Animal Kingdom

The Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association held its annual General Nominating Meeting and Awards Dinner Jan. 7 at Gulfstream Park, hosting more than 100 guests at Ten Palms. FTHA President Joe Orseno, completing his first term in the role, provided the assemblage with a look back at an eventful 2022. The culmination of the evening was the presentation of the 2022 FTHA Awards. Host Ron Nicoletti announced the winners in 11 categories, including the newly added Champion Tapeta Horse and Champion Tapeta Filly/Mare. Raina Gunderson was chosen as the 2022 "Person...

Either trainer Burton Sipp is an unwitting pariah, or racing is his witting fool. Over the last 40 years, Sipp has faced allegations involving insurance scams and dead horses, animal neglect cases, race-fixing stings and regulatory malfeasance. Not all the accusations against him have stuck. Since the mid 1990s, Sipp has been barred from applying for a racing license in New Jersey due to swirling suspicions of fraudulent practices. So he moved his tack to more welcoming pastures. For the past few years, the trainer has been dogged by allegations...

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), a two-time winner of Belmont's GI Jaipur S. at six furlongs, showcased his same electrifying closing kick going a mile with a flashy 1 1/2-length victory over heavily favored mare Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Fourstardave H. at the Spa. Given a 4-1 chance in this field of five, the rail-drawn Casa Creed dropped back early and trailed in fifth as longshot Get Smokin (Get Stormy) led through fractions of :24.01 and :47.94. Locked...

Having finished fourth to then-stablemate Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the 2020 renewal and again behind the impressive Althiqa (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the 2021 running--while tactically disadvantaged to varying degrees on each occasion--Peter Brant's 'TDN Rising Star' Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) got the ideal set-up in Saturday's GI Just A Game S. and came with her trademark flying finish to strike for the third time at the highest level. Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}), winner of the G3 Premio Regina Elena (Italian 1000 Guineas) last season, picked...

In terms of the luck so indispensable on the GI Kentucky Derby trail, Carl and Yurie Pascarella are perfectly aware that they have used up a lot of "credit". Certainly they know just how fortunate they were, to have been in the Team Valor partnership that won the race in 2011 with Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}). And prior to that, Carl was CEO of Visa during its hugely successful association with the Triple Crown series, between 1995 and 2005 offering a $5-million bonus to anyone who could slake the industry's...

Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom), purchased by Peter Brant's White Birch Farm for $925,000 at this year's Keeneland January sale, went wire-to-wire to earn her first Grade I victory and give trainer Chad Brown and jockey Jose Ortiz their second graded winner on the closing-day card at Del Mar in the GI Matriarch S. Sunday. Sent off the 8-5 second choice, the 5-year-old chestnut mare rushed up from her outside post to grab the lead into the first turn. She was unchallenged and running freely through fractions of :24.06 and :48.50,...

During the best of times, racing can be a rollercoaster. And for Wayne Catalano, like most other horsemen and women in the sport, that tumultuous lifestyle quickly becomes a way of life. However, despite facing several challenges--both professionally and personally--over the past decade, including a showdown with his own mortality after teetering scarily close to the edge of the eternal precipice, the 'Catman' lived up to his nickname at this year's Breeders' Cup by righting himself midair and landing squarely on his feet in the winner's circle following Aloha West...

Surface tensions in our business have run pretty deep in recent years, nowhere more so than at Santa Anita. After a failed revolution, with a synthetic track, they eventually backed into a terrifying breakdowns crisis. Racing in California still has its problems, of course, not least the cloud currently over its premier barn--which, after that curious hesitation last week, instead gives its most controversial resident a home game Saturday in the GI Awesome Again S. But given our community's fury right now with another racetrack proprietor, who this week cashed...

"It's all I've thought about for forever," said 25-year-old Corbin Blumberg. And he's not really exaggerating. The Potomac, Maryland native was just a toddler when one VHS tape sold him on horse racing for life. Blumberg learned to read by studying past performances, and has since traveled the world in pursuit of furthering his knowledge of the industry. Less than a month before this year's Kentucky Derby, the Godolphin Flying Start graduate signed on as the Racing Manager for Starlight Racing. It was an eventful start to the job when...

Oleksandra (Aus) (Animal Kingdom) got the best of the boys and secured a spot in the gate at the Breeders' Cup with a late-rallying victory in the GI Jaipur S. at Belmont. Trailing the field early, the 9-4 chalk bided her time as Pure Sensation (Zensational) battled Hidden Scroll (Hard Spun) through swift opening splits of :21.33 and :43.52. Swung out three wide, the dark bay picked it up approaching the far turn and charged down the lane, inhaling her competitors to nail new leader Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) on the...