Belterra Park

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings are two steep suspensions. Trainer Francisco Ramos has been banned a total of 10 years and fined a combined $125,000 for five out-of-competition medication violations for Clenbuterol, a substance that is banned outside of very specific circumstances. According to HIWU's final ruling, HIWU representatives collected blood samples from the horses Scat Shack and Cindy's Storm, and a hair sample from Jim's River Runner, at...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--There is a good reason why White Sands (Into Mischief), the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Sunday's $200,000, GIII Adirondack for 2-year-old fillies at Saratoga Race Course, isn't going to run. She's not here. Trainer Wesley Ward said Saturday morning on the Saratoga backstretch that White Sands is at Keeneland and likely waiting for one of two races at Del Mar next weekend: the $150,000 GIII Sorrento for 2-year-old fillies on Aug. 10 or the $150,000 GIII Best Pal Stakes for 2-year-olds on Aug. 11. White Sands, owned by...

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the HIWU "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 07/09/2024 Licensee: Blake A. Kelly, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision by HIWU. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Dantrolene—Controlled Medication (Class C)—in a sample taken from Karter's Baby Blue on 5/15/24....

Wesley Ward admitted he was looking for an easy spot for  White Sands (Into Mischief) to make her first racetrack appearance, but when the half-sister to sprint champion Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) romped by 9 1/2 lengths in her debut at Belterra Park in May, the trainer immediately circled the Prairie Gold Juvenile Stakes on his calendar. The filly duly delivered again in that 5 1/2-furlong event, defeating the boys in a 13 3/4-length demolition at Prairie Meadows last Saturday. "We had a long time with her," Ward said of...

When Mugatu (Blofeld) makes his way onto the track in the morning, it's hard to look away. The imposing chestnut colt with the unique blaze that spans across his forehead before trickling down to just above his nostrils has a presence that makes you pay attention. And when he moves across the track, it's easy to understand why he was the one that Dan Preiss sought out on the final day of the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training sale. After receiving a call from trainer Jeff...

Luis Yamil Marcano, who spent most of 2023 riding at Belterra Park, before returning to his native Puerto Rico in October to ride at Camarero, died Sunday night from injuries he sustained from a motorcycle accident. He was 19. The news was first reported on Camarero's Facebook page, which posted the following: "Camarero Racecourse regrets the sudden death of rider Luis Yamil Marcano. Luis graduated from the Agustín Mercado Reverón Equestrian Vocational School in 2022 staying active since then in races at Camarero Racecourse and several racecourses in the United...

When Jimmy Corrigan was informed after an Oct. 7 race at Belterra Park that his horse Stay Lost (Bernardini) had tested positive for the banned substance methamphetamine he was shocked. The native of Ireland had been training in the U.S. since 1992 and had never had a drug positive of any kind. He said he is careful who he hires and that he's sure that no one in his barn had ever touched the drug. But, at least initially, these things don't matter under the rules of the Horseracing Integrity...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among the key rulings from the last seven days, trainer Jimmy Corrigan has been provisionally suspended as a result of his trainee, Stay Lost--who won at Belterra Park on Oct. 7 last year--testing positive for Methamphetamine. HISA currently lists Methamphetamine--a common human recreation drug--as a banned substance, which comes with a possible two-year suspension. With banned substances under HISA, responsible parties are subject to a provisional suspension, prior...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN also posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These include decisions from around the country. California Track: Del Mar Date: 08/31/2023 Licensee: Ramon Vazquez Jr., jockey Penalty: Three-day suspension...

Three weeks after Rich Strike (Keen Ice) shocked the racing world with an 80-1 upset of the GI Kentucky Derby last spring, winning trainer Eric Reed encountered an even bigger surprise at his Belterra Park barn: A 3-year-old filly he'd been breezing for her first lifetime start unexpectedly gave birth to a foal on May 28, 2022, without anybody being aware she was pregnant. Now 15 months later, that unraced Gio Ponti filly, Beautyatitsbest, has not only weaned her colt to health, but has overcome medical issues of her own....

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. California Track: Del Mar Date: 08/17/2023 Licensee: Tiago Pereira, jockey Penalty: Three-day...

Perry Ouzts, 69, passed jockey Dave Gall with win number 7,397 after the seventh race at Belterra Park on Tuesday to become racing's fifth all-time leading rider, John Engelhardt reported. The win was especially rewarding since his mount was trained by his close friend and the track's leading trainer, Larry Smith. "To have him set that milestone on one of my runners just makes it all that much better," said Smith. After the veteran jockey left the winner's circle, he went to the jockeys quarters to change his silks for...