Bill Finley

For parts of 2017 and 2018, Bob Haynes couldn't have been doing worse. He was in his mid-sixties and heart problems had left him struggling to deal with everyday life. He had no energy and spent his days lying in bed. Today, that dark period in his life is just a memory. He has recovered mentally and physically and is optimistic about his future. He owes his turn of fortune to the doctors who performed open heart surgery on him and to those who worked with him during a four-month...

Zenyatta is still looking for her first win as a broodmare but that may soon change. Trainer John Shirreffs reports that her third foal to make it to the racetrack, Zellda (Medaglia d'Oro), has impressed him so far and appears to have a bright future. "We're really excited about Zellda," Shirreffs said. "She looks really good. She is on the smaller side but she has a really big stride and she's really into it. Some horses just gallop around and they just aren't into it. She is really into it....

This week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast, Joe Bianca, Brian DiDonato and Bill Finley welcome Jon Green from DJ Stables to the TDN studios. Green co-authors the TDN's popular tax column, Proven Strategies, with his father Len Green as part of the accounting firm The Green Group. Their stable will send out A Thread of Blue (Hard Spun) in this weekend's $1-million Jockey Club Derby Invitational at Belmont. Green also provides the team with an update on their Eclipse Champion Jaywalk (Cross Traffic). The quartet discusses the Grade I...

In this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast, Joe Bianca, Brian DiDonato and Bill Finley welcome Jon Green from DJ Stables. Green co-authors the TDN's popular tax column, Proven Strategies, with his father Len Green as part of the accounting firm The Green Group. Their stable will send out A Thread of Blue in this weekend's $1 million Jockey Club Derby at Belmont. The quartet discusses the Saratoga and Del Mar meets, TDN Rising Stars, how the first-crop sires are faring, and the upcoming Keeneland September Sales.

Two trainers seemed to have lost their minds Saturday at Saratoga. The result? Two graded stakes wins. In an era in racing where trainers can't space the races for their horses far enough apart, Mark Casse was setting himself up to look foolish when he dropped Got Stormy (Get Stormy) into the entry box for the GI Fourstardave H. It wasn't just that he was running a filly against boys, he was running her back off one week's rest. Seven days earlier, she had romped in the Fasig-Tipton De La...

When it comes to synthetic racing surfaces, Michael Dickinson is obviously biased. He is the inventor of Tapeta Footings, now recognized as the leading synthetic surface manufacturer in North America, if not the world. If several American racetracks were to do away with dirt racing and replace it with synthetic tracks, Dickinson would stand to make a lot of money. Yet, that doesn't mean that Dickinson, who now operates Tapeta Footings with his wife Joan Wakefield, does not have the statistics to back up how safe his tracks are when...