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Los Angeles and Anmaat square off June 18 in the Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot.

With significant, persistent rainfall in the local forecast for the next several days, the four turf stakes races carded for June 20 at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course have been rescheduled for June 27.

Churchill Downs Inc., which owns and operates Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, has reached an agreement with Louisiana horsemen for racing to continue at Fair Grounds from around Thanksgiving until early next spring.

The move came as a surprise to some as President Donald Trump had said that immigrants who worked in hospitality and agriculture had nothing to fear when it came to his administration's plans to crack down on illegal immigrants.

With a quiet weekend of racing for the top level, Metropolitan Handicap (G1) winner Raging Torrent held his lead in Week 21 of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Docklands bounced back to go one better and cause a 14-1 shock as he narrowly denied Rosallion in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) June 17 to open the Royal Ascot meeting in thrilling fashion.

Having been beat in her three starts since winning this race a year ago, Vahva aims to right the ship June 21 in the $300,000 Chicago Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.

Industry veteran Bernie Sams announced that he will be launching a new venture, BF Sams Bloodstock Advisory.

Field Of Gold is the favorite to avenge his Newmaket defeat by Ruling Court and Thady Gosden believes the son of Kingman has plenty in his favor in the St James's Palace Stakes.

Selling a group 1 as competitive can be a cop-out, a subtle way of implying the race lacks its usual quality. That billing contradicts the top-tier field assembled for the Queen Anne Stakes.

Defending champion Asfoora is up there with old rivals Believing and Regional. Most of what lies beneath these stalwarts is newer blood in the division. 

The final Florida juvenile sale begins June 17-18 at the Ocala Breeders June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale. The sale offers a variety of horses for buyers at all levels, ready to hit the racetrack this summer.

Omar Ramirez is primed with a strong consignment of 30 horses for the OBS June Sale June 17-18, including a colt by Beau Liam (Hip 829), who breezed a quarter in :20 1/5 on the final day of the under tack show, tying a track record.

Amo Racing's remarkable recruitment drive continued in Kensington Palace Gardens June 16 after the high-class Ghostwriter topped the Goffs London Sale following a £2,000,000 bid from Kia Joorabchian.

OCALA, FL – The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, condensed to two days this year, opened with a day of steady trade Tuesday in Central Florida. A colt by Yaupon, consigned by Julie Davies, brought the session's top price when selling for $300,000 to trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. The session topper was one of six to sell for $200,000 or more on the day, matching the figure from the opening day of last year's three-day auction.

“Good solid day,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “It felt like horses were moving and changing hands and there was good depth of buyers. Given the strength of the market coming in, we were hopeful and we're looking forward to tomorrow.”

During Tuesday's session, 221 horses grossed $9,718,500 for an average of $43,975 and a median of $26,000. From 430 catalogued head, 298 horses were offered with 76 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 25.5%.

At last year's opening session, 212 head sold for $8,004,000 for an average of $37,755 and a median of $20,000. The cumulative sale average in 2024 was $36,379 and the median was $20,000. The OBS June sale concludes with a final session Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m.

 

Yaupon Colt Takes Early Lead at June Sale

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. signed the ticket at a session-topping $300,000 to acquire a colt by Yaupon (hip 104) during Tuesday's first session of the OBS June sale Tuesday.

“I bought him for myself,” Joseph said. “If I like them, I buy them and then I worry about selling them afterwards.”

The juvenile, consigned by Julie Davies, had worked a furlong in :9 4/5 at the OBS March sale, but had to be withdrawn from that auction with a P1 chip. He came back to work a matching :9 4/5 during last week's under-tack preview.

“I saw him in March,” Joseph said. “He worked fast in March and he came back and duplicated it. For me, if he could duplicate that time, that means he is pretty legit. He's a good-looking horse out of an Into Mischief horse, so we hope for the best.”

The juvenile, who was purchased by Davies, her boyfriend Chalino, and Tami Bobo for $85,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale, is out of After the Party (Into Mischief). The mare is a daughter of stakes winner Defy Gravity (Bandini), who is a half-sister to Grade I winner Callback.

“That is pricey for the June sale,” Joseph admitted of the colt's price tag. “Normally, it's a sale to get bargains. But there were plenty of people on him and we are happy to get him.”

 

Redirected Gun Runner Colt Rewards Roberts

Veteran horseman Rusty Roberts had high hopes when he brought a colt by Gun Runner (hip 399) to the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale last month, but the auction's weather-plagued under-tack preview meant the juvenile could only gallop over the Timonium track and he subsequently RNA'd for $195,000. The colt was then supplemented to the OBS June sale where he worked a furlong in :10 flat last week and sold Tuesday for $220,000 to Salli Foushee.

“We had a really nice Blame filly [in the Midlantic sale] who breezed the first day and sold extremely well for us,” Roberts said Tuesday in Ocala. “And then we thought [hip 399] was one of our best horses in the sale, but the racetrack didn't play to our favor. We decided to bring him down here and it worked out very well for us.”

Roberts had purchased the colt, out of graded winner Volcat (After Market), for $140,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale. The juvenile was consigned by Clovis Crane in Maryland and by Top Line Sales Tuesday.

Asked if the gallop-versus-breeze made a difference in the sales result, Roberts said, “Absolutely. This horse has so much talent, he just needed a place to display it. That's all we were looking for. A place for him to display his natural talent.”

Roberts agreed the colt's $220,000 price tag was just the sort of result he had been hoping for last month.

“That's exactly what we were looking for in Maryland,” he said. “We would have liked to do it down there, but circumstances didn't work out in our favor. So we brought him here and he displayed himself and he had beautiful gallop out. He presented himself well, he vetted perfect. He stayed sound. Clovis did an exceptional job getting him ready.”

Now several weeks removed from the Midlantic show's session of untimed gallops, Roberts was asked to assess the importance of the under-tack previews.

“I am very glad that my Blame filly (hip 64) worked when she did,” Roberts said. “Because I don't think we would have sold her for $350,000 had we not gotten to display her natural talent, with her beautiful stride and her long gallop out. I think it's imperative that a horse does get to display that. That's what we do when we prepare horses for 2-year-olds in training sales. We condition those horses and we prepare them to display their talent–or lack of talent. And so when we have a horse with talent, we get rewarded for it. I think it's essential that we continue be able to do that.”

Other supplements to the June sale who RNA'd at the Midlantic sale included a colt by Twirling Candy (hip 410) consigned by Tom McCrocklin who sold for $250,000 to Case Clay Thoroughbred Management after working a quarter-mile in :20 4/5 last week. The juvenile had RNA'd for $145,000 after working a furlong in :10 4/5 over a sloppy sealed surface in Timonium last month.

A colt by Charlatan (hip 421), consigned by Wavertree Stables, sold for $240,000 to JPM Bloodstock after working a furlong in :10 flat last week. The dark bay had RNA'd for $190,000 after a :10 3/5 work in Timonium.

 

'The Right Moment': Tiz The Law Colt Goes Swoosh For Navas

Asked how he was able to acquire a colt by Tiz the Law (hip 174) for just $4,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale, consignor Jonathan Navas said it was “the right time, the right moment.”

The colt returned dividends for the partners Tuesday in Ocala when selling for $160,000 to D J Stable.

Hip 174 is out of Blake's Magic (Bernstein), a half-sister to Canadian champion Mobil (Langfuhr). He worked a furlong at last week's under-tack preview in :10 flat.

Hip 174, a colt by Tiz the Law , goes to D J Stable | OBS

“He's always been a very calm, very classy horse,” Navas said. “That's one of the things that got into my mind when I first saw him. He's always been good, always moving forward. A very calm horse and a nice horse to be around.”

Of Tuesday's result, Navas said, “You never know. Sometimes you spend more money and you don't make enough money. Some of them make money and some of them don't. We are just very blessed.

“I am happy that good people and good horseman have this horse, so he's going to have the best chance to shine.”

Navas, a former jockey in Venezuela, has been consigning under the Navas Equine banner since 2020. At the 2023 OBS April sale, the consignment sold a colt by Justify for $400,000. He had been purchased the previous September at Keeneland for $50,000.

“My partner and owner [on the colt] is Georgie Gonzalez from Puerto Rico,” Navas said. “We do about 20 [pinhooks] total. We are having a good season. It takes a lot of work, a lot of effort, but we are doing what we like. We just care about the horses so much.”

The post ‘Good Solid Day’: $300,000 Colt by Yaupon Tops OBS June Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

A dispute that had threatened the upcoming meet at the Fair Grounds has been resolved, which means the meet will be held as scheduled, from Nov. 22 to Mar. 23.

Churchill Downs Inc., which owns the Fair Grounds, was threatening to close the track after the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in March that the statute that legalized Historical Horse Racing Machines at the OTBs run by Fair Grounds was not legal and that the machines could not continue to operate without voter approval. CDI officials previously said that shutting down the HHR machines would mean the elimination of 46%  of its off-track betting parlor revenue. CDI also said it would also be hurt by  state laws this year expanding poker machines at truck stops and bars. Citing those problems, CDI threatened to surrender its racing license.

An agreement between horsemen and CDI was reached on Monday that will allow the meet to proceed. However, it was not immediately clear as to what ended the impasse.

The Blood-Horse was first with the story.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the horsemen to continue racing at Fair Grounds Race Course following productive conversations with Governor Landry and Senator Henry,” said CDI spokesperson Tonya Abeln. “We remain committed to collaboration with stakeholders in pursuit of positive outcomes for the horse racing industry in Louisiana and look forward to continuing to move forward–our focus is firmly on the future.”

Abeln acknowledged that progress was made after “productive conversations” with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry.

“I understand they worked everything out in a meeting yesterday,” said owner-breeder Michelle Rodriguez, who is on the Board on the Louisiana HBPA. “I have been told that they have agreed to start the meet in late November and then end it March, which is similar to what we had this year. The dates will be discussed at an emergency meeting of the Racing Commission. They came to the table. One of the representatives from Churchill Downs was at Evangeline Downs the other night and that's how I found out about the meeting. It's not set in stone yet, but we feel now that since the impasse has been broken we should be in good shape. All is good. We are all very happy.”

The agreement will not be official until after all sides come together for a June 24 emergency meeting of the Louisiana Racing Commission. However, it appears to be a formality as all sides appear to now be on the same page.

One factor that may have caused CDI to strike a more conciliatory tone was action taken last week by the New Orleans City Council and state lawmakers to ensure that the property could not be developed for other uses. The City Council created an interim zoning district to ensure the property remains a racetrack. Meanwhile, state lawmakers passed legislation to designate the Fair Grounds as a historic site, requiring legislative approval for major changes such as pulling the plug on horse racing.

Benard Chatters, the president of the Louisiana HBPA told the Blood-Horse “We're gonna take a slight decrease in purses, but we'll be creative to try to make some things happen … I think we'll be running for close to the same thing we ran for last year.”

The post Agreement Reached, Fair Grounds Will Hold 2025-26 Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Already postponed once for rain from May 30 to June 20, weather has yet again pushed the four turf stakes on GIII Penn Mile day another week out. In a press release Tuesday morning, Penn National stated that the four stakes in question, the Penn Mile, Penn Oaks, Alphabet Soup Stakes and Lyphard Stakes will be now be held Friday, June 27.

The release reads: “With significant, persistent rainfall in the local forecast for the next several days, the four turf stakes races carded for Friday, June 20th at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course have been rescheduled for Friday, June 27. Those four stakes will go–as drawn–on June 27. The other 7 non-stakes races carded for this Friday, June 20th will be run as
scheduled, with this Friday's first post remaining at 5 pm. Of course, the safety of our athletes–both human and equine–is everyone's top priority. Moving these four stakes to June 27 also helps ensure that our horsemen will be able to run their horses on the turf, as intended.”

The track also noted that guest announced Larry Collmus will still be on site on the 27th to call those four stakes races.

The post Rain Forces Another Postponement Of The Penn Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Immigration enforcement officers raided the Delta Downs racetrack Tuesday morning in what has been described as a sweep of the backstretch, which had been closed off by the authorities.

The raid, involving drones, was coordinated between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), state and local law enforcement agencies, according to several sources.

In the latest development in an evolving situation, “several dozen individuals” have been detained at the track as part of the raid, said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the national Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA).

Delta Downs' latest Thoroughbred meet ended in February. The track is currently in the middle of a Quarter Horse meet.

“There was a raid at Delta Downs. They shut down the highway-it's federal highway that's by Delta Downs. They shut that down, buttoned down the place and had an ICE raid,” said Ed Fenasci, executive director of the Louisiana HBPA, reached early Tuesday morning.

The raid, said Fenasci, started before eight o'clock.

“The descriptions I'm getting, it was a raid. They had drones out,” said Fenasci, who added that members of his staff weren't permitted onto the property. “Nobody was allowed in or out,” he said.

The immigration raid came as a surprise to the Delta Downs backstretch, said Hamelback, who added that he has heard second-hand reports of horses being left unattended on wall-ties and on horse-walkers.

“I was told of one rider that was told to get off the horse and let it go,” said Hamelback, who added that the “lack of concern for equine wellbeing is also a major concern.”

In a statement Tuesday morning, David Strow, Delta Downs' vice president of corporate communications, wrote that he understood no Delta Downs employees were swept up in the raid. Delta Downs is owned and operated by the Boyd Gaming Corporation.

“Our Company complies fully with federal labor laws, and to our knowledge, no Delta Downs team members were involved in this matter.  We will cooperate with law enforcement as requested,” wrote Strow.

The raid has occurred in the midst of the Trump administration's increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, hitting hard those sectors that rely heavily on an immigrant labor force.

In February, immigration enforcement officers descended upon the Frontera Training Center in Sunland Park, New Mexico, in a targeted visit for specific individuals. Similar targeted visits have also involved Oaklawn Park and other tracks in recent months, according to several sources.

Tuesday's raid at Delta Downs, however, is believed to be the first major immigration sweep of a racetrack since the new administration regained power in January.

Just last week, Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform that the “very aggressive” raids were hurting farmers and hotels. Subsequent reports indicated that the administration had told ICE officials to largely pause raids and arrests in the agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants.

Reports on Monday, however, suggested that the administration had already reversed that order.

Hamelback said that he sent messages Tuesday to the offices of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, to Kentucky congressmen Andy Barr and to Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise, warning of the damage to the Thoroughbred horseracing industry from such raids.

   This story will be updated.

 

 

this is absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/9O4TMM0n2g

— Anika Miskar Photography (@seattleracing) June 17, 2025

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John Stewart's Resolute Racing farm in central Kentucky, located on the grounds of the former Shadayid Stud, will be expanded to include a new training facility, Stewart said on Nick Luck's Live From Royal Ascot podcast Tuesday.

“It's our second year [on the farm],” said Stewart. “Last year we bred 31 mares, this year we bred over 50. We've got some fantastic diversity on the farm and we're really excited about that. We've got out first yearlings that were bred on the farm coming up so next year they'll be 2-year-olds. So it's all coming along pretty well. We've grown the farm from 800 acres to 1,300 acres and we're planning to build a training center on the property. So it's going pretty well.”

Stewart's farm roster includes a who's who of successful race mares and broodmares led perhaps most notably by Puca (Big Brown), the dam of GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic), GI Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch (Good Magic) and this year's MGISP Baeza (McKinzie). His aforementioned yearlings are by top international stallions such as Wootton Bassett (GB), Siyouni (Fr) and Frankel (GB) while his American-bred yearlings feature the full-brother to Mage and Dornoch along with a Flightline half-sister to 2-year-old champion Forte (Violence).

“You can't just get involved in racing and want to win” he said. “Because then you're just taking from the sport. If you're going to get involved in something, you have to get involved with all aspects of the sport and you have to want to support everything. For me, that's competing on a global stage. I think it's important to be in these historic venues. Ascot is definitely at the top of the list of races I want to compete in. So much so that I'm building a replica of the mile uphill on my farm. I specifically bought an additional farm because it has a 1 1/2-mile of property so I can build a proper uphill gallop. I think if we want horses to come over here [to Ascot] and race, you have to train them in environment you want them to compete in.”

Asked by Luck if Resolute would keep an in-house trainer on site or if the facility would only include pre-training, Stewart said, “Not going to go with my own trainer. I'm going to require every trainer that wants to train with me to have a division at my training center. I'm going to keep all my horses there in America and I'll ship them to the races just like they do at [Coolmore's] Ballydoyle. We're building a training center with 400 stalls. It's going to be state of the art. I'm going to take the Ballydoyle concept and take all the latest technology and implement it and try to up the game. There's a lot of incremental things we can learn from sports science. So much we want the horses to be athletes but we treat them still like farm animals. I think there's a lot of opportunity to makes things more competitive and to give the horses every opportunity and also to take care of [their] wellness from a training standpoint.”

The post ‘I’m Going To Take The Ballydoyle Concept’: Stewart Plans New Training Center appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Bernie Sams will be launching a new venture, BF Sams Bloodstock Advisory, according to a press release from the new company this morning. Drawing upon his extensive experience working for some of the world's top Thoroughbred farms, Sams said he would offer a variety of consulting services, including broodmare band management, advice on matings, purchases of stallion seasons and shares, securing equine insurance, and more.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Sams began working with Thoroughbreds while attending the University of Kentucky. Early in his career, he worked at Wimbledon Farm, Haras de Roiville in France, Manchester Farm Lexington, and Overbrook Farm, as well as managing stallions at Gainesway.

In 2003, Sams began his tenure at Claiborne Farm, where he served as Bloodstock and Stallion Manager. His role included assisting in buying and syndicating new stallions, managing the stallions, advertising, helping clients purchase mares to fortify their broodmare bands, consulting on matings, and a host of other duties and responsibilities. Among the successful stallions Sams managed at Claiborne were Pulpit, Arch, Flatter, Blame and War Front, one of the most accomplished sires in recent history.

“I'm very excited to begin this new venture,” said Sams. “Claiborne was very good to me over the past 20-plus years and I look forward to the next chapter. I'm also happy to see my son, little Bernie, showing a passion for the Thoroughbred industry, so I'm hoping in the next few years he'll join me in this new endeavor.”

Bernie Sams can be reached at bfsams1959@gmail.com.

The post Bernie Sams Launches BF Sams Bloodstock Advisory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.