Tag: Business Of Horse Racing

Who says horses don't play to the camera? Authentic's playful side came out earlier this year outside his barn. Just don't expect him to play around at Pimlico during Saturday's Preakness Stakes. (Image: MyRacehorse.com)

Speed, Breeding, Competitive Fire Produces an Authentic Champion

- 3 min read

When he races, Authentic doesn’t show a lot of patience on the track. He’s developed a well-earned reputation as the proverbial front-runner, a horse who likes the lead and a horse who relishes a challenge. This, however, contrasts with the connections and background of the Kentucky Derby champion and 9/5 […]

Kentucky Downs Director of Marketing John Wholihan plays one of the facility's HHR machines. One type of machine was ruled illegal in a state Supreme Court ruling. (Image: Grace Ramey/Bowling Green Daily News)

Kentucky Supreme Court Rules Against Purse-Fueling HHR Machines

- 3 min read

While horseplayers and horse connections from Santa Anita to Belmont Park were prepping for a huge weekend of stakes races, a decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled some historical horse racing (HHR) machines are illegal, sending a chill through Kentucky racing. A chill that depressed Churchill Downs Inc. stock […]

Standout sprinter Volatile retired Monday after a leg injury. His July victory here in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt marked his sixth and final race. (Image: Erica Miller)
Volatile

Star Sprinter Volatile Retires to Stud After Breaking Bone

- 3 min read

Volatile, the standout sprinter who set records on numerous tracks, broke a bone in his leg Monday and immediately retired from racing. Considered the top sprinter in America, Volatile suffered a hairline fracture of his right front cannon bone. The injury, while not life-threatening, ends Volatile’s dynamic racing career and […]

Arlington Park played host to racing's first $1 million race in 1981. The 93-year-old track may not race beyond 2021. (Image: Jonathan Daniel/Getty)

Arlington Park A Go In 2021, But is That The Iconic Track’s Finish Line?

- 2 min read

The Illinois Racing Board approved a 68-day 2021 racing schedule for Arlington International Racecourse. But the pressing question hangs over the iconic Chicago-area racetrack. Will that be the last season of Arlington Park racing? The wariness stems from comments Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen made on a July conference […]

Keeneland played host to the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the first time in 2015. It gets the 2022 Breeders' Cup along with this year's event Oct. 6-7. (Image: John Snell/Team Coyle)

Keeneland Gets 2022 Consolation After Breeders’ Cup Goes Fan-Free

- 2 min read

The Breeders’ Cup became the latest major racing event going spectator-free, announcing it will go without fans for its upcoming event, Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland in Lexington, KY. At the same time, the Breeders’ Cup announced Keeneland will play host to the 2022 event. This means that all four major […]

Midnight Bisou's stellar career is dotted with victories, such as this one in the 2019 Grade 1 Ogden Phipps. She is one of four champion mares headed for Fasig-Tipton's November Sale. (Image: Joe Labozzetta/NYRA)

Midnight Bisou, Monomoy Girl Headline Fasig-Tipton’s November Sale

- 3 min read

Four of the greatest distaff horses of the last five years go on the auction block this November when the owners of Monomoy Girl, Midnight Bisou, Uni, and Rushing Fall put their prize mares up for sale at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Held at Keeneland on Nov. 8, Fasig-Tipton’s November […]

Flavien Prat's closing-day victory aboard juvenile Dr. Schivel in the Del Mar Futurity gave the rider the Del Mar jockey title. The San Diego-area track boosted its handle 8% despite no fans and fewer race dates. (Image: Benoit Photography)

Del Mar Defies the Odds with Increased Handle, Decreased Racing Days

- 3 min read

Del Mar’s 2020 summer meet ran with 25% fewer racing days than there were in 2019, and without spectators. Even so, the seaside San Diego-area track increased its betting handle 8% from last year. Race-starved Californians combined with action-hungry bettors outside the state to boost the track’s handle to $466.68 […]

Only a handful of essential personnel watched a geared-down Tiz the Law win the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga Aug. 8. But despite no fans, Saratoga's handle surpassed $700 million for the second consecutive year. (Image: AP)

No Fans? No Problem as Saratoga Surpasses $700 Million in 2020 Handle

- 2 min read

Bettors proved they could handle the magic of Saratoga’s racing season without being at Saratoga, passing the $700 million mark in all-sources handle for the second consecutive year. The numbers for the 40-day 2020 Saratoga meet remained surprisingly strong, despite the lack of fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Saratoga […]

Maryland Jockey Club President and GM Sal Sinatra said the claiming system in North American racing needs to disappear. (Image: Eric Stocklin)

Racing Exec Says Scrap Claiming System at Jockey Club Conference

- 4 min read

Nuke the claiming system and start over with ratings. That’s the unequivocal message Sal Sinatra, the president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, left virtual attendees at this year’s Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing. Normally held in Saratoga Springs, NY, the annual conference […]

Colonial Downs has had a rough decade, exacerbated by a six-year closure. Now, the Virginia track canceled the rest of its 2020 season due to the coronavirus. (Image: Coady Photography)

Colonial Downs Cancels Remainder of 2020 Meet Due to COVID-19

- 2 min read

Virginia’s Colonial Downs is the latest racing victim of COVID-19, announcing Friday evening that its canceled the remainder of its 2020 summer meet. The abrupt closure came three days after jockey Trevor McCarthy, who led the track’s jockey standings with 14 wins, tested positive for COVID-19. The Daily Racing Form […]

At 50/1, Giacomo (left) fended off 71/1 Closing Argument to win the 2005 Kentucky Derby. Lucky/savvy superfecta bettors cashed a $432,127 ticket. (Image: James Crisp/AP)

Now, Kentucky Derby Bettors Can Drop a Dime on Superfecta Wagers

- 2 min read

One benefit of no long betting lines at Churchill Downs for this year’s Kentucky Derby is the new 10-cent minimum superfecta wager track officials instituted for this year’s Derby. Previous, the minimum superfecta wager – one requiring bettors to pick the first four horses in order – was $1. When […]

Kentucky Derby hopeful Max Player is on the move, from Linda Rice's New York barn to Steve Asmussen's Kentucky barn. (Image: Skip Dickstein)

Derby Hopeful Max Player Moved to Steve Asmussen’s Kentucky Barn

- 3 min read

Three days after Max Player finished third to Tiz the Law in his second consecutive Grade 1 effort, owners for the horse switched trainers, moving him from Linda Rice to Steve Asmussen. The move came after Max Player finished third – 7 ½ lengths behind Tiz the Law at Saturday’s […]

Tom's d'Etat stumble coming out of the gate likely cost him his fifth consecutive victory. Instead, Improbable captured the centerpiece of Saratoga's Whitney Day card. (Image: Erica Miller/Daily Gazette)

Saratoga Enjoys Record Whitney Day Handle, Memorable Upsets

- 3 min read

Thanks to the coronavirus, this was not a typical Whitney Day crowd at Saratoga, because there was no Whitney Day crowd. Even so, that didn’t prevent the track from setting an all-sources handle record of $35,796,435. That bested the previous record of $31,835,863, set last year when Saratoga welcomed 40,791 […]

War of Will's 'WOW' factor went on display en route to the 2019 Preakness Stakes title. He will join his sire, War Front, at stud next year. (Image: Coady Photography)

Like Father, Like Son: War of Will Set to Join His Sire at Stud

- 3 min read

The people who run Claiborne Farm expect this to be another case of like father, like son. The large Kentucky breeding farm purchased the breeding rights to War of Will, who will join his sire, War Front, upon his retirement. That gives Claiborne a true rarity that will appeal greatly […]

Vekoma won the Met Mile as the 5/2 second-favorite. He is one of the top older horses in the country, with a stud career at Spendthrift Farm awaiting him after this year. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Spendthrift Farm Adds Sizzling Vekoma to Already Deep Stud Stable

- 3 min read

Spendthrift Farm acquired the breeding rights to its third Met Mile winner in the last four years when it secured stud privileges to multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma. Spendthrift, the famous Kentucky breeding farm owned by billionaire B. Wayne Hughes, the founder and chairman of Public Storage, adds perhaps the […]

Tom VanMeter is one of the most prominent owner/breeders in Thoroughbred racing. He apologized Tuesday for racist comments he made on social media last week. (Image: Keeneland)

Amid Industry Heat, Noted Horseman VanMeter Apologizes for Racial Slurs

- 3 min read

In the face of fallout from across the racing world, Tom VanMeter, a prominent Kentucky horse owner and breeder, apologized Tuesday for racist remarks he made last week on social media. A well-known figure in the Kentucky horse industry, VanMeter owns Stockplace Farm, the birthplace of 2015 Triple Crown champion […]

(Image: Brad Penner/USA Today)

June’s Racing Economic Indicators Bring Some Welcome Good News

- 3 min read

Equibase’s monthly report on Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing for June revealed the first uptick in racing handle since February, before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the industry. June’s uptick is slight, 0.76% over June 2019. This result is due to tracks opening or re-opening throughout June. That said, […]

Honor A.P. and Mike Smith enhanced their stallion value with their stretch-drive Santa Anita Derby win earlier this month. Honor A.P. will stand for stud at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Honor A.P. Will Join His Sire at Stud, Breeding Rights Sold to Lane’s End

- 3 min read

The frenzy to acquire the breeding rights of star 3-year-olds continued Friday when Kentucky’s Lane’s End Farm announced Honor A.P. will stand at stud there when his racing career ends. The Santa Anita Derby champion, Honor A.P. sits at +545 on Circa Sports’ Kentucky Derby Futures board. He is +350 […]

The Arlington Park finish line won't have some of the world's top Thoroughbred horses sprint through it this year. Track officials and Illinois horsemen can't reach an agreement on 2020 racing. (Image: John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune

Arlington Million Becomes Latest Race Casualty, but Not Because of COVID-19

- 3 min read

The Arlington Million, Illinois’ biggest horse race of the year, is the most prominent casualty of a deadlock between Arlington Park officials and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association agreeing on a new contract. The two entities came to a tentative agreement on a daily purse structure for a 30-day meet […]

Charlatan easily captures his division of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. But it's been an uphill climb for the Bob Baffert colt since. He'll miss the Belmont and the Kentucky Derby with an ankle injury. (Image: AP Photo)

Ankle Injury Takes Star Baffert Colt Charlatan Out of Belmont, Derby

- 3 min read

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s vaunted Big Three Kentucky Derby contenders is now down to a Big One with the news that Charlatan will miss the Kentucky Derby with an ankle injury. Baffert told Paulick Report Publisher Ray Paulick the undefeated Speighstown progeny suffered “a filling in a front […]

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