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The Fasig Tipton November Sale Catelogue is now available online at http://www.fasigtipton.com/2018/The-November-Sale#/

WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing and Head of Plains Partners’ favored Justify took command at the half-mile pole and roared away to a 2 ½-length victory over Good Magic under the lights at Churchill Downs to win the 144th running of the $2,192,000 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) for 3-year-olds on a soggy Saturday afternoon befor

Reading last Friday morning's edition of Harness Racing Update (HRU) from Dave Briggs was a very disturbing experience for me.

Post time for the Kentucky Derby is 6:34 p.m. ET, and there is coverage on NBC from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET.  Looking to watch the online? Visit NBC Sports. Listed below is the field for the 143rd running of the Derby.

Following unprecedented success on the track for Irish-trained horses in 2016 under both Flat and National Hunt codes, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has announced a positive set of industry figures for the year, with growth across almost all areas. Irish bloodstock sales increased for the seventh consecutive year and

Breeders' Cup Classic winner Arrogate stepped up his preparation for the Pegasus World Cup, and a mouthwatering rematch with California Chrome, with a racecourse workout at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Australian harness racing is banning the use of whips in training and racing from 1 September 2017 in a world-leading animal welfare initiative that improves the industry’s image and enhances its sustainability. The decision sets the pace in animal welfare and for the long-term support and sustainability of the industry.

New Jersey voters rejected a measure that would have allowed casinos outside Atlantic City, but approved a referendum on the allocation of gas tax funds to the state's transportation costs. Voters said yes to the question asking whether every penny of the state's 37.5-cent per gallon gas tax should go exclusively to the transportation fund.

In New Jersey, a little girl who has been battling cancer is starting third-grade this week, after she couldn’t go to school last year. Kaia Carroll recently discovered the healing power of horses, and said she hasn’t had this much fun in months. The eight-year-old has a rare form of Leukemia. The last year of her life has been a blur of doctors, hospitals and chemotherapy.

NBC Sports Group has reached an agreement with The Stronach Group for exclusive United States media rights to the inaugural running of the $12 Million USD Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The world’s richest thoroughbred race will be contested on January 28, 2017 at The Stronach Group’s premier destination, Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Hold all tickets until the race is official. Post positions for Saturday’s Canadian Derby were drawn Tuesday morning for a race that was widely believed to be the final Derby at Northlands.

But, then again, maybe not.

The hurdles on the road to Rio de Janeiro for a 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding named Blackfoot Mystery (Out of Place), nicknamed “Big Red,” began just a few miles away from the Kentucky Horse Park, at a place called Milestone Farm. That’s where John O’Meara bred the ex-racehorse turned Olympic-bound champion named to the 2016 U.S. Eventing Team.

Songbird Remains Unbeaten With Courageous CCA Oaks (G1) Triumph

California Chrome Bests Dortmund in Thrilling San Diego H. (G2)

Dacita Rolls Late to Capture Diana S. (G1) at Saratoga

August 1864. It was the best of times in France: Napoleon III's Second Empire was at the height of its glory, enabling prosperous ladies and gentlemen to escape the heat of Paris and head north for the delights of Deauville, the Duc de Morny's new racecourse on the Normandy coast just a few hundred yards from the sunny beaches that were bringing new meaning to the idea of summer vacation.

Racing fans will be greeted by a series of exciting new attractions, perennial favorite events and world-class thoroughbred racing when they return to the Spa for opening weekend of the 2016 racing season at Saratoga Race Course, July 22-25, presented by NYRA Bets.

While planning for an end-of-year tilt at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships is not unusual for a top-class runner, it becomes so when quarantine regulations dictate you must start your journey eight months before.

Blood-Horse magazine is celebrating its 100th anniversary. But like the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry it covers, the Lexington-based publisher is evolving.

Del Mar is gearing up for a fashionable and fabulous Friday opening.

The summer season will kick off on July 15, and it’s the first time in a while that it will be held at the start of a weekend, said Chris Bahr, director of events and promotions. Last year, Opening Day was a Thursday, and for many years, it traditionally fell on a Wednesday.

Summer racing at Del Mar once again promises to be a flashy affair, with big hats, colorful silks, musical stars, and the return of the popular racehorse “Chrome.”

The 39-day season kicks off July 15 and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 5.

ST Publishing Managing Editor Tom Law will join three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Ramon Dominguez, Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Graham Motion and Starlight Stables founder Jack Wolf as a panelist at the National Museum of RaST Publishing Managing Editor Tom Law will join three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Ramon Dominguez, Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Graham Motion and Starlight Stables founder J

The Korea Racing Authority (KRA) and Keeneland Association July 6 announced the inaugural Keeneland Korea Cup, which will offer a purse of 1 Billion Korean Won (approximately $855,000) and be held as part of an international day of racing at Seoul Racecourse in South Korea Sunday, Sept. 11.

The American Triple Crown season has come and gone, but north of the border at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, the Canadian version is set to get underway. The first jewel is the Queen's Plate, the premier event of Canadian racing. It's also the most prestigious, and oldest continuously run race in North America since it began in 1860.

Just a few years ago there were suggestions that the Queen’s Plate might become obsolete; deader than the Dodo Bird; the dinosaur of Canadian sports.

Times have changed.

“What do you like on your pizza?” asked Beth Macauley.

“Pep-pe-ro-ni!” said Davide Sirilli, sounding out each syllable.

“Good. Now say that in a full sentence,” said Macauley.

“I like pep-pe-ro-ni on my pizza,” Davide answered.

Harzand Strikes Again in Irish Derby (G1)

Minding Cruises Past Older Rivals in Pretty Polly S. (G1)

Melatonin Rolls Home in Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1)

“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.”

That’s what British statesman Winston Churchill thought; and moreover, it’s what David and Teresa Miller, owners of Stars & Strides Therapeutic Riding Center believe.

Galileo Gold Triumphs in St. James Palace S. (G1) Clash

American-Based Tepin All Class in Queen Anne S. (G1)

16-1 My Dream Boat Lands Prince of Wales S. (G1)

Sometimes people ask me why I don’t write more often because they enjoy reading what I write. I guess honestly because I feel like “who cares what I have to say on the subject” or maybe because I’d rather just wait until something really moves me.

This year marks the 157th running of Canada's most famous horse race, the Queen's Plate. To celebrate one of the city's oldest and chicest sporting traditions, filled with fashion and fast horses, we invite you to an exclusive screening of Being AP, a documentary that profiles the 2015 final season of 20-time Champion Jockey Sir AP McCoy.

American raider Tepin (11-2) landed the Queen Anne Stakes to open Royal Ascot 2016 in spectacular fashion.

Despite concerns that the unusually soft conditions the Mark Casse-trained five-year-old beat the 9-2 favourite Belardo by half a length under Julien Leparoux, with Lightning Spear (20-1) a further length a quarter back in third in the Group One contest.

Pedigree is perhaps the most important factor in analyzing a horse's ability to navigate the testing 12 furlongs of the Belmont Stakes. Here are pedigree snapshots of this year's Belmont contenders:

The Aga Khan's Harzand Victorious in Investec Epsom Derby (G1)

Minding Much the Best in Investec Epsom Oaks (G1)

Almanzor (20-1) Home First in French Derby (G1)

Lou Smith must be spinning in his grave.

Rockingham Park’s late and larger than life former owner, who turned the track into what was regarded as “Little Saratoga” in its glory days, would surely be dejected by the news that the 116-year-old track has been sold for development and is shuttering its doors for good.

Many business deals are all about the Benjamins, but when it comes to standing stallions a deal can hinge more on personal connections than on money.

Mario Pino was announced as the 2016 recipient of the of the Mike Venezia Memorial Award, earning the prestigious honor awarded to jockeys who exemplify extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship.

Horse racing's first pitch contest, giving entrepreneurs a chance to bring change and innovation to the horse racing industry, is returning for another year. In 2015, the winner of the Innovators' Circle competition won $15,000 and the contest's finalists earned significant exposure and access to the executives in horse racing.

Nyquist's third-place finish in the May 21 Preakness Stakes (gr. I) won't diminish the luster of Uncle Mo, his sire and dominant second-crop stallion.

A week before the second leg of the Triple Crown, industry experts conservatively projected the value of Ashford Stud's son of Indian Charlie had grown to between $120-$140 million.

The 2016 Preakness Stakes field is comprised of 11 runners, three of whom are multiple graded stakes winners in North America. Handicappers can quickly guess that Nyquist and Exaggerator are two of three. But the third? That's the Bob Baffert-trained Collected.

Horseman Niall Brennan has been selling 2-year-olds that he's raised, broken, and trained since 1991 and has sold so many good horses over the years it's hard to keep track. However, you remember the classic wins and classic years.

Bob Manfuso walked through one of the stables at his 195-acre Howard County farm like a proud papa — or, more accurately, a doting grandpa — as he watched his newest foal, a bay colt born the previous night, bond in a stall with his mother.

There will be several 'new shooters' to greet Kentucky Derby hero Nyquist in the Preakness starting gate on May 21. Of those, Stradivari is the lightest on experience but just might be the most intriguing upset possibility.

The Stronach Group announced May 11 the inaugural running of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup will be held Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.         

With a purse that would make it the world's richest Thoroughbred race, the Pegasus World Cup will be contested at 1 1/8 miles on dirt and was created to attract the world's biggest stars in racing.

As images come flowing from the rail at Churchill Downs and Pimlico, documenting every move of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist's quest for the Triple Crown, a dedicated team in Paris, Ky. is still drowning in images from Triple Crowns past.

I wrote last week that the strength of the 3-year-old division was based in Southern California. Then, as if on cue, Nyquist and Exaggerator ran 1-2 in a formful Kentucky Derby.

In fact, for the first time in the pari-mutuel history of the Kentucky Derby, the first four favorites in the betting finished in that order.

Southern California-based horses have won four of the past five Kentucky Derbies: I’ll Have Another (2012), California Chrome (2014), American Pharoah (2015) and Nyquist.

The not-so-secret weapon that has carried owner Paul Reddam and trainer Doug O’Neill back to Louisville, Ky., is Doug’s older brother, Dennis O’Neill. The bloodstock wizard selected both the unbeaten champion Nyquist and Grade 2 winner Land Over Sea as unraced 2-year-olds.

One of the most interesting elements of covering the Kentucky Derby year after year is finding out how (relatively) accessible it is. Sure, you have to have the right 3-year-old Thoroughbred peaking at just the right time with just the right trip around 1 ¼ miles, but the Derby has been won by racing veterans and relative newcomers; by the rich and the less-rich; the bluebloods and the blue-collar types.

In his racing debut last August, Brody's Cause failed to fire as the 3-1 second choice in a Maiden Special on the Ellis Park turf. After that it didn't take long for the chestnut colt establish himself as one of North America's top juveniles - breaking his Maiden at Churchill Downs, scoring in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) over eventual Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Exaggerator and running a sold third to Nyquist in the subsequent Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino will have a new look when its Thoroughbred meet begins April 28.

The Iowa track has added two high-definition information boards on either side of its LED odds and wagering totals display. A jumbo 18-foot-by-31-foot high definition Daktronics video screen, similar to those installed at Keeneland and Del Mar, will sit atop the tote board to provide a view of every live race.

On February 12 Creator finished second to a horse named Call the Colonel in a Fair Grounds maiden special, the fifth straight loss of his racing career. Just over two months later the colt is a Grade 1 winner and one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby.

A record number of overseas entries from eight countries feature among a total of 394 entries for the eight Group One highlights at Royal Ascot in June this year.

There are 164 overseas entries in all, as against a previous best of 156 in 2013, including a record 35 from outside Europe (previous highest 27 in 2011).

Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. was dominant this spring at Oaklawn Park. Santana finished things off in style by winning the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on Saturday and also wrapped up the meet’s riding title.

It's no exaggeration to say that Exaggerator is one of the most consistent colts in this year's three-year-old crop. He won a pair of graded races last year at two and put it all together in his third start at three, a sensational victory in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) on April 9

Warriors on Horseback, written by John Carter and published by Bloomsbury Publishing, was named the winner of the tenth annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award on April 13. The announcement was made at an evening reception at the Ryan family’s Castleton Lyons in Lexington, Ky.

Australia: Winx will not bid win a tenth stakes race in succession after trainer Chris Waller confirmed the brilliant mare is done for the campaign, a decision he acknowledged will disappoint many punters.

Six-year-old Tuttipaesi (IRE) had to come a long way to win last weekend's Grade 2 Santa Ana, even beyond the many miles she's logged racing around the world. The daughter of Clodovil (IRE) raced in Italy and England before Team Valor International brought the filly stateside to become the first acquisition in the all-female partnership Valor Ladies.

California Chrome All-Time N. American Earner with Sparkling World Cup Win

Japan's Real Steel Unyielding in Dubai Turf (G1)

There's a new love in Tom Benson's life these days. 

Walk into his office, turn to the left and the prominent pictures on the wall aren't of the New Orleans Saints or the Pelicans. They're pictures of horses.

Tara's Tango Dances to Grade 1 win in Santa Margarita S.

Fanatic Awarded Victory in New Zealand Oaks (G1)

Jockeys Flavien Prat and Emma-Jayne Wilson take America's Best Racing’s readers inside the jockeys’ room in 2016. Prat rides on the Southern California circuit after launching his career in his native France, where he was named champion apprentice in 2009 and won a Group 1 race in 2013. He also won the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes in 2015 in his first full year of riding in the U.S.

If you're driving between Colorado City and Snyder on Texas 208 and you happen to see a woman on horseback flailing her arms and flopping her legs, don't worry.

She's fine.

"I really look like a crazy person when I get on the back of a horse," said Andrea Barefield, 24 and founder of Take the Reins Therapeutic Center, a newly launched nonprofit.

Why the spectacle? That's how she trains her horses.

Melatonin Upset Winner of Santa Anita H. (G1)

Best View for Cal-bred What A View in Kilroe Mile (G1)

3YO Danzig Candy Goes All the Way in San Felipe S. (G2)

In the first agreement of its kind between a racetrack and racing contest site, DerbyWars will contribute revenue to Hawthorne Race Course and Illinois horsemen.

Equine assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) are treatments that incorporate equines in an equine environment with rehabilitative goals that are related to the rider's needs and abilities. EAAT promotes emotional, physical, social and cognitive growth in people with a variety of diagnoses.

Favored Rangipo Best in New Zealand Derby (G1)

Special Fighter Upset Winner of Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 (G1)

3YO Shagaf Surges to Win Gotham S. (G3) in New York

British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nick Rust hailed a “truly historic” intention from the British government to replace the Levy betting system by April 2017.

In a seismic overhaul that could see up to £30 million (€39m) of additional income plunged into the industry, bookmakers would be forced to contribute to Levy from profits taken in betting shops and online.

Ryan Moore whose has just finished a successful stint in Hong Kong, is set for his first rides of the year in Dubai this week when he will partner headline acts Sole Power and Keen Ice on Meydan's Super Saturday card.

Moore, regarded by many as one of the world's finest Flat jockeys, has spent the last six weeks riding on the Hong Kong circuit and partnered 14 winners from 107 mounts.

Never having raced outside of Oklahoma, Suddenbreakingnews was on few handicappers radar prior to the February 15 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Even at the top of the stretch the colt looked like an also ran before unleashing a furious rally to earn his first graded stakes victory.

The third "Jockeys and Jeans" fundraiser for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund is set for Feb. 28 at Gulfstream Park.

The event, held last year at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, will feature a video of the 1962 Preakness and the 1984 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I). The top finishing Hall of Fame jockeys from those races will be on hand to answer questions for attending fans and media during a panel presentation and sell signed photos of the famous races to benefit PDJF.

American-bred Moanin Scores in Japan's February Stakes (G1)

3YO Gun Runner Best in Risen Star Stakes (G2)

Seasons to Lane's End-based stallions Honor Code, Liam's Map, Tonalist, The Factor, Union Rags, and Mr Speaker, will headline an online auction that will benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. 

We all have the utmost respect and appreciation for our veterans, the brave men and women who fight for our protection and freedom.

There is a wonderful program called Equines For Freedom. Organized in February 2015, EFF is located on the campus of Marley’s Mission in Newton Township.

Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) and Trinity Development Group Inc. (Trinity) today announced the companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the purpose of developing an integrated entertainment venue at Woodbine Racetrack.

Astute Kentucky Derby handicappers often look past flashy early spring performances, instead preferring horses ready to peak on the first Saturday in May. Mor Spirit is firmly on the radar of those players.

For the first time psychologists from Sussex University have shown that horses are able to distinguish human facial expressions showing different emotions.

Sussex University researchers compiled a dictionary of horse expressions last year. They identified 17 distinct facial movements in horses which may be manipulated by the horse to represent different emotions and intentions. The raising of eyelids, the pull of mouth corners — all these small gestures can be indicative of underlying mental states, just as they are in humans.

Mshawish on to Dubai After Sharp Donn H. (G1) Score

Lukes Alley Along in Time in Gulfstream Park Turf H. (G1)

Champion Songbird Soars in 3YO Debut

The connections of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah should have no trouble telling what time it is for the rest of their lives. Longines awarded commemorative watches to trainer Bob Baffert, owner Ahmed Zayat, and jockey Victor Espinoza when the colt picked up the title of the 2015 Longines World's Best Racehorse Award earlier this year in London.

Thoroughbred racing, like any other sport, has been home to the exploits of scamps, scallywags and scoundrels.

At the other end of the scale of human character and integrity, few people in the sport have ever been as genuinely beloved and admired as Bob and Beverly Lewis.

Their marriage was a heartwarming tale of love and devotion that lasted 58 years.

Kawi All Class in Thorndon Mile (G1) Victory in New Zealand

Safety Check Claims Second Straight Al Fahidi Fort S. (G2) at Meydan

I may not have written it, but I certainly thought it: I was no Frank Stronach fan. I shed a tear when he tore down the old Gulfstream Park, a wonderful facility that was home to some of my fondest memories as a racing fan and journalist.

The Jockey Club of Canada will host the 41st Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony to honour the Canadian Champions of 2015 and to celebrate Thoroughbred racing in Canada on Friday, April 8, 2016 at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.  

American Pharoah Unaminous U. S. Horse of the Year

Beholder Among Other Eclipse Award Winners

OwnerView’s second Thoroughbred Owner Conference wrapped up a two-day stand Wednesday at Gulfstream Park, with prominent horse owner and radio and TV personality Jim Rome delivering the day’s keynote address. Some 200 attendees were on hand for the conference, which was sponsored by Keeneland Association, the New York Racing Association, The Stronach Group and Woodbine Entertainment Group.

Star Australian colt Vancouver, unbeaten in four starts at two when his victories included the Group 1 Golden Slipper at Rosehill in March 2015, is to join Aidan O'Brien to be trained for Royal Ascot.

The son of Medaglia D'Oro, trained in Australia by Gai Waterhouse, is to enter quarantine before being transferred to Ballydoyle.

Adena Springs North, Park Stud and Shannondoe Farm have all donated 2016 seasons to a charity auction to benefit those affected by the recent fire at Classy Lane Stables in Puslinch Ontario.

Starquine.com has also donated their services to handle the auction, which is open to both thoroughbred and standardbred stallions. All farms are welcome to join. Listing will be posted on Monday January 11th with the auction ending on Friday January 15th

Breaking from the outside as the second betting choice, Uruguayan-bred 4-year-old Fletcher pulled away from the field in the final quarter mile to capture the 120th renewal of the prestigious Clasico Gran Premio Jose Ramirez (Uru-I) Jan. 6 at Hipódromo Nacional de Maroñas in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The Ontario horseracing community is reeling after a fire engulfed a barn at an elite stable facility and left dozens of horses dead.

The fire at Classy Lanes Stables Training Centre in Puslinch, Ont., erupted late Monday night, and killed 43 animals inside, according to Jamie Millier, who owns the stables with his wife, Barb Millier.

Ryan Mark Ends Trainer's Drought in Railway Stakes (G1) at Ellerslie

Flamboyant Longshot Winner of Santa Anita's San Gabriel Stakes (G2)

From American Pharoah’s exciting season to the 2-year-olds building hopes that this year will see another Triple Crown, 2015 had something for all racing fans.

Relive some of the best moments of 2015 with the 2015 Inside the Numbers Year in Review for fun facts about the past 12 months.

For the past 8,000 years, horses have accelerated human development, ploughing our fields and carrying our goods. Today, we no longer require their muscle power. Instead, we need their intuition and wisdom for the more subtle challenges of mastering soft skills and becoming authentic leaders.

Leaders who can’t harness intelligence in body and brain — head, heart and gut aligned together — are at a distinct disadvantage in today’s complex and volatile business environment. Horses are exceptionally well suited to guide a learning process that facilitates this. 

BC Sprint Champ Runhappy Runs Away with Malibu S. (G1)

Birdatthewire Flies Home in La Brea S. (G1)

Gold Actor Stars in The Arima Kinen (G1) in Japan

David Jacobson was in his teens when his father sent him to work with Bobby Frankel at Santa Anita four decades ago. Now he's here from the East Coast with a string of his own for the marquee Winter Meet that starts Saturday.

Jacobson has a multitude of memories of Frankel, who will be honored Sunday with the running of the Grade III Robert J. Frankel Stakes, named for the late Hall of Fame trainer who died Nov. 16, 2009, at the age of 68.

Woodbine’s darkest hour occurred on Mar. 31, 2013, the day the gravy train came to a halt. Ontario’s Slots at Racetracks Program was ended and no longer would any portion of the revenue from the machines at Woodbine or any of the province’s racetracks be given to support racing.

Meta Osborne became the first woman at the helm of an international horseracing regulatory body Dec. 18 when she took over as senior steward of the Irish Turf Club.

Osborne, who joined the Turf Club in 2005, replaces Neville O'Byrne in the position and becomes the first female senior steward of the Turf Club in the organization's 225 year history. She is a daughter of the late Michael Osborne, who served as senior steward of the Turf Club from 1994 to 1997.  

Harry McCalmont replaces Osborne as deputy senior steward.

Frank Mirahmadi (pictured) was named by Santa Anita on Monday as the announcer for the first part of its winter-spring meeting, which begins Dec. 26. Mirahmadi resigned from the same position at Oaklawn Park to take the job at the Arcadia, California oval.

After 10,000 issues the Racing Post has reported on plenty of big stories - here are a few since our very first edition

Fifteeen months into retirement, Tom Durkin returns to a different–though familiar–form of live entertainment Friday in the opening night presentation of Miracle on 34th Street in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

A horse racing jackpot game that combines elements of Daily Fantasy Sports, “Survivor”-style pools, and the game show “Deal Or No Deal” won the first ever Innovators' Circle contest Wednesday at the University of Arizona's Global Symposium on Racing and Gaming.

Eddie Brennan is all charged up. The 4-year-old, who is autistic, has already raced through a puddle, and he writhes as his nanny struggles to remove his shoes and socks.

But when Brennan climbs on the back of Kattie, a dark bay therapy horse, something magical happens.

The kinetic little boy melts into the horse, contented and somehow soothed. He sits or lies on its back — even rides backward. It’s as if he has a connection to the horse.

Japan's Champion Cup (G1) Goes to 66-1 Sambista

As a professional ballroom dancer and teacher, Shelly May was accustomed to being the center of attention.

The glare of the spotlight, the flamboyant costumes donned during competition, the students who followed every stomp of her feet and swing of the hips. It all suited the self-described "mover and shaker" with an infectious personality to a tee.

Japan Cup (G1) Goes to Shonan Pandora

Tonalist Adds Another Grade 1 in Cigar Mile (G1)

Santa Anita Park has announced five finalists for the prestigious Santa Anita George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, with the winner to be announced in February following a vote of jockeys nationwide.

The American Pharoah sideshow that has captivated the racing world this year will roll into Hong Kong next month - in a small form, at least - with his regular rider Victor Espinoza to headline the International Jockeys' Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on December 9.

Risque Winner of New Zealand One Thousand Guineas (G1)

Marialite by a Neck in Japan's Queen Elizabeth Cup (G1)

Dan Loiselle has countless memories of his career at Woodbine, but asked to recall his first-ever experience with horse racing and the longtime announcer offers a lengthy pause.

For those that know him well, it’s a fitting response.

Golden Horn, the Investec Derby and Qatar Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe winner, cemented what was an almost perfect season when he was crowned Cartier Horse of the Year at the 25th Cartier Racing Awards in London on Tuesday night.

I have played fantasy sports since I was a kid. I (like many of you, I suspect) enjoyed season-long leagues with friends; making trades, playing head-to-head and watching the box scores each day or week to see how my players were doing. It was always fun, a bit of a brain stretch, and we as a group had a good time. Recently, the season-long league fantasy phenomenon has branched out.

Xtravagant a Big Winner of New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (G1)

Gran Premio Nacional (G1) Goes to Hi Happy

Champion Shared Belief on Thursday returned to the track at Golden Gate Fields, jogging leisurely as he prepares to come back from an injury he suffered in April.

As the sun rose on Friday morning the temperature slowly climbed into the 40s, but the cold did not stop thousands of people from filling up Keeneland for the first day of Breeders’ Cup racing.

Of the 11 races at Keeneland, four of them were Breeders’ Cup races – the juvenile turf, dirt mile, juvenile fillies turf and the Distaff.

In the quiet of those last few mornings, Mike Mitchell still came to the barn. He walked the shedrow managed by his assistant and somehow often found himself at a solid bay's stall. That horse, he would later tell his son-in-law, "Gave me so much joy in the midst of so much darkness." Waging a prolonged battle against brain cancer, the trainer held on to the things he knew best—his family and his Thoroughbreds.

The fields are set. The posts are drawn. Now it's time to top of your Breeders' Cup weekend wardrobe wit the right hat.

Almost every woman who came by milliner Christine Moore's display at Keeneland's on opening day tried on the same hat.Some of the customers tried on many hats, but almost everyone who stopped tried on the raspberry chapeau with a wide brim, adorned with a cluster of raspberry and navy fabric.

In the build-up to the $3 million William Hill Cox Plate (2040m), trainer Chris Waller declared that Winx ‘could just be a superstar’. There’s no doubting that now. In one of the strongest Cox Plate fields in years, Winx delivered an utterly dominant performance.

There’s more than one way to corral a horse. But what does the method we use tell us about ourselves?

Susanne Riemer of New Ipswich is a clinical social worker. Most of her career has been spent in an office, seeing one client after another.

Official pre-entries for all 13 Breeders' Cup races were announced on October 21. Now that the fields have taken shape, it's time to get your wardrobe on track.

Grand performances were the norm on British Champions Day at Ascot, controversy ruled after the Caulfield Cup in Australia and the last two Grade 1's on the 2015 Canadian calendar were run at Woodbine.

When an event happens only once a year and offers nearly $25-million over the course of two days, it deserves a party. That party, in keeping with the status of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, should step up from standard fare.

Many people find recreational horseback riding pleasurable and relaxing.  However, many individuals are unaware that there’s a therapeutic form of horseback riding [often integrated with psychotherapy] called “equine assisted therapy.”  In recent years equine therapy has garnered attention as a potential intervention for the treatment of PTSD, troubled youth, and even autism spectrum disorders.

Most individuals on their final day of work get to take things easy. That wasn’t the case for Nugget, the beloved pony of Belterra Park’s outrider Kim Jordan. Before he was celebrated in the winner’s circle to cheers after the feature race, he proved that he still had the skills to get the job one.

What’s in a name? In the case of Bona Venture Stable’s Louisiana-bred filly by Exchange Rate named Play Unified, there’s plenty.

What’s in a name? In the case of Bona Venture Stable’s Louisiana-bred filly by Exchange Rate named Play Unified, there’s plenty.

Asheville resident Matthew Estridge was diagnosed with PTSD after his first Army deployment and began receiving treatment while still in the service.

The historic Prix d'l Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp was won in impressive fashion by Golden Horn while in North America a slew of Grade 1 contests at Keeneland, Belmont Park and Santa Anita helped shape the fields for the upcoming Breeders' Cup weekend.

The following Blood-Horse MarketWatch interview was conducted with international bloodstock agent Emmanuel de Seroux, who brokered the deal for Don Alberto Corp. and Gainesway to purchase Empire Maker from the Japan Bloodstock Breeders' Association.

On Sunday in Paris, the 5-year-old mare Treve (pictured) will run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s most prestigious and difficult prize.

Four weeks later, on the last Saturday of the month, the 5-year-old mare Beholder will take on a similar challenge when she meets American Pharoah and company in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, North America’s richest Thoroughbred event.

Runners prepped for Breeders' Cup weekend in eight Grade 1 races across North America on the first 'Super Saturday', while fans flocked to Taylor Made Farm for 'Califonria Chrome days'.

Racing is in a unique position as a global sport, with some of our best ambassadors – the horses themselves – constantly appearing in all sorts of different countries and regions all over the world. The second came after the perplexing and disappointing decision to reinstate Simple Verse as winner of the St Leger, throwing out the original correct call to award the race to Bondi Beach – as we had written last week.

Though he was retired from racing at the end of 2013, Orfevre once again beat the competition earlier this week when he clinched a spot in the JRA Racing Hall of Fame. Though the two never met on the racetrack, the 2011 Triple Crown champion topped his main opposition, the champion sprinter Lord Kanaloa.

(CNN) —She's got a winning smile and is hotly tipped to hold the whip hand over her male colleagues in the not too distant future.

Triple Crown champion American Pharoah will parade for Del Mar racing fans between races Sunday, the next-to-last day of the track’s 40-day summer meeting. The handsome, bay 3-year-old, a winner of eight of 10 starts and

The Seven Network – a key business of Seven West Media, one of Australia’s leading integrated media and content creation companies – and Racing Victoria today confirmed plans for the launch of Racing.com, a new free to air television channel devoted daily to Victorian thoroughbred racing.

LOUISVILLE, KY (August 24, 2015) – Churchill Downs Racetrack (CDRT) today announced a partnership with Ticketmaster to make purchasing Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks tickets online easy and reliable for fans across the country.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah will compete in front of a sold-out paid crowd of 50,000 fans during the 146th running of the Grade 1 Travers on Saturday, August 29 at Saratoga Race Course.  Contingent upon the champion colt starting in the Mid-Summer Derby, NYRA will raise the total purse for the Travers to $1.6 million from $1.25 million. 

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has today published the Fixture List for 2016, with a total of 1,482 fixtures programmed.

The headline elements of the Fixture List are:

Triple Crown champion American Pharoah is set to contest the 1 1/18 mile Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Oark in New Jersey today.  Joining a field of 7 others, Pharoah will race from post 4 for a purse of $1.75m. Horse racing fans can watch the race on TV through NBC Sports and the race will be live streamed via NBCSports.com beginning at 5 pm ET.

At Racing Future we are interested in new and innovative ways to make horse racing more accessible, and handicapping is a huge part of the game that has not seen much improvement over the years.  Handicapping is what a bettor does before a race when trying to pick a winner.

Industry fans and advocates have been waiting 37 years to prove an axiom loosely applied in the world of fantasy: That a Triple Crown winner will have a major impact on the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Sunday at Monmouth, here’s your chance. 

Racing To Win celebrates the best moments of the Hong Kong racing season with a special video montage.

With the momentum building toward Triple Crown winner American Pharoah’s run in the $1 million William Hill Haskell Invitational on August 2nd, Monmouth Park Racetrack is continuing its plans for a “Pharoah Phan Phestival” – three days of events and activities

On July 5^th 2015, Frank Stronach won his third Queen’s Plate with Shaman Ghost, ridden by Rafael Hernandez and trained by Brian Lynch. Here’s Bev Smith’s story on the event, the winner and his connections.

Santa Anita’s Park’s 39-day Spring Meeting, which began on April 24, ended on Sunday with the track showing gains in both on-track attendance and overall pari-mutuel handle. Combined with its 68-day Winter Meet that ran from Dec. 26 through April 19, on-track attendance was up seven percent, overall mutuel handle was up three percent and total handle exceeded $1 billion for the second year in a row.

Those of us fortunate enough to have horses in our lives know that these majestic animals can have a profound and lasting impact on us as people and especially on our health.

This week on Twitter. Andy Benoit, an NFL analyst for Sports Illustrated questioned whether NASCAR is truly a sport. After receiving a variety of responses, he went on to say

At Racing Future we certainly do not agree with this comment and will follow up shortly with a more indepth response. In the meantime, you can read the dozens of tweets he received after that including

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) today publishes details of a new Horseracing Bettors Forum, which will allow people who bet on British Racing to provide the BHA with constructive suggestions about how the sport can develop and change, for the benefit of the betting public.

Be in the best seat in the house as jockey Frankie Dettori rides Undrafted, owned by NFL player Wes Welker, to victory in  the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.  

Currently a free agent after playing for the Denver Broncos, Welker named his horse after the results of the 2004 NFL draft when he was not selected.

The helmet cam footage has a special ending: a Group 1 flying Frankie dismount!

Jockey Ryan Moore rode a record ninth winner of this year's Royal Ascot meeting on Friday on board Aloft in the Queen's Vase.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained 3-year-old was the 5-2 favorite and beat Tommy Docc by half a length.

Against the backdrop of the Tygerberg Hills and fields of ripening vines and flowering plumbago, a chestnut mare and a Basotho mountain pony are being chased around a hay- covered paddock by a gleeful, shrieking horde of novice African cowboys.

As several international equine stars, including 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner California Chrome, gear up for Royal Ascot, jockey John Reid takes us through the Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Alzheimer’s and Healing Horses

The breathtaking majesty of equine power and grace has given horses a storied place in the lives and legends of human beings. Now, a new study from Ohio State University has found that horses can also have a near-magical effect on people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The New York Racing Association notes on Facebook that favoured American Pharoah drew the #5 post, which is the same spot #TripleCrown winners Omaha and Seattle Slew started from. What's your take? Do you think American Pharoah will be the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years?

Zayat Stables' Triple Crown hopeful American Pharoah completed his final pre-race work June 1 at Churchill Downs, breezing five furlongs in 1:00 1/5 under jockey Martin Garcia.

The sharing of new foal photos online every winter signals that we are heading into another naming season. While Thoroughbred birthdays are easy -- January 1st is the standard birthday for all racehorses born in the Northern Hemisphere -- coming up with a meaningful name for each foal can prove challenging as my great friend, award-winning cinematographer Mike Boland outlines so well in the piece below.

_________________

MIGHTY QUINN: A Name is a Name - or is it?

By Mike Boland

Eight years ago, after a car accident during a spring break trip while in college, doctors told Terri Pruitt's mother to prepare for the worst.

"When it all first happened," Karen Evans said, "they told me she wasn't going to live. There was nothing I could do. I needed to make preparations."

The Maryland Jockey Club announced today that Sagamore Racing will be the named sponsor of the $300,000 Pimlico Special Friday, May 15.          

The Sagamore Racing Pimlico Special, contested May 15 for the 45th time, is for 3-year-olds and up at 1 3/16 miles. The race has a rich history of attracting some of Thoroughbred racing's biggest names, including Seabiscuit, Cigar, War Admiral, Invasor, Real Quiet, Skip Away, Criminal Type, Assault and Mineshaft.

With the 2015 season opener at Fort Erie Race Track just around the corner, the Management team is proud to welcome a new voice to the 118 year old Border Oval.  Shannon “Sugar” Doyle will assume the role of track announcer on Tuesday, June 2nd.

May 4, 2015 (Washington, PA) – The Maryland Jockey Club’s Pimlico Race Course and leading online wagering provider, Xpressbet, are excited to announce that Xpressbet will serve as the title spons

Through various sources, the Churchill Downs communications team has confirmed that 22 horses are known to have been entered in Saturday’s $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.

April 4th 2015 . . .Over the last few days, many elected officials and lobbyists have approached Racing Future for information about the sport of horse racing in Ontario. Consequently, we are re-posting the components of our advocacy, which began in 2012 during the closure of the Slots at Racetrack Program. We invite those legislators and lobbyists who are interested in backgrounders to read through these materials; we welcome all questions, comments, and ideas.

_____

FLORENCE, Ariz. - They are a symbol of the American West; wild horses, mustangs that roam over public lands in states like California, Nevada, and here in Arizona.

Those mustangs are rounded up several times a year because of swelling populations; now some of them are being put to work to patrol our country's borders.

The horses are broken by cowboys, but not the cowboys you might expect. They are inmates at the Department of Corrections prison in Florence.

Horse of the Year California Chrome and 2014 Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) winner African Story headline the list of probable runners for this year's $10 million Dubai World Cup March 28 at Meydan.

The Dubai Racing Club March 18 announced prospective fields for all eight Thoroughbred races on the $30 million card.

"The true story of excellence is not a story of distinction over others, but a story of self improvement." -- Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

ATLANTA, Ga. (March 13, 2015) – The Georgia Horse Racing Coalition ran out of time to bring SR 135, a Senate Resolution to allow for a constitutional amendment to allow Georgians to vote on the legalization of horse racing with pari-mutuel wagering and bring one of America’s oldest sports to Georgia.

Needing to secure just two more Senate votes to win the 38 votes required for a two-thirds majority in the Senate, time ran out to bring the resolution to the Senate floor by the March 13^th crossover date.

Arcadia, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - If ever there was a lock to win a horse race then Shared Belief was that horse in Saturday's $1 million Santa Anita Handicap.

Shared Belief, trained and co-owned by Jerry Hollendorfer, went off as the 3-10 favorite versus 12 rivals with Moreno a distant 9-1 second choice. The 4- year-old gelding, ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, further established himself as the best thoroughbred in training with a convincing victory in the 1 1/4-mile Big 'Cap.

The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities has published its annual top 100 Group 1 and Grade 1 races. The ranked list is compiled using the annual race ratings, an average of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings ratings of the first four placed horses in each of the past three years. The top 100 Group 1 and Grade 1 races also serve as the base of an annual competition to recognize top jockeys throughout the world. The jockey who outperforms his or her peers in these races is honored with the Longines World’s Best Jockey Award.

University of Arizona surgery professor, Dr Allan Hamilton is a talented horse trainer who owns the Rancho Bosque Equine Center. Realizing the important role non-verbal communication plays when training and interacting with horses, Hamilton developed the world's first program for medical students and professionals using equine-facilitated resources to improve their bedside manner for human patients.

The Breeders’ Cup has today released detailed ticketing information for the 2015 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course on October 30-31. Bringing the world-class racing event to one of the most prestigious tracks in the country, Breeders’ Cup’s 2015 event will mark the first time that the World Championships will be held at Keeneland, the iconic track located in the heart of the Bluegrass region in Lexington, Ky.

There are plenty of ways to earn a paycheck on horseback but few as unique as former jockey Donna Barton Brothers’ gig. As a cantering commentator, Brothers reports from Thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious events, including the Kentucky Derby, for NBC.

A pioneering project is currently being trialled in Newmarket which could see the development of a world leading centre providing equine therapy, using racehorses, for humans.

The two-year pilot project from town-based charity Racing Welfare aims to investigate the use of equine assisted therapy as a means of enhancing the wellbeing of people working in racing.

Click here for more Racing Future's Horses and Human Health Stories

BALTIMORE, MD. 02/18/15---Pimlico Race Course announced today a spring schedule featuring 21 stakes races, including eight graded on Preakness Weekend May 15-16, and two unique bonuses for owners and trainers.

Growing up in Fort Erie, Ontario  Mike Rogers never imagined that,  after sneaking into the track to watch his first race as a 12 year old, he would build such a successful career in horseracing. Yet, his love of the sport and the horses is palpable. “If you had told me in university that the job I have existed I would have said you're crazy there's no such job.

Friday, February 13th, 2015 -- The Kentucky Senate passed SB74 today, a bill that would enable a lottery game based on the results of live horse racing, by a margin of 22 – 9 today in a morning session at the State Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky. The bill creates a new designation called a shared lottery game that builds off of KRS 154A.065 titled “Contests involving horses may be basis of a lottery.”

Great British Racing International (GBRI) has extended its efforts to bring overseas investment to the British racing and breeding industries with today’s announcement of a partnership with British Polo Day.

ATLANTA, Ga. (February 10, 2015) – Two well-respected equine veterinarians who have strong ties to the University of Georgia have been named to the board of the Georgia Horse Racing Coalition. 

Brad Cummings, EquiLottery CEO and inventor of the patented lottery game with the same name, will be testifying on behalf of SB74 in Frankfort, Kentucky on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The bill, which supports a lottery game like EquiLottery based on the outcome of live horse racing, will be heard in front of the Senate Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee at 10 am in Room 169 of the Capitol Annex and is open to the general public.

Toronto, ON— Planning for Ontario’s 2015 Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) is complete, following approval of the budget by the Board of the Ontario Racing Commission. The successful 2014 TIP Program structure will be maintained in 2015 with a full season of restricted and stakes racing as well as substantial awards for breeders and stallion owners. For those racing at Fort Erie, $300,000 for overnight restricted races will be reallocated to $300,000 for a 20% purse bonus for Ontario Sired horses in open races.*

As the Official Partner and Watch of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, Longines is proud to have presented the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Ceremony for the second year, following the inaugural event held in December 2013 during the gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races.

By Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO, Hong Kong Jockey Club 

Heart transplant recipient Kathy Ritvo, the first female to train a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, will be the keynote speaker Friday morning at the ThoroFan Awards Breakfast in Gulfstream Park’s Ten Palms Restaurant.

They've locked horns on the racetrack for the past year, now Hong Kong's two top jockeys, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira, will take their rivalry to another level when they compete in a sideshow at February's Longines Hong Kong Masters showjumping event.

Less than four hours after superstar California Chrome worked six furlongs in 1:11.60 at Los Alamitos on Saturday, his connections were on-hand at Santa Anita to participate in a poster signing as anticipation builds for “Chrome’s” 4-year-old debut in the Grade II, $500,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 7.

For a second consecutive year, Kenneth L. Ramsey & Sarah K. Ramsey topped the individual breeders list in North America in 2014 with $10,412,411 in earnings, according to statistics released today by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc.

LEXINGTON, Ky.

The Eclipse Awards will be presented at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, January 17th 2015. Finalists will be announced on HRTV on January 7th.

A very shy boy spent time petting a very patient horse on Friday, and even read a book to his new friend.

It all was all part of a pet therapy program for junior high students with autism, being run at Gary Millar’s farm near Fort Saskatchewan.

While many people are likely familiar with the idea of therapy dogs or even therapy cats, it may come as a surprise that horses are also being increasingly used to help children with disabilities.

Gary Millar runs a horse therapy program for children, including those with autism, at his farm near Fort Saskatchewan. 

British jockey Ryan Moore was honoured as the inaugural recipient of the Longines World’s Best Jockey Award during a ceremony at the gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races, held 12 December 2014 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The UK’s golden decade of sport continued to captivate the nation in 2014, with attendances of over 67m at professional sports events, according to analysis by the Deloitte Sports Business Group.

The 41st Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming got underway on Tuesday at the Westin La Paloma in Tucson with a full day of sessions covering a wide variety of topics.

The impact of small fields in races was the subject of the first two panel discussions and speakers detailed how a decline in foaling rates resulted in declines in horses competing at the track.

By Dave Williams, Betmix

Analyzing the data is the key to solving the puzzle

Handle during Gulfstream Park's Claiming Crown Day was up 36 percent on-track and 13.1 percent overall over last year's event.

Just over $10m was wagered on Saturday's Claiming Crown program compared to $8.8 million in 2013-2014.

By Katie Lamb

When the curtain comes down on the 2014 thoroughbred-racing season at Woodbine Racetrack on Sunday evening, capping off a year filled with many highs, it will be Lexie Lou who stole the show.

The New York Racing Association will conclude the year with its first operating budget surplus in 13 years, Chief Executive Officer and President Christopher Kay announced at the most recent public Board of Directors meeting in Midtown Manhattan.

Trainer Tom Hogan reports Gordon Lord Byron in "tip-top" shape ahead of his fourth appearance at Sha Tin on Sunday week.

In three previous visits to the track the well-travelled six-year-old has finished fourth in the Hong Kong Mile at this meeting in 2012 and 2013 and was seventh in this year's Champions Mile back in May.

As the Woodbine meet enters its final week, Steve Koch, vice president of Thoroughbred racing for Woodbine Entertainment Group, said an analysis of the main-track surface is ongoing, and a decision on a potential surface change likely won’t be made until March.

“It’s still an open case,” he said. “All avenues are under full consideration.”

Between April 2013 and March 2014, the British gambling industry generated a gross gambling yield of £6.8 billion or approximately US$10.6 billion. The greatest growth was in the remote betting market, which grew by 22%.

Beginning today, offshore gambling operators that offer their products to the UK market are required to register with Customs and Excise and will be subject to taxation.

Trained by Mark Casse, the talented Sligo Bay filly has notched four wins from seven sophomore starts taking the Woodbine Oaks, presented by Budweiser, and $1-million Queen's Plate on the 'Poly', while also capturing the grassy Wonder Where Stakes over Woodbine's E.P. Taylor Turf Course and, most recently, the Grade 3 Autumn Miss on the Santa Anita Turf.

At a recent Parliamentary Reception, British Horseracing unveiled a major new engagement project designed to help communities across the country. “Racing Together” will see all of the industry’s community activity brought together under one banner. 

British Racing invests £6.6 million a year in community engagement activities, while members of its 22,000 strong workforce donate 6,000 hours of their time each year towards charitable activity. 

DEL MAR — As California Chrome took his first strides ever on a turf course early Sunday morning at Del Mar, trainer Art Sherman noticed his colt was acting a bit strange at his introduction to grass.

“It’s only natural for him to start looking around because he’s never been on the grass before,” Sherman said as he watched California Chrome’s half-mile work that drew an estimated 500 fans.

Racing Future believes that a lottery, such as EquiLottery, offers a great way for horse racing to be integrated into the provincial gaming strategy. Many questions have been asked about this particular gaming product and how it will actually function.

As a first step, EquiLottery players will go to a regular lottery counter at a convenience store, gas station or wherever lottery products are sold, and request a quick pick ticket on the next featured horse race.

Iraq war veteran Matthew Drake's life changed the moment his vehicle was hit by a suicide bomber.

She rounds a bend, a tiny figure in a green jacket perched atop a thundering horse. Standing in her stirrups, she leans into the cold dawn. The only sounds are thudding hooves, panting horses and the low roar of jets from nearby Pearson airport.

Alone in the grandstand, Mike Luider watches the horses and riders rush past on their training runs.

“That’s Emma,” he says proudly of the jockey in green. “She’s the alpha female of the track.”

A Gulf War veteran has become the first former soldier in Scotland to receive horse therapy to deal with his mental trauma.

Vince Davidson, who lived in his shed for 15 years, has been given an advance trial of the treatment.

Mr Davidson, 49, from Coldstream, Berwickshire, fought with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers in Kuwait.

Pegasus, the largest bronze equine statue in the world, is nearing completion at Gulfstream Park. Catie Staszak talks to project manager Gunter Czasny and chief engineer Michael Stark about the 110-foot statue and the work being done.

Click here to check out the live feed for the Pegasus site.

Every day, police officers put their lives on the line, but in recent years more officers are dying by suicide that at the hands of criminals. More than 30 RCMP officers have died by suicide since 2006.

That has prompted an equine therapy program in Alberta to expand to include RCMP officers suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Now it is operating a similar program to help RCMP members and their spouses in hopes of intervening before it’s too late.

With a tremendous two-day Breeders’ Cup on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, Santa Anita’s 25-day Autumn Meet finished with a flourish on Sunday, enabling the track to post increases in pari-mutuel handle. All sources handle for the meet was up four percent, while on-track handle showed a three percent increase over last year.

There’s a lot on the line for morning-line favorite Shared Belief in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park.

For starters, there is the Candy Ride’s gelding’s perfect record of seven wins from seven lifetime starts, dating back to Oct. 19, 2013. If he stays unbeaten, Shared Belief is a shoo-in for 3-year-old male champion and Horse of the Year.

Then there’s the winner’s share of the Classic’s $5-million purse that would put his career earnings over $5 million.

Thn there’s the Bolton Challenge.

What … you haven’t heard of the Bolton Challenge?

Horseracing is now a truly international sport with horses flying all over the world to compete on different continents for big prizes. So how do you look after a primed equine athlete on a plane, and how do the horses take travelling?

Debuting $3.5 million in new technological advancements and capital improvements, opening day at Aqueduct Racetrack reflects $14 million in recent capital investment by the New York Racing Association designed to further enhance the guest experience and improve the quality of racing.  First post today is at 1 p.m. 

Coltimus Prime, one of the top Canadian 3-year-olds this year, will take on older horses for the first time Saturday in the $200,000 Fayette Stakes at Keeneland.

Trained by Justin Nixon, Coltimus Prime will be the only 3-year-old among the eight-horse field going 1 1/8 miles on Keeneland's new dirt main track. Local jockey James Graham will be aboard the colt for the first time and start from post 4.

The Jockey Club today released Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics for the 2014 breeding season. Based on RMBs received through October 13, 2014, The Jockey Club reports that 1,547 stallions covered 34,540 mares in North America during 2014.

The annual statistics represent approximately 92% of the mares that eventually will be reported as bred in 2014. According to historical trends, The Jockey Club expects to receive RMBs representing an additional 2,000 to 3,000 mares bred during the 2014 breeding season.

Trained by Tomoyuki Umeda, Admire Rakti was Japan's second horse entered in the Caulfield Cup after Japan's early favourite Bande was forced to scratch. ABC News reported that winning trainer Tomoyuki Umeda was concerned with Admire Rakti's 58kg weight.

"I wasn't sure about it,” Umeda said. “But he clearly likes Australia.”

"If everything goes well, hopefully his luck keeps going to the Melbourne Cup."

Recent news has Brown Panther, the British-bred six-year-old arriving at Woodbine Racetrack on Tuesday evening ahead of the $1-million Pattison Canadian International this weekend. Assistant trainer Christopher Ely said the early 2-1 favourite has shown no ill effects from the trip, which isn't good news for the remaining nine horses in the field for the 1 1/2-mile turf event.

The trainer of Cirrus Des Aigles has revealed the gelding is "at his peak" ahead of lucrative Champions Day at Royal Ascot on Saturday.

Jockey Joseph O'Brien will replace Frankie Dettori on the 2013 Derby winner Ruler Of The World in the Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Dettori had ridden the horse in his last two races, including a fine victory at Longchamp in September.

Jockey Club Live has expanded its music portfolio after agreeing a new partnership with respected live music promoters, AEG Live, who will book artists to appear at Jockey Club Live music events from 2015 and add to the venture’s live music promotion expertise.

After our outside panel of experts decided on the winning entry for our Ideas Contest, I was happy to bring Mike Caggiano in as part owner of our filly Oroluce. Prior to winning the contest I didn't know Mike who owns a small business and resides in Florida. He had also never been a Thoroughbred owner. Our journey together with Oroluce proves what we at Racing Future have been saying for a long time: owning even a fraction of a horse for a limited time gives horse racing fans a life-changing experience and creates loyal, life-long promoters of our sport. 

In a rare Tuesday session, the state Senate today approved a bill that writes into law an action that Gov. Chris Christie’s administration has already taken, to allow sports betting in New Jersey.

After federal courts struck down New Jersey’s attempt to legalize sports betting and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the state’s appeal, Acting Attorney General John Hoffman issued authorities a directive not to prosecute sports betting at casinos and horse-racing tracks.

By Lindsay S Buchanan

TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. — For wounded Army National Guard veteran Sgt. Matthew Smith, the timing could not have been more perfect when he was connected this March to Bethlehem Therapeutic Riding Stables, and the feeling is mutual.

Gwendolyn Maddrix, founder and director of the horse therapy program run out of Tally Ho Equestrian Center in Timmonsville, said when she met Smith, she had no idea working with her first wounded veteran would turn into a huge part of her life.

Two-time Horse of the Year and Breeders'Cup champion Wise Dan will not run in the 2014 Mile. His owner Morton Fink provided the following statement to the Breeders's Cup:

“As you know, Wise Dan has been preparing to run in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Click here to watch more of the IFHA conference

Australia, the brilliant winner of three Group 1 races, has been retired after a hoof injury cut short his career on the track.

A total of 72 horses remain in contention to run in the $6.2 million Emirates Melbourne Cup on November 4 after first acceptances for Australia’s richest race were taken today.

The results from the 2014 racing season at historic Fort Erie Race Track have proven encouraging, demonstrating once again that thoroughbred horse racing in the Niagara region is “Alive and Kicking.”

UPDATED STATEMENT: October 4, 2014

Dear friends and fellow horse lovers,

Three things.

Number one… Most importantly.

By Matt Majendie

Twice she has been felled by life-threatening illnesses -- a brain tumor and then cancer -- and twice Criquette Head-Maarek has recovered.

For her, the secret to recovering full health is simple -- a love of horses.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – When Keeneland announced April 2 that it would tear up its synthetic track surface after the spring meet and replace it with dirt, trainer Charlie LoPresti was among those openly questioning the switch back.

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) _ Shared Belief was all over the track, leaving Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith ticked off by the tactics of his fellow riders.

Whether the opposition deliberately tried to derail Shared Belief, it didn’t work.

Everyone can enjoy the sport of horse racing and have on-track horse racing experiences virtually anywhere in the world today. How many of these racecourses have you visited? What do you enjoy most about your favourite track? Share your stories and photos with the Racing Future community. 

FRANKLIN, Ky. (Sept. 25, 2014) – Kentucky Downs closed out its 2014 live racing season on Wednesday, and the track established new records for wagering handle and starters per race during the five-day season.

A total of $15,880,755 was wagered on the Kentucky Downs races during the 2014 meeting, shattering the previous record of $12,814,967, established in 2013, by 23.9%. Field size was an impressive 10.2 starters per race.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Members of the press, employees of Fort Erie Race Track and horse people are invited to attend a press conference/reception on Wednesday, September 24th at 2:45 pm in the main Clubhouse area of the Fort Erie Race Track.

This media event will focus on the future of the historic racetrack with regards to the 2015 racing season and beyond.

Join Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Mayor Doug Martin who will be available for questions and comments from those attending the session.

If you have ever wondered how Thoroughbred race horses and other horses travel around the world, watch this short video documenting horses arriving in Los Angeles after travelling from Belgium for the Longines Masters Grand Slam indoor show jumping event.

Related

Australian Travel Diary of Darley Stallions 

Game On Dude, the only horse ever to win three runnings of the Santa Anita Handicap, has been retired after compiling earnings of nearly $6.5 million, trainer Bob Baffert announced Sept. 18.

Because of his two inexplicably poor efforts in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Game On Dude, despite his numerous historic achievements, has been one of racing's most under-appreciated horses.

On the heels of successful public presentations in Kentucky, New York, and New Mexico, EquiLottery President and CEO Brad Cummings will be presenting this new lottery game based on the results of live horse races to the California Horse Racing Board Wednesday, September 24. The meeting, being held at Los Alamitos Race Course at 9:30 am, is open to the public and audio will be made available live at chrb.ca.gov under webcasts (click here for a direct link) and in the archives afterwards.

Street Cry, one of the world’s most successful stallions and a cornerstone of Sheikh Mohammed’s racing and breeding operations for the past 14 years, has been put to sleep at the age of 16 after succumbing to complications relating to a neurological condition.

Only one Japanese horse, Tokai Trick in 2010, has contested the $6.2 million Melbourne Cup since Delta Blues and Pop Rock scored a memorable one-two for Japan in the 2006 edition.

Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) has announced “Woodbine Cares Week,” a celebration of valuable Woodbine-supported community organizations and causes that contribute so much to the life, health and vibrancy of Toronto. 

Three weeks ago I decided to take my 12 year old daughter Ellie to watch the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie. Although I work for Racing Future and am a horse person, I really wanted to go un-announced so I could experience racing at Fort Erie the way any regular fan would.

As part of a special equine-focused session of the Licensing and Occupations Committee, EquiLottery President & CEO Brad Cummings has been invited to present the product structure and fiscal benefits of his new lottery game based on the results of live horse races. The open meeting, usually held at the Capitol Annex Building in Frankfort, will take place at the Old Clubhouse at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington at 10:00 am.

Dogwood Stable is announcing the retirement of Palace Malice.  A deep bone bruise in his left hind leg was revealed after an examination at Rood & Riddle Veterinary Hospital in Lexington Thursday, Cot Campbell, Dogwood Stable president said.

By Natalie Voss

Several different cultures around the world have depended on horses for thousands of years. There are many different theories that suggest horses may have begun being domesticated around 4,500-2,000 BC. Horses have been used for battle, to gather food, for comfort, and to discover new lands. For several decades in America, horses have been used as therapy for suffers of autism, trauma, cerebral palsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other ailments.

By Press Release from Texas Thoroughbred Association

Texas horsemen are pleased and grateful that the Texas Racing Commission today took a step towards saving the Texas horse industry. With a vote of 7 in favor, 1 against and 1 abstention, the Texas Racing Commission approved rules authorizing pari-mutuel wagering on historical races.

Commission staff reported that over 13,000 comments on the subject had been received during the public comment period, with about three-quarters in support of the measure.

A consultation on modernising the horserace betting levy has been published, UK Sports Minister Helen Grant announced August 27^th 2014.

The Levy is collected from the profits of betting on horseracing and is used to improve the sport and the breeds of horses as well as funding veterinary research and education.

The current system has been criticised in recent years for being out-of-date and in need of reform.

Britain's popular flagship Saturday bet the Totescoop6 is set to undergo a radical makeover in a bid to create more millionaires.

ARCADIA, Calif. (Aug. 25, 2014)—Under the direction of Track Superintendent Dennis Moore, Santa Anita’s one mile main track has been totally renovated and its original sand and clay mix has been replaced by a single-source natural material known as El Segundo Sand. The track, which has been closed to training since July 11, will reopen for use on Sept 2, in advance of Santa Anita’s 2014 Autumn Meet, which begins Sept. 26.

The countdown to the 20th Dubai World Cup has begun with Dubai Racing Club’s announcement of the 2015 Dubai World Cup Carnival programme at Meydan Racecourse.

The TVG Pacific Classic will be the 10th of 11 races on card at Del Mar on Sunday, August 24^th. Post time is scheduled for 5:46 pm (Pacific) and the race will be broadhcast live on the NBC Sports Network starting at 5:00 pm.

The eleven-horse field features 2013 Pacific Classic winner Game On Dude going up against UAE Derby winner Toast of New York and Eclipse 2 yr old Champion Shared Belief. Post positions have been drawn:

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, I would tag along to the horse races with my older brother, Frank. And when I was a minor leaguer with the Louisville Colonels in 1961, I went over to Churchill Downs one afternoon. But it wasn’t until Don Zimmer brought me $600 that I became hooked on the sport.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The installation of a new dirt track at Keeneland Race Course has reached the finish line.

Noting that the "reforms and initiatives that we have collectively implemented are beginning to generate real, tangible results", The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) CEO and President Chris Kay delivered a positive and forward-looking report at this morning's Board of Directors meeting.  The meeting was open to the public, and broadcast live on NYRA.com 

Thanks in part to a bump in wagering from a Triple Crown being on the line this year in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), the Belmont Park spring-summer meet saw improved total all-sources handle numbers compared with 2013 despite running two fewer dates this year.

All-sources handle on NYRA races was $592 million, up 3.9% from $569.6 million in 2013. On-track handle, which includes NYRA Rewards account wagering and simulcast action from Aqueduct on Belmont races was $84.6 million, up 7.7% from $78.5 million in 2013.

* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.

Contact: Rhonda Norby-Ballard, Marketing and Communications Manager, (859) 224-2856

Equibase Company LLC today announced the launch of a redesigned equibase.com website that features a multi-homepage concept with user-chosen pathways for new/casual fans, regular visitors, and seasoned players / expert handicappers. The new site is more tablet-friendly and offers several new features within a clean, more modern look.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 23, 2014) – The Breeders’ Cup announced the final composition of its Board of Directors upon the completion of runoff voting by the 45 Breeders’ Cup Members. William S. Farish, Jr. will serve a four-year term and Bobby Flay will serve a one-year term on the Board, while Antony Beck received the most votes to fill the remaining one-year term. At the Annual Meeting last week, Barbara Banke and Dan Pride were elected to the Board, and Elliott Walden was re-elected. All three will serve four-year terms.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. will host Latino-American Day at Saratoga Race Course on Wednesday, July 23. The event is the first installment in the inaugural International Heritage Series, a weekly celebration of global culture and heritage during the 2014 summer meet.

The day-long festivities will feature Latino music, dance, entertainment, crafts and food from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Saratoga Pavilion located inside the Reserved Seats Box Office entrance.

WALLKILL N.Y. — Some racehorses remain immortalized in history for their accomplishments — Man o’ War, Secretariat, and Seabiscuit, to name a few. But others live out the remainder of their lives in less auspicious ways, though their contributions to inspiring and helping others are no less significant.

Horse racing will be on FOX television when the broadcaster showcases opening weekend at two the most popular horse racing venues in the United States: Saratoga Race Course in New York and Del Mar Racetrack in California.

Sapporo Racecourse, which has undergone massive renovations to the tune of 1.4 billion yen, will reopen after a hiatus of 21 months and present its spanking new face to the public for the first time on Saturday, July 26. The day also marks the start of the venue's summer meet, which lasts through Sept.

With the announcement last week that EquiLottery--a new lottery game melding the traditional lottery with horse racing--was available to states and provinces, the TDN sat down with EquiLottery President and CEO Brad Cummings to learn more about this unique potential revenue stream for the horse racing and lottery industries.

TDN: EquiLottery seems to be a win/win situation for horse racing. Is it as much of a win for the lottery? If so, why?

July 15, 2014 (Washington, PA) – Xpressbet is excited to announce that it will sponsor leading North American rider, Javier Castellano, in Turkey’s International Jockey Challenge. The Challenge, which takes place on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at Istanbul’s Veliefendi Racecourse, brings a team of international riding superstars, including Castellano, Frankie Dettori (United Kingdom), Maxime Guyon (France), Yuichi Fukunaga (Japan) and Craig Williams (Australia) to Turkey to take on 5 leading local riders in a 4 race contest.

Paris, KY--Reigning Breeders’ Cup Classic Champion Mucho Macho Man has been retired from racing, and will enter stud at Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs Farm in Paris, KY. A fee for the 6-year-old earner of $5.6 million will be announced at a later date.

The New York Racing Association is hoping less will be more when the Saratoga race meeting opens on Friday for the 146th time.

Coming off a season where total handle and attendance were down, NYRA intends to run fewer races this season compared to the record 420 races run in 2013, including nine steeplechase races.

Trainer Charlie LoPresti says he is pleased with Wise Dan's first breeze since colic surgery two months ago. Ridden by Damien Rock, Wise Dan covered a half-mile in :50.40 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.40 on the turf course.

By Matt Majendie

Every morning before riding, Gary Stevens has to walk four miles.

Post positions with morning line odds for the 155th running of The Queen's Plate at Woodbine Racetrack on Sunday, July 6th 2014.

Hong Kong will stage 10 International Group 1 races for the first time next season. Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Chief Executive Officer, revealed during a press briefing at Sha Tin today (2 July) that the Asian Pattern Committee has sanctioned the promotion of four local contests currently classified as Hong Kong Group 1 events.

On March 25th 2014, in his blog "Hangin' with Haskin," Steve Haskin posted: In light of the Steve Asmussen-Scott Blasi furor, my daughter has addressed the subject much better than I ever could, and through eyes a lot more innocent than mine. She wrote it just for me to read, but I feel it is something that needs to be shared:

By Mandy Haskin

On a recent Friday visit to Tampa General Hospital, Scooby Boo and Bidwell visited with Doday Rivera Rodriquez, a 17-year-old Chamberlain High student with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

“He’s a little too small to ride but perfect to visit,” Doday said.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 24, 2014) – The Breeders’ Cup, one of Thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious international events, has today announced Keeneland Race Course, in Lexington, Ky., as the host site of the 2015 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. This is the first time that Keeneland, one of the most iconic tracks in the country, will play host to the Breeders’ Cup. The event will be held on October 30-31, 2015.

Saratoga Race Course will be prominently featured on television in 2014, with NBC, the NBC Sports Network, Fox Sports 1, and MSG+ all signed on to present live coverage of many of the historic track’s most prestigious races.

Sport of Horse Racing

Horse racing is one of the world's oldest sports which, historically, was enjoyed by a broad spectrum of fans and participants. Times have changed from the heyday of racing when 1000s would flock to the racetrack to take part in the excitement particularly if it was for a big race.

The Asian-African Tote Association (AATA) was officially formed and held its first Executive Committee meeting among tote operators in the regions in May 2014, aiming to strengthen ties between leading wagering operators in the world.

In the meeting, Executive Director of Customer and Marketing of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Richard Cheung, was elected as AATA's inaugural President and Brendan Parnell, Chief Operating Officer of Tabcorp’s Media and International business was elected Vice President.

Ryan Goldberg, New York Times special report on Royal Ascot

by Natalie Voss, Paulick Report

Bradley Weisbord is the American advisor for Al Shaqab Racing and is also an independent bloodstock agent. Weisbord, whose father is Thoroughbred Daily News president and co-publisher Barry Weisbord, has previously served as marketing manager for TDN and the racing/business manager for Ahmed Zayat. He became the COO for Team Valor International in 2011. Weisbord holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in real estate and urban land economics.

On June 10th 2014, the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society acknowledged support of Minister of Agriculture and Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne for Ontario Thoroughbred breeders via a new program funded by Ontario Racing Commission. This 5 year, $2,000,000 a year commitment by Kathleen Wynne’s government is an additional enhancement to the current breeders’ awards program. In addition, the agreement includes an additional $2,000,000 immediate payment to further motivate those within the province who have participated in the breeding of 2013 Registered Ontario Thoroughbreds.

A 1 mile 2 ½ furlong gallop to glory,  the Prix de Diane Longines is a Group I race which crowns the year's best three-year-old filly and attracts more than 40,000 spectators each year. The race is scheduled for June 15, 2014.

With a Triple Crown bid on the line and 10 outstanding stakes races on the card, this year's Belmont Stakes Day proved to be a smashing hit, with the on-track handle of $19,105,877 and all-sources handle of $150,249,399 easily setting all-time NYRA records.

The on-track handle figure includes money wagered at Belmont Park, at Aqueduct Racetrack, and through NYRA Rewards.

Bloomberg’s Eric Chemi reports on the factors that affect the odds in horse racing. He speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg Surveillance.”

Click here if video does not load

By Bob Kerr

When Carol Morris pulls her car alongside the fence at Black Walnut Farm in North Kingstown, her 1,800-pound friend, Brenda Lee, moseys over and sticks her nose through the car window.

By Gerald Ensley, Tallahassee Democrat

I’ve never been comfortable with horses.

The first time I rode one, I was 6 and attending summer day camp. They put me on a horse named Gerald, which the counselor obviously thought was very clever. It was soon apparent Gerald — the horse — was too rambunctious for small children. As soon as I was seated, he sprinted off to catch another horse, whom he tried to mount, with much bucking, rearing and snorting.

By Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated

Triple Crown hopeful California Chrome on Wednesday picked back up where he left off the previous day, showing the same eagerness he displayed a day earlier when galloping his customary two-mile circuit on an overcast morning at Belmont Park.

Anyone driving along Butler Road or Shawan Road east of Glyndon knows this is horse country.

Most prominent is the vast thoroughbred spread known as Sagamore Farm, restored to its prior glory by Under Armour founder Kevin Plank.

On August 15^th, 1958 a Canadian entrepreneur with a passion for horse racing made a momentous decision: he spent $35,000 on a yearling filly at the annual Saratoga sale.  The horse he bought did not have a long and stellar racing career, only racing 7 times before a bone chip in her knee forced her retirement. However, her purchase was a fortuitous one for horse racing because this horse was Natalma, the dam of one of – if not the – greatest Thoroughbred stallions in history, Northern Dancer. The man who made the purchase decision was E.P. Taylor.

A study from Washington State University, published last month (28 April), claims to be the first evidence-based research investigating the interaction between horses and children, and its effect on levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA. — It's a horseplayer's dream: Take two dimes, pick six winners, win millions.

Farfetched, but not impossible.

After months building an already-enormous pot, the "Rainbow 6" betting pool at Gulfstream Park will be paid out in full Monday with track officials estimating that $16 million — potentially a record for a Pick 6 at any North American track — could be up for grabs. To win, players need to pick six straight winners, starting with the fifth race on the card, and the minimum bet is a mere 20 cents.

Michael Tabor has acquired ownership of the BetVictor group for an undisclosed sum following a restructuring of the Gibraltar-based operation's holding company, it has been announced.

Victor Chandler, who has led the group since its incorporation, is to step down as chairman but will continue to serve as a consultant.

2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winning Trainer of I'll Have Another, Doug O'Neill, explains how nasal strips work on race horses and talks about the journey of California Chrome and Art Sherman. "It's awesome," says O'Neill. "We're huge fans of Art. Art Sherman is one of the nicest people you could ever meet and on top of that he's an amazing horseman. . .

If you watched the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, you would have seen horse racing star, California Chrome, win the second leg of the Triple Crown. What you would not have seen is the behind-the-scenes effort, meticulous care, and genuine love that goes into the making of such a champion. 

By Teresa Woodard

WYLIE — She can't say a word, yet Haley certainly seems to speak... and teach.

The Board of Directors of the Meydan Group have decided that the synthetic racing surface, installed for the opening of the racecourse in 2010, will be replaced with a traditional dirt track. The track will be ready for the opening of the 2014-15 racing season.

Aidan O'Brien has hailed favourite Australia as a ‘Derby horse we have not had the like of before.’

Numerous studies have shown that physical, emotional and cognitive therapy involving domestic animals can be very therapeutic, and new research from The Ohio State University has found that interactive therapy with horses can bring relief to people with Alzheimer’s disease.

BALTIMORE, 05-04-14---Kentucky Derby (G1) winner California Chrome is headed to the 139th running of the Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 17,  bringing trainer Art Sherman back to Maryland for the first time in 55 years.

Starting on April 30, the Canadian Museum of History will present Breeding Champions – E.P. Taylor and Windfields Farm, a special display featuring trophies, photographs and archival material from the Museum’s E.P. Taylor – Windfields Farm Collection. This unique and historic collection documents the rise of Windfields Farm to international prominence in Thoroughbred racing and breeding and is a testament to the vision and acumen of Windfields Farm owner Edward Plunket (E.P.) Taylor (1901–1989), one of Canada’s most successful and influential businessmen.

The 2014 edition Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will be worth €5 million (£4.1m) after French racing's governing body announced a €200,000 increase to the total prize fund on Monday.

The increase means that Europe's richest race is now worth €1m more than when Solemia defeated Orfevre just 18 months ago.

New research from Washington State University reveals how youth who work with horses experience a substantial reduction in stress -- and the evidence lies in kids' saliva.

The results are published in the American Psychological Association's Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin this month.

Last week Frank Stronach, chairman and founder of The Stronach Group, proposed introducing an on-track pharmacy as part of a 10-point plan to control racehorse medication use and abuse at his six racetracks—Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields in California, Gulfstream Park in Florida, Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park in Maryland, and Portland Meadows in Oregon.

Japan has sent two horses to Hong Kong for this year's Queen Elizabeth II Cup. Kikuka Sho winner Epiphaneia and Uncoiled will take on the US$1.8-million top-level race to be run this Sunday, April 27, at Sha Tin Racecourse. The race also features defending champion and Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the Year Military Attack, his stablemate Hong Kong Derby winner Designs On Rome, Derby third-place finisher Dibayani, and South African runners Vercingetorix and Sanshaawes.

The Hong Kong-trained winners of both Group One sprints on Dubai World Cup night, Sterling City and Amber Sky, are expected to head the early betting markets for the Diamond Jubilee and King's Stand Stakes respectively.

Sterling City is set to take in the KrisFlyer Sprint in Singapore before a final decision is made on Royal Ascot but if successful there, he would be racing for the US$ 1 million bonus at Royal Ascot, having already won Dubai's leg of the Global Sprint Challenge.

Santa Anita Derby winner California Chrome, who stamped himself as the favorite for the 140th Kentucky Derby on May 3 by virtue of his authoritative 5 ¼ length victory in the Grade I, $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 5, was a unanimous choice as Horse of the Meet in Santa Anita’s Winter Meet Media Poll.

by John Sparkman

By Liane Crossley

In a different era, Rosie Napravnik would have been a novelty in her trade. Today she maneuvers seamlessly as a woman competing in the male-dominated jockey world.

By Jennie Rees

So you love going to the track, but you always feel a little left out of the racing chatter. Does everybody in your box have a Derby pick but you? Does the program look like hieroglyphics?

Don't turn an enjoyable day into a stressful situation.

During the QIPCO Guineas Festival and the three-day Spring Meeting next month, an exhibition of photographs and personal artefacts from the champion trainer’s home at Warren Place in Newmarket will be on display in front of the Millennium Grandstand on the Rowley Mile.

Thanks to the horses, 7-year-old Noah Martinez can play soccer.

Thanks to the horses, his 3-year-old sister, Charleigh, will speak.

Johannesburg - After several years of shrinking market share following the boom of casinos and the lottery, horse racing was growing again in South Africa, gaming and leisure company Phumelela said on Friday.

A significant Kentucky Derby race will be run tomorrow (Saturday April 12th) at Keeneland: The Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. A full field of fourteen 3-year-olds will race in the $750,000 Grade I race, which is set for a 5:45 p.m. post time and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.

1. Asserting Bear (Emma-Jayne Wilson)

2. Extrasexyhippzster (Julian Pimentel)

3. Pablo Del Monte (Victor Espinoza)

4. Harry's Holiday (Rosie Napravnik)

5. Bobby's Kitten (Javier Castellano)

6. Coltimus Prime (Alan Garcia)

7. Casiguapo (Rajiv Maragh)

By Natalie Voss

Brian Spencer just completed a season as a racing analyst at Fair Grounds’ winter meet. A graduate of Portland State University, Spencer has worked for Horse Player NOW, Arlington Park, Hoosier Park, and America’s Best Racing. Spencer’s focus in each endeavor has been on handicapping and new fan education.

How did you get involved in racing?

Press Release - Approximately 25 retired and active female jockeys, including those who were first allowed to ride in 1969 and some of the most accomplished members of their profession, will be honored at Keeneland on April 13 as part of Horses and Hope Pink Day.

Runaway UAE Derby winner Toast Of New York has been supplemented for the Investec Derby at a cost of £8,000 with a potential run in the Kentucky Derby having been ruled out.

The American-bred three-year-old was taking a huge step up in class at Meydan following a couple of admittedly impressive victories at Wolverhampton, but he justified trainer Jamie Osborne's faith with a scintillating display.

Having won on the Wolverhampton Polytrack and the Tapeta in Dubai, a switch to dirt for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3 was a possibility.

HORSING around is helping youngsters with autism to improve in leaps and bounds. 

The equine-therapy programme at an inner-city stable block, which sits in the shadow of HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in west London, is helping autistic children to overcome the issues of social interaction and communication that are so prevalent in the condition. 

Although 11 winners of the Wood have gone on to take the Kentucky Derby, the most recent horse to follow up on the first Saturday in May after landing New York's principal trial was Fusaichi Pegasus back in 2000.

By far the most intriguing horse in this latest renewal of the $1m event is hype horse Social Inclusion (Manny Azpurua/Luis Contreras), who dusted Remsen Stakes winner Honor Code by ten lengths in track-record time in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park last month.

By Amanda Duckworth

Like millions of girls before her, Brittlan Wall can't remember when she fell in love with horses. If you force her to answer the question, she will tell you she was born loving them.

But unlike many girls who left horses behind for other pursuits, Wall never did. As a result, in a month, the now 22-year-old young woman will embark on a chance of a lifetime as part of the newest class of the Darley Flying Start program.

By Fran Jurga

The emirate of Dubai is a tiny speck on the map, but it is growing into one of the world’s premier destinations for farriers and innovations in hoofcare. Saturday’s Dubai World Cup races in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) brought not just the world’s best horses and trainers and jockeys to the tiny desert nation; it brought farriers and some horses left with more interesting equipment on their hooves than when they arrived.

LEXINGTON, KY (April 2, 2014) – Keeneland announced today that it is converting its main race track from synthetic Polytrack material to a state-of-the-art dirt surface, with a drainage system that will be the first of its kind in North America.

The conversion will take place over the summer, with construction scheduled to begin May 19 and be completed Aug. 15. The track will reopen for training Sept. 1. The Fall Meet begins Oct. 3.

In 2013, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) announced the creation of a new partnership under the banner of the International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC). This new organization met for the first time recently and confirmed that they share the same core values of protecting horse welfare and discussed in detail the different models under which both organisations operate.

Dubai: More than one billion people have watched the Dubai World Cup in the last three years and that number will only continue to grow, according to the company responsible for producing the international programme for the event for the past 17 years.

Working with Dubai Racing Club and world feed broadcaster Dubai TV, Sunset+Vine syndicate to more than 23 broadcasters across 134 countries, penetrating 300 million-plus households last year.

It’s the job of Andrew Piller, Sunset+Vine’s commercial director and international managing director, to keep those figures rising.

Arena Racing Company has signed a prize money agreement after previously declining to join up to the British Horseracing Authority-backed scheme.

The Horsemen's Group issued an angry response last October when ARC opted not to sign an agreement - a contract which covers a range of items including prize money contribution from each racecourse - with the operators instead agreeing terms with the BHA for their 2014 contribution.

Team British Racing will make its international debut with the British contenders for Dubai World Cup Night on Saturday 29th March at Meydan. The team is launching with international stars such as The Fugue, Red Cadeaux, Joshua Tree and a number of Britain’s other most successful thoroughbreds.

In guiding We Miss Artie to victory in the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati Spiral Stakes (gr. III) March 22 at Turfway Park, Racing Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez became the first rider in history to reach $300 million in North American purse earnings.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s We Miss Artie secured $282,000 in purse earnings for his connections, which appropriately enough included multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher. The Spiral marked the 353rd time Velazquez and Pletcher had teamed for a stakes win and 226th time they’d won a graded stakes together.

Recently, British horse racing organizations welcomed the Government 2014 Budget, which included good news for Britain's second largest sport.

In the Government statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced that betting firms located offshore will now be subject to the Horserace Betting Levy, which is a critical funding mechanism for British horse racing.

The cast and filmmakers of 50 to 1, soon-to-be released story of 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird has started a cross-country tour  to promote the major motion picture's release.

Dubai World Cup 2014: "With our horses we unite the world" shows how horses and our relationship with them has brought us together throughout history.

مرة أخرى مع خيلنا نوحد العالم، كأس دبي العالمي 2014

From Dubai Media Incorporated

It was billed as a clash of two John Moore-trained titans and the HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) did not disappoint. Designs On Rome and Able Friend delivered the epic duel everyone had hoped for at Sha Tin racecourse this afternoon, Sunday, 16 March, with the former emerging victorious.

A recent tweet showcased one of the "exotic" wagers called the Super Hi 5. After placing a $24 wager at Santa Anita Park, one ticket holder won over $15,000 on one race.

How does a Super Hi 5 wager work?

To win this wager, you must pick 5 horses in the correct finishing order in the designated race. 

TORONTO, March 13 – One hundred and two stakes races, worth nearly $20 million in purses, will highlight Woodbine's 133-day Thoroughbred meet in 2014.

The Woodbine stakes schedule, unveiled today by the Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), is highlighted by the 155th running of the Queen's Plate. The 1 1/4-mile classic, which carries a $1 million purse, is set for Sunday, July 6.

Emmeline Hill's family is steeped in the horse racing world, but her research into equine genetics saw her straddle tradition and science to revolutionalise the industry, writes Donal Lynch

It was a eureka moment that is burned forever in Emmeline Hill's memory. Late one night in 2009, in a hotel room in Colorado, she began receiving data relating to her research into horse DNA on her laptop. "I ran some analysis and at first I just didn't believe what I was seeing," she says.

"Time to Ride," an effort to expose 100,000 new people to horses over a 100-day period, has been launched by the American Horse Council in partnership with Thoroughbred interests represented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Keeneland, and The Jockey Club.

The campaign was announced March 8 at the annual American Quarter Horse Association convention in New Orleans.

While the cheerless early morning gloom wrapped around Santa Anita Racetrack is decidedly un-Californian, there’s a touch of the Zen master about Gary Stevens that is as west coast as a Big Sur yoga retreat.

“I feel really good right now,” says Stevens, tapping a finger to his crown. “The biggest thing is staying flexible and the stretching really helps me. Touch wood, I feel good.”

New York Racing Association announced March 5 that it will invest $1.9 million at Saratoga Race Course for a series of capital improvements designed to enhance the customer experience during the 2014 summer meet, as well as $5.9 million in similar improvements at Aqueduct Racetrack and $680,000 at Belmont Park.

By Press Release - The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) today revealed plans to build a $120 million grandstand at Flemington that will be a landmark destination and deliver experiences unsurpassed by any racecourse in the world.

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has announced the full race programme for the 2014 Irish Champions Weekend, which places two iconic racing fixtures, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Irish St. Leger, back-to-back on September 13th and 14th at Leopardstown and the Curragh respectively.

The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation’s board of directors announced Feb. 27 that the foundation will fund a slate of 19 research projects worth $1,003,580 in 2014. The list includes 11 new projects and five that are in their second year, as well as three Storm Cat Career Development Awards.

The 2014 allocation brings the foundation’s total impact since 1983 to $20.9 million in funding for 310 projects at 41 universities.

Form is temporary, class is permanent. It's an old sporting adage that often is the case.

It was so again in the Australian Guineas when Cox Plate winner Shamus Award proved beyond doubt that his win in Australia's weight-for-age championship event last spring was no fluke with a convincing win in the 1600-metre group 1 classic at Flemington.

Most forms of physical therapy take place indoors with machines, therapists and painful repetition.

But MANE, which stands for Montgomery Area Nontraditional Equestrians, takes a different approach, using horse therapy and the Pike Road outdoors to aid people with physical and emotional disabilities.

THREE of Europe's major racing nations have formed a strategic alliance in a bid to attract worldwide investment into the European racing and bloodstock industry.

Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM), Great British Racing International and the French Racing and Breeding Committee will work together to ensure European bloodstock is shown off in the best light, while continuing to promote their own regions.

By Kerry-Ann Augustin

I BRAVE headache-inducing traffic on a sweltering Saturday afternoon and head to Sungai Besi, a township in Kuala Lumpur that the Selangor Turf Club has called home since it moved from its grounds in Jalan Ampang 21 years ago.

There’s a T-shirt that says: My therapist lives in a barn.

Richard Mosley isn’t wearing one, but he’s a believer.

His therapists are seven horses among the 90 that live at Buffalo Meadows Ranch in San Timoteo Canyon. The exercises he did with them over seven weeks late last year have been his salvation, he said.

Mosley, 45, has gone from being an angry, suicidal Iraq war veteran with post traumatic stress disorder and on the brink of divorce to a man who has found some peace with himself and is working to mend the family that he nearly shattered.

Press Release - The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) is hosting a three day regional workshop for Asia, the Far East and Oceania, at Happy Valley Racecourse, Hong Kong. The event opened today, Tuesday 18 February.

The workshop is the first of its kind ever held in Asia, and is co-organised by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong Government (AFCD) and the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC).

Press Release - The B.C. Horse Racing Industry Management Committee today finalized a multi-year funding arrangement among the principal participants in the industry – track operator Great Canadian Gaming Corp., the Thoroughbred sector and the Standardbred sector.

SEMINOLE — Katie Mazgaj sat tall atop her horse, Dexter, giving a slight tug on the reins to weave among a series of tightly placed cones.

(CNN) -- It's been a long time coming. A very long time. But S'manga Khumalo is proving that black jockeys can hold the whip hand in South Africa.

Whites may still dominate horse racing there, but it was the diminutive Khumalo who reigned supreme last year when he became the first black jockey to win the Durban July event in its 117-year history.

By Lucie Bell

Research published in the journal Youth Studies Australia suggests that equine therapy is an effective way to help young people who are troubled or at-risk.

Catherine Waite, from the Rural Health Academic Centre at the University of Melbourne, spoke to 40 young people over 12 months.

"We interviewed people who are 14 to18 years old," Ms Waite said.

By Ron Mason

Eliska Kubinova is living the American Dream, which, for her, means riding racehorses for a living.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.– At a Senate Gaming Committee hearing in Tallahassee Monday, members of the Florida horse industry unveiled impressive new economic impact figures from a just released statewide study. A coalition of Florida horse racing and breeding organizations retained Cummings Associates to develop a comprehensive estimate of the economic impacts of the horse racing industry in Florida.

Major findings of the study unveiled Monday included:

• The horse racing industry supports more than 12,000 jobs statewide.

In the year that Arlington International celebrates the 25th anniversary of the rebuilding of racing’s most modern and customer-friendly facilities, the world renowned racetrack announced that the Festival of Racing will be on Saturday, Aug. 16. The International Festival features five stakes races including three Grade I events – the $1,000,000 Arlington Million for 3-year-olds & up; the $750,000 Beverly D. for fillies & mares, 3-year-olds & up; and the $500,000 Secretariat Stakes for 3-year-olds – as well as the third edition of $400,000 American St.

By Heather Meade

NORTH STAR - Being a female jockey isn’t an easy feat, as any who have managed it will concur, but with drive and determination, women can make it in a ‘man’s world’ of horse racing. Chelsey Keiser, a Versailles High School graduate, decided to follow her life-long dream, despite the odds, she said.

As the year of the horse gets underway, horse racing in Singapore is taking off.

The number of race horses in the city state has doubled since 2007 to 1,400 and the market is now starting to attract more international patrons, according to Wade Burridge, managing director of PremierRacingPartnerships.com.

Energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able - the horse holds a special place in Chinese astrology and mysticism and those born in its year are said to carry some of the same characteristics of their zodiac symbol.

After more than 20 years in the financial-services rat race, Swiss banker Michael Reichstein packed it in and turned to horse racing for a living.

By Steve Haskin, Bloodhorse.com

We’ve already seen some stress and low tolerance building in the camp of one of the leading Kentucky Derby hopefuls.

Following the Seahawks – Forty Niners game, we saw what can happen when the media probes a star player at a time when his emotions are still running high and the adrenaline is still flowing. There is no down time to gather one’s composure. It is, “What are you feeling right now?” The public wants to know.

When John Velazquez rode the three-year-old Monopolize onto the track for the fourth race at Gulfstream Park, he was greeted by resounding cheers.

The shouts of well wishes rang out in honor of the Hall of Fame jockey’s first race in almost three months while recovering from injuries he sustained in a spill back in November. In the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita Park, Velazquez’s mount Secret Compass tragically broke down. The filly was euthanized, while Velazquez underwent emergency surgery to remove his spleen and was hospitalized for several days.

By Mia Sheldon

“I never thought I would be a victim,” says Lauri Walker tearfully. “I thought I could do it on my own, but I couldn’t. I needed help.”

Living alone on 21 acres outside Owen Sound, Ont.,Walker cherishes nothing more than having a home and being around animals. But after a string of abusive relationships, Lauri says she was left defeated.

By Julie Sarno

Rancho Santa Fe resident Christian Hellmers is a leading character in “Horseplayers,” a reality show that will air on Esquire television. The first episode of the 10-show horse racing series is scheduled to air at 10 p.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The show is about the high-stakes world of professional handicapping. “Handicapping” is the process of analyzing data and selecting horses to bet money on.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) posted a 2.3 percent average daily total handle gain for 2013. The gain follows a 2012 season during which NYRA posted sizable gains in all handle categories.

Average daily handle wagered on races at NYRA's three racetracks - Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course - increased 2.3 percent in 2013 to $9,198,298, up from $8,990,691 in 2012. For the year, NYRA hosted 239 racing days, six fewer than in 2012, and fewer than any of the preceding four years.

By Claire Novak

Three runners who delivered remarkably different campaigns in 2013 face off for Horse of the Year honors, highlighting the open-for-interpretation nature of the category.

Winners in the 17 horse and human categories will be announced at the 43rd annual Eclipse Awards dinner and ceremony Jan. 18 at Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino in Hallandale Beach, Fla. The ceremony will air live on HRTV.

Inside the stables at the historic Sagamore Farm, General Manager Tom Mullikin introduces us to a thoroughbred colt, otherwise known as Sagamore Racing’s horse with no name.

“Really cool demeanor, personality. When he’s out with the other colts, he’s the boss. He’s alpha; he’s in charge,” Mullikin said. “If I had to equate him to a current Baltimore Raven, he’s a Vonta Leach.”

If you've ever wondered what it feels like to be a Champion Jockey and put a horse through a serious piece of exercise on the gallops, then now you have the chance. 

Korean Derby and Oaks winner Speedy First and Minister’s Cup winner Major King are in the United States where they will be trained and raced for at least the first part of the year.

The pair, who between them won 3 of the 4 Korean Classic races in 2013, arrived at JFK Airport last week and are currently in quarantine. They are then expected to transfer to Laurel Park in Maryland to enter training.

By Tim Sullivan

Excluding an operation for a ruptured disc, and an insurance physical arranged to appease investors, D. Wayne Lukas has devoted his life to avoiding doctors.

“I shouldn’t say this,” the venerable thoroughbred horse trainer said, “and I don’t say it boastfully, but I haven’t been to a doctor in 50 years. I don’t get a checkup or nothing, which is not good. I don’t go to doctors (because) they might tell you something you don’t want to know.”

What is it about a horse that helps people heal from various mental and emotional health problems? The answer to this question is multi-layered and involves the unique interplay of the horse’s qualities with the specific needs of humans that are related to connection, attachment, and trust. These human needs associated with social engagement and relationship are essential for all humans; however, problems with meeting these needs are most often at the root of mental and emotional health issues such as addictions, depression, anxiety, and other disorders.

In an interview published on January 7th 2014, CEO of Great British Racing, Rod Street, comments on the challenges faced by British horse racing in recent years and the marketing efforts initiated to make the sport of horse racing relevant in the crowded world of leisure and entertainment options. Some key points made during the interview include the need:

- to have a dedicated promotion team in place 

On the heels of a successful debut in 2013, The Jockey Club announced today that it will continue the America’s Best Racing mobile marketing tour with a team of six brand ambassadors embedded in key racing markets throughout 2014 and 2015. The major racing events of the tour will be supported by the 2014 edition of the “ABRV,” a bus that will focus on hospitality and direct fan education.

From the Foreward:

British Racing has faced, and largely come through, a significant test. We were never going to be immune to the wider financial difficulties that still prevail, but can all be extremely proud of the scale of our sport’s continued contribution to the British economy. Core industry expenditure of over £1.1 billion and a total economic impact of £3.45 billion are just the headline demonstrations of British Racing’s importance.

The new “Big Board” under construction at Churchill Downs, the legendary home of the Kentucky Derby, will be the only video board in an outdoor stadium or arena capable of displaying the new and advanced 4K ultra-high definition technology.

The announcement was made by Panasonic Corporation of North America and Churchill Downs Racetrack on Monday in advance of the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s largest consumer electronics show that runs Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas.

Cape Town - Equestrian champions, trainers and jockeys alike are gearing up for the Cape’s most elegant horse racing event, the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, which holds its 153rd running on January 11, 2014 at Kenilworth Racecourse, with contenders competing for the coveted R1 million purse.

Given his bloodlines, it was always a good bet that Tory Stevens would wind up with a career around horses.

His father, Gary Stevens, is a Hall of Fame jockey who is approaching 5,000 lifetime victories, including nine in the Triple Crown and 10 in the Breeders' Cup.

When Courtney Hernandez took to the track for her first start on December 7, she and mount Wildshoes for Me had tougher competition than the horse’s $5,000 claiming pricetag would suggest. Hernandez left the gate just two spots away from older brother Colby Hernandez.

“My brother rode at the side of me the whole time. I really wasn’t too, too nervous,” she recalled.

That’s probably because racing is in Hernandez’s blood.

If you’ve ever considered your horse to be your “better half,” you’re not alone. Norwegian and American researchers recently found that riders and horses can enter into a unique state of interspecies “co-being” with one other. 

Ryan Moore will ride Gold Ship in the Arima Kinen in Japan on Sunday as Orfevre has his final career start.

Moore has already won one of Japan's biggest races this year when landing the Japan Cup aboard the brilliant filly Gentildonna and he's now set to try and land another aboard the son of Stay Gold who won this prize last year as a three year old.

By Carolyn Grodinsky and Dianne Lashoones

By Gerry Belanger, Trainer

Second Chances Farm is an unlikely partnership between horses and men that may be saving both.

Inside the Sykesville barn classical music hummed from a radio as the men milled about the horses' stalls.

Racing Future is determined to inspire a new generation of fans to enjoy horse racing. We are proud to be a part of this process and are optimistic that our efforts, combined with the efforts of everyone in the horse racing community, can and will make the difference in reinvigorating the sport, which has a long and rich heritage and makes a significant economic impact throughout the province.

Racetracks may not have the wherewithal to build their own version of Angry Birds to create brand awareness, but they may be able to offer social games to keep fans on-site engaged—and hopefully return.

A panel discussion on social gaming Dec. 11 at the 40th annual Arizona Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming offered several ideas for tracks to engage digitally with younger fans. Among the ideas included offering online contests that reward people at the track for accomplishing simple tasks: buying a hot dog, placing two show bets, or even tweeting about their experience.

Read more about this horse therapy program on Racing Future.

A nudge from the nose of a zebra or a towering 2500-pound Clydesdale horse might send others running.

But Lauren Burke, a graduate student at Ohio’s Case Western Reserve University’s school for social work, instead extends a curved hand to return the equine “hello”.

Burke, in her required social work field placement, has spent the last 18 months at Ohio’s Pebble Ledge Ranch in Novelty, Ohio, learning to communicate with horses, and a zebra, in its Spirit of Leadership program.

Sensational world-class sporting action played out before an enthusiastic crowd of close to 70,000 racegoers on course Sunday 8 December, and there was plenty for the home fans to cheer as three of the four Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races went the way of local heroes.

Racing Future has partnered with Prime Advertising and Fort Erie Racetrack to develop a horse racing festival proposal centred on The Year of The Horse. The success of this project will have a tremendous impact not only for Fort Erie Racetrack and the surrounding community but also for the Province of Ontario. Among the many benefits, the proposal will:

- encourage citizens in Southern Ontario and Western New York to visit the Niagara Region with new and unique attractions;

Bloodhorse.com announced a new feature of the site today - an interactive map of North American racetracks.

It has only been in recent years that our society has recognized post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat military personnel returning home from war and anyone else exposed to an extreme traumatic event that has altered their life. Going back to World War I, this disorder was trivialized with the term shell shock.

Mary Mitzel kicked up a small cloud of dust as she weaved around a handful of people and raced up to a small milk chocolate-colored horse tethered to the wall.

“I have to say goodbye to Lena before I leave,” she said loudly before giving the horse a quick hug. “Goodbye, Lena.”

The WORLD SUPER JOCKEYS SERIES (WSJS), a popular annual event in Japan and throughout the world, is a championship that brings together fifteen outstanding jockeys from Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia and Japan.

By Sarah Ferguson

FORT ERIE - A grand festival may be galloping its way to Fort Erie.

If Premier Kathleen Wynne gives it the green light in the next few weeks, organizers will quickly solidify the details to host Fort Erie Celebrates the Year of the Horse Festival with live racing events in August as part of a province-wide celebration.

Ten Furlongs LLC, the company behind the movie “50 to 1,” the story of long-shot 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, is finalizing plans to bring the film to Louisville in the spring.

WILLIAM HILL have announced the launch of what they describe as a "major new technological ‘centre of excellence'" in Shoreditch, east London.

They have opened a 6,000 sq ft office on Scrutton Street at the heart of London's hub for technology companies which will initially house 40 staff and complement William Hill's international online operations in Leeds, London, Gibraltar, Tel Aviv, Sydney and Las Vegas.

William Hill Online managing director Andrew Lee said: "We see this as a hugely significant step in the history of William Hill and, indeed, our industry.

It was swift, violent and senseless. 

Lucian Rodriguez doesn't remember anything about the 2002 incident that stole much of his future. A woman who looked out the peephole in her door called 911 to report the near-fatal beating of the Rutgers Newark student in an apartment complex on 14th Street in Manhattan, where he was left for dead. 

Sports broadcaster and data supplier Satellite Information Services (SIS) is to offer coverage of Dubai horse racing for its online and retail customers, with the likes of Bet365, BetVictor, Paddy Power, Boylesports and Betfair to offer live streaming of race meets from the city.

The coverage, which follows a pilot scheme last year, will see SIS provide a regular stream of thoroughbred racing with 31 fixtures to be broadcast from the Jebel Ali and Meydan racecourses from November to March.

The Oklahoma Equine Alliance released a comprehensive study today showing the economic impact generated by the Oklahoma Equine Industry reached $3.6 billion in 2012, yielding roughly 35,070 full time equivalent jobs.   The study was completed in 2013 and commissioned by members of the Oklahoma Equine Alliance. 

Many pet owners and animal lovers know the feeling of coming home to an excited dog or cat and having the stress of the day seemingly melt away. They may not be able to explain why having an animal in their life has this impact on them, but pet lovers around the world swear by the positive affects of animals.

Chestermere High School is building off that feeling with their new six-week pilot project that relies on the assistance of horses to help build relationships and communication skills in students with behavioural, social and emotional issues.

Equine dentistry is the practice of dentistry in horses, involving the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures.

The practice of equine dentistry varies widely by jurisdiction, with procedures being performed by veterinary physicians (both in general and specialist practice), specialist professionals termed equine dental technicians or equine dentists, and by amateurs, such as horse owners, with varying levels of training.

RESIDENTS at a Catterick Garrison care home were thrilled to receive a special equine visit for a pony therapy session.

Rosedale Nursing Home, a residential and nursing home which offers care to the elderly and to those with dementia, was visited by Wish, an American miniature horse as part of a pony therapy session at the home.

The animals and their carers from Country Durham-based K&L Pony Therapy were a huge hit with residents, according to Anna Masheter, the home manager at Rosedale Nursing Home.

By Caryl Williamson

Sydney will reclaim autumn racing with a revamped and rebranded carnival aimed at attracting international runners to some of the richest races of their kind in the world.

The state government has kicked in $10 million for The Championships at Randwick in 2014 to be run on two consecutive Saturdays in April and culminating in the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes, making it the richest 2000-metre turf race in the world.

By Kylene Scott

The battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan have to be a stark difference from ranchlands of New Mexico. For some veterans it’s just the therapy they need.

Press Release

Dr. Allan Hamilton, a professor of surgery at the UA, also is a talented horse trainer and owns the Rancho Bosque Equine Center. Realizing the important role non-verbal communication plays when training and interacting with horses, Hamilton developed the world's first program for medical students and professionals using equine-facilitated resources to improve their bedside manner for human patients.

Watch a video demonstration

After a thrilling nose victory by Mucho Macho Man in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park a day earlier, trainer Kathy Ritvo can finally face the disappointment of his close second-place finish behind Fort Larned in last year’s Classic.

By Chris Webber

A MAN who is completely paralysed in one half of his body and had never been on a horse in his life until the beginning of the year has won a national award for horse-riding.

Paul Conway, 53, of Norton near Stockton, sat on a horse for the first time just ten months ago and before that spent at least 50 per cent of his waking hours in a wheelchair.

By Kevin Modesti

Great video from Paulick Report about the way in which horses have powerful impact on lives of those with various challenges.

A small Arizona-based company called EquiSight is aiming to revitalize the fan experience in the of sport horse racing. 

Company founder, Kenleigh Hobby, is as confident in his product as he is passionate about horse racing. 

“It’s very simple,” he says. “Horse racing cannot grab a younger demographic and the biggest issue is antiquated technology.” 

A total of 68 international Group 1 winners are among the 241 horses nominated for the four LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, worth a total of HK$72 million, which are to be held at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday, 8 December.

By Ray Thomas

THE horse that wasn't supposed to get a start, the teenage apprentice riding in the race for the first time, and the trainer who never lost the faith.

This sums up the extraordinary story behind the most unlikely Cox Plate winner of them all - Shamus Award.

A maiden before yesterday's $3 million race at Moonee Valley, the Danny O'Brien-trained Shamus Award stunned a field containing some of the best weight-for-age horses in training with an all-the-way win under teenage apprentice Chad Schofield.

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 24, 2013 – The 30th running of the Breeders’ Cup Classic will be broadcast live in primetime on Saturday, November 2, culminating 9½ hours of Breeders’ Cup World Championships coverage over two days by the NBC Sports Group from Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. All 14 Breeders’ Cup races will be televised live by NBC and NBCSN.

By Katie Lamb

In horse racing, there is a belief that a horse’s talent cannot be determined by pedigree or auction price; it is the racetrack that is the judge of good horses, and they can come from anywhere. The reigning horse of the year, Wise Dan, is one of those horses.

The best of the best will be on display at Santa Anita Park Nov. 1- 2, with the leading trainers in the United States and Europe pre-entering a star-studded array of talent for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

The Breeders' Cup announced the official race order, wagering menu and post times for the 30th Breeders' Cup World Championships, to be held on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2 at Santa Anita Park. This year's wagering menu on the 14 Breeders' Cup races features an abundance of wagering opportunities including two Breeders' Cup Ultra Pick Sixes, 10-cent Superfectas, 50-cent Trifectas, Pick 3's and Pick 4's, a Breeders' Cup Distaff/Classic daily double and two Super High 5 wagers.

Trainer Roger Attfield, one of only a handful of horsemen inducted into both the Canadian and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame, will send out two hopefuls for Sunday's Grade 1, C$1 million Canadian International.

Stella Perdomo's Forte Dei Marmi and Charles Fipke's Perfect Timber will try to give the 73-year-old conditioner his first Canadian International win. He's been second on three occasions -- with Steady Power in 1989, with Alywow in 1994 and with Spice Route in 2008.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- Conan O'Brien will be behind the mic on Friday, just not at his desk on the set of his late-night talk show.

The funny man will call a horse race at Santa Anita under the watchful eye of long-time track announcer Trevor Denman. O'Brien will describe the second race at the host track for next month's Breeders' Cup, the richest event in thoroughbred racing.

Denman says his advice to O'Brien will be "keep it simple and try and have fun with it."

By Press Release

THE fragile Farhh proved he is talented too when he returned to action to triumph in Saturday's Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot, his final race before retirement.

It would take a pretty big reason to make a famous football coach to fly home for a day or so while his team is training to compete in the Super Bowl.

Watch Treve come from the pack and win the 2013 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe by 5 lengths!

Trained by Andreas Wohler, Novellist was denied the chance to run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when he spiked a temperature on the morning before the race.

He won three other Group Ones in an 11-race career and his owner Dr Christoph Berglar explained why he chose to sell him to Japan.

He told www.thoroughbreddailynews.com: "Since 2011, the centre of my breeding activities has been in Kentucky, where our family is running Stonereath Stud, and we contemplated standing him ourselves in the United States.

JOHN VELAZQUEZ has become North America's all-time leading money-earning jockey, eclipsing Pat Day’s record when taking his career earnings to $297,922,320 (£187,691,061) at Belmont Park on Sunday.

A second aboard Bit Bustin in the ninth race saw Velazquez, 41, overhaul Day, who retired in 2005 aged 51. Coincidentally Day celebrated his 60th birthday on Sunday.

“It’s something that happened to happen, and I’m glad it happened,” Velazquez told Daily Racing Form.

By Tom LaMarra

Horse racing's decades-old video production of live racing through the pan shot was panned–and otherwise described as unimaginative and inadequate when compared with other sporting events–during the International Simulcast Conference in Lexington Oct. 8.

Ever been that fan who spent the day at the Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby but never saw a horse? That won’t be a problem starting with next year’s races as Churchill Downs gets the “Big Picture”.

Churchill Downs has teamed with Panasonic in a $12 million project to install a 15,224-square-foot, high-definition (HD) LED video board in time for the 2014 Longines Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.

By Matt Majendie

(CNN) -- Big in Japan. It's a phenomenon well known to generations of rock bands, elevated from relative obscurity at home to apparent god-like status in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Met at the airport by screaming fans, groups struggling to get in their own charts get an unexpected -- and often career-reviving -- taste of Beatlemania, Orient-style.

ALMOST six months into retirement, Black Caviar’s vast shadow still hovers above the racetrack.

The legendary mare was last night awarded her third straight Racehorse Of The Year title, matching Sunline’s three-peat from 2000-2002. Black Caviar, not surprisingly, was also voted champion sprinter.

German trainer Andreas Wohler is confident Novellist will strip much fitter in Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe than when winning at Baden Baden last time out.

The four-year-old features among 21 horses to stand their ground for the Longchamp showpiece at the first forfeit stage, with all the leading ante-post hopes still in the mix.

The Horsemen's Group and the British Horseracing Authority expect a £5m rise in prize money contributions from 2014.

Philip Freedman, chairman of the Horsemen's Group, hopes it will start a new era of "collaboration and trust".

"These are landmark agreements for the sport and a first step towards improved returns," Freedman said.

Ron the Greek, overlooked at 21-1 in a Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational field of Grade 1 stars, barreled into the lead on the far turn and pulled clear to an overpowering 6 3/4-length triumph in the 95th edition of the Grade 1, $1 million race on Saturday at Belmont Park.

Gatineau, Quebec, September 27, 2013 — The Canadian Museum of Civilization has acquired the E.P. Taylor – Windfields Farm Collection of archival materials, memorabilia and 97 racing trophies, many won by Northern Dancer, the greatest thoroughbred sire of the 20th century.

The category finalists for the 2013 Australian Racehorse of the Year Awards presented by Racing Victoria, Sky Racing World and TAB have been revealed today with a star-studded VOBIS Gold Champion Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding category among the highlights.

Glamour colts All Too Hard and Pierro will square off with star Kiwi It’s A Dundeel and Group 1-winning duo Fiveandahalfstar and Super Cool in what is shaping as one of the most intriguing categories.

By Steve Haskin

The $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park Sept. 28 will provide racing fans with a couple of intriguing angles: the battle for divisional honors in two categories and an unprecedented attempt at three consecutive Gold Cup victories since the distance was changed to 1 ¼ miles. 

By Jay Cronley

Here's the way cheering at the horse races works: The more you cheer during a race, the more you're apt to celebrate if you win.

Cheering is not always an exercise in self-indulgence. Look at Seattle. The pro football stadium is like a horn of plenty. Sound goes where it is aimed, at the opposing quarterback's temples. This cheering epicenter of the sports world has redefined the home field advantage. Now it's a home frequency advantage that's worth five points.

By Michael Cox

The brilliant blue Inner Mongolian sky set off the ceremonial silk garb and elaborate hats of the local hostesses, which made for a brilliant contrast with the contemporary fashion that rolled into Hohhot for the China Race Club's inaugural race day.

Racing Future continues to celebrate those who have made and continue to make great contributions to the sport of horse racing.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Amy Zimmerman for many years. I have always found her dedication, knowledge, and experience of the game to be at the top of the field.

In this “Racing Future Celebrates” feature we showcase a behind-the-scenes talent who shares her thoughts on the sport and its future.

UK pay TV operator BSkyB has become the exclusive sales agent for horse racing broadcaster Racing UK’s  commercial TV service on satellite that, alongside its existing At The Races coverage, makes Sky the principal source of horse racing coverage for pubs and clubs. The deal does not include Racing UK’s service for bookmakers.

PARIS: Japan's hopes of landing Europe's most prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, after 33 years of heartbreak received a huge boost when both Kizuna and Orfevre won their Arc trials in impressive fashion.

Kentucky -- At the latest session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, five seven-figure yearlings were sold on Thursday, topped by a War Front colt which sold for $2.5 million to become the highest-priced purchase of the sale to date.

By Ben Dorries

Jockeys Michael Cahill, Jim Byrne and Ryan Wiggins have accepted an invitation from the China Horse Club to ride at next week’s meeting in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, with prizemoney for each race of up to $US150,000. 

The China Horse Club was a big player at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, combining with Coolmore Stud to splurge $4 million on two colts. 

Sept. 10, 2013

Mr. John Snobelen
Mr. John Wilkinson
Mr. Elmer Buchanan
Horse Racing Transition Panel
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
1 Stone Road West
Guelph, Ontario
N1G 4Y2

Dear John, Elmer & John:

By Derek Harper

Atlantic City took a step closer Monday to having a special horse race on its beach, when the state Assembly, responding to a conditional veto by the governor, struck down a provision to also allow steeplechase racing around the state.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where a Thursday vote is likely. State Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, said he thought it would likely pass.

Assemblyman John Amodeo, R-Atlantic, a sponsor who has promoted the idea of the American Palio in Atlantic City, said a final agreement is all but settled.

By Mark Skully

The Victorian Racing Club wants to have free Wi-Fi operating at the Flemington racecourse during this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival, in what is claimed to be a world-first for horse racing.

The VRC will deploy technology from the US company Cisco to give mobile and smartphone access to high-speed internet, putting it into the front rank of other Australian sporting venues on the technology front.

TORONTO, September 6, 2013 – Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) is pleased to announce the appointment of Blake Tohana to its Board of Directors. Mr. Tohana was also appointed as a member of WEG’s Audit Committee.

As well, WEG announced that three long-serving directors – David S. Willmot, Mark R. Frostad and William D. Graham – are departing from the Board after many years of service.

Andrew Cohen, an award-winning legal analyst whose commentaries and reports have been featured on radio and television at CBS News for 15 years, is the first-ever legal analyst for “60 Minutes,” the network’s signature news magazine program. A racehorse owner and breeder, Cohen is a two-time O’Brien Award winner and two-time John Hervey Award winner for excellence in harness racing journalism.

Name: Andrew Cohen

What I do for a living: Journalist, writer and legal analyst

September 3, 2013, Toronto - A bay colt by the Champion grass horse in Canada, Perfect Soul (IRE), black type millionaire and Leading Sire in Canada, topped the Selected Session, selling for $170,000 at the annual Canadian-Bred Yearling Sale held at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion in Toronto. The colt out of the Seeking the Gold mare, Tapatina, was purchased by Cudney Stables & Partner and consigned by Richard G. Hogan, Agent.

August 20, 2013

ORC Commissioner named

DEL MAR, Calif. – Ever since he arrived at Del Mar this summer, Game On Dude has worked every six days. You could set your clock by it. On Monday, six days since his last work and six days in front of the Pacific Classic, he completed his serious training for the Grade 1, $1 million race with his sharpest drill of the summer, officially five furlongs in 59.60 seconds, but with a powerhouse gallop-out of another three furlongs.

Jockey Richard Hughes was keen for the colt to try a mile and a quarter for the first time, and trainer Hannon and owner Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani are in agreement to run too.

By Amanda Duckworth

Much like it is hard to discuss the Belmont Stakes without referencing Secretariat, it is almost impossible to talk about the Arlington Million without uttering John Henry's name. This weekend Arlington Park will hold the signature race for the 31st time, and it is sure to be a thrilling event. But for as long as they run that race, John Henry is the barometer against which all other equines will be judged.

Ask any rider which race he or she would most like to win, and the most frequently offered answer is the Kentucky Derby, but within each riding colony around the country, there exists a sense of pride about being able to compete in and try to win the local circuit's biggest races, and the Arlington International Racecourse jockey colony is no different as the International Festival of Racing draws near.

By Ray Paulick

There was talk about the new Fox sports network and horse racing’s growing presence on television, along with the outreach made by America’s Best Racing “brand ambassadors” affiliated with The Jockey Club, but the main focus was on integrity and medication issues during the 61st annual Jockey Club Round Table Conference held Sunday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Jockey Calvin Borel, who captured the Kentucky Derby three times in four years, led the class of inductees in