Bill Badgett

In an effort to further enhance the 2-year-old program in the state of Florida, 1/ST RACING, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA), Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (FTHA) have announced that $1.75 million in Florida-bred racing incentives will be offered at Gulfstream Park in 2023. The renewed Florida-Bred Incentive Fund (FBIF) will pay out a total of $450,000 in bonus money to 2-year-old maiden winners. The FBIF program offers Florida-bred two-year-old open maiden winners a minimum bonus of $2,500 for maiden-claiming races and up to $10,000 for a Florida-bred...

Ed Mackie, a much respected and admired presence in Florida racing for 50 years, died suddenly Wednesday evening. He was 75. Mackie was Gulfstream's director of mutuels since 2002, but before that had served in similar roles at Hialeah Park and Biscayne Dog Track. Mackie was also director of mutuels at Calder Race Course, Tropical Park and Gulfstream Park West since 2003. Before working in pari-mutuels, Mackie was a champion amateur jai alai player. Mackie was admired by those he worked with as well as horsemen for his knowledge, his...

A new era at Gulfstream Park is set to begin Sept. 23 when the track will hold its first ever races on a Tapeta synthetic surface. Including two substitute races, there are three races in the condition book scheduled for that day on Tapeta along with three grass races that will instead be run on the synthetic surface. The Gulfstream grass course will be given a break after the card of Sept. 19 and will not be used again until the Championship meet begins. Once that happens, Gulfstream will be...

When Gulfstream kicks off its Championship Meet on Dec. 2, fans will be welcomed back to the South Florida track. Bill Badgett, the executive director of Florida racing operations for The Stronach Group, said the current plan is to allow fans to attend, with a limit of 50% of the track's capacity. He said that would allow as many as 6,000 or 7,000 fans to attend races like the GI Pegasus World Cup and the GI Florida Derby. "It will be great to see people down on the rail watching...

Saturday's opening day at the meet rebranded as Gulfstream Park West will truly mark the beginning of an end. Barring an 11th hour reprieve from the courts, the 40-day season will be the last ever run at Calder Race Course, the meat-and-potatoes South Florida track that has been operating since 1971. Since 2014, the racing operation has been leased by Calder's owner, Churchill Downs Inc., to Gulfstream Park's owners, The Stronach Group, which renamed the track Gulfstream Park West. That lease expires at the end of the year and TSG...

The next chapter in the saga of Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis will begin Thursday at Gulfstream Park when the first of more than 100 horses that had been under the care of the two trainers before they were indicted will start for their new barns. Now trained by Mike Maker, Admiral Lynch (Super Saver) has been entered in Thursday's ninth race. The 4-year-old had been trained by Servis. On Thursday, Todd Pletcher will send out two horses that had previously been trained by Navarro. Three days after Navarro and...

Robert O'Neill, The Stronach Group's (TSG) director of equine health and safety since 2014, has resigned from the position, according to Bill Badgett, TSG's executive director of Florida Racing Operations, who said that O'Neill sent a letter of resignation to the state four or five days ago. "He has some medical issues going on right now that are pretty serious that he has to take care of," said Badgett. O'Neill's resignation coincides with a recent video that has surfaced on social media of O'Neill engaging in a verbal altercation with...

The terms 'best' and 'favorite' are typically two subjective concepts when it comes the Thoroughbred racehorse. The TDN's Gary King reached out to key players from different facets of the industry to hear their thoughts. Email Gary King (garyking@thetdn.com) to have your say. I was a terrible hotwalker. In fairness, I didn't grow up around horses; I grew up going to the track. And by the time I got my first full-time job in racing in the NYRA press box, I had seen enough people get thrown, trampled and seriously...