Turf Paradise

Every week, the TDN posts a round-up of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Efren Loza, Jr. has been banned 18-months and fined $12,500 after his trainee, Mexicoffee, tested positive post-race for clenbuterol after finishing second at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 14. Loza's suspension began Apr. 17 and lasts until Oct. 16, 2025. Clenbuterol, a banned substance under HISA, is a bronchodilator with a checkered history in both human and equine sports due to its anabolic properties--in...

5th-Turf Paradise, $30,000, Msw, 4-25, 2yo, 5f, :59.17, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. DANCING PORKY (c, 2, Honor A. P.--Morning Dance, by Broken Vow) recorded the first worldwide winner for his Lane's End freshman sire Honor A.P. (by Honor Code), who has 80 foals of racing age to his credit. The juvenile, who debuted at Turf Paradise and finished third Apr. 11, was sent off as the 1-2 choice here. Though the colt started slowly, around the far turn he got into gear. Driving down the lane, Dancing Porky crossed the...

High-profile trainer Robertino Diodoro, who is serving a provisional suspension from the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) after the banned substance levothyroxine was found in his barn at Oaklawn Park, has entered a horse for the April 18 card at Lone Star Park. On opening night, he has entered Master of Disguise (Mastery) in a maiden special weight race with a purse of $33,000. Diodoro is eligible to race in Texas because the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) does not have jurisdiction in that state. Diodoro did not...

For the second time in four months, a reported sale of Turf Paradise has been called off. The track's current owner, Jerry Simms, broke the news at Friday's Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting without disclosing details or being pressed by regulators to provide any additional information. Preparations for a planned Jan. 29-May 4 race meet are still underway, though, according to testimony from track officials, commission employees, and representatives of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA). The revelation that the deal was a no-go didn't seem to come...

Turf Paradise, which only weeks ago seemed either destined to remain dormant and in disrepair or perhaps even ready to face the wrecking ball, appears to be in the midst of orchestrating a remarkable comeback. Track management, horsemen, and regulators all expressed confidence and a renewed sense of optimism during Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting that the Phoenix track was on target to hit a Jan. 29 start date for the first commercial-track meet in the state since May. Several stakeholders underscored during the Dec. 14 meeting that a...

The overnight purses for Golden Gate Fields' final meet are potentially set for a 25% cut due to a longstanding overpayment of the purse account, according to Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) president and CEO, Bill Nader. The Bay Area racetrack is scheduled to race from Dec. 26 through June 9, 2024, after which, the facility is set to close permanently. The purse account, said Nader, is overpaid by some $3.1 million. "There's a pretty big overpayment that's been building," said Nader. "They're looking to claw some of it back,...

Turf Paradise received unanimous but conditional approval from the Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) on Tuesday to conduct a Jan. 29-May 4 race meet. The upcoming season, however, won't be run under the auspices of the new ownership group that has been reportedly trying to buy the Phoenix track for the last two months. Instead, Turf Paradise's current owner, Jerry Simms, will still be at the helm. Simms and Arizona horsemen have had an acrimonious business relationship for the better part of two decades. But Simms vowed during the Dec. 5...

Racing is set to resume at Turf Paradise in suburban Phoenix in late January 2024, according to a post on X from the track which displays a message from the Arizona HBPA bulletin board. The message read: "There was an emergency HBPA meeting tonight. A race meet will take place. Race dates are Jan. 29 through May 4. Horsemen can arrive in their stalls Dec. 18 with the track opening for training on the 26th. All is based on the approval of the commission. Stall applications will go out asap...

The ownership group that wants to buy the currently closed Turf Paradise is reportedly at the escrow stage of closing on the sale, but a projected Jan. 13 opening day was met with skepticism when the prospective majority buyer was pressed to name a start date at Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting. "At this point where we're at, and not having the complete [new ownership] application, there may be a delay from January moving forward," said Rudy Casillas, the deputy director of the AZRC's racing division, told commissioners after...

If the saga over the supposedly pending sale of now-closed Turf Paradise was a soap opera, its title would surely be "AZ the World Turns." The state's racing is hanging in the balance amid an increasingly acrimonious long-term feud between the track's owner and horsemen, leading one trainer at last Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission meeting to liken the horse community's predicament to children "being used as pawns in a divorce battle" by vindictive parents on the verge of a nasty split. Although TDN's original story about that Oct. 12 commission...

A report that a purchase-and-sale agreement for the currently closed Turf Paradise is just days away from being inked was met with skepticism, frustration and even derision from horsemen at Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission meeting. Although the track's owner, Jerry Simms, framed the ongoing negotiations as a lifeline for Thoroughbred racing in a state that currently has no operational commercial track, J. Lloyd Yother, the president of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA), said that Simms's oft-stated expectations of a new owner being able to conduct a race...

The current Turf Paradise owner is courting a new buyer who just emerged last week as a potential savior for keeping racing alive at the state's otherwise-closing cornerstone track. On Thursday, the Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) voted to extend Turf Paradise's simulcasting privileges through Nov. 12 while regulators commenced a due diligence vetting process that could greenlight the sale. The stated goal among stakeholders is to start a race meet in January under new ownership at the Phoenix oval. The current management announced back on Aug. 1 that the 67-year-old...