Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen penned an op/ed for the Thoroughbred Daily News this week discussing some tracks' practice of closing for training one day per week. In a time of increased accountability for all racing participants, Asmussen argues that the mandatory dark days are a “short-sighted cost-cutting move” which...

With heightened accountability for the health and welfare of horses, trainers today are being held to the highest of standards–as we should. However, we can see every day that race tracks and track ownership groups are not held to that same standard. A prime example is the unfortunate trend of...

For the beautifully pedigreed North Dakota (by Medaglia d’Oro), success in the Grade 3 Red Smith Stakes at Aqueduct on …Continue reading →...

Marshall Gramm, fresh off his lucrative victory in the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, said he has been to more than 70 racetracks but has yet to visit Del Mar in Southern California. Gramm is an economics professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., teaching a course, among others, called the...

He could provide themes for many films. Inevitably, he’d star in an Old Friends Blog Visit. So why did Little Silver Charm wait so long? Maybe it was generosity, letting the larger and less cute horses have their day in … Continue reading →...

It is a vast understatement to say that 2020 has been challenging for the global horse racing business; and it will take more time for a recovery to take place. How much time is uncertain because there is too little comparable history upon which to base estimates. The world is...

She drew the outside post. – additional reporting by Jay Privman. Access more of DRF nowLog In....

At the November 2020 auction at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Kentucky, three exceptional female racehorses were actively sought by buyers.  When the hammer fell, Monomoy Girl, Rushing Fall, and Midnight Bisou sold for $9.5 million, $5.5 million, and $5 million, respectively.   When one thinks about such lofty prices for terrific racehorses,...

News this weekend that new COVID-19 lockdown measures will force the closure of Woodbine was met with frustration and uncertainty for track management and horsemen. The move seems unfair to Toronto Sun columnist Steve Buffery, who writes that the track has demonstrated an exemplary ability to keep COVID-19 at bay...

Racing needs a long-term plan which will put the sport on a path to raise handle to nearly $50 billion annually with more than $5 billion held by the industry by 2040. Sound optimistic? Falling well short of that goal would still be a monumental accomplishment given we are on...

“Thinking will not overcome fear. But action will.” W. Clement Stone This week will be the final week ever of racing at Gulfstream Park West and I’m abnormally sad about it. Now I know and respect that there are many people with much stronger ties to the track. There are...

Bo Derek's autobiography is entitled “Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned From Horses.” Today at Del Mar, we'll find out whether those lessons included handicapping. The former commissioner with the California Horse Racing Board and current Del Mar Thoroughbred Club board member is the latest celebrity handicapper...

Becoming the seventh freshman sire of 2020 to get a graded stakes winner, Tamarkuz (by Speightstown) also chalked up his first stakes …Continue reading →...

Champion fillies were rarely sold at public auction when owner/breeders dominated the sport for a good part of the last century. All of that changed from the 1980s onward when the industry became more commercialized and highly charged at the top end with international bidding wars for yearlings and breeding...

California's horse racing industry has never been good at long-range planning. Instability will do that. Historic Bay Meadows racetrack in San Mateo in the Bay Area was shuttered for development in 2008. The same company that closed Bay Meadows had purchased Hollywood Park in Inglewood near Los Angeles in 2005...

The New Jersey Racing Commission is instituting a rule that riding crops or whips can be used by jockeys only for reasons of safety.  The Jockey Guild is suing to prevent the rule from being implemented.  Guild co-chairman John Velazquez stated the reasoning: “We strongly believe the rule adopted by...

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse shared his thoughts on this year's new clenbuterol restrictions with the Thoroughbred Daily News on Tuesday. First, he said he was pleased with the new policies implemented at Woodbine this year, and lauded the Mid-Atlantic region, Oaklawn, and Gulfstream Park for adding restrictions for...

Where are the pearl clutchers? You know, those people who promised that we'd be seeing jockeys with red-splattered pants getting off horses who gushed blood during a Thoroughbred race because trainers couldn't give the animals a diuretic four hours before competition. They've gone silent. Officials with the Breeders' Cup, Keeneland...

Caught in the act! It’s great to have so many people on the farm who are able with a camera. It means that a good deal of what happens gets recorded. Some of it may not seem so important at … Continue reading →...

Future Stars Friday at the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland on Nov. 6 produced a banner day for Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley …Continue reading →...

“Isn’t it strange how the seasons just pass, when you’re lost in the farce of the past” Mikel Jollett I moved out of Portland, Oregon two days before new year’s day of 2015. I had lived there full time since 2008, part time since 2006, and I was ready to...

 by Paulick Report Staff | 11.12.2020 | 5:26pm Report: 77 Percent Of New York Thoroughbreds From Indicted Trainers Were Positive For Clenbuterol After Arrests:https://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/report-77-percent-of-new-york-thoroughbreds-from-indicted-trainers-were-positive-for-clenbuterol-after-arrests/At a press conference this week, New York State Gaming Commission equine medical...

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals organization recently announced that it had purchased small amounts of stock in publicly traded racino companies, namely Boyd Gaming, Gaming and Leisure Properties, Penn National Gaming, and VICI Properties.  Penn National Gaming owns the largest number of racetracks of any company in...

When the Breeders’ Cup is over and the Keeneland November sale is in full swing, another annual event celebrating exceptional equines is on the horizon—the Sporting Art Auction. Now in its eighth year, the auction is a highly anticipated event offering paintings and sculpture in the sporting art genre by American...

Breeders’ Cup 2020 has been an exciting two days. Though the stands couldn’t be open to the public due to the pandemic, this year’s two days showed racing at its best and all the horses had safe runs. This year’s … Continue reading →...