Daily Racing Form

Dan Illman has been named Director of Communications of the new Maryland Jockey Club. Previously a writer, correspondent, analyst and handicapper at Daily Racing Form, Illman will lead the organization's media relations department when the new TMJC, a non-profit entity under the auspices of the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority, assumes control of Maryland's day-to-day racing operations Jan. 1. "We are incredibly pleased to welcome Dan to the team at the new TMJC," said President and General Manager Bill Knauf. "He is a proven leader in the field of communications...

Dr. Alan Ruggles--a partner at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital who specializes in orthopedic surgery and lameness--made a presentation on condylar fractures, a common injury in racehorses, during the final installment of the 2024 OwnerView webinar series which was held Dec. 10, the resource said in a press release on Friday morning. With a PowerPoint presentation, Dr. Ruggles covered how the injury occurs and its treatment through surgery. He also discussed bone bruising and the advantages of different diagnostic tools. The presentation was followed by a video showing the specialist...

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN will be reaching out to numerous notable people in the industry to get their stories to find out how they got hooked and stayed hooked on the sport. Dr. Barry Eisaman, Eisaman Equine I've been in the horse world my entire life. So, I think it started just with horses and a love for them in general. That quickly transferred to love of horse racing because in my...

Maria Borell, known for training Eclipse Champion Sprinter Runhappy (Super Saver) in the lead up to his win the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, has been issued a trainer's license in the state of California. The Daily Racing Form first reported the news Friday. In 2016, Borell and her father, Charles, were charged in Kentucky with 43 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. The charges against her were dropped last year and the DRF noted that Borell plans to train for several clients in California. According to CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten, Borell...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--In early June, while I was working on a story about the GI Met Mile for the TDN, one question led me to another. First: What year did two-time Met Mile winner Gulch go into the Hall of Fame? Second: How could Gulch, who won seven Grade I races, finished in the top three in 25 of 32 career starts and earned over $3 million in the 1980s not be in the Hall of Fame? "Yeah. You've got it. You're right," breeder-owner Peter Brant said. "They don't always...

The 54th Annual Eclipse Awards, honoring Thoroughbred racing's human and equine champions of 2024, will return to the Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Jan. 23, 2025 according to an announcement Thursday by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. The Awards will be held two days before Gulfstream Park hosts the GI Pegasus World Cup. "We are thrilled to be returning to the Breakers Palm Beach for our third year in a row," said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney....

Champion 3-year-old filly and MGISW Nest (Curlin--Marion Ravenwood, by A.P. Indy) has been retired from racing her owner Mike Repole told the Daily Racing Form on Wednesday. The owner who bought out his partners on Nest--Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House--for $6 million last fall at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale intended to race Nest this year. After three workouts at Stonestreet Farm in Ocala, Florida, she was set to ship to trainer Todd Pletcher's string at Saratoga, but a diagnostic exam was performed and showed "a slight abnormality in her...

Daily Racing Form (DRF) writer Dan Illman has been named recipient of the 2024 Old Hilltop Award for covering Thoroughbred racing with excellence and distinction and will be honored May 16 at Pimlico's Alibi Breakfast in the buildup to the GI Preakness S. "I am very honored to receive the Old Hilltop Award from the Maryland Jockey Club," said Illman, who also serves as executive producer for DRF's video productions. "I fell in love with racing the first time I went to Belmont Park as a child, snuck the Daily...

For me personally, what a weird coincidence that earlier this week, TDN published a wonderful essay by its columnist Chris McGrath, who spent time with three of the industry's "elder statesman," among them Ercel Ellis. For it was Ellis who, 40 years ago this coming week, made a decision that altered the course of my life. McGrath obviously had a wonderful time at Lil's Coffee House in Paris, Ky., listening to the yarns spun by Ellis, now 92, renowned veterinarian Bob Copelan (97), and the youngster of the trio, Stone...

Roberts Communications Network, LLC (RCN) has acquired OGN Racing, LLC, and OGN Racing--Canada ULC, which will greatly expand the network's racing information kiosk business and bring innovation to the industry, the distributor said in a Wednesday release. OGN Racing has more than 100 program printing kiosks deployed across the United States and Canada, which RCN intends to replace with its state-of-the-art newly designed kiosk featuring added functionality and enhancements. "We see a great opportunity to significantly improve this aspect of the racing industry," said RCN President & CEO Todd Roberts....

The Thoroughbred Daily News was among six 2023 Media Eclipse Award winners Friday when the awards were announced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. The 2023 Media Eclipse Award winners are as follows: Multimedia - TDN Writers' Room Podcast - "Wade and Carson Jost," Sept. 20, 2023; Thoroughbred Daily News Gulf War veteran Wade Jost and his son, Carson, joined TDN Writers' Room podcast hosts Bill Finley, Randy Moss, and Zoe Cadman on Sept. 23 for an in-depth and emotional...

Keeneland has cataloged 277 horses to the November Horses of Racing Age Sale, set to be held on Nov. 17, the day after the conclusion of the November Breeding Stock Sale, the auction company announced on Tuesday. The catalog features Daily Racing Form and Equibase past performances along with Thoro-graph and Ragozin sheets, race replays and more. The single-session sale consists of 66 2-year-olds, 126 3-year-olds and 85 older horses by top stallions such as Arrogate, Candy Ride (ARG), Constitution, Curlin, Good Magic, Gun Runner, Into Mischief, Justify, Munnings, Not...