Archive

At Spark Community Cafe in downtown Versailles, Kentucky anyone is welcome regardless of financial status. The community has embraced the 'pay-it-forward' idea behind the restaurant, and in just a year, the cafe has become a popular spot for members of the Thoroughbred community. Tristan Ferrell, Spark's co-executive director, grew up in Woodford County, and has always had a passion for his community. As a senior in high school, he participated in a capstone course called Community Activism. The students before him had created pop-up festivals called Spark Weekends in an...

With their annual fundraising events in Saratoga Springs, NY cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Race Track Chaplaincy instead hosted "Champions Talk", an event featuring five prominent personalities from the world of sports and horse racing. The five individuals are Hall of Fame jockeys Angel Cordero Jr. and Ramon Dominguez, GI Kentucky Derby-winning owner Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds and Churchill Downs's all-time leading trainer Dale Romans. The legendary former New York Racing Association announcer Tom Durkin serves as the moderator for the roundtable discussion. The...

Still in the afterglow of pulling off a colossal upset of champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) with Calumet's Vexatious (Giant's Causeway) in the GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga, Sisterson joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Wednesday to talk about his first Grade I victory, his hands-on education in racing and the bright future for him and Calumet. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Sisterson spoke on how he adapted his training approach to fit Vexatious, who is reaching her career peak at the age of...

24-year-old Shayna Tiller has only been involved in the Thoroughbred industry for four years, but already she's forged a path by herself in the sport. Now the Director of Sales at Mill Ridge Farm, Shayna spoke with us about her passion for horse racing. Growing up next to Laurel Park, 24-year-old Shayna Tiller always felt a strong attraction to horse racing. But it wasn't until she was in college that she decided to pursue a career in the industry. On a whim, she applied for an internship with the Saratoga...

Hill 'n' Dale Farm President John Sikura joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to talk hot sire Violence, his thoughts on the Jockey Club's decision to impose a 140-mare cap, and more.

In a nearly-deserted cemetery in downtown Lexington, Leon Nichols, the founder of the Project to Preserve African American Turf History, spoke about the need to educate the public about racing's history and share the stories of some of the best jockeys the racing world has ever known. On a sparsely traveled road in downtown Lexington, African Cemetery No. 2 sits encircled by a worn iron fence. The sounds of cars flashing by nearby busier streets, the incessant barking of a neighboring dog and the harsh droning of a drill from...

Twenty-three-year-old Samantha Bussanich was not born into the Thoroughbred industry, but became interested in the sport at a young age. She's now an employee for Mark Casse, the founder of Nexus Racing Club, and is a soon-to-be trainee for Godolphin Flying Start. One of Sam's favorite moments in racing was when she joined Casse trainee War of Will (War Front) in the winner's circle for the Preakness S. in 2019. She wanted other young people to experience that same thrill in racing, so she and two friends founded Nexus Racing...

Trainer Christophe Clement joined this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast to discuss his turf star and recent GII winner Decorated Invader, as well as some of his promising 2-year-olds and his take on New York's drug regulations. There was no hotter trainer on the grounds through opening weekend at Saratoga than Christophe Clement, which is saying something considering the array of champion and Hall of Fame conditioners that occupy the backstretch of America's premier race meet. After winning five races from 13 starters in the first four days of the...

Newmarket trainer George Boughey is celebrating the first anniversary of his stable with a great run of form. When working on a plan for a new business 12 months ago, few would have set out contingencies for a global pandemic. Fortunately for George Boughey, who this month celebrates his first anniversary as a Newmarket trainer, the shutdown of racing between mid-March and the beginning of June brought only a brief hiatus to the promising start made from when he saddled his first winner on Aug. 13. Boughey has taken over...

The Gluck Equine Research Foundation at the University of Kentucky is developing an equine biological passport with the goal of identifying specific biomarkers that will detect drug use by monitoring changes to peptides and protein abundance, and monitor those biomarkers over time, they announced Monday via press release. In simple terms, an EBP would track biological changes in horses over time. Just like the one introduced by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2009, an equine biological passport would use repeated blood samplings and use biomarkers to detect a horse's reaction...

Michael Dubb and NYRTC team discuss the importance of the backstretch community during the midst of Coronavirus pandemic. Dubb recounts the story of his activism with the NYTRC, "My involvement with the backstretch really began with the construction of the daycare center around the year 2000. It was shortly thereafter that I met Nick Caras and began to understand the work that the Racetrack Chaplaincy does. They kind of complete the loop. And my initial concern was childcare, but I realized the needs of the backside are so much greater...

It took a long journey for trainer Tom Drury to get to where he is now, with a GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner and major GI Kentucky Derby contender in his barn. There were years when Drury didn't win any races, which had him questioning whether he was made out for the training business. But life is good now for Drury, largely thanks to a Bruce Lunsford homebred named Art Collector (Bernardini), and he joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday to talk about his prized pupil...