Nick Zito

Chuck Simon, who retired from training in 2019 after a 20-year run in which he won 359 races, passed away Sunday at Saratoga Hospital after a bout with cancer. He was 57-years-old. Before going out on his own, Simon worked for Wayne Lukas, Pete Ferriola, Nick Zito and Tom Skiffington. His mentors included Allen Jerkens. He spent six years with Jerkens working as one of his assistants. He went out on his own in 1999 and five years later gave a job to a young newcomer to the track, Cherie...

Multiple graded stakes winner Sun King (Charismatic--Clever But Costly, by Clever Trick), a retiree at Old Friends since 2017, was euthanized Saturday at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital due to inoperable cancer, the Georgetown retirement facility reported Sunday. He was 21. Campaigned by Tracy Farmer and trained by Nick Zito, Sun King won the GII Pennsylvania Derby, GIII Tampa Bay Derby and GIII Leonard Richards S. in 2005 and added the GII Commonwealth Breeders' Cup S. in 2006. He hit the board in eight Grade I events, including third-place finishes...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale continued its pace to another record-setting renewal with a solid day of trade during its third session Wednesday in Lexington. Through three sessions, 804 yearlings have grossed $41,540,500. Following three sessions a year ago, the gross was $39,511,600 before the auction concluded it fourth session with an all-time high aggregate of $52,607,500. The average of $51,667 is up 11.9% from the same point of the 2021 auction and the median is up 19% to $25,000. Still well ahead of the record figures...

The National Museum of Racing will induct the 2022 Hall of Fame class Friday, Aug. 5 at Fasig-Tipton. The event is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. Tom Durkin will serve as the master of ceremonies. The event is open to the public and free to attend. The ceremony will also be broadcast live on the Museum website at racingmuseum.org. A stellar class of inductees comprises the 2022 ceremony, namely four-time Eclipse Award winner Beholder (Henny Hughes); Hillsdale (Take Away), who is also the first Indiana-bred in the Hall of...

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched for Steven Moyer, 55, a former trainer and current racing official at Laurel Park, who was seriously injured while doing yard work at his home. Moyer sustained severe burns over 30% of his body in an accident Apr. 19 and is expected to remain in the Intensive Care Unit for several weeks. A native of Annapolis, Md., he worked for Maurice Zilber in France in his youth, then later for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito in Kentucky and was a longtime assistant to...

Oaklawn will host its first even Hall of Fame Day Apr. 16. The day, honoring members of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, will be highlighted by several special events, including winner's circle presentations. The feature race will be the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. Race fans will receive a commemorative poster while supplies last, and an autograph session with Hall of Fame members will take place on the north end of the Grandstand from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. "There are only a few other racing...

Go For Gin (Cormorant--Never Knock, by Stage Door Johnny), who was the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner, passed away Tuesday due to heart failure at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he had lived since retiring from stud duty in June 2011. The 31-year-old won the 1994 Kentucky Derby and was second behind Tabasco Cat in both that year's GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S. "We're honored that Go For Gin was an ambassador of the park for nearly 12 years," said Kentucky Horse Park Executive Director Lee Carter. "As...

GISW Albert the Great (Go For Gin) was euthanized Friday at Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he has been pensioned since 2017. According to attending veterinarian Dr. Bryan Waldridge, the 23-year-old stallion was euthanized due to chronic sinus infection. Campaigned by owner Tracy Farmer and trainer Nick Zito, he earned his first graded stakes while capturing the 2000 GII Dwyer S. and, later that year, he added the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. At Saratoga that summer, he was a close-up second in the GI Travers S. At four,...

Sixteen prominent Thoroughbred trainers have expressed their support for the Horseracing Integrity Act via an open letter "to the Thoroughbred Community" sent out Friday. The trainers who signed on are: Tom Albertrani, Christophe Clement, Ben Colebrook, Gary Contessa, Arnaud Delacour, Janet Elliott, Mark Hennig, Kiaran McLaughlin, Shug McGaughey, Ken McPeek, Tom Morley, Graham Motion, Todd Pletcher, John Sadler, George Weaver and Nick Zito. The letter reads: "Horse racing is at a pivotal moment in its long history in the United States. The past six months presented a string of events...