybody who’s been around this business, and saw the way that winner moved, knew he was something special. And then the next thing you know, Bobby Baffert is quoted saying: ‘I have a plan to get to the Derby.’ The horse has only run twice, and he’s talking about the Derby. So at that point, we’re all pretty excited that we have a big shot to have a massive upgrade in the family.” Upgrades don’t come any more massive than a Triple Crown, on the line for Justify (Scat Daddy) in the GI Belmont S. Saturday. Even as things stand, of course, his wins in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. represent an unbelievable boost to the half-sister bought by Evans and West Point. True, it’s not quite up there with the $30,000 claim made by trainer Neil Pessin for the second foal out of Stage Magic, a Harlan’s Holiday filly, at Fair Grounds Jan. 1. But the fact is that the principal of five partners assembled by Finley for West Point’s stake in the Pioneerof the Nile filly, meanwhile named Egyptian Storm, was literally just starting in the game when buying into her the day after the sale. “A brand new person in the business, and he’s got a 25% share in a half-sister to Justify!” exclaimed Finley. “But you know, that’s the beautiful thing about our business–and especially about partnerships. And we’re going to see it more and more. I think the dynamic for our industry is really positive, because the more people, and the more entities, that can experience success at the top level in our business, the better it is for everybody. Because you have any number of people now, especially after the last couple of years in the Triple Crown races, people with the wherewithal, asking the one question that always comes right away: ‘What do I need to do to get back there?'” Finley speaks from experience, having gotten West Point aboard with Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) last year. But he stresses his regard for the way an old-school operator like Evans–whose 2000 Broodmare of the Year Shared Interest (dam of Forestry) was by his father’s homebred Kentucky Derby winner Pleasant Colony–can recognize and embrace the benefits of such a modern ownership model. “We’re very blessed,” Finley said. “I really give all the credit to ‘Shel’ Evans and team, and the Clement team. I’d love to take some credit for it, but they just said there’s a filly we absolutely love here, and would we be interested. Because obviously there was a shot she might bring a real significant amount of money. And she wasn’t inexpensive. But I was just very appreciative of Shel giving us an opportunity to partner with him. “I had never really gotten to know Shel, I’d said hello to him, it was always a very informal type of thing up until then. But with a lot more horses now, you see partnerships that–well, they don’t make you raise your eyebrow, but they would not have been really expected ten years ago.” Finley takes due pride that Evans could feel comfortable teaming with the West Point brand. “After 27 years, I’d like to think we do it right,” he says. “And I’d like to think the word is out that we’re people that you want to build partnerships with. On the flipside I give credit, I really do, to a guy like Shel for actually taking the step and pulling the trigger. Our business is changing, and all of us have to change along with the business. And you know what? I like to be around people who aren’t afraid to change.” In fairness, in his talks with Evans, Finley had undertaken to restrict the number of partners to a sensible level. And now that this filly’s page has become so valuable, equally, he knows to defer to the judgement of Evans when it comes to her potential beyond the track. “His own family, and also the equine families they’ve built up, have a proven record of success,” he shrugged. “They know what they’re doing and, frankly, we’re happy to be along for the ride. It kind of takes your breath away to have a part-ownership in this filly when, if Justify does win the Triple Crown, that’ll be on that page for quite a few generations. What are you going to do? You just got to count your lucky stars.” You make your own luck, mind you, and the West Point team nearly pulled off an incredible double at Churchill Downs in May. On the eve of Justify’s success, Finley watched Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro) hit the front approaching the eighth pole in the GI Kentucky Oaks–knowing that West Point and Vosburgh had co-signed a $400,000 docket for her Hard Spun half-sister at the same Keeneland sale that produced Egyptian Storm. In the event, she was just denied by the rallying Monomoy Girl (Tapizar). “So in the last 100 yards in the Oaks we were pulling for our friend that owns Monomoy Girl,” Finley says. “But we also knew that if it went the other way, and the other filly got up, we had a half to the Oaks winner. That would have been really cool, to have bought at the yearling sales a half to both the Oaks and the Derby winner. It just didn’t come to fruition, but I know Wonder Gadot is going to have a big shot in the Queen’s Plate.” And how about this unsuspecting celebrity in Clement’s barn? Egyptian Storm recently clocked 37.4 seconds for a three-furlong workout at Payson Park. She would, of course, qualify as a great pick even if she happened to prove disappointing on the track, such is her stature now as a breeding prospect. But the reports, at this stage, sound distinctly promising. “She’s had a really good couple of months,” Finley enthuses. “She’s really caught Christophe’s attention. She’s not a filly that’s going to be super early, but I think she has a legitimate shot to run at Saratoga. I’m sure we’ll be chatting very shortly with Shel and Christophe and his team. I think the longer the better, and I know that she has always been a very intelligent and classy filly. But there are a lot that are classy and intelligent. And I know the eyes of the racing world will be on her, when she goes in the starting gate for the first time.” View the full article

After opening his season with a runner-up finish in the Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) May 5 on the Churchill Downs turf, Beach Patrol figures to build off that effort when he starts in the $1 million Manhattan Stakes (G1T) June 9 at Belmont Park. View the full article

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 349 selected yearlings for The July Sale, to be held Tuesday, July 10 at the company’s Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, Ky. starting at 10 a.m. The catalogue is now available to view online here and via the Equineline catalogue app. Print catalogues will be available beginning June 12. “July was a very healthy market last year, and as a result, consignors have responded with increased quality and quantity,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “This year’s catalogue is our largest for July in nearly a decade, and boasts a significant uptick in sire power, as well.” Nominations are also open for Fasig-Tipton’s July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale, which will be held Monday, July 9. The auction house will accept nominations through late June. “The July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale was one of the strongest sales on the auction calendar last year,” said Browning. “The sale’s timing makes it very popular with buyers looking to load up their racing stables ahead of the major summer race meetings.” View the full article

Breeders’ Cup has launched a new, fantasy sports-themed promotion centered around the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series on NBC Sports called the Capture the Classic Challenge. The contest asks participants to predict the winners of six Classic Division races that will be televised on NBC or NBCSN, starting with this Saturday’s GI Belmont S. By accurately picking the winning horse, virtual owners will receive inside access to premium content about their horses, as well as a chance to win a $100,000 grand prize should one of them go on to win the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs. Virtual owners will also be entered into a prize pool for the opportunity to win one of six VIP Ownership Experiences at the Breeders’ Cup, including round trip airfare for two, hotel accommodations, premium box seats and two tickets to the Taste of the World culinary event, to be chosen at random. Additional drawings will also be conducted after each designation Classic Division race for a $1,000 and $500 cash prize, respectively. “Our goal with this promotion is to provide fans with a fun and engaging way to follow the top horses this summer as they make their way along the road to the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” said Justin McDonald, VP, Marketing & Digital for the Breeders’ Cup. “The idea is to curate custom, behind-the-scenes content for the virtual owners that will deepen their connection with the horse–as well as the human team behind it–and give them another reason to tune in to NBC Sports for the major Classic Division races this summer and ultimately the Breeders’ Cup Classic.” McDonald added that some of the inspiration for the contest came from trying to incorporate the popularity of fantasy sports. “There are definitely some similarities with a traditional season-long fantasy game where fans follow players on their roster closely all season long and develop a deeper level of affinity for those players,” he said. “We hope that holds true with this program and new and current fans learn more about learn more about our great equine and human athletes and their quest for the Classic.” Fans can register for the promotion and select their horse for the first race, the Belmont, online now at CaptureTheClassic.com. As an added incentive, fans that attend the host track during a designated Classic Division race can automatically gain virtual ownership of the winning horse by entering an exclusive promotional code that will be displayed in the track program and in other Capture the Classic marketing materials at the track. View the full article

Eight 3-year-olds will contest the 1 1/16-mile Easy Goer Stakes, which kicks off the stakes action at Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes day June 9. View the full article

Trainers D. Wayne Lukas, Bob Baffert, Dale Romans and Todd Pletcher were among the horsemen represented at Tuesday night’s Belmont Stakes draw at Citi Field, and the four used the occasion for some good-natured ribbing of one another and NYRA host Andy Serling. Check out the TDN video below. View the full article

A Happy Valley double helped a flu-ridden Zac Purton move within one win of absent rival Joao Moreira as the jockeys’ championship builds to a thrilling conclusion. Purton battled his way to victories on favourites Super Chic and Top Score after being struck down with illness after Sunday’s Sha Tin meeting, “I wasn’t feeling good at all,” Purton said. “It’s just the usual flu symptoms and hopefully it clears up before Sunday.” With Moreira... View the full article

As the song doesn’t quite say: “Accentuate the negative, eliminate the positive… and don’t mess with Mr In-Between.” How often do we hear complaints, nowadays, that that the middle of the bloodstock market is stretched too thin? The big spenders clustering around the same few horses, the bargain hunters busy at the opposite margin–and, in between, vendors say they are clinging to a frayed rope above the abyss. At least in the European breeze-up sector, however, it appears that polarisation might actually be a rather more wholesome trend than you might suppose. Hardly the impression received on the sales grounds this spring. From the outset, consignors seemed to share a sense of doom. The wholesale expansion of catalogues was credited less to some spectacular pinhooks last year–crowned by the mind-boggling transformation of a $15,000 Keeneland yearling into a €1.4 million Arqana 2-year-old–and sooner to oversupply at the yearling sales. Huge books of mediocre mares corralled by sprinters of borderline Group 3 standard were creating an unsurprising surplus; and commercial breeders, extending their avaricious fantasies, saw the breeze-ups as a chance to get out of jail. As a result, established consignors feared that all their good work over recent years would be unravelled; that the horsemanship that had earned the trust of elite investors would be betrayed by the dumping of duds on their market. It was as though a provincial tailor had made a reputation that warranted new premises in Jermyn Street or Rue de Rivoli–only to find someone spreading a blanket of fake brands on the pavement outside. Moreover the breezes, at least in the first sales, were staged in very difficult conditions for adolescent horses. Sure enough, the clearance rate at the Tattersalls Ireland Sale at Ascot in April was just one-in-two. Proceeding to Doncaster the following week, the top-class consignor Con Marnane topped the sale with a £220,000 son of Kyllachy–but none of his other six into the ring made its reserve. (Three of these appeared on French tracks in Marnane’s own colours the following month, respectively finishing first, second and second on debut.) The die seemed cast. Many consignors blamed the sales companies for opening the floodgates, but many other horses had been turned away and it hardly serves the interests of an auction house to report plunging clearance rates. All they were doing was trying to strike a balance in client relations, either side of the fence. Now that the dust has settled, anyhow, we can step back and ask whether assumptions about polarisation–considered an issue, after all, at every kind of sale these days–stand up in the end-of-term report. Year-on-year comparisons, remember, can be highly tenuous. Measured against 2017, for instance, Doncaster had a tough sale; measured against 2016, it was a cracker. The median at that auction, over 10 years, has averaged £22,975: so £25,500, though down year-on-year from £30,000, still maintained a positive underlying trend. So let’s have a bit of depth on the angle we’re going to choose, and line up the last four years against 2008: the last breeze-up sales before the banking crisis bit into the market. (The Craven Sale that year, for instance, achieved an aggregate of 11,884,000gns–a figure not matched until stunning turnover of 14,120,000gns in 2017.) Let’s put together the six principal sales in Europe–Ascot, Doncaster, two at Newmarket, Arqana and Goresbridge–and break down the percentage of the overall market taken by lots making £15,000 or less; £100,000 or more; and, as a sample of the middle market, between £40,000 and £70,000. Statistically speaking, we’re still only taking a snapshot. After all, selling a horse for £70,000 is no good to anyone if he cost £200,000 the previous autumn. But we should at least get some kind of frame on demand for different levels of stock. Here, then, are the percentage market shares–from horses offered, and then from horses sold–through these three different holes in the sieve. (You’ll forgive a marginal conflation of guineas and sterling in the two Newmarket auctions. The main thing is that each sale has been treated the same way, year to year; while the fluctuating value of the Euro against Sterling has been adjusted according to the exchange rate each May.) These figures suggest that the middle market was no worse, this year, than should be expected: almost identical, year-on-year, as a percentage of lots offered; and nicely up, as a percentage of sales. Remember 2017 was unusually strong anyway, and the 2018 middle market was certainly stronger than in 2016; and by percentage of sales, unchanged on 2015. But now look back to 2008, the last year before the lift slipped down the shaft. As a clip of horses sold, 19.4% is indeed much higher than has been the case of late. But if this is down to polarisation, who’s complaining? For the recent market share of horses selling for £15,000 or less is consistently smaller than in 2008. And any loss of energy in the middle market has instead gone towards the top end. That was radiantly the case in last year’s boom. Between 2008 and 2017, 3.5% of the market in sold horses was displaced from the £40,000-£70,000 bracket. And where did we find it? Not at the basement–32.5 percent in 2008, down to 24.2 percent–but at the top, with six-figure sales soaring from 10.1% to 16.3%. This time round, equally, the slippage in middle-market share of horses sold, from 19.4% to 17.5%, again finds a home in the elite tier: up from 10.1% to 14.7%. This is not to suggest that everything in the garden is rosy. A lot of people went to market this year with a bull’s eye printed on the seat of their pants, and many were duly administered a painful kick. As is the nature with markets, a self-correction seems inevitable. But the guys who come out the other side will generally prove to be the same ones whose merit created such a vogue for the sector anyway. People will have their views about tweaks to the format, location and timing of different sales. But this table does suggest that the foundation for a recovery might be a little firmer than felt likely for much of the spring. View the full article

Thoroughbred Breeders Australia is starting a national training scheme, called Fast Track, for young people aspiring to enter the Thoroughbred breeding industry. Fast Track is a collaboration between TBA and TAFE NSW. Those selected for the program will split their time between stud farms and TAFE, where they will spend two three-week blocks completing the new Certificate III in Horse Breeding. “Last year TBA carried out a survey of breeders on staff levels and the overwhelming response was that more needed to be done to bring people into our industry,” said Tom Reilly, Chief Executive of TBA and Aushorse. “The federal government only signed off on a new Cert III in Horse Breeding earlier this year, which meant that we’ve had to work hard to ensure the course was offered by a training organisation and eligible for state government funding. I’m really pleased that we have been able to organise this course with Scone TAFE and that the first trainees will be on farms this breeding season.” Over 70 applications have already been received, with TBA revealing the 12 advertised positions will likely be expanded to 20. “I think a major reason we’ve had such a strong response from potential candidates is that we have positioned this as a first step in a career in the industry, rather than as a TAFE course or junior position, and it’s important that all the farms involved in taking trainees understand the need to help develop and nurture these people,” added Reilly. View the full article

Luck Favours (Aus) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), Rosemont Stud’s juvenile filly bred in Australia on Northern Hemisphere time, will not make the trip to Royal Ascot as planned after spiking a temperature. Trainer Mark Young said in a video posted to Twitter by Rosemont Stud, “We regularly check as we go and feed them in the morning, [and] she left most of her feed. We took her temperature, and she had a temperature spike; you have to act in the best interests of the horse.” “She’s cancelled [for Royal Ascot], but that’s not to say the idea is cancelled, and [we’re not ruling out] she won’t be [in Europe] later on. She’ll get the best treatment and have a rest, and we’ll get her big and strong.” Luck Favours was set to fly to Britain Wednesday night with Lindsay Park’s Group 1-winning sprinter Redkirk Warrior (Aus) (Notnowcato {GB}), and that 7-year-old gelding was still able to make the trip. “He’s coming home in a way, he’s originally from England,” Lindsay Park co-trainer Ben Hayes told Racing.com. “He was trained out of Newmarket as a young horse, it’s been a couple of years but I’m sure he’ll remember it, he’ll know the tracks so he should settle in quite quickly. He’ll arrive on Thursday early in the morning and he’ll be floated up to Newmarket where he’ll stay at Jane Chapple-Hyam’s stable. She’s got fantastic facilities, she has a walker and a treadmill and it’s right near the gallops as well.” “He’ll settle in and have a couple of easy days, and we’ll look to canter him on the third or fourth day, and he’ll complete his final gallop seven days out from his race,” Hayes added. “We are very confident he’ll travel well, he’s travelled from England to Hong Kong, to Australia so he is no stranger to planes.” View the full article

After opening with a clearance rate of just 62.4% on Tuesday, Wednesday’s second session of the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale saw a higher number of youngsters sold, and that figure grew to 71%, albeit still down on last year’s 76% clearance rate for the two-day Book 1. The average, at A$43,172, was down 15.3%, while the median stayed steady at A$30,000. A total of A$9,929,500 was traded during Book 1 on 230 yearlings. “Today’s sale had a much better vibe to it with the clearance rate increasing to some 71%,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said. “Albeit, we’re still disappointed with how the clearance finished up.” “For the right yearling this sale is a viable option and we have great faith in this sale going forward. We will look at the structure of the sale and whether it needs fine tuning. The market here was very strong yet selective on the product on offer.” “There’s great opportunities tomorrow with Book 2 yearlings followed by a quality packed racehorse sale, and it will bring to a close a memorable three weeks of trade,” Bowditch said. Wednesday’s highest-priced lot, and the co-top lot of the sale, was a colt by New Zealand-based sire Tavistock (NZ) (lot 1900) from Amarina Farm who was knocked down to Jason Abrahams of Champion Thoroughbreds for A$250,000. The bay is the second foal out of the Echo Of Light (GB) mare Lithograph, who is herself a daughter of the Australian listed winner Forum Floozie (Aus) (Danasinga {Aus}) and a half-sister to the French stakes winner Lawspeaker (Fr) (Singspiel {Ire}). Forum Floozie is a half-sister to Australian champion Starcraft (NZ) (Soviet Star). The colt will go to trainer John O’Shea, and Abrahams said he and O’Shea had seen him early on in New Zealand. “We really liked the colt when we first saw him in New Zealand and then we noticed he was in this sale,” he said. “We flew up to have a look at him among the others and he had really come on well in those six months.” “He doesn’t really look an out-and-out stayer,” Abrahams noted. “He looks more a miler, like Starcraft who is in the pedigree. He’s full of quality with a good female line. He’s big and strong and has a deep and strong hip and hindquarter.” “We knew there would be a bit of competition on him but he was the only one we really wanted and I know John is excited about getting him to train,” Abrahams added. The highest-priced filly of the day-and of the sale-was Highgrove Stud’s daughter of Fastnet Rock (Aus) (lot 2077) picked up by John Crowley of Chevaux Bloodstock for A$245,000. Chevaux also bought Tuesday’s top seller, a A$250,000 Exceed and Excel (Aus) colt, and he said both could return to this ring for the Magic Millions 2YOs in Training Sale in October. “She’s a beautiful filly with great residual value,” Crowley said. “She’s got almost that value as a broodmare I think. We will take her home now and break her in as soon as possible and we may even put her through the 2-year-old sale. She’s probably not an early runner and she’s by Fastnet Rock, but she could be, he’s had a few this year that have raced well in the early 2-year-old races.” That residual value stems from the fact that the filly is already a sister to three black-type horses; she is a full-sister to the G2 Champagne Classic-third Global Dream (Aus), and a three-quarter sister to the G2 Wakeful S.-second Maraatib (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}) and the listed-placed Valoura (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}). The second dam is the smart producer Valourina (Aus) (Snippets {Aus}). Chevaux Bloodstock was the leading buyer of Book 1 yearlings, with five purchased for A$659,500. Yu Long Investments also continued its spending spree at this sale; Yuesheng Zhang’s stable bought five yearlings for A$580,000, pushing its haul for the entire National Sale series to 51 horses. Newgate Farm’s Dissident was the standout first-crop yearling sire on Wednesday, with a colt from Element Hill making A$160,000 to Jason Tam and trainer Gary Moore, while Queensland darling Spirit of Boom (Aus) had two of the top 10. View the full article

Not long after Justify drew the rail for the Belmont Stakes (G1), his trainer Bob Baffert threw the first pitch before the June 5 Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles. View the full article

Back to basics for Jupiter Gold View the full article

Patron's Bowl renamed as Charity Bowl View the full article

Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Monomoy Girl headlines an exceptional field of seven for the Acorn Stakes (G1). View the full article

Curragh Stable's Heavenly Score will make her graded stakes debut at Belmont Park as part of a field of 10 set to go postward June 7 in the $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes (G3T). View the full article

Justify's attempt to become the 13th horse to sweep the American classics will commence June 9 out of the inside post position, with the son of Scat Daddy deemed the 4-5 morning-line favorite over nine challengers. View the full article

After drawing the cozy seven-hole in both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S., undefeated Justify (Scat Daddy) pulled the tougher rail position in Tuesday’s draw as he attempts to become the 13th Triple Crown winner in Saturday’s GI Belmont S. Installed as the 4-5 morning line favorite in a field of 10, Justify will break from the rail for the first time in his career while going for his sixth win in as many starts. The second choice at 9-2 is Hofburg (Tapit), seventh in the Derby, who will start from the four post. The other runners in single digits on the morning line are Preakness second finisher Bravazo (Awesome Again) and GII Wood Memorial S. victor Vino Rosso (Curlin), both at 8-1. “I never like to draw the rail, but I just feel that most importantly, the horse is doing well,” said Justify’s trainer Bob Baffert. “Last time I went through this, American Pharoah stepped back right when the gates opened and I got lucky he got away from there. You can have a great hole, but if you don’t leave there, you’re in trouble. We have it, we can’t change it, so we’ll just deal with.” The field, from the rail out with riding assignments and morning-line prices, is: Justify (Mike Smith, 4-1), Free Drop Billy (Union Rags, Robby Albarado, 30-1), Bravazo (Luis Saez, 8-1), Hofburg (Irad Ortiz, Jr., 9-2), Restoring Hope (Giant’s Causeway, Florent Geroux, 30-1), Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}, Jose Ortiz, 12-1), Tenfold (Curlin, Ricardo Santana, Jr., 12-1), Vino Rosso (John Velazquez, 8-1), Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy, Javier Castellano, 30-1), Blended Citizen (Proud Citizen, Kyle Frey, 15-1). View the full article

STANTON, DE–A fellow by the name of Tom Barton made his way to the front of the line at the windows in the simulcasting area at Delaware Park, peeled off ten $100 bills and told the teller to bet the money on the Yankees to win the World Series at odds of 5-1. By doing so, he made gambling history, placing the first significant legal U.S. sports wager outside of Nevada. The day has finally come. Very limited forms of bets had been allowed in three states besides Nevada–Delaware among them–but full-scale sports betting outside the Silver State had not been permitted in the U.S. until the Supreme Court of the United States struck down The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 in May. Monmouth Park, which was a leading figure in fighting PASPA, was expected to be the first facility to offer sports bet, but fell behind Delaware while New Jersey state politicians ironed out some final regulations. Monmouth is hopeful it can begin taking sports bets Friday. Delaware’s two harness tracks, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway, also opened up their sports books yesterday. All three opened simultaneously at 1:30 p.m. For sports betting, they will normally be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. While one day of sports betting in one tiny state won’t provide much, if anything, in the way of how the new legal form of betting will affect horse racing, industry leaders will be watching carefully, not knowing what to expect. Because Monmouth Park is leased by the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, profits from sports bets will definitely be used to help racing and, in particular, purses. Delaware is also unique. Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, it was allowed to take parlay-style wagers on games and the local horsemen’s group negotiated a 9.6% cut of the profits from those bets. It will get the same from all the new forms of sports betting. In virtually all other states where there is racing, there are no provisions in sports betting legislation that call for money to go to the sport. The fear is that sports betting could prove to be so popular that it will have a negative impact on wagering on racing and that tracks and casinos that get sports books will not funnel any of the money to the sport. When asked if he thought sports betting would improve the quality of racing at Delaware, which has struggled in recent years due to increased casino competition in neighboring states, track president Bill Fasy said: “I’m hoping it’s not a detractor. You have your money in your pocket, you’re a horse bettor and you see the Eagles are playing this weekend and you’re also a fan of the Eagles. You might want to wager on the Eagles instead of the horses.” Leslie Poland, a spokesperson for the Delaware Lottery, which operates the sports betting in the state said it was premature to make any projections so far how much would be handled in Delaware on an annual basis. Because baseball was the lone U.S. sport being played Tuesday, it was an otherwise quiet day for sports betting. But as 1:30 p.m. approached, there was a noticeable energy in the building and people began to line up to wager and be able to say they were there when sports betting finally escaped outside of Nevada. “Everyone has been waiting for this,” said Barton, a self-described professional gambler. “It feels like we just got released. You used to be able to bet on lotto, but not sports betting? Come on, how ridiculous is that? And now we finally can do it. To be able to do what we love, have some fun with it and, like me, make a living at it and not have to travel to Vegas all the time anymore, that is great.” Barton was followed closely in line by Vince Kordic of Hagertsown, Maryland. He said he made a total of $150 in bets on soccer’s World Cup. “I came specifically for the moment,” he said. “I looked to find what odds [offered] were better than other places I wager with. With the World Cup, that was the case on some of the longer-priced teams. I’ll be here Thursday for day baseball and will probably come once or twice a week, more during football season. I’ll still bet online offshore, but this gives me a chance to shop for odds.” Kordic said he had a passing interest in racing and speculated that he may make a few horse bets on trips to Delaware Park. Robert Williams of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, wagered $1,100 to win $1,000 on the Golden State Warriors to cover tomorrow night’s NBA championship round game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors are 4.5-point favorites. He said has also has an offshore betting account. Like Kordic, he said he would be making return trips to Delaware Park, but would not be playing the horses. “No horses,” he said “I don’t know anything about it at all. I have bet on horses before but its not my forte. In Vegas, I’d bet on horses occasionally, but that was only because they used to have rules where you got free drinks if you bet on horses but not on sports. It’s money and I take this seriously. I only bet on what I am knowledgeable about.” While bricks and mortar facilities like Delaware Park will be the first out of the gate with sports betting, the future is, no doubt, on line. Fasy said Delaware Park should be able to accept on-line sports bets from Delaware residents by the fall. 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Oak Bluffs, an 8-year-old New Jersey-bred gelding, became the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series overall leader June 2 with a sharp victory in the $200,000 Pennsylvania Governor's Cup. View the full article