Ron Ellis

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. After finishing a well-beaten third behind potential GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile favorite Corniche (Quality Road) sprinting on debut at Del Mar Sept. 4 (video), the promising War At Sea (c, 2, War Front--Serene Melody, by Street Cry {Ire}) stretches to two turns at Santa Anita Friday. Off at 24-1 in his unveiling for the patient Ron Ellis barn, War At Sea chased from an inside fifth as Corniche...

by Brian DiDonato and Steve Sherack With the end of the coronavirus pandemic seemingly in sight, and both buyers and sellers eager to return to some semblance of normalcy, the opener of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training featured borderline euphoric trade from start to finish. A total of 160 head changed hands Tuesday for gross receipts of $18,482,500 at an average of $115,516 and a median of $62,500. The RNA rate as of Tuesday evening stood at 20%. While exact year-to-year comparisons are somewhat...

TIMONIUM, MD - The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, delayed two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, opened Monday with trepidation in the air, but the clouds of fear and doubt dissipated and, for two days at least, there was a feeling of a return to normalcy in the industry. The auction featured solid demand for horses at all levels and concluded with a remarkable 19.2% buy-back rate. "We had a terrific day Monday and I said I hoped and prayed that we could keep the momentum going and...

Sunday May 17 at Santa Anita rather disappeared into the ether of a weekend dominated by the resumption of live racing after a COVID-fueled two-month hiatus. But Sunday May 17 was notable in itself given how it christened the first 2-year-old race in California under the state's new Lasix-free rules. The chronology of events leading to that watershed is now something approaching lore. During Santa Anita's much-publicized troubles early last year, the track instituted a ban on Lasix, an action the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) synthesized into a state-wide...

When Ron Ellis sent the quirkily named Drop the Chalupa (Liam's Map) out for his first start earlier this month, the trainer admitted he had modest expectations for the 16-1 longshot. After all the gelding, who Ellis had purchased for $35,000 on behalf of Richard Templer's Doubledown Stables at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale, was up against a pair of well-respected runners from the power-packed Bob Baffert barn in the 6 1/2-furlong special weight. "I liked him and I knew he had talent," Ellis said of Drop the Chalupa....