Light Up Racing

Just Steel (Justify), who sustained a condylar fracture of his right front fetlock during Saturday's GI Preakness S., has had successful surgery at the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, according to a post from Light Up Racing on X yesterday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Larry Bramlage, who appeared in a video on the post. "We're here with Just Steel this morning; this is the morning after his surgery," said Bramlage, in the video shot Wednesday. "He's doing really well. He has a somewhat unusual fracture...

FanDuel TV racing personality Christina Blacker will host a webinar for Light Up Racing (LUR) members Tuesday, May 14, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. During the 1 1/2-hour session, entitled 'This Derby, what horse racing questions did you struggle to answer?' a panel of industry experts including Blacker, Dr. Jeff Berk, Dr. Jeff Blea and Dr. Scott Hay, will address and help participants navigate questions most frequently asked by outsiders surrounding this year's Kentucky Derby. To sign up for Light Up Racing, click here. Existing members may join by...

Light Up Racing, an initiative launched to highlight positive news in the racing industry, will join with Ocala Breeders' Sales Company for a presentation by Vicky Leonard. Leonard, whose own Australian thoroughbred marketing agency Kick Collective inspired Light Up Racing, will present tactics on how to answer difficult questions from those outside the industry along with transforming negative opinions into positive messaging. The event will be held Sunday, May 5 from 5-7 p.m. on the second floor of the ITW Building on the OBS grounds. "We are excited to bring...

Light Up Racing, an industry collective which seeks to counter negative reporting and perceptions about horse racing, issued the following statement Saturday about the Hulu/FX/New York Times documentary "Broken Horses," which debuted Friday. The statement is printed in its entirety.  "The recent FX documentary 'Broken Horses' has cast a spotlight on the historical issues and implications of illegal doping in horse racing. The presentation attempts to address significant challenges within the industry, particularly focusing on the critical issue of racehorses sustaining life-ending injuries and the urgent need for reforms to...

On April 22-23 Light Up Racing will launch its Media & Content Cohort Training Program in Lexington, Kentucky, which aims to improve the narrative of horse racing and empower changemakers by teaching skills to better promote the sport, the organization said in a release Friday. Light Up Racing is assembling approximately 20 individuals from every aspect of the horse racing industry, across all demographics, united by their passion for positive change over two days of training. "Our goal is to empower each participant with the confidence to share their stories...

Racing analyst and reporter Christina Blacker has joined the board of directors of Light Up Racing, an organization formed to enhance the public perception of the Thoroughbred industry. "I am grateful to be a part of Light Up Racing's mission," Blacker said. "It is one that is very close to my heart and one I've put a lot of time and effort into over the years. Horse racing is a beautiful sport filled with equally beautiful, deeply caring and hard-working individuals, but is not actually what we, as a collective,...

If the crowd at Light Up Racing's first community event in Lexington, held Feb. 26 at Fasig-Tipton, was any indication of the support behind the industry's new grassroots initiative, the number of attendees at their second event held Tuesday, Mar. 5 at Keeneland only solidified that. Over 300 people, spanning across all aspects of the Thoroughbred industry, gathered in Keeneland's Limestone Café to learn about how their own voices and platforms can be used to collectively transform negative opinions about racing into positive messaging through accurate information, transparency, authenticity and...

by Brian Malloy The initial public forum for Light Up Racing at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington Monday night kicked off the most encouraging effort I've seen in my 44 years in horse racing. Vicky Leonard, the Kiwi PR pro who spearheaded a similar effort in Australia after a spate of tragic accidents in the Melbourne Cup, cogently outlined this grass roots campaign to a packed house and was greeted with thunderous applause. I taught the capstone course in public relations for several years at the University of Kentucky with a systems...

LEXINGTON, KY--It was standing room only for the inaugural community event in Lexington for Light Up Racing, the initiative launched last year with the goal of empowering the racing industry by providing consistent, transparent information and research. Held Monday, Feb. 26 at Fasig-Tipton, the event drew over 200 industry members who gathered to learn about how Light Up Racing was founded and what it has already accomplished around different parts of the globe, what the organization aims to achieve in the U.S. going forward, and how individuals can play a...

Light Up Racing, the initiative launched late last year, will host two community events in Lexington in the next two weeks. The events are "designed to empower and educate individuals within the Thoroughbred industry on the power of positive communication and the role of social change in shaping the future of horse racing. These events aim to introduce participants to the tools and knowledge to advocate for the sport effectively, engage in meaningful conversations, and transform perceptions within their networks and beyond," according to the announcement by the organization Wednesday....

Spendthrift Farm has made a $50,000 donation to the Light Up Racing initiative, the community-driven organization said in a release early Friday morning. Founded by a group of horse racing advocates, Light Up Racing's primary mission is to educate both the industry and the public on evidence-based practices, with a strong emphasis on horse welfare and transparency. The organization seeks to reshape perceptions and foster a well-informed community. "Our donation demonstrates our commitment to upholding the highest standards of horse welfare, fostering transparency, and driving positive perception change for our...

The Thoroughbred industry continues to shrink and has a massive damage control and marketing issue. As things stand, we look like a passenger ship on a collision course with an iceberg. There are many screams, but no well-funded, established industry organization appears to want control of the wheel. Clearly the anti-racing lobby is well supported and now getting prime time slots on mainstream media. If you are making a living from this industry as a sales company, stallion owner, farm owner, trainer, agent, pinhooker etc; or a provider such as...