TD Thornton

Fresh off a yet another win in the GI Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, trainer Chad Brown joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to offer up insight on Sierra Leone's definitive victory and share how he hopes to see the $2.3 million son of Gun Runner progresses from here.

On this week's TDN Writers' Room, trainer Brad Cox reviews a long list of weekend winners, plus Arkansas Derby-bound Timberlake.

The GII Fountain of Youth S. may have received a few key scratches that diminished the overall quality of the field, but Danny Gargan won't let that take anything away from the victory earned by his trainee Dornoch (Good Magic). As this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Gargan recapped Saturday's Fountain of Youth score and made a case for why we still haven't seen the best from Dornoch. "We've just gotta get someone fast enough to get next to...

Trainer Danny Gargan recaps Dornoch's win in the GII Fountain of Youth S. and makes a case for why we still haven't seen the best from the son of Good Magic.

Pat Cummings joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the expansion of CAWs and their longterm impact on the sport. This week's episode is sponsored by Keeneland, the Green Group, Coolmore, WinStar, the PHBA, the KTOB, XBTV, and West Point Thoroughbreds.

Tom Ludt joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the creation of the National Thoroughbred League and the organization's plans for the future.

David O'Rourke, the CEO and President of NYRA, joined the TDN Writers' Room to discuss this weekend's Belmont Stakes and future plans for Belmont Park. This week's episode is sponsored by Keeneland, the Green Group, Coolmore, the PHBA, Lane's End, XBTV, and West Point Thoroughbreds.

Besides solidifying his status as a top-tier Triple Crown threat, Saturday's win by Known Agenda (Curlin) in the GI Curlin Florida Derby bolstered the overall case that the phase-out of Lasix in this year's series of GI Kentucky Derby preps seems to be having no adverse effect on performance. Through 20 races in North America since Jan. 1 that have awarded Derby qualifying points, horses giving up Lasix after receiving it in their prior start have won five of those races. Seven others have finished second, an impressive strike rate...

Regulators and stakeholders in Oregon are making tentative plans for the state's four-track fairs circuit to be back in action in this summer after getting cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. But Oregon Racing Commission (ORC) executive director Jack McGrail said during a Feb. 18 meeting he expects those venues will need to be supported by some forms of outside funding in order to conduct mixed Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse meets in 2021. "I'm happy to report that the larger takeaway is that the fairs really do want...

Turn the clock back a dozen years and recall when a fledgling filly parlayed a November win in the GII Golden Rod S. into a torrid nine-stakes win streak that culminated in Horse of the Year honors. That filly, of course, was Rachel Alexandra. Now it's 2021, and the Fair Grounds annually honors Rachel Alexandra's brief (one win, one second) tenure in New Orleans with a Grade II stakes race in mid-February. Saturday's edition just so happened to feature the one-two fillies from the Nov. 28 Golden Rod S. at...

Colonial Downs Group, which includes the Virginia racetrack that reopened last summer and Rosie's Gaming Emporiums at three other in-state locations, announced Wednesday that it will transition its closed restaurants to provide 20,000 free "grab and go" meals for police officers, doctors, nurses, firefighters, grocery store employees and other workers on the "front lines" of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The company closed its facilities on Mar. 15. The meals will be provided starting Apr, 1, with day-before ordering requested. Groups of 10 or more are encouraged to sign...

By T.D. Thornton With the only business voted upon at Wednesday's New York Racing Association Reorganization Board of Directors meeting being rubber-stamp unanimous approvals certifying the slate of NYRA officers and the roster of peace officers, the talk among board members touched on topics related to bolstering big days on the circuit and whether or not Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) could be incentivized to compete in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga Race Course. "We are trying our best," said NYRA chief executive officer and president...