trainer

In 1993, Michelle Lovell rode five races at Saratoga. Then known as jockey Michelle Hanley, she came home with three second-place finishes, but never got that win at the Spa. Twenty-nine years later, she finally made it to the winner's circle. This time it was with the brilliant GII Saratoga Special S. winner Damon's Mound (Girvin), her first Saratoga starter as a trainer. How do the two experiences compare? "Riding here back in the day, I was just super in awe of the place," Lovell explained. "Obviously who wouldn't want...

Take the time to read colleague Dan Ross's extensive and detailed story on the sordid career of trainer Burton Sipp and you might conclude that, in horse racing, enough is never enough. The story is about a lot more than the many controversies that have shadowed Sipp throughout his career, it is about how racing somehow always let Sipp back in, to give him a third chance, a fourth, fifth chance. It is about the sport's inability to police itself and its failure to permanently ban someone who has no...

The Far Hills steeplechase race meet will honor the late John Forbes--a fixture at Monmouth Park where he trained for 40 years--with the first John Forbes Memorial Race during its six-race program Oct. 15. The 101st Far Hills Race Meeting will offer $575,000 in purses for the six races at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, N.J., highlighted by the $250,000 Grade 1 Grand National. The John Forbes Memorial, the only flat race on the program, will be contested at two miles on the turf. It will go as the final...

Brad Cox joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to recap Cyberknife's victory in the GI Haskell and discuss his graded stakes entries for this weekend.

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. New York Track: N/A Date: 07/18/2022 Licensee: Juan Vazquez, trainer Penalty: Suspension Violation: Reciprocity of suspension for "grossly negligent, cruel and abusive" behavior. Explainer: Trainer Juan Carlos Vazquez is prohibited from participating in any New York State horse racing activity as his...

Impressive GIII Sanford S. victor Mo Strike was the first Brad Cox-trained 2-year-old to make it to the winner's circle at Saratoga this year, but the son of Uncle Mo probably won't be the last. At last year's meet, Cox saddled five juveniles winners at the Spa, including the future multiple stakes-winning filly Bubble Rock (More Than Ready). In recent years, the Cox barn's arsenal of talented 2-year-olds has rapidly developed in terms of both quality and quantity. While many of the stable's runners have reached future success alongside their...

He's a rebel with a Causeway. But he is a rebel, all the same; or a maverick, at least; an outlier. Certainly we can't expect everyone to train horses like Kenny McPeek, nor indeed to buy them the same way. Apart from anything else, most people simply wouldn't be good enough.

Many will recall the peculiar story of Bold and Bossy (Strong Mandate), the unlucky filly who got loose before her juvenile debut at Ellis Park last summer and was caught over 30 minutes later after making it to the interstate and crossing state lines only to be involved in a barn fire the very next morning. Now, her trainer Michael Ann Ewing hopes that soon, people will remember Bold and Bossy for something more. Almost a year after that ill-fated weekend in Henderson, Kentucky, Bold and Bossy is not only...

Riley Mott, a longtime assistant to his Hall of Fame father, Bill Mott, recently announced he was going out on his own. The 30-year-old will hang his own shingle after taking out his training license. Jen Roytz sat down with the younger Mott for this Q&A. JR: What has it been like coming up under your father? RM: To be honest, it's been like going to Harvard for horse training. Not only learning from him but from everyone involved in our operation, all the way up and down the ladder....

Hall of Famer Bill Mott's son, Riley Mott, will go out on his own as a trainer later this year after serving as his father's assistant for the past eight years. The younger Mott has been a familiar face of his father's stable, often traveling with the barn's stars to major races around the world. The 30-year-old took out his own training license in Florida this winter. "I learned from an early age that training horses wasn't just a business, but a lifestyle," said Mott. "I walked my first horse...

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...

Jack Sisterson, who has trained privately for Calumet Farm since 2018, is going public. Calumet will remain as a client and will keep a number of horses with Sisterson, but significantly fewer than he has typically had. Sisterson said he is making the move in the hopes that expanding and taking on other owners will lead to more opportunities. "This is something we have been discussing for a few months," he said. "I give all the credit to Calumet. If it weren't for them I wouldn't be where I am...