racing

The Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority (HISA)'s 150-Day Layoff Report rule is scheduled to go into effect Thursday, Dec. 5, the group announced Saturday afternoon. Announced back in July but beginning on the aforementioned date, any horse who has not raced in 150 days (approx. five months) or more must have a report submitted prior to race entry. It is recommended that said report be uploaded 10-14 days prior. Trainers will be notified when a horse has been off for 140 days. A live demonstration and Q&A will be hosted...

Nominations are now open for OwnerView's 2024 "New Owner of the Year" Award, sponsored by 1/ST RACING. The award, which honors a new Thoroughbred owner who has been successful in the sport and has had a positive impact on the industry, has previously gone to names such as Jim and Dana Bernhard, Alexander Bregman, and MyRacehorse. To qualify, nominees must have made their first start as a Thoroughbred owner in the past four years (since 2021), had an ownership stake in a horse at the time it won a stakes...

Del Mar concluded its 85th summer racing season Sunday as the seaside track once again recorded strong field sizes and average daily handle as well as the highest daily purses in the state of California. Del Mar averaged 8.6 starters per race and $831,000 per day in total purse distribution. Total wagering for the meet was $502,985,000, a slight decrease from last summer after Del Mar implemented new restrictions on computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players in 2024. Average daily handle was $16,225,000. Track officials indicated that the handle figures were in...

July 2024 saw declines across the board compared to the same month last year with only average field size (+0.98%) and average available purses per race day (+3.42%) seeing gains for the month. With race days down to 383 from 423 last year (-9.46%), wagering, available purses, races and starts all saw declines. Race days are down year-to-date (2,173 vs. 2,284) leading to declines in wagering (-3.20%), races (-4.63%) and starts (-3.87%). Available wagering per race day (+1.74%) and average available purses per race day (+8.88 %) both showed gains...

Santa Anita Park concluded the six-month 2023-24 Winter-Spring season on June 16 which, when combined with the six-week Autumn Meet from 2023, produced a 99.97% safety record, making the 1/ST Racing facility the safest track in North America among those with a comparable volume of racing and training according to a release from the track Monday. Since the Opening Day of the Autumn meet on Sept. 29, 2023, through the Closing Day of the Hollywood Meet on June 17, 2024, 6,678 horses ran in races over Santa Anita's main track...

Wyoming-based Cowboy Racing will partner with 1/ST to boost racing, breeding and wagering opportunities in the state, the organizations announced in a joint statement Monday. The newly-planned Thunder Plains Park, a racing and training facility planned for Cheyenne, will welcome 1/ST as its exclusive racing operator through a planned 16 day live-racing meet. "We are excited to expand upon our success and continued support of racing and HHR in Wyoming to lend 1/ST's industry-leading operational experience and passion to Cowboy Racing as they work to develop a new racing and...

A collection of Preakness-inspired artworks are now on display for public voting at The Art of Racing, an online gallery which showcases art by those inspired by racing both on and off the track. Public voting will last two weeks with the winning piece featured on specially-created Preakness merchandise. Proceeds from the sales of the art will support Park Heights Renaissance, a non-profit dedicated to creating employment and housing in the Park Heights community. View the entire collection of The Art of Racing and vote here.

Six new members were elected to the Board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California the organization announced Monday. Owner and trainer Mark Glatt, owner/breeder Ty Green, owner/trainer Ryan Hanson, owner/breeder John Harris, current finance committee member Stephanie Hronis and 2021's California Trainer of the Year Andy Mathis will begin their respective terms July 1, 2024. They will join current members Nick Alexander, Gary Barber, Joe Ciaglia, Tim Cohen, Matthew Dohman, Gary Fenton, Bob Liewald, Terry Lovingier and Samantha Siegel for the 2024-2025 year.

Churchill Downs will host the 2024 Claiming Crown Nov. 16, the HBPA announced Thursday. The event, held at Fair Grounds last year, will return to Kentucky for the second time in three years. Created in 1999 by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Claiming Crown provides claiming horses with a multi-race program to spotlight their importance. "In a year when Churchill Downs celebrates the 150th [GI] Kentucky Derby, we are honored to host the Claiming Crown on center stage in the...

Country singer/songwriter Toby Keith passed away Monday following a battle with stomach cancer, his family announced Tuesday. While best known for his music career, which included 20 No. 1 hits, he also owned and bred Thoroughbreds and was known for his passion of the sport. Keith raced and bred primarily under the name of Dream Walkin Farms, which started its first horse in 2001. Dream Walkin was a song on an album by the same name that Keith released in 1997. According to Equibase, Dream Walkin won 848 races and...

During the recent holiday season, I had the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions with my 13-year-old son, Max, about his future aspirations. As he approaches an age where decisions about higher education and career paths come into focus, we've delved into conversations about his collegiate preferences and professional ambitions. It is not uncommon for adolescents at this stage to express a desire to emulate the occupational choices of family members. Max, in particular, has conveyed an interest in following in the footsteps of his father, cousin Norm, uncle Mark,...

I just wanted to express my frustration and disappointment that we, as an industry, seem incapable of presenting a meaningful response to the negativity we are currently facing in the mainstream media. For example, when the 60 Minutes documentary aired several weeks ago, it elicited a wave of legitimate outrage. But the industry's side of the story was nowhere to be seen outside the trade press. We have a collective tendency, at times like this, to wring our hands and shuffle our feet, figuratively speaking. Surely the Thoroughbred Racing Industry,...