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Friday's scratching of top galloper Military Attack (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}) has stripped Saturday's Centenary Vase H. of some of its intrigue and luster, but an eclectic group of 11 remains for this event contested over a distance that is ideal for almost none of its contestants.  Designs On Rome (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) is left as the starting highweight and will give some talented runners anywhere between 10 and 18 pounds. Now five years of age, the Moyglare Stud-bred has carved out his reputation over the metric 10 furlongs, with...

The first foal out of Wertheimer et Frere's champion racemare Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa), the winner of 14 Group/Grade 1 races including three consecutive renewals of the Breeders' Cup Mile, has followed in his dam's footsteps and is now in training with Freddy Head in Chantilly. Goldikovic (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who will celebrate his second birthday Feb. 3, is shaping up nicely, according to the conditioner. “He has been with me for a couple of months,” Head told Paris-Turf. “He is a good-looking, average-sized colt with good balance. He has the loveliest of...

by T.D. Thornton  In response to a request for additional documentation to be used as evidence at an upcoming dispute resolution hearing, Terry Finley has filed an expanded letter of protest with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, underscoring his demand for a new election to reconcile his claims of a deeply flawed process that led to his 14-vote defeat in the organization's Dec. 1 voting for president.  Finley's initial Dec. 8 protest letter was a personally written three pages outlining the alleged failure of ballots to be mailed to...

by T.D. Thornton  The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame notified members of its voting panel on Tuesday that trainer Steve Asmussen will not be allowed to appear on 2015 Hall of Fame ballots because of ongoing investigations into rules and ethics violations in New York and Kentucky.  “Our executive committee felt it didn't send the right message for somebody who's being investigated for animal cruelty and drug abuse violations to be eligible for the sport's highest honor,” HOF communications coordinator Brien Bouyea told TDN.  Asmussen, the second-winningest...

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Majmu (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), South Africa's champion  2-year-old filly of 2013-2014, will not make her next start in the G1 J&B Met S. in Cape Town, trainer Mike de Kock confirmed Monday on his website. The news comes despite the lifting of the recent movement restriction ban on horses stabled at Randjesfontein, north of Johannesburg.  "Under current AHS conditions, it has been recommended that we move horses we intend to race in Cape Town to another centre or to Cape Town as soon as possible...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) announced yesterday that Barbara Livingston has won the 2014 Media Eclipse Award for Photography, while a pair of Writing Awards were earned by John Scheinman in the Feature/Commentary category and Joe Clancy in the News/Enterprise category. Livingston will receive her third overall Eclipse Award for her photograph of Tapiture (Tapit) working out at Churchill Downs in a heavy rainstorm in advance of the GI Kentucky Derby. "I'm very proud to record our sport's...

From the time Sir Barton became the first to sweep the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S. in 1919 until Citation became the eighth to run the table in 1948, the most time that transpired between successful Triple Crown bids was the 11 years between Sir Barton and Gallant Fox in 1930. With his 31-length demolition of the field in 1973, Secretariat snapped a 25-year drought, while Seattle Slew and Affirmed made it three Triple Crowns in the space of six years in 1977 and 1978,...

By Christie DeBernardis  Hall of Famer Nick Zito is a trainer who knows a thing or two about upsetting a Triple Crown bid with a big longshot. Both of Zito's GI Belmont S. wins came from double-digit longshots who spoiled Triple Crown dreams.  The first was 36-1 shot Birdstone (Grindstone), who brought Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality)'s charge into history to a screeching halt when he came flying late to overtake the popular Pennsylvania-bred in the final strides of the 2004 Belmont. Da'Tara (Tiznow) provided Zito with his second win in...

by Steve Sherack An absolutely packed parking lot filled with news trucks and a helicopter flying overhead on a Friday morning in early June? Yes, this is becoming a pretty familiar sight in Elmont, New York, on GI Belmont S. eve as American Pharoah(Pioneerof the Nile) tries to do what Big Brown, California Chrome, Smarty Jones, and so many others couldn't by becoming the 12th Triple Crown winner and the first since 1978.  On a cloudy morning with temperatures slightly milder in the mid-50s, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert walked the...

by T.D. Thornton National Basketball Association commissioner emeritus David Stern prefaced his candid remarks about Thoroughbred racing's hot-button issues by joking Friday morning that Pan American Conference attendees might throw things at him. But he wasn't kidding about what the sport needs to do to raise the industry's profile, both within the United States and globally, like Stern did with the NBA during his three-decade tenure.  "If you asked the average reader of newspapers in the U.S. [what they think of the horse racing], they will start with a litany...

Sunday sees Japan's top older milers line up in the G1 Yasuda Kinen, and the progressive Maurice (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) is favored off the back of a win in the G3 Lord Derby Challenge Trophy Apr. 5. That was the 4-year-old's third straight triumph, and he steps up to Group 1 company for the first time here. “His last win and his time indicate he has enough to win a Group 1,” said Atsunori Hashimoto, assistant to trainer Noriyuki Hori. “I don't know if he'll be able to get a run...

Four horses with Royal Ascot entries have been added to the Goffs London Sale, which takes place at The Orangery at Kensington Palace on the eve of that showpiece meeting June 15. The wildcard entries are lot 45, the winning 2-year-old colt Halsall (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) who is entered the Listed Windsor Castle S.; lot 46, the 2-year-old debut-winning filly Mirage (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who holds an entry in the G3 Albany S.; lot 47, the 3-year-old filly Covert Love (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), who has won both starts this season and is entered in the G2 Ribblesdale S....