Conrad Bandoroff

Thoroughbred nurseries are a place of new beginnings. Each spring the trees begin to bud, the grass becomes green again, and the next crop of foals arrive. Denali Stud has participated in this tradition for over three decades and has raised hundreds of future racehorses on its rolling acres, from the foals of Hall of Famer Serena's Song (Rahy) to 2011 GI Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}). Last year, Denali Stud was the location of a different sort of new beginning as the site of the wedding of...

Michael Baum was an artist. The graded stakes-winning owner-breeder who passed in September was, by profession, a landscape architect, but he also deeply appreciated the beauty and genetic composition of Thoroughbreds, which he bred and raised on his Man O'War Farm in Lexington. One of Baum's most prized possessions, the 6-year-old mare Bye Bye Baby (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (hip 268), will go through the ring in foal to Tapit as part of a high-quality three-horse addition to the Fasig-Tipton November Sale on Nov. 9 as part of the Denali Stud...

LEXINGTON, KY--The Keeneland September Yearling Sale starts its 11-day run Monday with the first of two Book 1 sessions, beginning at 1 p.m. The five-book catalogue offers a total of 4,032 yearlings by a variety of stallions, such as Triple Crown heroes American Pharoah and Justify; the red-hot Into Mischief; perennial leading sire Tapit; stalwarts like Medaglia d'Oro, War Front and Candy Ride (Arg); and top freshman sire Gun Runner. "I think when you get this volume of horses and there are a lot of really nice horses, there is...

An offering of 24 broodmares, weanlings and horses in training from Josephine Abercrombie's Pin Oak Stud will be on offer through the Denali Stud consignment at Fasig-Tipton Sunday evening, with bidding slated to begin at 6 p.m. "This sale provides people with an opportunity to access these wonderful families that have been cultivated and expertly maintained through Mrs. Abercrombie and Clifford Barry," said Denali's Conrad Bandoroff. "You look through the catalogue, you have a lot of mares from good Pin Oak families and one of the main common denominators is...

The daily number of U.S. deaths from the COVID-19 virus neared 1,000 per day last week, the highest level the country has seen since February. The seven-day moving average of COVID-19 cases reported by the CDC, is at 149,263, and continues to rise. There are currently four variants circulating in the United States; Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma, with Delta making up over 99% of all cases. It seems like every day, someone we know in racing has contracted COVID, from trainer Todd Pletcher to the TDN's own Christina Bossinakis,...

By Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis The 100th anniversary of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale, delayed a year due to the global pandemic, kicked off with a lively session of trade at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Monday evening. "It was a very solid opening session of the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "It was certainly a very healthy market. It was very similar and reminiscent of the 2019 marketplace. Overall, we are off to a very good start." A colt by Uncle Mo brought...

If anyone sees Conrad Bandoroff on the Churchill Downs backside Friday morning, be sure to check in on him. With the possibility of a Denali-consigned exacta in the GI Kentucky Oaks, the farm's vice president said the flutter of butterflies in his stomach will probably have doubled in size by the dawning of Oaks Day. "During the lead up throughout the week, there's always so much going on that you can kind of keep yourself distracted," he said. "I imagine that Thursday night, that's when it might start to set...

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, propelled by a pair of power-packed dispersals and held in the shadow of the ongoing global pandemic, concluded its four-day run Thursday in Lexington. The dispersal of the Estate of the late Paul Pompa, Jr., which, along with the Sam-Son broodmare dispersal dominated much of Tuesday's action, provided the auction with one last round of fireworks late in the day Thursday with a bevy of high-priced racehorse prospects. Leading the way was Carillo (Union Rags) (hip...

Felicita (More Than Ready), an unraced 4-year-old half-sister to Grade I-winning juvenile and Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief), topped Tuesday's Keeneland December Digital Sale when hammering for $250,000 to Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stables. The auction, Keeneland's third foray into the nascent online sale marketplace after its June Online Select Horses of Racing Age Sale and October Digital Sale, was seen by leading consignors as a clear improvement while still having kinks that need ironing out as the sector evolves. The one-day sale grossed $508,000 for 15 lots, for an average of...

There really is something about horses; it seems to be simply impossible to fall out of love with them. Craig Bandoroff tried once. Devastated after losing the use of his right arm in a horrific fall at Garden State Park in New Jersey in 1974 less than a year into a promising career as a jockey, Bandoroff decided he was done with the animals. He refocused his attention and enrolled at the University of Virginia-where he met, naturally, a professor that had horses. "I think, initially, I had the mindset...

After 30 years at the helm of their Denali Stud, Craig and Holly Bandoroff are--if not stepping aside--at least taking a step or two in that direction. But the operation is safe in the capable hands of their son, Conrad. Kelsey Riley reports.

TDN Intern Katie Ritz polled a series of industry members to see if they had found anything good that has come out of the current crisis. Their responses will appear every day in the TDN. To submit your own, email suefinley@thetdn.com Amidst all of the craziness and uncertainty facing the world and our industry, there have been two things that have particularly given me solace and comfort during these hard times. I begin each day walking down to our foaling barn and seeing the new foals, if any, from the night...