A Louisiana Senate committee rejected an emergency rule approved by the Louisiana State Racing Commission to lower the testing threshold level for phenylbutazone from 5 micrograms per milliliter to 2 micrograms.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Nine stakes were upgraded and four achieved graded status for 2012 after a review by the American Graded Stakes Committee Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The panel reviewed 659 unrestricted stakes in the U.S. worth at least $75,000.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Noting that it is a "world championship event and it ought to be at a world championship venue," Breeders' Cup president and CEO Craig Fravel said track enhancements will play a role in the selection of future sites.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Horsemen's groups largely support proposed changes in race-day medication rules but are drawing a line in the sand when it comes to the anti-bleeding drug Salix.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The American Graded Stakes Committee said Aug. 10 it will employ a pilot program that will ban race-day medications -- primarily the anti-bleeding drug Salix -- in graded 2-year-old stakes in 2012.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The decision by Colonial Downs to allow older horses to compete in the Colonial Turf Cup Stakes will result in the race losing its grade II status for 2011.
Friday, April 22, 2011The Jockey Club said Jan. 3 the Tropical Park Derby, run Jan. 1 at Calder Casino & Race Course in Florida, was inadvertently listed as a grade III stakes in data feeds provided by Equibase.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Following a review by the American Graded Stakes Committee, the Dec. 18 renewal of the W.L. McKnight Handicap, which was switched from the turf to the main track at Calder Dec. 18, has been reinstated as a grade II event.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Dec. 2 released its listing of United States Graded Stakes for 2011, the results of its annual grading session conducted Dec. 1.
Thursday, December 02, 2010The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced Aug. 4 the re-election of Reynolds Bell Jr. as chairman of its Board of Trustees.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Churchill Downs has unveiled a $9.025 million stakes schedule for its 2010 Spring and Fall racing meets in 2010. The schedule includes six grade I races and the return of the La Troienne Stakes.
Thursday, January 14, 2010The American Graded Stakes Committee has made the following corrections to the 2010 schedule that was released on Dec. 3.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Aqueduct's Bed o' Roses and Next Move Handicaps are going on hiatus this spring, the New York Racing Association announced Dec. 4, along with other changes in the track's 2010 stakes schedule.
Friday, December 04, 2009
The Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) and two other Pennsylvania races lost their graded status for 2009 because the state racing commission didn't follow a more extensive drug testing protocol required by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Friday, December 04, 2009
The Arkansas Derby, a major Triple Crown prep at Oaklawn Park, is one of three stakes upgraded to grade I status by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Thursday, December 03, 2009The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced Oct. 22 that the American Graded Stakes Committee will begin using customized Thoro-Graph reports in addition to its other statistical measurements as part of the materials for the 2009 grading session.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The downgrades of three stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 4 that were switched to the main track from the turf course will be maintained for this year, according to the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Friday, October 09, 2009The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced that Dr. J. David Richardson has been appointed to a three-year term on the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Friday, September 25, 2009The American Graded Stakes Committee Aug. 12 made some changes to the eligibility requirements for stakes.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009Reynolds Bell Jr. was re-elected chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, while Terry Finley joins the board of trustees to serve a three-year term.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The American Graded Stakes Committee released a statement Aug. 5 that the previously grade II Lake George Stakes was automatically downgraded to grade III status because the originally scheduled turf event July 31 at Saratoga was moved to the main track.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009Host track Thistledown, the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, and the Ohio State Racing Commission are discussing ways to restore the grade II Ohio Derby in 2009, officials said April 21.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
In accord with American Graded Stakes Committee policy, the March 21 renewal of the Pan American Stakes (gr. IIIT), scheduled for the Gulfstream Park turf course, but switched to the main track, was automatically downgraded from a grade III to ungraded status and was conducted as an ungraded stakes race.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Churchill Downs has unveiled a stakes schedule for its 2009 spring meet that is headed by the 135th renewals of the $2-million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and the $500,000 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). There will be 29 events with total purses of $7.575 million.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
The grade III Sir Beaufort Stakes Dec. 26 was downgraded to ungraded status after being switched to the main track, but after being reviewed by the American Graded Stakes Committee, the original status was reinstated.
Thursday, January 08, 2009The Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering on Dec. 18 announced the issuance of new rules on use of anabolic steroids for race horses in the state.
Friday, December 19, 2008
There will be seven more graded stakes in the United States in 2009, with six new grade I events -- two of them part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships--based on a listing of graded stakes released Nov. 25 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008Following the recommendation of The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee, toe grabs with a height greater than two millimeters (.07874 inches) on front horseshoes will be banned from all horses racing at Saratoga, Belmont Park, and Aqueduct effecctive Oct. 29, opening day of the Aqueduct fall meet.
Thursday, August 14, 2008Eligibility to host graded stakes is now tied to adoption of regulations for anabolic steroids and toe grabs, the American Graded Stakes Committee announced Aug. 8.
Friday, August 08, 2008Reynolds Bell Jr. will succeed Bill Casner as chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, which held its annual members' meeting Aug. 6 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Keeneland will offer a record $5.4 million in stakes purses, one of the richest stakes programs in North America, for its 2008 fall race meeting to be held Oct. 3-25, the Lexington oval announced June 3.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
The American Graded Stakes Committee has reviewed the off-the-turf running of the Transylvania Stakes April 4 at Keeneland and has ruled the race will retain its grade III status.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
There will be three new grade I stakes in the United States in 2008 after a review by the American Graded Stakes Committee, but for the time being, the three Breeders' Cup World Championships races run for the first time in 2007 won't have a grade.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007The Breeders' Cup board of directors will discuss international participation in the World Championships, new races, and potential host sites for 2009 during its Dec. 7 meeting.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association will add four commonly used anabolic steroids to the list of substances for which horses must be tested in graded stakes effective Jan. 1, 2008.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007Suffolk Downs will reinstitute the historic Massachusetts Handicap this fall as part of a continued effort to return the East Boston racetrack to a secure financial position.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007Calder Race Course will run its first grade I race in 2006, the Princess Rooney Handicap, one of four races upgraded to grade I status by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Friday, December 02, 2005Bill Casner of WinStar Farm has been elected chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, replacing Cobra Farm's Gary Biszantz, who was first elected to a one-year term in 2001 and re-elected three successive years.
Thursday, August 11, 2005Kentucky racing officials said a program for heightened security and expanded drug testing for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) at Churchill Downs went smoothly.
Monday, May 16, 2005The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's American Graded Stakes Committee announced Thursday it has implemented its drug testing protocol.
Thursday, April 28, 2005With only a few differences, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. will be utilizing the same testing procedures for "milkshakes" that are in effect at Keeneland Racecourse and similar to those at many other North American tracks during the spring meet that begins April 30.
Monday, April 25, 2005The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced Wednesday its listing of U.S. graded stakes for 2005, the results of its annual grading session conducted Tuesday in Lexington, Ky.
Wednesday, December 01, 2004The Kentucky Horse Racing Association, at its next meeting Aug. 16, hopes to consider an upgraded drug-testing plan offered by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
Thursday, August 26, 2004The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association has re-elected Gary Biszantz as chairman of its board of trustees. It will mark the fourth term for Biszantz. The action was taken Aug. 13 during the organization's annual board meeting in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Saturday, August 14, 2004By Dan Liebman -- These days, the country's best older horses rarely line up and race against each other in handicaps. Trainers often decline to run if their charges are asked to carry weight, and racing secretaries know that. Since racing secretaries today aren't going to really weight horses, let's just do away with handicaps and move on.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission and Delaware Park have decided the drug-testing protocol of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association be adopted voluntarily.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, at its next meeting Aug. 16, hopes to consider an upgraded drug-testing plan offered by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
Monday, July 26, 2004The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association delayed implementation of its drug-testing protocol for graded stakes in the United States because not all jurisdictions were prepared to implement it, the American Graded Stakes Committee said July 14.
Thursday, July 15, 2004The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association remains committed to implementing a drug-testing program tied to the American Graded Stakes Committee by July 1, an official said April 1 during the Joint Conference of Racing Regulators in New Orleans.
Thursday, April 01, 2004Two historic stakes for 2-year-olds, the Saratoga Special (gr. II) and the Adirondack (gr. II), both run for the first time in 1901, have been dropped from the schedule for the 2004 season at Saratoga Race Course.
Monday, February 23, 2004