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Coolmore Renews Sponsorship of German 2,000 Guineas

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
Coolmore will continue their sponsorship of the first German classic of the year, with the Coolmore City Of Troy German Two Thousand Guineas (G2) to be run at Cologne May 18.

Jonathan's Way to be Scratched From Risen Star

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
2024 Iroquois Stakes (G3) winner Jonathan's Way will scratch from the Feb. 15 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds, trainer Phil Bauer told racetrack publicist Kevin Kerstein.

The Road: Top 3-Year-Olds to Stretch Out in Risen Star

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
The Road presented by Gainesway and Darby Dan Farm.

Tampa Bay Downs Affirms a Commitment to Live Racing

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
The west coast Florida track north of Tampa said it's proud of its nearly 100-year-old history of racing.

Valentine's Moneigh Auction Features Art From 18 Horses

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption and After the Finish Line's Valentine's Moneigh Auction Feb. 16 and ends Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET. Proceeds benefit Off Track Thoroughbreds. Several original Moneighs are the last ones we have to offer horse racing fans.

NTRA Endorses Bills Supporting Thoroughbred Industry

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
The NTRA proudly endorses three key pieces of legislation aimed at bolstering investment, financial certainty, and long-term growth in the equine industry: the ALIGN Act, the Racehorse Cost Recovery Act, and the Racehorse Tax Parity Act.

Bregman, Buehler: Red Sox Teammates and Horse Owners

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
You'd better believe the Kentucky Derby (G1) will be a hot topic this spring in the Boston Red Sox locker room. Two of their players already have been bitten by the horse racing bug: Walker Buehler and Alex Bregman.

Off to the Races Radio Launches 2025 Season Feb. 15

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
 Off to the Races Radio, powered by The Racing Biz will make its 2025 debut Feb. 15. The one-hour program, focused on Thoroughbred and harness racing and breeding in Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic, and beyond, airs at 10 a.m. ET.

Sulaiyma Tops Goffs Online Sale of Aga Khan Septet

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
Sulaiyma, a 4-year-old filly by Kingman headlined the Goffs Online Sale of seven Aga Khan horses when making €150,000 to Tally-Ho Stud Feb. 13. The half dozen to sell generated turnover of €336,000, an average of €56,000, and the median €42,500.

KEEP Emphasizes Building Relationships With Lawmakers

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
With no major legislative issues looming for the horse industry in Kentucky, relationship-building took center stage at the 2025 Kentucky Equine Education Project Day at the state Capitol annex Feb. 13 in Frankfort.

McDonald Chases Second Lightning Win With Switzerland

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
Three years after taking the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (G1) aboard Home Affairs, jockey James McDonald returns to Flemington in hopes of piloting the Chris Waller-trained Switzerland to victory Feb. 15.

Despite Loss, Ferocious Checked Boxes in Holy Bull

Blood-Horse - Fri, 2025-02-14 13:06
Despite tiring and finishing fourth in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull Stakes (G3), co-owner Ramiro Restrepo said Ferocious checked off several important boxes in his 3-year-old debut that gives the team confidence ahead of the March 29 Florida Derby (G1).

Record Sum Awarded to Kentucky Breeders for Races Won in 2024

Thoroughbred Daily News - Fri, 2025-02-14 12:48

On the back of a year which saw Kentucky-breds thriving at the pinnacle of domestic and international competition, the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation has paid out a record $20-million through its Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders' Incentive Fund (KTBIF) to participating breeders for races won in 2024, it was announced via press release Friday afternoon.

Consistently in elite company at home, Kentucky-breds won 289 of 401 graded races in the U.S. including all three legs of the Triple Crown–all by different horses–and captured 10 Eclipse awards led by Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna); who also claimed the lilies in the GI Kentucky Oaks. Kentucky-breds have won the Derby 116 times, including the last ten runnings, and have won the last eight editions of the Oaks.

On the international front, multiple Group 1 hero, Cartier Horse of the Year City of Troy (Justify) and G1 Dubai World Cup victor Laurel River (Into Mischief) were crowned co-holders of the Longines World's Best Racehorse title.

The KTBIF was established to ensure the strength of the Kentucky Thoroughbred industry by awarding breeders funds to the winners of qualifying races. For a foal to be designated a Kentucky-bred, the mare must be bred to a registered Kentucky stallion, remain in the Commonwealth during her full gestation period, and foal in Kentucky. It is funded through a percentage of the sales tax paid when a stallion is bred to a mare in Kentucky.

A full list of the 2024 award winners, with amounts totaling $20,019,601.10, is available here.

“This is one of our favorite times of year, to see our Kentucky breeders rewarded for continually breeding champions here in Kentucky,” said Drew Conners, KHRGC's director of Incentives and Development. “It is a thrill to watch our Kentucky-bred horses win races here at home and across the globe. We are honored to award a record $20-million to our Kentucky Thoroughbred breeders, who give so much to the

The post Record Sum Awarded to Kentucky Breeders for Races Won in 2024 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

NHBPA Issues New Call to Action to Stop Florida Decoupling Measure

Thoroughbred Daily News - Fri, 2025-02-14 11:33

The National HBPA has sent correspondence to Florida horsemen and racing fans urging them to send a letter to Florida senators to vote no on decoupling.

In it, the organization urges readers to flood the Senate, and the Florida State Senator representing their address' district, with a prepared letter explaining the grave danger HB 105–and its virtual twin Senate Bill 408–poses to a key state industry. While the Senate measure has a separate number bill from the House, the objective is reportedly the same–allow racetracks to keep their gaming licenses and/or card clubs without the current restriction of conducting live racing.

The latter is also in the passage pipeline having been referred to the Senate's Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Rules.

Florida residents with a seasonal or a business-related address may use this link to send the letter. Those without a Florida address may still help by signing this petition to the Florida lawmakers.

The NHBPA urges fans and Florida residents to share this Senate letter link with anyone currently in Florida with an interest in Thoroughbred racing, not just industry participants.

The post NHBPA Issues New Call to Action to Stop Florida Decoupling Measure appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Perry Ouzts, the Blue-Collar Jockey, In Episode Three of Boundless Podcast

Thoroughbred Daily News - Fri, 2025-02-14 09:51

Perry Ouzts has ridden in almost 54,000 races, and has won almost 7,500 of them. And at 70 years old, he's still going strong, making him one of the most enduring jockeys in history. Ouzts appears as the guest in episode three of jockey and veterinarian Dr. Ferrin Peterson's Boundless podcast, highlighting some of racing's stories of resilience and determination. “I started riding in '73,” he tells Peterson. “Me and Pat Day, we both started in '73, and in '74, Chris McCarron and Russell Baze started riding. We all had the bug together, so it was a good year for bug riders.”

Asked if he had ever planned for another career-or if he was planning for a post-riding career now, Ouzts said, “I never really thought about anything else since I graduated from high school. I still get that same thrill after 50-something years. I get that same thrill when I cross the finish line. I think I've surpassed all the goals I ever set. Ever. I thought once I started riding, if I could get 20 years, it would be a good career. Then 20 years came and went, and I said, `well, maybe you can get 30 years.' That would be great. That came and went and I said, `I'm going to try for 40.' And then that came and went,” said, laughing. “Now I'm past 50 and still going. And all these years, it's never gotten old.”

The video podcast is available on YouTube by clicking here, with the audio podcast available on Spotify, here; and Apple Podcasts, here.

The post Perry Ouzts, the Blue-Collar Jockey, In Episode Three of Boundless Podcast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Just Steel on the Comeback Trail

Thoroughbred Daily News - Thu, 2025-02-13 14:57

Just Steel (Justify), runner-up in last year's GI Arkansas Derby, continues to train towards his 4-year-old debut at Oaklawn Park, with the Mar. 29 GIII Oaklawn Mile his first major target of the season, according to trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Just Steel has been sidelined since suffering a condylar fracture during a fifth-place effort in the GI Preakness Stakes last May.

“He's pretty versatile,” Lukas said. “He could go long or short, so I've got some options. In a perfect world, if everything would fall into place, I'd like to run him in the Oaklawn Mile. That would be a great spot.

“I would say I'd probably try to find a conditioned race and then go in the Oaklawn Mile. That would be my guess. I'm going to run him. I really think he's doing good.”

Just Steel has seven published works at Oaklawn since December. He most recently worked six furlongs from the gate in 1:14.00 Feb. 10.

“Super,” Lukas said when asked how Just Steel had progressed. “Any adjective you want to use, superlative you want to use, would fit. He's coming back, he's had that time off, he's filled out, he's matured. If you've looked at his work tab, it's pretty solid.”

The post Just Steel on the Comeback Trail appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Penn National, Mahoning Valley Cancel Racing Thursday

Thoroughbred Daily News - Thu, 2025-02-13 13:29

Live racing was canceled at Penn National Race Course Thursday evening due to the ongoing effects of winter weather in the area. Racing at the Pennsylvania oval is set to resume Friday with the first of 10 races scheduled to go off at 5:45 pm.

Thursday's canceled 10-race Penn National card will now be run in its entirety next Wednesday and the track will race Wednesday through Friday next week.

Also forced to cancel live racing Thursday, Mahoning Valley abandoned the card after the third race due to track conditions.

 

The post Penn National, Mahoning Valley Cancel Racing Thursday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Weaver Weighing Options with Colloquial

Thoroughbred Daily News - Thu, 2025-02-13 13:18

In 'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma), George Weaver trains what looks like the fastest 3-year-old male in the U.S. Last week at Aqueduct he won a maiden race by seven lengths while earning a Beyer figure of 106. The 106 is easily the fastest number run so far this year by a 3-year-old.

For some owners, a race that good would have afflicted them with Derby Fever and their horses would wind up in traditional Derby preps. But owners Jack Wolf, Curtis Harrell and their partners have said that all racing decisions will be made by Weaver, who is still mulling his options

That's not a bad thing. Weaver is careful and practical. On the one hand, trying to squeeze in the Derby after the horse broke his maiden in a sprint race in February may be way too much to ask. On the other hand, might he be so talented and fast that anything is possible. If he thinks that Colloquial could win the Derby, then don't his owners deserve a chance to win the $5-million race?

These are nice problems to have, at least for now, Weaver is exploring all possibilities and ruling out nothing. The only firm decision he has made is that Colloquial will have six or seven weeks off before his next race.

“Because he ran so fast, the only thing I am committed to is giving him some time,” the trainer said. “I am a big believer that if we tried to bring him back on short rest it would backfire. With the number he ran being so fast, giving him a six or seven-week break now would be ideal to me. He gets back here to Florida on Friday and we'll see how he's doing and go from there.”

Weaver is the first to admit that trying to force his way into the Derby so quickly and with so little preparation is a risky proposition.

“I'm not sure the horse will run two turns,” he said. “But we're at that time of the year with these 3-year-olds where it's not hard to get that Triple Crown fever. We'll keep all of our options open. If the Gotham were back in five weeks, I'd probably be tempted to try it. It's a one-turn mile. But running him would mean bringing him back in three weeks and I'm not going to do that.”

Nonetheless, he hasn't slammed the door on trying a traditional Derby prep in the horse's next start.

“If you ran him in one of the major Derby preps and if he won you could go to the Derby, if you wanted to. But it doesn't feel like a realistic goal,” Weaver said. “But you never know. Times have changed. It used to be that you had to go into the Derby with a seasoned horse. Now, more and more every year, some of the more highly regarded horses in the Derby field are horses that didn't get started until they were three.”

At this point, it looks like the safer bet is to concentrate on sprint races restricted to 3-year-olds. An obvious goal would be the GI Woody Stephens Stakes, which is run during the Belmont Stakes festival at Saratoga. What if Colloquial had distance limitations, but turns into an outstanding sprinter?

“I'd definitely be OK with that,” Weaver said. “It's my responsibility to my owners to put all of these options out there.  Sometimes owners would like to see them run long. I don't know if this horse will go long. If I owned him myself, I would try to get to the Woody Stephens and pick the best path to get there and after that I'd think about stretching him out. With the 3-year-olds they only get one shot at the Triple Crown races. There are a lot of decisions that have to be made. Maybe we will stretch him out in his next start and see what he wants to do.”

“Maybe he will go two turns. He's out of a Bernardini mare, but it's still a big question mark. We're glad to have him. If I can keep him healthy all year, he's going to be a big force.”

Colloquial is by Vekoma, who Weaver also trained. Vekoma, last year's leading freshman sire, flopped in the 2019 Derby when finishing 12th, but he was a completely different horse the next year when Weaver raced Vekoma only in one-turn races. He won all three of his starts during his 4-year-old year, including the GI Carter and the GI Metropolitan H. To train what might turn out to be one of Vekoma's fastest sons brings back a lot of memories for Weaver.

“We've been lucky enough to get some good horses in our barn,” Weaver said. “Not a lot of them, but we've had quite a few nice horses. Vekoma is obviously one of them. It's amazing when they show up. The appreciation we have for a good horse is unbelievable. It's about the horse. Saratoga County was my first good one. With horses like him and Vekoma, it didn't really matter what I did with them. I just tried to keep them healthy. You didn't need to worry so much about what you did with them between races because when you led them over in the afternoon, they always showed up. You think about how much they do for you and your family. With how well Vekoma is doing at stud, it's like we're now being able to relive his greatness.”

The post Weaver Weighing Options with Colloquial appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Victory Avenue Returns Sunday, Florida Derby Likely Next for Ferocious

Thoroughbred Daily News - Thu, 2025-02-13 13:02

OGMA Investments, JR Ranch, Upland Flats Racing, Morplay Racing, High Step Racing, Lady Sheila Stable and Michael and Jules Iavarone's highly regarded Victory Avenue (Arrogate), unraced since his debut run last winter, returns to the races Sunday at Gulfstream Park. Trained by Gustavo Delgado, the colt was second after a troubled start in his debut at Gulfstream on the Pegasus undercard last January. He was entered in the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes off that maiden appearance, but was scratched.

“He was just such a naturally fast talented colt that he kind of took us to the [maiden] race,” explained co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “We started him at the end of January in a race when he really should have just started training at the end of January. Obviously, he put up a ridiculous race. He ran out of his skin, but he kind of told us after the race that he needed some time. We turned him out for a good while and have taken our sweet time.”

Victory Avenue returned to the work tab Dec. 7 and has breezed eight times at Gulfstream for his comeback. He drew post two in a field of seven for Sunday's fourth race, a maiden special weight for 4-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on the main track. Javier Castellano will ride.

“He's had eight workouts so far and he's ready to take that first step. We've been easy on him just to get him back. He hasn't had any crazy bullets or anything like that, but with those works he's fit enough to run and just re-start his career,” Restrepo said. “Obviously last year the imagination was running wild, but I think we're a patient bunch and we're just happy to get him back in the gate.”

Restrepo also reported that JR Ranch, Marquee Bloodstock, High Step Racing and OGMA Investments' Ferocious (Flatter) exited his fourth-place finish in the Feb. 1 GIII Holy Bull Stakes in fine shape. Second in last year's GI Hopeful Stakes and GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, the colt was making his first start since finishing fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He was wearing blinkers for the first time in the Holy Bull and found himself within a head of the lead after six furlongs before tiring.

“He was tired seven furlongs in. From the quarter [pole] home he kind of flattened out, and that's fine. It happens. He came out of it well. It was nice to have gotten a start in to get the year going,” Restrepo said. “The positive is that he did so many things that nobody even notices. He would get really nervous in the paddock. He would get really nervous in the post parade. He would get nervous in the gate and he would run in pieces in his races. He wouldn't run a complete race. Those were huge questions for us. With the blinkers and the time [off], all those boxes were checked. He behaved like a total gentleman in the paddock, he behaved like a total gentleman in the post parade and starting gate. That was huge for us.”

Ferocious's likely next start is expected to be the Mar. 29 GI Florida Derby.

“I don't know what Gustavo's next move is going to be,” Restrepo said. “The plan was to go Holy Bull-Florida Derby. I believe that seems to be the same plan. I haven't heard him say we have to go Fountain of Youth or reroute to another place or anything like that. I'm assuming Florida Derby will be the next start, and we have ample time to keep building on his training for the Florida Derby.”

The post Victory Avenue Returns Sunday, Florida Derby Likely Next for Ferocious appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Breeders' Cup Tickets On Sale April 23

Blood-Horse - Thu, 2025-02-13 11:16
Tickets for the 42nd running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will go on sale to the general public April 23, with the event returning Oct. 31-Nov. 1 to Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

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