The Stronach Group

GOLDEN GATE FIELDS, CA -- On bright June mornings at the end of training when a cool breeze is skimmed from the top of San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Fields suspends in midair. The remaining horses gallop by almost silently, save for a sound like the ripple of a kite tugging at a string. Behind them, the infield water fountains shiver and hiss while above, western gulls turn and wheel on invisible wires. It's a world contained--its shoulder braced against the whirring cogs of time, straining against the pull. Then...

With the 2024 GI Preakness S. now in the past, Maryland racing is ready to move toward a future that will include a new Pimlico and a new administration operating the track. Legislation was passed earlier this year that will allow the track's current owners, 1/ST Racing, to turn over Pimlico to the state of Maryland on July 1 and Laurel on Jan. 1. Five months after the Pimlico transfer, on Jan. 1, 2025, a new non-profit operating company, the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA), will take over the...

As California begins transitioning the hub of the state's Northern circuit from the permanently closing Golden Gate Fields (June 9) to Pleasanton (June 12-July 9 and Oct. 16-Dec. 25, with other county fair meets running in between), the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Thursday greenlit the first meet in the expanded NorCal schedule after hearing an optimistic update from Larry Swartzlander, the executive director for the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF). "What I'm really enthused about is the fact that we have 1,150 stall applications, which is 200...

The field for the GI Preakness S., ranked in "likeliest winner" order: 1) MYSTIK DAN (c, Goldencents--Ma'am, by Colonel John). O/B-Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby, 4G Racing, LLC, & Valley View Farm LLC (Ky); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-3-1-1, $3,650,050. Last start: WON May 4 GI Kentucky Derby. The Derby champ will go favored in the Preakness on Saturday after the scratch of 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic). This son of Goldencents upset the first leg of the Triple Crown at 18-1 odds. In the last three Derbies,...

As expected, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed a bill Thursday that calls for Pimlico to be rebuilt and for the track to be donated to the state. Under the law, $400 million in state bonds will be used to tear down and rebuild the dilapidated grandstand. While Pimlico is being rebuilt, racing will move to Laurel. Once the new Pimlico is up and running, Laurel will be closed for racing. Because of the eventual closing of Laurel, there will be a need to open a training center since Pimlico alone...

1/ST and France Galop have partnered with the aim of increasing international participation, the two companies announced on Wednesday. The new partnership will begin with the $100,000 GIII Gallorette S. at Pimlico Race Course on May 18, Preakness Day. Whichever horse wins the Gallorette, will automatically qualify to run in the €250,000 G1 Sumbe Prix Jean Romanet S. at Deauville on Aug. 18. A travel stipend will also be provided. 1/ST has previously partnered with Ascot Racecourse on Gulfstream Park's Royal Palm Series which targets Royal Ascot's juvenile races, as...

A bill to radically reform Maryland's racing industry has passed both chambers of the state legislature, with the House voting 105-32 Monday night to approve a project that will see among other things ownership of Pimlico Race Course transferred from 1/ST Racing and Gaming to the state and the establishment of a year-round training facility for Maryland's horsemen and women. After the Maryland House of Delegates initially passed the legislation unanimously, the bill was subsequently amended by the Senate. This amended bill was then sent back to the House for...

The Jockey Club and 1/ST Racing have partnered to increase international participation in several of their respective turf races, the two companies announced on Thursday. The aim of the partnership is to create links between historic races in the UK and high-profile U.S. turf races over two different distances. The winner of the May 4 $200,000 GII Charles Whittingham S. at Santa Anita will gain an automatic berth and travel incentive to run in the £750,000 G1 Coral-Eclipse over the same 10-furlong distance at Sandown Park on July 6. Whichever...

1/ST TECHNOLOGY has partnered with Tier-1 operator bet365 to deliver horse racing to that company's U.S. customers via 1/ST BET, The Stronach Group said in a Wednesday release. The partnership will power the stateside launch of bet365's Advance Deposit Wagering on horse racing, across web and mobile app channels, in U.S. jurisdictions where ADW is accepted. "This is a tremendous opportunity to partner with one of the premier brands in sports betting and for 1/ST BET to showcase its best-in-class pari-mutuel horse racing wagering experience to bet365's customers," said Keith...

Derby winner North Light (Ire) (Danehill) was euthanized on Mar. 20 due to complications from laminitis, The Stronach Group announced on Thursday. The 23-year-old stallion had been pensioned since 2020 and will be laid to rest at Adena South in Ocala Florida. Bred and raced by Ballymacoll Stud and trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the son of G1 Prix du Cadran heroine Sought Out (Ire) (Rainbow Quest) won one of two starts at two, and added the G2 Dante S. and G1 Derby in succession during the spring of 2004....

The Stronach Group has entered into a 'binding commitment' to donate Pimlico Race Course to the state of Maryland, a move that will allow the state to take over operations at the track, the Baltimore Banner reported Thursday afternoon. According to the report, the transfer could occur as early as this summer, per state officials, with the state taking over racing operations in 2025. The report says that the transfer will enable the state of Maryland to earmark hundreds of millions of dollars towards modernizing the track as well as...

At a make-or-break time for Northern California racing interests as they attempt to build a racing circuit in the void left by Golden Gate Fields's imminent closure, two key players in those efforts have been on the receiving end of public records requests from Benbrook Law Group, a law firm well-known for their involvement in high-profile political campaigns, including the failed effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. Some Northern California stakeholders said they suspected political intimidation was the motive for the request when the balance of the industry's economic power...