Former California Horse Racing Board chairman Richard B. Shapiro pleaded "no contest" Aug. 18 to a misdemeanor charge of vandalism in connection with the "keying" of a vehicle owned by one of Shapiro's harshest critics during his time on the board.
Following a brief procedure to correct a breathing problem, Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), departed the Ruffian Equine Medical Center shortly after noon Tuesday Aug. 18 to return to Saratoga.
The richest Thoroughbred meet in track history begins Aug. 21 at Remington Park Racing and Casino, with daily purses averaging $250,000 at the Oklahoma City track.
Barbara Hunter's homebred Keertana, winner of three in a row including the last two in stakes company, leads an evenly-matched field of eight 3-year-old fillies who will take to the Saratoga turf for the $150,000 Lake Placid Stakes (gr. IIT) on Aug. 21.
For nearly a quarter of a century, Denny Brace has guarded the gap at Saratoga's Clare Court training track, among the loveliest spots at the racecourse, as if he's watching over the crown jewels.
Archipenko, a graded/group stakes performer in five countries, will enter stud at Kristen Rausing's Lanwades Stud near Newmarket, England, in 2010.
For the second year, Dos Equis has been named "Official Beer Sponsor" of the 2009 Breeders' Cup World Championships.
After training horses for more three decades and having his career peak this year with the success of the sensational filly Rachel Alexandra, Hal Wiggins will ride off into the sunset of retirement at the end of Churchill Downs' fall meet in November.
Sea The Stars once again showed why he is rated the best horse in the world by wearing down Mastercraftsman in the final furlong to win the Juddmonte International (Eng-I) by a length at York Aug. 18.
Of the three major races for juvenile males at the Saratoga, D. Wayne Lukas has won the Sanford (gr. II) and Hopeful (gr. I) five times apiece, and the Saratoga Special (gr. II) three more times. On Aug. 20, Lukas will go for Special No. 4 when he sends out longshot Activity Report in the $150,000 event.
Big Brown, the 2008 champion 3-year-old male and winner of that year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I), was started back under tack Monday morning Aug. 17 at Robert N. Clay's Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky.
Keeneland's long time director of communications, Jim Williams, announced Aug. 18 that he plans to retire after more than 38 years with the company. He will step down in December.
The New York Racing Association invites female racing fans to the fourth annual Women's Day Expo at Saratoga Race Course, which will take place Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
DeShawn Parker, the winningest African-American jockey in Thoroughbred history, reached a career milestone the night of Aug. 17 when he scored the 3,000th victory of his career. Parker won the first race at Mountaineer Park, rallying Wildcat Cat to a narrow victory in a 4 1/2-furlong dash on the turf.
Hollywood Park, capitalizing on the first summer break in training since Cushion Track was installed in 2006, is renovating the synthetic surface with training scheduled to resume at the Track of Lakes and Flowers in early September.
Rachel Alexandra breezed five furlongs in a bullet 1:00.37 on a foggy Monday morning on the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Race Course, after which trainer Steve Asmussen said discussions would begin "in earnest" on where the filly would make her next start.
<P>Vaccination against <A href="http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=2730">Japanese encephalitis</A> might mitigate West Nile virus (WNV) infection in some horses, said a group of researchers from Japan's National Institute of Animal Health in a recent paper. <P>Outbreaks of WNV have been reported in many countries, including the United States, b...
<P>Florida continues to lead the United States in the number of cases of <A href="http://www.thehorse.com/TopicSearch/Default.aspx?n=Eastern+Equine+Encephalitis+(EEE)&nID=6&ID=65">Eastern equine encephalitis</A> (EEE), a mosquito-borne disease that had mortality rate of around 90% in horses. <P>As of Aug. 11, Florida had reported 48 cases. ...
