BloodHorse.com | Horse Racing News

Record Years for Jockeys Dominguez, Napravnik

Dominguez is the new single-season leader for North American earnings while Napravnik has set that mark for female riders.

Saratoga Diary: Many Happy Returns

Betting opportunities abound at Saratoga. A man with a rabbit's foot and a hat pin and program can line his pockets by wagering on overlays.

read blog

Ouzts Passes Bailey for 17th on Win List

Jockey Perry Ouzts passed Jerry Bailey for 17th on the all-time win list with a win at River Downs June 17 and couldn't resist tweaking the Hall of Fame rider a little bit.

8 Hours of Derby Day Coverage on NBC Networks

NBC Sports Group will present 27 1/2 hours of Triple Crown coverage as it adds Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey to its team.

Panel to Investigate Aqueduct Breakdowns

Leading veterinarians and a Hall of Fame jockey will be among those studying the 20 fatal breakdowns of horses racing at Aqueduct Racetrack since December, New York officials announced March 22.

Velazquez Passes Cordero on All-Time Spa List

Jockey John Velazquez passes agent, mentor, and "King of Saratoga" on all-time win list for jockeys at Saratoga. With 650 wins, he's now No. 2 behind Jerry Bailey (693)

Plenty of Blame - By Eric Mitchell

The administrative hearing held June 28-30 to determine whether Kentucky Chief Steward John Veitch violated racing regulations only muddied the issues further and raised more questions.

read blog

Gomez, Anderson Part Ways

Top rider Garrett Gomez and super agent Ron Anderson have parted ways; geography plays a part.

Misrepresentations by Fifth Third Alleged

Gulf Coast Farms and partners claim representatives of Fifth Third Bank engaged in fraudulent and deceptive banking practices in its dealings with the prominent Thoroughbred breeding entity.

Fifth Third Files Suit Against Gulf Coast

Fifth Third Bank has filed a lawsuit against Gulf Coast Farms, North America's fourth-leading breeder for 2010, and related entities alleging they are in default on loans made in 2009 and 2010.

KY Transportation Dept. in Life At Ten Probe

The Office of the Inspector General in the Kentucky Transportation Department is assisting the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in its probe of Life At Ten's participation in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic (gr. I).

Gulf Coast Dispersal Set for Keeneland

Ninety-one horses are scheduled to be offered during the November breeding stock auction.

Marsh Side's 2009 DQ in Canada Overturned

The Ontario Racing Commission has overturned the disqualification of Robert Evans' Marsh Side from first to fourth in the 2009 Northern Dancer Stakes (Can-IT) at Woodbine and restored the original order of finish.

War Front Colt Tops Barretts Sale

A War Front colt sold for $250,000 topped the May 10 Barretts sale of 2-year-olds in training, which saw stable numbers when compared with the same auction one year ago.

Leaner Barretts Catalog Offers Variety

The catalog for the Barretts May sale of 2-year-olds is leaner than in 2009, with 166 head, including 12 supplemental entries, but nevertheless will offer variety in pedigree, consignor, and price range at the May 10 auction.

Derby Breeders Bailey, Robinson Lookin' Lucky

The two men, in the name of Gulf Coast Farms, bred morning line favorite Lookin At Lucky and Conveyance.

Keeneland April Sale: Poised for a Rebound?

The auction will wrap up the select juvenile selling season, which has enjoyed some modest rebounds.

OBS March Sale Results Provide Hope

Average rises 10.6% and median increases 16.8% while the buy-back rate declines.

Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel Dies at 68

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.

Hirsch Memorial Held at Belmont Park

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.

Florida Sellers Back in Force at Barretts

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.

Past Ky Derby Winners: Grindstone (Video)

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.

Keeneland Gross, Average, Median Fall

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%.

Average Falls 32.6% at OBS

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.

OBS February Sale Has 200 Juveniles

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.

Narrow Miss for Gomez in Earnings Chase

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.

Gary Boulanger Recovering From Injuries

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.

Hawley King of Tribe in Legends Race

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.

'Living Legends' Talk Race Tactics

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.

Bailey Rides Favorite in Legends Race

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.

Avioli Discusses Ascot's 'Win' Weekend

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.

Bailey on Synthetics: Euros Even Up Now

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.

Breeders' Cup Announces Legends Tour

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.

Cordero Ready to Take on Legends

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.

'Dynasties' Event Planned at Arlington

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.

Guild Plan Submitted; Gertmenian Out

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.

Mixed Reactions to Keeneland Format

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.

Don Gato Among Standouts at Keeneland

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.

Langfuhr Colt One to Watch at Keeneland

Tuesday night's opening session of the Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in training should get off to a fast start.

Optimism Reigns Supreme at Barretts

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.

Barretts Horses to Watch

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.

Gomez Breaks Bailey's Stakes Mark

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.

Gomez Wins 70th Stakes, Ties Bailey

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.

ESPN Networks Have Breeders' Cup Covered

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.

Gross, Average Rise in Keenland's Seventh Session; Pinhookers Busy

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.

A Day At The Spa: Aug. 30, A Good Story

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.

Saratoga Review: Buyers and Sellers Discuss Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Market

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.

Dare to Dream Gala to Honor Bailey

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.

Pletcher Guest of Honor at July 24 Siro's Fundraiser

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.

Rags to Riches' Coaching Club Oaks to Air on ESPN

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."