Nebraska

To look at him and to watch him, you would never know that New Years Eve (Night Conqueror) is, well, ancient. He's holding his weight and he still manages to run around his paddock when the mood strikes him. "He's doing amazingly well," said his owner, Julie Izzo. "But he has slowed down a bit." Of course he has. He's 38. [caption id="attachment_409848" align="alignleft" width="561"] New Years Eve | Sarah Andrew[/caption] As New Years Eve crept into his mid-thirties Izzo, who resides in Pennsylvania, began to do some research. Was...

Todd Scherer, who had worked as an assistant trainer and a groom in recent years on the Nebraska racing circuit, was found dead Thursday morning on the backstretch of Fonner Park, the victim of a shooting. He was 62. Scherer trained from 1981 through 1994 and won 60 races in his career. Two individuals have been arrested for their alleged role in the murder. Logan Hunts Horse, 20 of Wounded Knee, S.D., has been charged with first degree murder and two counts of use of a deadly weapon to commit...

With uncertainties regarding the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) still swirling, Fonner Park management announced Friday that it will not simulcast its races to locations outside of Nebraska. The meet is set to begin Feb. 10 and run through May 6. Fonner will become the second track not sending out its signal due to questions over HISA. Last year, the Texas Racing Commission ordered its tracks to cut off simulcasting because of HISA, only to reverse the decision earlier this month after the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale got off to a solid start Monday in Lexington, with graded-stakes winner Munny Spunt (Munnings), in foal to Triple Crown winner Justify, bringing the day's top price of $340,000. In all, 182 horses sold during the day for a gross of $5,524,300. The average of $30,353 dipped 8.9% from last year's opening session, while the median of $10,500 was down 27.6%. The buy-back rate was 20.5%. It was 16.1% a year ago. "I thought there was fair trade and there was...

Dustyn Stortzum, a Nebraska native, has been named the new track announcer to begin the 2023 Thoroughbred racing season at Fonner Park. Stortzum replaces Grand Island native Steve Anderson, who called races for 19 years at Fonner Park but passed away in 2022 after a battle with cancer. "I would like to thank my mentors, my parents and my sister for supporting me through all the ups and downs in my early broadcasting career," said Stortzum. "Without their support, I wouldn't be in this position today."

In 2020, America discovered Fonner Park in Grand Island, Nebraska. With COVID-19 raging, Fonner was one of a handful of tracks able to soldier on in the months of March, April and May, producing handle numbers that shattered anything they had done before.  Jockeys, trainers and horses who had been toiling in obscurity for years were thrust front and center, their every move covered by TVG. Fonner was a feel-good story at a time when those were in short supply. The little track is back. Fonner's 2021 meet begins Friday,...

The Nebraska horse racing industry, which has struggled for years to offer competitive purses, got a major boost Tuesday when voters overwhelmingly approved three constitutional amendments that legalize casinos at the state's racetracks. In other gambling related matters on the ballot across the country Tuesday, Marylanders voted in favor of legalizing sports betting in the state and voters in South Dakota approved sports betting, which would be restricted to the town of Deadwood, which already has a casino. In Louisiana, 55 of 64 parishes approved sports betting, including the four...

As the meet was winding down Wednesday on the final day of racing in 2020 at Fonner Park, trainer Kelli Martinez was getting ready to ship her stable to Prairie Meadows. The Fonner meet was a good one for Martinez, who was second in the standings entering the day with 35 winners, and she was in no hurry to leave. It wasn't just the winners, it was the memories that she would be leaving behind. "It was a stressful meet but it was a very different and very successful year...