A son of Dehere bought last fall for $50,000 was purchased Wednesday by Eugene and Laura Melnyk for $1,050,000 to top the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-year-olds in training sale in Ocala, Fla. The price not only represented a healthy return on the price paid by consignor Hartley-DeRenzo Thoroughbreds at last year's Keeneland September yearling sale, but it was a record paid for any 2-year-old sold by OBSC.
A P Valentine, who will use the April 7 Flamingo Stakes as a stop on his road to the May 5 Kentucky Derby, worked five furlongs in :59.20 in between the third and fourth races Tuesday afternoon at Hialeah Park.
Eugene Melnyk announced the retirement of his stakes winner Queen's Park from racing.
West Virginia's House Judiciary Committee has approved a measure that would restrict and regulate video poker devices -- called "gray" machines" -- and use revenue from them to fund education and government.
Australian quarantine officials Tuesday denied the import ban on horses would be lifted. Meryl Stanton, executive director of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) told the Australian Associated Press she did not feel confident allowing horses into the country.
Never Knock, dam of champion Pleasant Tap and classic winner Go for Gin, died three days after delivering an A.P. Indy filly on March 2 at William du Pont III's Pillar Stud near Lexington.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has hired former Santa Anita Park president Lonny Powell as a legislative and regulatory affairs consultant. Powell will keep NTRA members up to date on legislative and regulatory matters and assist the NTRA Task Force on Economic Regulation.
The 11 top stallions from last week's 2001 leading sires list continue to hold down the fort. Cee's Tizzy, with $1,324,440, and Maria's Mon, with $1,160,703, remain one-two, and Allen's Prospect continues to hold down the ninth spot. The other seven just switched positions.
Magna Entertainment officials, fresh off of their initial foray into team racing on March 10 at Gulfstream Park, are planning a second round of their Super Track series, possibly as soon as April in California. Organizers hope to work out some of the kinks that forced cancellation of the event in California in early March.
A proposal to use racetrack video lottery terminals to fund Ohio's educational system is dead, newspapers throughout the state reported Tuesday. A top legislator in the state had suggested that up to 1,500 machines be place in each of Ohio's seven racetracks to raise $900 million over the next two years.
How do you get a classic winner? Do you build up a broodmare band, then nurture the resulting offspring and race them as homebreds? Or do you leave all the work associated with foal production to someone else and go shopping at one of the many sales that offer young horses? Combing the sales for classic prospects is a viable option. In fact, during the past 15 years, most winners of the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), Preakness (gr. I), and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) were offered at public auction prior to their classic triumphs.
Bathing can be one of the most challenging barn chores, especially if you are dealing with a young, scared, or impatient horse.
A girth that is too tight can have a negative effect on a racehorse's performance.
The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation will fund 12 new equine health studies, including one that will look at extracorporeal shock wave therapy.
A field of at least 10 is shaping up for Saturday's grade II spiral Stakes at Turfway Park, and the $600,000 race appears wide open. The draw for post positions will be held Thursday.
<i>By Joe Hickey</i> -- Out of the loop for too many years now, his hair is as white as a Lukas bridle and his titanium knees are more attuned to WD-40 than Absorbine. But at 85, he's still trim, alert, and enjoying life with Millie, his bride of 44 years. That grin--as wide and warm as a Nebraska prairie under an August morn--is still his trademark.
<i>By Ray Paulick</i> -- In some ways, Maria's Mon was a forgotten champion when he arrived at Pin Oak Stud near Versailles, Ky., for the 1997 breeding season.
Louisiana Downs has received permission to install more than 1,700 slot machines as part of an $86-million project scheduled for completion early next year. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board gave the go-ahead during a meeting Monday in Baton Rouge.
Bob Baffert-trained Captain Steve, likely favorite for Saturday's $6-million Dubai World Cup (UAE-I), zipped six furlongs in 1:10.44 over the Nad al Sheba track Monday night. Working on the outside of local horse Alboostan, Captain Steve was clocked in 23.24 seconds for the final quarter, drawing clear of his workmate in the closing stages.
