Bear Stables' Fatal Bullet, second in last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I), returns to a synthetic surface in the grade III Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland for its Oct. 9 opening-day program.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
The Breeders' Cup board of directors Sept. 11 said the organization will increase the purse of the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) by $1 million if Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta start in the 1 1/4-mile event Nov. 7 at Santa Anita Park.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Part I: Hall of Famer John Nerud talks about the high-profile trainers whose careers he helped start, the need for a national commissioner for Thoroughbred racing, changes with the Breeders' Cup World Championship, the future of synthetic surfaces, and the tie between racing and slot machines.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced May 28 that it is providing $50,000 to fund an innovative research project designed to create a "state-of-the-art" method of assessing racetrack surfaces.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
"Injuries and fatalities are a major problem in the (Thoroughbred) racing industry," said Jacob Setterbo, BS, a graduate student at the University of California, Davis, during the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention (held Dec. 6-10 in San Diego, Calif.). "There are about two racing-related equine deaths per day due primarily to musculoskeletal injury (in the U.S. and Canada)."
Monday, March 23, 2009
A month after Turfway Park experienced eight catastrophic breakdowns during its 21-day holiday meet, state veterinarian Dr. Bryce Peckham and Turfway president Bob Elliston were on hand at a Feb. 10 Kentucky Horse Racing Commission meeting in Lexington to present commissioners a much more positive report.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Larry Jones might have one of the top Kentucky Derby (gr. I) hopefuls this year, and he plans to bring the horse to Arkansas.
Friday, January 16, 2009
The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association will discuss aftercare for racehorses, equine medication and drug-testing thresholds, and synthetic surfaces during its winter convention Jan. 30-Feb. 2 in Hollywood, Fla.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Though champion Curlin may not have handled the synthetic racing surface as well as some of his European rivals did in the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), Santa Anita Park's Pro-Ride racing surface performed safely during the two-day World Championships Oct. 24-25.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Handle for the 25th Breeders' Cup World Championships was up 5.5% over last year's event, according to preliminary data released Oct. 26.
Sunday, October 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
Keeneland, whose fall meet begins Oct. 3, is launching a "PolyCapping" online database to provide more information for handicappers.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The first Quarter Horse race at Turfway Park since 1972, and the first held anywhere on Polytrack, will be held the evening of Sept. 12 at the Northern Kentucky track.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Live racing and training at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course will be suspended following the Sept. 20 racing program for a resurfacing project of the entire racetrack cushion. The unexpected shutdown of the Pennsylvania racetrack is believed to be due to track conditions that have resulted in a high number of recent catastrophic breakdowns, based on information from horsemen.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Evening Attire, the 10-year-old gelding who qualified for a starting berth to the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Marathon by winning the Greenwood Cup by 8 1/4 lengths at Philadelphia Park Casino & Racetrack in July, will be entered as a main-track-only participant for the $80,000 John's Call Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 17.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Quarter Horses will race on the synthetic Polytrack for the first time Sept. 12 when Turfway Park hosts the $25,000 John Deere Turfway Park Sprint Stakes. The race will be part of the Friday night program of Thoroughbred racing during Turfway's late summer/early fall meet.
Friday, August 08, 2008
A July 18 forum on equine welfare and safety gave participants a chance to offer a perspective not provided during a June congressional hearing at which the horseracing industry was slammed, horsemen said.
Monday, July 21, 2008
New York state officials will be holding a session with racing industry officials to consider the installation of synthetic surfaces at the state's racetracks.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Santa Anita Park announced June 23 that its main track will undergo a complete overhaul beginning July 14, and will be reconstituted with a mixture of Pro-Ride synthetic material.
Monday, June 23, 2008
After track superintendents from across the nation discussed various methods for maintaining their individual surfaces at the Track Superintendent Field Day at Keeneland June 3, Dr. Mick Peterson offered ways to apply what was learned and make the necessary changes to lessen on-track injuries.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
The second Elastikon Equine Research Award, funded through a grant made by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Co. to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, has been awarded to Dr. Wayne McIlwraith of Colorado State University and Dr. Mick Peterson of the University of Maine for their research designed to enhance the safety of racetracks for horses.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Replacement of the asphalt base is likely the next step in the ongoing efforts to improve Santa Anita Park's synthetic surface.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A two-day flooding of Santa Anita Park's synthetic surface is one of the final tests management plans before making a decision on the future of the main-track surface. Track president Ron Charles said the surface will be flooded following training hours May 28.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Two exhibition races for Standardbred pacers were held at Keeneland the afternoon of May 21 to give the principals in a racetrack under construction in Alberta, Canada, an idea as to whether a synthetic surface can be used for both breeds.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
A Magna Entertainment Corp. executive said the company has no plans to sell either of its Maryland racetracks but indicated the results of a statewide November referendum on slot machines could play a role in any decision.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Task Force on Retired Racehorses, a state-appointed committee, has planned a summit in Saratoga Springss, N.Y., July 29 to explore the potential for the installation of synthetic surfaces at the state's racetracks.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Live Thoroughbred racing will return to the Erie, Pa., area May 9 when Presque Isle Downs commences its 2008 meet. Presque Isle's 100-day season will extend through Sept. 27, with a daily post time of 5:30 p.m. EDT.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The number of catastrophic injuries on dirt tracks has gone up while the corresponding number on synthetic surfaces has gone down, according to a revision of a report first given at the March 17 Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Delaware environmental secretary John Hughes has issued a Coastal Zone Act permit to Michael Dickinson's synthetic-surface company Tapeta Footings to operate a new manufacturing facility in New Castle, Del.
Friday, April 04, 2008
An authority on drug testing who has worked with the United States Olympic Committee and is now advising the horse racing industry has urged caution on efforts to regulate anabolic steroids.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Warren Williamson was voted owner of the year, and his racemare Nashoba's Key was chosen horse of the year, in the Thoroughbred of California's annual owner awards selection.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Experts from all avenues of the racing industry presented statistics and opinions on synthetic surfaces and Santa Anita track president Ron Charles said the track will replace its Cushion Track as a six-hour special meeting called by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) concluded Feb. 20.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Los Angeles media market and its attractiveness to sponsors played a key role in the decision by Breeders' Cup to tab Santa Anita Park as a host site for two consecutive years, Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli said.
Friday, February 08, 2008
The Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held in 2009 at Santa Anita Park, the California racetrack that will serve as this year's host. It marks the first time the event will be held at the same host site two years in a row.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Golden Gate Fields experienced an increase in all-sources handle and a decrease in catastrophic injuries during its first meet with a synthetic surface.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Waterford Stable's In Summation again showed his affinity for synthetic surfaces with a game and blazing victory in the $150,000 Palos Verdes Handicap (gr. II) for 4-year-olds and up at Santa Anita Park Jan. 21.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Synthetic material that includes a liquid binder will be added to Santa Anita Park's main surface in an effort to improve drainage, the Southern California racetrack announced Jan. 15.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Horses are expected to return to training on the main Santa Anita Park racing surface Dec. 22 following a renovation of the Cushion Track to fix a drainage problem.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Rain has further delayed renovation of the Cushion Track at Santa Anita Park.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Santa Anita Park's renovation of its Cushion Track to improve drainage encountered further delays as rain threatened the Southern California area, but track president Ron Charles said Dec. 16 horses could be back training by Dec. 19.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Santa Anita Park, currently open for training only, will close its main track Dec. 3-10 to examine its new Cushion Track surface due to problems with drainage.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
The 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, 2007
Ocala Breeders' Sale Co., which recently completed the conversion of its one-mile dirt racetrack to an all-weather SAFETRACK surface, had its first horses work over the new track Nov. 16.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Jim Bolger, one of the leading trainers in Ireland, is reported as saying a dirt surface should never again be used for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Miss Macy Sue most likely stamped her ticket to the Breeders' Cup World Championships with a convincing victory in the Sept. 15 Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes, centerpiece of the inaugural meet at the track near Erie, Pa.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
By Tanya Gunther - It is impossible to put my head in the sand and ignore the demise of dirt racing's dramatic impact on the sport.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Opening night, Sept. 5, will mark the two-year anniversary of the debut of Polytrack at Turfway Park, officials of which continue to collect data on a daily basis to learn more about the surface.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino won't be compelled to install a synthetic racing surface, at least not in the immediate future. But the Iowa track's dirt surface could be the topic of future discussion.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Presque Isle Downs, returning racing to the Erie area for the first time in 20 years, is the first American racetrack to use Tapeta Footings' unique artificial material for its track surface.
Friday, August 31, 2007
The first race of the inaugural meet at Presque Isle Downs may very well tell the tale: There is lots of money up for grabs, and horses are coming from all over the place.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
