Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

It has always been a small farm, and nowadays they're down to no more than half a dozen mares. Some of the more strenuous duties, moreover, have lately been contracted out. After all, Alfonso Mazzetti is not as young as he was. It's been a long and winding road since he used to ride a motorcycle, aged just 11, to the racetrack in Lima where he would shoot pool with the jockeys; never mind the many years in Colorado in between. Such a long and winding road, in fact, that...

With the Del Mar Breeders' Cup officially less than two weeks away, trainer Chad Brown is continuing to oversee his string's preparations at Belmont Park, while the accomplished MGISW Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) puts in her final works for conditioner Ken McPeek upstate at Saratoga. Over the training surface in Elmont, Brown sent out two juveniles for half-mile works in 'TDN Rising Star' Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie) [:48.01] and Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) [:48.63], who are targeting the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf,...

April Vintage, a stakes-placed mare who is pregnant to Justify on Southern Hemisphere time, will be on offer by WinStar Farm in the Inglis Digital USA October Sale, taking place Tuesday, Oct. 29, the online auction company said in a press release on Friday. The 3-year-old daughter of Vino Rosso was a stakes-placed juvenile in 2023, winning a Del Mar maiden special weight, and following up with a third-place effort in the Speakeasy Stakes, both going five furlongs on the turf. After her racing career came to a close, April...

When it comes to winning Breeders' Cup races, no rider does it better than "Big Money" Mike Smith. His 27 wins leads all jockeys and is seven wins better than runner-up John Velazquez. With the Breeders' Cup quickly approaching, Smith sat down with the team at the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland and took us on a trip down memory lane. The Hall of Famer was the Guest of the Week. Of the 27 wins, is one his favorite? "It would have to be Zenyatta [in the 2009...

Marathon specialist Next (Not This Time) worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 Wednesday morning at Turfway Park and, as long as things stay on track, he will start in a Breeders' Cup race, reports trainer Doug Cowans. It was Next's first work since his 10-length romp in the Sept. 21 Greenwood Cup at Parx. "The update is that he breezed well this morning," Cowans said. "We'll see how he comes out of the work and if all goes well he'll be nominated to both the [GI Longines Breeders' Cup] Turf and...

Power Connection (Authentic) strolled home in the Manzano Stakes at Albuquerque on Saturday evening and in the process hand-delivered the first stakes winner to his freshman sire (by Into Mischief). The dark bay was sent by his New Mexico-based trainer Todd Fincher to Southern California where she was the runner-up in her debut at Los Alamitos June 30. At Del Mar, the filly was a well-beaten third Aug. 10 and finished a distant fourth Aug. 25. Shipping back to the capitol of her home state and off as the 3-2...

Breeders' Cup Limited issued a reminder that Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET is the final deadline to nominate foals born in 2024 to the Breeders' Cup program at the one-time nomination fee of $400.00, the program said via a press release Wednesday. The weanling nomination entitles each foal with lifetime eligibility to the Breeders' Cup World Championships and its racing programs. All foals sired by a fully-nominated North American Breeders' Cup stallion are eligible for nomination to the Breeders' Cup program in their year of birth at the...

The Racetrack Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) invites everyone to an evening of "Faith, Hope and Love" at the Breeders' Cup World Championships on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the non-profit said via a release on Thursday. Held in the Palio Room at Del Mar, the evening will include a meal, music, the premiere of this year's White Horse Award video, and a celebrity panel with Hall of Fame jockeys Mike Smith and Ramon Dominguez, plus racing executive Janet VanBebber and California-based rider Kyle Frey will speak. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and...

Breeders' Cup Limited has rolled out its broadcast coverage schedule, post times, and wagering menu for the Championships, which will take place on Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California, and the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic has been moved to the middle of the Saturday card, the organization said in a release on Thursday. Shown live domestically across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV, the event will featuring 14 Grade I races and more than $34 million in purses and awards. New this year,...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has moved Sunday's featured GII Miss Grillo Stakes [eighth race], a 1 1/16-mile turf test for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont at the Big A, due to significant rainfall and is now scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 6, the track said in a release early Sunday morning. The Miss Grillo offers a "Win and You're In" berth to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Nov. 1 at Del Mar. The graded race, which will be offered as an extra and redrawn, will join a...

The third annual Horse Racing Women's Summit (HRWS) presented by 1/ST and FanDuel TV returned to the West Coast where 125 gathered in Arcadia, California to attend panel discussions and engage in a variety of networking activities, the conference said in a press release on Saturday. After Wednesday's welcome reception, the group convened the next day at the Le Meridien Hotel with opening speaker Catherine Iste, Chief Administrative Officer for the Los Angeles Chargers. The first panel discussion followed, which was entitled "Peak Performance," and featured Zoe Cadman, Karen Crouse,...

Dual Grade I-winner Dornoch (Good Magic) has been on downtime at Saratoga in the weeks after finishing fourth in the GI DraftKings Travers Aug. 24. Trained by Danny Gargan, the colt is gearing up for what is expected to be his final career start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar Nov. 2 before retiring to stud at Spendthrift Farm. "He's doing good, and we gave him some time off and are just starting back," Gargan said. "He'll work three times before the Classic. He's not a horse...