Jockey Club

Effective June 5, Amber Florence was named vice president of finance and administration for The Jockey Club, the organization said in a release Thursday. "I am excited to be back in the Thoroughbred industry and look forward to working with The Jockey Club and its diverse group of companies, charities, and initiatives," Florence said. Prior to joining The Jockey Club, Florence served as the vice president of Corporate Accounting for MiddleGround Capital, where she led the finance operations of the private equity firm's management company. Florence's experience before MiddleGround was...

After the TDN published two opinion pieces which recommended a return to synthetic surfaces, one by Earle Mack in the May 31 TDN and one by Bill Finley in this Monday's TDN, we have been inundated by comments, questions, and opinions about the relative safety of one surface versus another. Some of the questions asked for a year-by-year comparison, while other comments cited statistics that were not correct. Courtesy of The Jockey Club's Equine Injury database, here are the figures of racing fatalities per thousand starters, year by year for...

Two pieces of federal legislation to incentivize investments in Thoroughbreds were reintroduced Apr. 27 by United States Reps. Andy Barr and Morgan McGarvey, both of Kentucky. The Race Horse Cost Recovery Act of 2023 would make the three-year depreciation schedule permanent for racehorses, regardless of their age when put into service. Currently, Congress must reauthorize this provision in the tax law on an annual basis. The Racehorse Tax Parity Act would reduce the holding period for equine assets to be considered long term capital gains, putting them on a level...

The rate of fatal injuries in 2022 was 1.25 horses per 1,000 starts, a 10.1% decrease from 2021 when there were 1.39 fatalities per 1,000 starts according to figures compiled by the Equine Injury Database (EID) and released Monday by The Jockey Club (TJC). It was the lowest number since the EID began covering the fatality rate in 2009, when the figure was 2.00 horses per 1,000 starts. "The data shows that since 2009, the risk of fatal injury during racing has declined by 37.5%, which is statistically significant," said...

According to figures released Thursday by Equibase, a robust $1,309,837,841 in purse money was paid out during the year in the U.S., an increase of 10.92% and an all-time record for the sport. Total handle on U.S. racing in 2022 was $12,108,807,335, a decrease of 0.87% when compared to 2021 numbers. The total bet in 2021 was $12,215,598,838. "Thoroughbred racing purses and pari-mutuel handle continued to exhibit strength in 2022," NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney said in a statement. "Purses were up double-digits year-over year and reached an all-time...

Samantha Randazzo has been named The Jockey Club steward for the New York Racing Association. She takes the place of Dr. Jennifer Durenberger who was appointed as the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Equine Safety & Welfare Director. The appointment was announced by Stuart S. Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club. "We are pleased for Dr. Durenberger in her new role with HISA," Janney said. "Samantha's experience as a steward at Finger Lakes and her many years working in the racing industry make her the ideal person to...

Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson, two of the most successful trainers in Cheltenham Festival history, have backed the decision to keep the meeting to four days.  The success of the Festival has led to growing speculation in recent years that the showpiece meeting of the National Hunt season would be extended to five days and Henderson was one of the main supporters of that idea initially. However, the man who has lit up Cheltenham with three-time Champion Hurdle winner See You Then, Gold Cup winners Long Run and Bobs Worth,...

The Jockey Club has elected six new members: Len Coleman, who served alongside Dr. Nancy Cox as co-chair of the blue-ribbon nominating committee that was formed to select members of the board of directors and standing committees of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA); Dr. Nancy Cox, in addition to her aforementioned role, Cox is the vice president for Land Grant Engagement and the dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky (UK). Also elected were Marc Holliday, who was elected chairman of...

Rio Ferdinand has linked up with the Jockey Club through his youth charity, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, and described racing as having a lot to offer "as a career path and a sport". The former Manchester United and England defender will aim to help young people from some of the UK's most disadvantaged communities learn more about the sport as a pastime and an industry that they can work in. Initially educating groups of 16 to 24 year olds about the sport through visits, open days and a number of...

The International Thoroughbred Breeders' Federation bi-annual Conference, hosted by the ITBF and the British Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, will take place at Newmarket June 6-10. Last held in Lexington in 2018, the conference, which was slated to be held in Paris in 2020, was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 70 delegates from 23 countries across six continents are expected to attend. The programme of events takes place over a week and offers members an opportunity to network with other nations as well as raise breeding and wider Thoroughbred industry...

Earle Mack, a former U.S. Ambassador, owner, breeder and founder of the Man O' War Project will be awarded the Eclipse Award of Merit in recognition for a lifetime of outstanding achievement at the 51st Eclipse Awards at Santa Anita Park on February 10. The announcement was made by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters (NTWAB). Over the course of his life, the press release reads, "the honorable Earle I. Mack, who has burnished a remarkable career serving his country...

Over 35,000 Thoroughbreds have now been digitally tattooed, Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB) announced Thursday. The digital tattoo is an electronic authentication confirming the identity of a horse by a trained TRPB technician. "Every racing 2-year-old, every 3-year-old and a significant share of 4- year-olds have digital tattoos and by the end of 2021, we estimate that 75% of Thoroughbreds will enter the racetrack paddock with a digital tattoo," said J. Curtis Linnell, executive vice president, TRPB. "We have 56 TRPB Technicians under contract throughout the United States and Canada...