Pat McKenna

Saratoga's seventh race Sunday, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for maiden juvenile fillies, was declared a no contest after a mechanical issue with the starting gate tractor caused an outrider to attempt to stop the field on the backstretch (click for replay). While the starting gate was ultimately moved in time and the majority of runners finished the race, several were pulled up prematurely. Towhead (Malibu Moon), a third-time starter stretching out off a pair of on-the-board efforts on the Churchill dirt and part of a 5-1 entry, battled back...

The New York Racing Association and trainer Marcus Vitali have reached a settlement regarding NYRA's effort to exclude the trainer from participating at its three tracks. According to NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna, the agreement requires that the terms of the settlement remain confidential. The TDN reached out to both Vitali's attorney Brad Bielly Friday in an attempt to gather more information. By mid-afternoon, he had not responded. Vitali told the TDN that he was not aware of the terms of the deal. In September, NYRA announced that it would begin...

A year and a half after being signed into law, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is expected to kick into action Friday, meaning a new uniform set of medication rules and safety standards that everyone can abide by--that, at least, was the plan. The execution has somewhat thrown those intentions to the wind in the near term, with a piecemeal approach to implementation that has seen the anti-doping and medication control arm of the program pushed back to early next year, and several other features of the law--such...

Six trainers, including Wayne Potts and Juan Vazquez, have been informed by NYRA officials that they will no longer be allowed to stable at Belmont Park and that their horses must be off the grounds by Wednesday. However, all six will still be permitted to race at the NYRA tracks, at least for the time being. The story was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's David Grening. NYRA's decision to not outright ban the trainers stems from a ruling issued in the Bob Baffert matter last July by the...

Single-day general admission tickets for the 2021 Saratoga race meet will go on sale July 1 at 10 a.m. through ticketmaster.com. General admission tickets may also be purchased on the day of the event at all track admission gates. Single-day grandstand admission is $7 and Clubhouse admission is $10. General admission tickets for the  Aug. 28 GI Runhappy Travers S. are $15 when purchased in advance. Tickets may also be purchased at the gates on the day of the event for $20, pending availability. A limited number of Clubhouse admission...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced three new hospitality areas at Saratoga Race Course set to debut during the upcoming 2021 summer meet. The Spa Verandas at the Top of The Stretch, Tailgate at the Turn picnic area and the newly expanded section of The Stretch will be available for the first time Opening Day, Thursday, July 15. Reservations for all three areas will be available beginning Thursday, June 24 at 10:00 a.m. at www.NYRA.com/Saratoga. "As we prepare to welcome fans back to the Spa for the first...

Jockey Katie Davis has alleged that the NYRA racing office has been telling trainers not to ride her because of a New York State Gaming Commission rule that requires that horses running in the same race ridden by a husband and a wife must be coupled. Davis recently married Trevor McCarthy and both are riding at Aqueduct this winter. The comments were originally made on Twitter Friday and were repeated to the TDN the following day. Because of the rule, any time McCarthy and Davis compete in the same race...

NYRA is no longer accepting wagers from customers using computer assisted wagering (CAW) programs on its Empire Six wager. The new policy took effect Feb. 4. The Empire Six joins NYRA's Late Pick 5 and the Cross Country Pick 5 as pools that are now closed to a group of bettors who use computer algorithms to place their wagers and are known for betting huge amounts, particularly when there is a large carryover in a pool or a mandatory payout day. This was the second step in a process that...

Saratoga Race Course's jockey safety protocols and travel restrictions that were established July 14 will remain in place throughout the end of the meeting. It was announced earlier Friday morning that Churchill Downs will be requiring that all jockeys be in the state by Aug. 31 who will be riding in the GI Kentucky Derby. "The NYRA policy instituted on July 14 to address jockey travel and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 will remain in place through the end of the 2020 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course," Pat McKenna,...

On Mar. 19, the New York Racing Association suspended racing for an undetermined period after a backstretch worker tested positive for COVID-19, which left New York horsemen scrambling to adjust and come up with Plan B for themselves, their horses and their staff. Nine days later--following the announcement that Aqueduct had been approved as a temporary hospital site--NYRA announced that the rest of the Aqueduct winter meet would be canceled and the Ozone Park oval would not host its traditional spring meet, headlined by the GII Wood Memorial S. "On...