Horse Racing

It isn't that they weren't expected to perform--each was sent away at 1-10 favouritism--but reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and new sprint sensation Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) gave the Sha Tin faithful and a broader audience worldwide exactly what they wanted at Sunday's Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting. Romantic Warrior, purchased by Mick Kinane for 300,000gns at the 2019 Tattersalls October Sale as a prospect for the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Hong Kong International Sale, took out the G1 Longines...

Entering Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase, the first of the four Group 1 events at the Longines Hong Kong International Races, trainer Marco Botti and jockey Oisin Murphy were a combined naught for 10 at the meeting, but the 5-year-old stayer GIAVELLOTTO (IRE) (h, 5, Mastercraftsman {Ire}--Gerika {Fr}, by Galileo {Ire}) overcame some trouble turning in, weaved his way between horses inside the final furlong and streaked clear to take the 2400-metre contest. Settled behind midfield and saving ground as Japan's Pradaria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) galloped them along...

Noted Kentucky horseman Craig Bandoroff will receive the Uphill Push Award and speak at the 10th annual fundraiser for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) to be held at Gulfstream Park Jan. 11th, according to a press release from the Jockeys and Jeans organization. Each year the award is given to the person who provides the most meaningful help to the 60 jockeys who suffered career-ending injuries. In December of 1974, Bandoroff was the leading apprentice jockey at Monmouth Park and Garden State Park. In a race his mount bolted...

Making just his second start of the season, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner) made up for lost time with a powerful performance against older horses in a loaded renewal of Saturday's GII Cigar Mile Handicap at the Big A. It was 1 1/2 lengths back to GI Forego Stakes winner and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint third Mullikin (Violence) in second. The overachieving Maryland-bred Post Time (Frosted), runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, rallied from the back for third. One of the...

3rd-LRC, $39K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1m, 4:30 p.m. ET. The gone-too-soon Arrogate had a total of 325 foals of racing age, and in the current year his runners have made 800 starts and delivered 146 wins (18%). As a sire, the champion only had the chance to claim three crops and the last of them are now finishing up their 3-year-old season. At Los Alamitos on Sunday, TAIF is set for his unveiling under Arrogate trainer Bob Baffert. A purchase by Zedan Racing for $1.45 million at the 2023 OBS April...

Donut God (Into Mischief) tasted sweet success with his first victory at the stakes level in the Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Last seen getting his picture taken on unveiling Nov. 14 at Churchill Downs over a sloppy main track, it was much drier for this Listed debut as the 4-5 favorite. Sprinting out to a clear lead after the break, he posted :22.54 and a half in :45.12 largely unchallenged. Working with a clear advantage entering the lane, he had enough left to hold off Naughty Rascal (Rogueish)....

Shadwell Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Muhimma (Munnings), a jaw-dropping winner of her first two career starts sprinting at Churchill Downs, remained unbeaten in front-running fashion while making her two-turn debut in Saturday's GII Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct. The win, good for 10 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks, provided Coolmore stallion Munnings with a sweep of the juvenile graded stakes races at the Big A following Poster (Munnings)'s success in the GII Remsen Stakes contested one race earlier on the program. Muhimma stopped the clock for 1...

After upsetting last weekend's GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs with First Resort (Uncle Mo), Godolphin and trainer Eoin Harty doubled up in dramatic fashion with fellow 2-year-old homebred Poster (Munnings) in Saturday's GII Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct. The victory, good for 10 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby, also provided jockey Flavien Prat with his record-setting 80th stakes win of the season and his 55th graded stakes win of the year, tying Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey. Making his dirt and stakes debut after...

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN reached 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. Rocco Landesman, Broadway Producer and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts I've always been an excitement junkie. I love the risk, love the adrenaline you get from that. I've had a career in the Broadway Theater and there's nothing...

The Saturday graded stakes action across North America offers several options, but the Big A earns the spotlight as the venerable NYRA track plays host to some strong races. Even though the Cigar Mile Handicap was downgraded a tick from its top level status by the American Graded Stakes Committee in 2023, connections still consider the race to possess a certain cache and the rigor in this year's edition is evident. "It [Cigar Mile] came up pretty salty," said Book'em Danno's trainer Derek Ryan. "It is a Grade II now...

Rodney Jenkins, who made the switch to training Thoroughbreds after a Hall of Fame show career, passed away the evening of Dec. 5 at the age of 80. A native of Middleburgh, Virginia, Jenkins was the son of the famous horseman and huntsman Enis Jenkins and dominated the show ring in this country in parts of three decades, retiring in 1989 as the winningest rider in the history of the sport. Jenkins won a pair of silver medals at the 1987 Pan American games as a member of the U.S....

Wagering on U.S. races was higher, and both available and paid purses saw increases when compared to a year ago in November, while the number of race days and races themselves saw an uptick during the month, according to information released by Equibase on Friday. Total wagering of $921,122,693 on races during the month represented a 1.18% increase over the same period from 2023, while available purses of almost $128 million were up by 3.93%. The figure of over $121 million for paid purses in November was up 3.94%. As...