Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who had been battling leukemia for most of the year, died peacefully at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., early Nov. 16. He was 68.
5 days ago
There were so many good stories being told, and re-told, in memory of Joe Hirsch June 5 at Belmont Park, it is hard to know which one Joe would have liked most. Well, Hirsch always saw the positive in everything, so he would have liked all the stories, equally.
Friday, June 05, 2009
While some Florida consignors bypassed this year's Barretts March select sale of 2-year-olds in training, most of the major players have returned in force for the company's May juvenile auction.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
One of the closest Kentucky Derby finishes came in 1996, when Grindstone nipped Cavonnier at the wire. Grindstone today stands at the Young family's Overbrook Farm.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Keeneland's sale of 2-year-olds in training, like just about every other Thoroughbred auction in recent memory, generated results that lagged well behind the previous year's statistics. The gross revenue for the two-day sale, which ended the evening of April 7 in Lexington, dropped 27.6% while the average price declined 15.5%. The median price fell 21.7%.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Still reeling from the effects of the worldwide financial crisis, buyers approached the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. March select sale of 2-year-olds in training cautiously, and their reluctance to spend the really big bucks was a major factor in the opening session's setbacks. Compared to a year ago, when the auction enjoyed a record-setting run, the gross revenue dropped 29.6% while the average price fell 32.6%,and the median price declined 22.2% March 17 in Central Florida.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. has more horses for its February select sale of 2-year-olds in training than it did in 2008, according to Tom Ventura, the auction firm's general manager and director of sales. OBS will catalog 200 juveniles, up 16.3% from last year's total of 172.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Garrett Gomez made a valiant effort to break the record for purse earnings in a year when he won with his first three mounts at Santa Anita Dec. 31. But in the one race he had to win, the $76,400 Kalookan Queen Handicap, the 2007 Eclipse Award-winning jockey finished third aboard Baroness Thatcher.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Former jockey Gary Boulanger, who rode the Florida circuit before he was injured in a 2005 spill at Gulfstream Park, was recovering from surgery Nov. 8 following a farm accident at a facility in Davie, Fla., where he had been teaching riding lessons and working with young students.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Sandy Hawley may have won the Living Legends race on Tribal Chief against seven fellow Hall of Fame former riders, but nobody had more fun than Julie Krone and Chris McCarron.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
As if they had never left the racetrack, 10 Hall of Fame jockeys spoke knowingly of tactics in the Oct. 18 "Living Legends" competition at Santa Anita -- mostly about how Angel Cordero Jr. will be herding the field from his outside post position.
Friday, October 17, 2008
According to the Oak Tree Racing Association's morning line odds, retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey will record one more victory, the 5,894th of his career, in the Oct. 18 unprecedented "Living Legends Race" at Santa Anita Park.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Breeders' Cup president and CEO Greg Avioli was joined by Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey at Ascot Racecourse in England, the afternoon of Sept. 26 to discuss the first "Win & You're In" tie-up with a European racecourse.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Jerry Bailey said that any disadvantage suffered in the past by European horses on the dirt has been taken away with the introduction of a new synthetic surface for this year's Breeders' Cup.
Friday, September 26, 2008
The Breeders' Cup announced Sept. 25 that it will launch a multi-city tour featuring legendary Hall of Fame jockeys Pat Day, Angel Cordero, Jr., and Laffit Pincay Jr., beginning Oct. 1 in celebration of the upcoming 25th running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park Oct. 24-25.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Angel Cordero Jr. says he will be ready for the "Living Legends Race" at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita Park Oct. 18, despite not being a big fan of exercise, at least out of the saddle.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Hall of Fame jockeys Jerry Bailey, Pat Day and Earlie Fires will host "Dining with the Dynasties," a special lunch for seven other participants at Arlington Park on Aug. 8, the day before the Arlington Million (gr. IT). The luncheon, in the track's Million Room, is being auctioned on eBay to benefit the Illinois Race Track Chaplaincy of America division and the Disabled Jockeys Fund.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Two days after the Jockeys' Guild filed a formal plan of reorganization in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the U.S. Trustee overseeing the action dropped the group's former national manager Wayne Gertmenian from the unsecured creditors committee.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The new April 2-year-olds in training sale format at Keeneland drew mixed reactions Wednesday night as consignors discussed the single breeze show followed by two evening sessions (April 8-9) of selling.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
There's a half-brother to a Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) winner and a very fast Forestry colt in the second and final session of the Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in training Wednesday night in Central Kentucky.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Tuesday night's opening session of the Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in training should get off to a fast start.
Monday, April 07, 2008
One year after the sale registered positive results in gross, average, and median price, optimism remains the key word going into the March 12 Barretts March select sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
On the eve before the March 12 Barretts March select sale of 2-year-olds in training, here are the horses that have people talking.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Garrett Gomez established a North American record for stakes wins in a year when he drove favored Spring Awakening to victory in the $108,100 Moccasin Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Hollywood Park Nov. 11. The 71st stakes win of the year for Gomez broke the mark set by Jerry Bailey in 2003.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Garrett Gomez won his 70th stakes of the year aboard Hucking Hot in the $68,650 Audrey Skirball-Kenis Stakes at Hollywood Park Nov. 11, tying Jerry Bailey for most stakes wins by a jockey in a single season. Bailey set the mark in 2003.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
The ESPN family of networks will set a record for length of Breeders' Cup coverage, with 9 1/2 hours devoted to the two-day Breeders' Cup event and a preview show Wednesday.
Friday, October 19, 2007
The gross revenue and average price increased during the seventh session of the Keeneland September yearling sale Monday, when a Cherokee Run colt sold for $325,000.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Turf writers are an infamously hardened and cynical bunch. We take all information not only with a grain of salt, but with the entire shaker and a pinch thrown over the shoulder for good measure. We want the truth, but it is so rarely handed to us that when it is, we have a hard time beliving it. Still, few other sports writers are so dedicated to the game they cover, and while we may appear apathetic at times, we want the best for racing.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Buyers and sellers look back on a Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select sale yearling market that suffered declines in gross revenue, average price, and median price.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Prevention Council will host its first annual fundraising event, the "Dare to Dream Gala," with honorary chairpersons Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson at the Saratoga Polo Club Aug. 13. The gala will honor Jerry Bailey's victory over substance abuse.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
2007 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winning trainer Todd Pletcher will be honored by the Center for Disability Services at the 14th annual RJ Valente Siro's Cup at Siro's Restaurant in Saratoga Springs on the eve of opening day at Saratoga Race Course.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
With Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Rags to Riches expected to make her next start in the July 21 Coaching Club American Oaks (gr. I) at Belmont Park, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced July 13 that live coverage of the race has been added to the TV series "NTRA Summer Racing - Powered by Dodge."
Friday, July 13, 2007
Jerry Bailey, known as an astute handicapper when he was carving out his Hall of Fame riding career, gave his thoughts on Saturday's Belmont Stakes (gr. I) while standing on the track's apron Thursday morning.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Look past unknown jockeys, unbeaten starters, unfamiliar owners, and other contributors to this year's intriguing Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). More noticeable than the presence of uniqueness is the absence of three trainers who held the Triple Crown spotlight for several decades.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Many of this year's candidates for the Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I), were offered at public auction before they began their racing careers. Two sold for more than $1 million apiece, but you could have purchased some of them for less than $100,000.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
ESPN horse racing analyst Jerry Bailey and NBC each received nominations for the 28th annual Sports Emmy Awards. Bailey was nominated as an outstanding sports personality while NBC was nominated for its coverage of the 2006 Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Winners will be announced April 30.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Racing at Aqueduct was canceled Feb. 3 when jockeys refused to ride in the final four races on the card, citing dissatisfaction over the medical care they'd received at nearby Jamaica Hospital.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
New York Yankees partner Steve Swindal said his Excelsior Racing Associates group is already discussing future track management and laying plans to take over racing in New York on Jan. 1, 2008 when, he believes, Excelsior will begin operating Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks.
Friday, December 08, 2006
In the words of ESPN senior vice president Len DeLuca, the network is "bullish" on its opportunity to broadcast the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the first time Nov. 4.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Although retired, Hall of Fame members Jerry Bailey, Pat Day, and Gary Stevens all plan to attend the Breeders' Cup World Championships this year.
Monday, October 30, 2006
For two hours on Sunday, retired jockey Jerry Bailey signed autographs at the racetrack to benefit the Belmont Child Care Association, and for two hours before he started, Sandra Misiun, a parking enforcement officer from Turners Falls, Massachusetts, waited on line with her $5 donation to get one.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
A group vying to take over the New York Racing Association's Thoroughbred franchise has added the state's former top racing regulator and a veteran trainer to its ranks.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
A double dose of "Road to the Breeders' Cup World Championships – Powered by Dodge" is on tap this weekend with live racing Saturday and Sunday on ESPN from 5-6 p.m. (EST).
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Bidders vying for the major Thoroughbred franchise in New York blew their own horns -- and did a bit of not-so-subtle bashing of each other -- before an Aug. 1 who's who of racing industry insiders, including members of a state panel considering the bids to operate Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey has joined Excelsior Racing Associates in their bid to take over the New York Racing franchise.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Coverage of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on ESPN networks and ABC Sports June 8-10 will include more footage than ever before of the details surrounding a horse that will not be present for the third leg of the Triple Crown.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Comprehensive coverage of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on ESPN and ABC Sports begins June 8 and concludes June 10, when the third jewel of Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown will be held at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who earlier this year brought down the curtain on an illustrious 31-year riding career, reveals his thoughts on horseracing and his tips on handicapping in a new, two-volume DVD set titled, "Jerry Bailey's Inside Track: Your Inside Advantage to Horse Racing and Handicapping."
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
The horses have worked and the reviews are in for Tuesday's Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in training in Lexington.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Saint Liam, who clinched his Horse of the Year campaign with a solid victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge (gr. I) at Belmont Park, led the list of 2005 award winners announced March 15 by the New York Turf Writers' Association.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
