Jimmy Bell

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) Board of Directors elected Jeffrey Bloom as president for the 2022 term and elected new board members at its meeting Jan. 28. Bloom, managing partner of Bloom Racing Stable, has served as a TAA board member since 2019. A Thoroughbred industry veteran of 40 years, he was a professional jockey in addition to serving as a racing manager, bloodstock agent, marketing and media relations consultant, and broadcaster. Following his riding career, he earned a B.S. degree in Financial Services from San Diego State University and...

Famed (Uncle Mo), likely best known as champion Essential Quality (Tapit)'s younger half-sister, began to make her own reputation with a 'TDN Rising Star' graduation at Keeneland in October and the Godolphin homebred could take another step towards living up to her name when she goes postward in the GII Golden Rod S. at Churchill Downs Saturday. Always well thought of by Sheikh Mohammed's operation, Famed's career nonetheless started with a defeat. The Brad Cox trainee was in the mix early as the 4-5 favorite in the six-furlong affair at...

Urban parks are well-loved destinations in America's most developed and highly-populated cities. Of course Central Park is the first that comes to mind, as well as perhaps Lincoln Park in Chicago or Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. These beautifully-designed pieces of landscape architecture serve as gathering places for the city's community and are often stopping points for those visiting a bustling metropolis. In a few years Lexington, Kentucky--with a population of less than 400,000--will get a state-of-the-art park of its own in the heart of downtown. Ground is set...

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has awarded accreditation to 29 Thoroughbred aftercare organizations, it was announced Thursday. The 29 organizations include 25 previously accredited organizations and four that received accreditation for the first time. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the only accrediting body in Thoroughbred aftercare, now has a network of 82 organizations with approximately 180 facilities in North America. "Congratulations to the 29 organizations who earned their Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accreditation. Receiving that stamp of approval is a true testament to an organization's dedication to providing the best care possible for...

Jimmy Bell, president and racing manager for Godolphin's U.S. division, will retire from his day-to-day involvement with the operation by the end of the year, according to a release from the operation. "Jimmy Bell is the bedrock that Godolphin USA is built upon," said Dan Pride, Chief Operating Officer of Godolphin, USA. "His history with Jonabell is well known and he has faithfully served 20 years molding us into what we are today. He is a friend to many of us and always an example of how to live your...

A series of events will highlight the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) Aug. 7-8 at Saratoga Race Course, according to The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA). On Saturday, the non-profit organization will be featured at the NYRA Community Booth, where fans will be able to learn about the organization's mission, and to make a donation in exchange for a Remi Bellocq cartoon t-shirt and a variety of racing items like saddle towels and goggles. Fans can also make a donation to the TAA throughout the Saratoga meet when cashing a...

LOUISVILLE, KY - Two years ago, Brad Cox got the phone call that every trainer wants to receive. "I got a call one day from Jimmy Bell and he said that he'd like to meet me at Churchill one morning," Cox said of his initial conversation with the Godolphin USA president. "It was an honor to get a call like that. We met in my office and he said that they'd like to send us some 2-year-olds. You knew there were gonna be runners in that group and that they'd...

LOUISVILLE, KY - With the first Saturday in May quickly approaching, TDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack caught up with the connections of leading GI Kentucky Derby contenders to get some of their 'Early Impressions.' In this edition, we check in with: Godolphin USA President Jimmy Bell and Winter Quarter Farm Owner/General Manager Don Robinson. Unbeaten 2-year-old champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit) heads to the Kentucky Derby as the one to beat. The Godolphin homebred's unblemished five-for-five record is highlighted by wins in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile,...

Godolphin has been riding a high since annexing last weekend's GI Dubai World Cup with homebred Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) and the operation looks to assert its dominance in the sophomore division Saturday with a pair of TDN Rising Stars, defending juvenile champion Essential Quality (Tapit), slated to run in Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and Aqueduct's GII Wood Memorial contender Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro). Essential Quality earned his Rising Star status courtesy of a four-length victory sprinting six panels at Churchill Downs last September before handling his step up to...

Godolphin's Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro), who followed a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy debut going seven furlongs at Gulfstream Jan. 23 with a one-mile allowance tally in Hallandale last Thursday, could make his next start in a GI Kentucky Derby prep, with the Apr. 3 GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland the same day, and the Apr. 10 GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park all in play. "His maiden win told us something, his allowance win told us even more and his next race will decide where...

Now that's a key race. Subsequent runaway Smarty Jones S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Caddo River (Hard Spun) and authoritative GIII Holy Bull S. hero Greatest Honour (Tapit) were both defeated in second and third, respectively, in a salty, seven-furlong maiden special weight at Belmont Park last fall Oct. 11 (video). But what happened to the impressive winner that day, the highly regarded Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner (Street Sense--Tyburn Brook, by Bernardini)? "After a minor setback, he is back jogging and hacking at Payson Park with Bill Mott," Godolphin...

Keeneland announced that Central Kentucky horseman and bloodstock adviser Gatewood Bell has been named Vice President of Racing at the Lexington oval and will assume duties later this month. Bell in 2011 founded Cromwell Bloodstock, a full-service bloodstock agency and consulting firm named after a company owned by his grandfather, John A. Bell, and has served as its president for the past decade. Bell, under the Cromwell Bloodstock and Hat Creek Racing banners, purchased several significant runners, including Grade I/Group 1 winners Undrafted, Hootenanny, Mastery and Con Te Partiro. Bell...