Lexington

Tired of all the bad news? So were we. So, in our new series, we focus on the positive, asking people from non-horse racing families two questions: how they get hooked, and how they'll hook someone else on horse racing this year. KIARAN MCLAUGHLIN, TRAINER What was the experience that made you fall in love with horse racing? I was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, in the horse capital of the world. At that time, everyone knew someone who had something to do with the Thoroughbred industry. For me,...

Tickets for the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships will go on sale to the public Mar. 9 at 9:00 a.m. EST, the Breeders' Cup announced Tuesday. The 37th running of the Breeders' Cup will return to historic Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7. The 2020 World Championships marks the second time that the event will be held at Keeneland following its inaugural running at the venue in 2015, which was widely praised as one of the best in the event's history. On the...

January can be cold, bitter, and snowy in Lexington, but the weather was unseasonably warmer during Keeneland's Horses of All Ages sale, which made life easier for inspecting broodmares and short yearlings on the sales grounds and stallions at the nearby stud farms that power the industry here. Most of the major farms offer daily lunchtime stallion shows during sales week--the food, by the way, varies from farm to farm--but decent weather means outdoor showings and greater flows of traffic, which add some conviviality absent from the proceedings when shows...

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 542 entries for the main catalogue of its Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale, which takes place Feb. 10 and 11. The catalog may now be viewed online. Sessions will begin each day at 10 am. Hips 1-324 will be offered during Monday's session and Hips 325-542 will be on offer the following day. The sale also feature a supplemental catalogue, which will be offered following Tuesday's session. Fasig-Tipton will continue to accept supplemental entries through the end of January. "The year's main catalogue is twenty-six percent larger, and...

The popular Keeneland Library Series, which features new works about Thoroughbred racing, will kick off 2020 with two programs that go beyond highlighting traditional nonfiction material when Robin Traywick Williams discusses her award-winning novel, "The Key to the Quarter Pole," Tuesday, Jan. 21, and the documentary film "Born to Rein" is shown Tuesday, Feb. 4. "Our Lecture Series continues to showcase the culminating work of researchers who have tapped into the Keeneland Library's resources to generate new contributions to the industry record," Head Librarian Roda Ferraro said. "We are pleased...

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale's second session was punctuated by a series of high-profile supplemental offerings, with multiple Grade I-placed Enaya Alrabb (Uncle Mo) (hip 795D) attracting the day's highest price when selling for $640,000 Tuesday in Lexington. The 4-year-old mare, consigned by Paramount Sales, was purchased by bloodstock agent Jim Schenck. Three of Tuesday's four top offerings were supplemental entries. "I thought today's session ended very well," said Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell. "I think...

By Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY - The five-day Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale opened with a workmanlike session Monday in Lexington, with Applauding (Congrats), a mare originally led out unsold, ultimately bringing the day's highest price of $360,000. The session topper (hip 135) was consigned by Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency and was purchased by Hunter Valley Farm. Tami Bobo's First Finds purchased the day's top-priced short yearling, going to $310,000 for a son of Quality Road (hip 242) from the Denali Stud consignment. "It...

Keeneland kicks off the 2020 sales season with a five-day renewal of its January Horses of All Ages Sale in Lexington Monday, with bidding slated to begin at 10 a.m. Temperatures are expected to be unseasonably warm during sales week and Keeneland officials hope the action inside the pavilion matches the weather outside. "There haven't been a significant number of external changes," Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston said of his expectations for the January sale. "The economy is still solid, purses continue to rise domestically, the...

Alex Solis II has been named the Director of Bloodstock at Gainesway Farm, the farm announced this morning via press release. According to the press release, over the past 10 years, his partnership with Jason Litt at Solis/Litt Bloodstock has advised the purchase of 11 Grade I winners, and 46 Graded stakes horses. In 2019, Solis/Litt's success included the 2019 Kentucky Derby winner Country House and Breeders' Cup-winning sprinter Covfefe. Past selections include champion Shared Belief and dual Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Mizdirection. "It is an honor to be offered...

As the TDN Rising Star Amalfi Sunrise drew off for an easy six-length success in the GII Sorrento S., I was reminded of a commission I received in the fall of 2015. With the Breeders' Cup bandwagon due to roll into Lexington and Keeneland, WinStar wanted to promote its extensive team of stallions. I was asked to write 250-word summaries for each of them, including three which were scheduled to be added to the roster in 2016. Strangely, those three--Constitution, Commissioner and Daredevil--were respectively responsible for Amalfi Sunrise, Powerfulattraction and...