Parx Racing

Two board members from the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) warmed up their vocal chords and shared a sliver of their vast expertise concerning the value of racing integrity teams during a panel at the Global Symposium on Racing, sponsored by the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program, this past week. Don Ahrens of Sam Houston Race Park and Jason Klouser of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission explained how these special squads, working alongside agencies like the Breeders' Cup, the U.S. Trotting Association, the American Quarter Horse Association...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among the key rulings from the last seven days, the prohibition of intra-articular injections within seven days of a timed or reported workout once again stands out as a thorn in the side of trainers. Three such cases have been resolved in the past week, resulting in $3,000 fines meted out in each case. The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) also handed down a seven-day suspension and...

Joe Taylor, who has been among the top trainers at Parx since he began his career about eight years ago, has received a six-year suspension from the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) after two of his horses tested positive for the banned substances clenbuterol and methylphenidate. According to a posting on the HIWU website, Taylor has admitted the violations and accepted the penalties. However, his attorney, Alan Pincus, raised questions about the positive tests. "No trainer is going to give his horse two different easily detectable illegal drugs and...

When Penn National shut down for a one-month planned break Sept. 23, Tyler Conner, the track's third-leading rider this year in both wins and earnings, wasn't sure what he'd do to keep his income flowing. Yet the 30-year-old jockey, who is soft-spoken but highly driven, managed to build enough out-of-town business to the point where he has just completed a demanding six-day run of riding at six different tracks in the Northeast and Canada. His whirlwind tour included more than 1,800 miles of driving, nearly all of which he accomplished...

Next (Not This Time) isn't just winning races. He is destroying the competition. A marathon-race specialist, he did it again last week at Parx, when he won the GIII Greenwood Cup S. by an astounding 25 lengths. It's been quite a ride for his trainer, Doug Cowans, who claimed the now 5-year-old last year for $62,500. To talk about Next and to discuss his future plans, Cowans joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. He was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week. Despite his horse's...

A 2-year-old filly who ran fourth as a first-time-starter in a $100,000 stakes for registered Pennsylvania-bred and -sired offspring in August has had her state-bred status stripped after the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association (PHBA) determined she was actually bred in New Jersey. Brian Sanfratello, the executive secretary of the PHBA, disclosed the "status removal" for Miss Ellary (Social Inclusion), during the Sept. 26 meeting of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. Miss Ellary earned $5,520 for her fourth-place debut Aug. 21. But Sanfratello said the PHBA subsequently received and investigated a...

Uncovering loaded needles and syringes to apprehending an assistant starter who was in possession of a controlled substance, seasoned integrity teams conducted searches and seizures last week across a pair of Keystone State racetracks. Led by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission staff, the sweeps took place first in Erie at Presque Isle Downs before spending three days downstate at Parx Racing in Bensalem through Saturday's GI Pennsylvania Derby. As part of their integrity program, the Commission once again put together a group of investigators--this time from nine states, plus...

The afternoon's graded stakes action at Parx kicked off most appropriately with the flashy grey Next (Not This Time) annexing the GIII Greenwood Cup S. and it didn't take long for the grey train to continue with Nobody Listen (Conveyance) taking the GIII Turf Monster S. With the remnants of Tropical storm Ophelia cranking, keeping the sky dark and the track murky, Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) completed the grey graded trifecta in the day's feature, the GI Pennsylvania Derby. Employing the same tactics used successfully earlier in the program over...

On paper, it appeared that Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), coming into Parx's GI Cotillion S. off three consecutive Grade I victories for Godolphin and Brendan Walsh, held her rivals over a barrel. Despite that fact, Ceiling Crusher (Mr. Big) took full advantage of the soggy, sealed track by going to the front and never looking back enroute to a narrow victory over the 2-1 Classic winner. Breaking to the immediate inside of Pretty Mischievous, the 3-1 co-second choice flashed her usual early speed, leading Majestic Creed (Jimmy Creed) and Hoosier...

The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association released its 2023 stakes schedule for locally bred horses they said on Thursday. The list includes 29 stakes to be run at state-wide tracks throughout the year, with seven slated for Pennsylvania-sired and bred runners. The first of 23 stakes with purses of $100,000 will be run Monday, Apr. 24 at Parx Racing, followed by a summer stakes schedule hosted by Penn National and Presque Isle Downs. The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association's signature event, Pennsylvania's Day at the Races, will be held Monday, Aug. 21...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 01/22/2023 Licensee: Randy Rennon, owner Penalty:...

There are better, faster horses in the sport, but there's not another one like Beverly Park (Munnings). In an era where five or six starts a year is considered a normal campaign for a horse and many trainers look for seven or eight weeks between starts, the 5-year-old made of blood, flesh and iron continued to laugh at conventional wisdom. In his 30th start of the year, he won Saturday's third race at the Fair Grounds by 3 3/4 lengths, paying $3.80. The race was a starter optional claimer and...