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Jockey Drayden Van Dyke is nearly ready to return to riding races, he told the Daily Racing Form this week, following a three-month hiatus from the sport. Van Dyke, the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey of 2014, took the time to focus on his mental health. “Toward the end of Del Mar, I felt it really strong,” […]

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Like many others, Steve Roberts will remember longtime horseman Tommy O'Keefe for more than just his time as a multiple graded stakes winning trainer. A lifetime winner of 245 races, 13 of them stakes, with over $6 million in career purse earnings, O'Keefe passed away on Dec. 22 after a courageous battle with bone cancer. […]

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Godolphin LLC, which campaigned 15 North American graded stakes winners, including two Breeders' Cup winners, repeated as leading owner by earnings, and Irad Ortiz, Jr., again established a single-season earnings record as the leading jockey according to final statistics released today by Equibase Company LLC, the Thoroughbred industry's official database for racing information. Brad Cox en...

The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) announced Tuesday that Andy Belfiore will return as the organization's Executive Director, effective Sunday, January 7. “Andy has a wealth of experience in all facets of the racing industry,” said NYTHA President Tina Bond. “In addition to her knowledge base, Andy's devotion to equine welfare and aftercare are […]<...

Uncle Chuck, a half-brother to Maclean's Music standing in Florida, was euthanized on Dec. 22 after he was found to have an untreatable form of lymphoma, BloodHorse reports. The 6-year-old son of Uncle Mo stood two seasons at Journeyman Stud in Ocala, Fla., and he shuttled to Argentina for two Southern Hemisphere breeding seasons. He […]

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In a race that changed inexplicably when favored Sweet Azteca ducked out at the top of the stretch, California-bred Chismosa essentially cut the corner and went on to a hard-fought 1¼-length score in Santa Anita's $100,000 Las Flores (G3), the main event on Monday's New Year's Day card. Ridden by Kyle Frey and trained by […]

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On Saturday, Dec. 30, trainer Mike Stidham saddled Tufani, the $100,000 Pago Hop victress at Fair Grounds, marking his fourth time winning that event and a fitting end to what has been another big year for Stidham Racing. In his 34th year as a trainer, Stidham surpassed his high-water mark for earnings to reach $5,098,073 […]

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Catching Freedom used an explosive late kick to post a 2½-length victory in Oaklawn's $300,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds Monday. Catching Freedom collected 10 points toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby with the victory. The Smarty Jones offered 21 total qualifying points (10-5-3-2-1, respectively) to the top five finishers. Cristian Torres rode Catching […]

WinStar Farm LLC and Siena Farm's Otello overcame traffic at the top of the stretch to capture Monday's $150,000 Mucho Macho Man with a late surge under Luis Saez on Gulfstream Park's New Year's Day program. The Mucho Macho Man, a one-turn miles stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds, is the first stop on the Road […]

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Mitole, who stands at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, was represented by two winners on the 10-race New Year's Eve program at Oaklawn Park to solidify leading first-crop honors in North America with $2,614,328 in progeny earnings. Maximus Mischief, another Spendthrift stallion, finished second with $2,266,229. Rankings are compiled by The Jockey Club Information Systems. Unbeaten […]

Lea Farms' Power Squeeze closed stoutly down the center of the track to sweep past horses through the stretch and spring an 8-1 upset of her stakes debut in Monday's $150,000 Cash Run at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. The fourth running of the one-mile Cash Run for newly turned 3-year-old fillies, first step […]

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Gold Square LLC's graded stakes-placed Drum Roll Please will look to rebound from a last-out third in the Remsen (G2) when taking on four rivals in Saturday's $150,000 Jerome, a one-mile test for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack. The Jerome is the first Kentucky Derby prep race of the year on the New York circuit and […]

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Eight months after arriving in the U.S. via Dubai, Italian jockey Antonio Fresu has solidified his position as one of the top riders in California. Through the first four days of the Santa Anita Classic Meet, Fresu leads all jockeys with four stakes wins. In the eighth race Sunday, the 32-year-old from Sardinia earned his […]

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So, we're here. Now what? We spend so much time in anticipation with stallions. We wait for them to cover their first mares, then we wait for their first foals to arrive, then we wait for them to sell, then we wait for them to breeze, and after a few years, we wait for them […]

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With a change of tactics and a change in riders, Clyde Moran Sr. and Jeff Plotkin's Stovall won Sunday's $100,000 Louisiana Futurity for state-bred males at Fair Grounds. After being in the thick of the early mix in each of the juvenile's five races, Stovall's trainer Samuel Breaux called upon Corey Lanerie to settle the […]

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Trainer Richard Mandella rang up his second stakes win in the past two days on Sunday at Santa Anita as Spendthrift Farm LLC's heavily favored Ruby Nell went to the front, controlled the pace throughout, and won the $100,000 Lady of Shamrock Stakes by 4½ lengths. With regular rider Edwin Maldonado up, the 3-year-old daughter […]

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Trainer Kenny McPeek's magic touch with 2-year-olds at Oaklawn continued Sunday when Daniel Mc Greevy's Ice Cold overhauled heavily favored Denim and Pearls in deep stretch to win the $200,000 Year's End Stakes for fillies. In the companion feature, the $150,000 Renaissance for sprinters, heavily favored Valentine Candy became the meet's first two-time stakes winner […]

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Brittany Russell's meteoric career trajectory reached a historic height Sunday at Laurel Park when the 34-year-old, in just her fourth full season, became the first female to lead the annual trainer standings in Maryland. Russell formally clinched the year-end title held since 2017 by Claudio Gonzalez when Point Dume ($3.20) cruised to a popular 11-length […]

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Manny Franco paced all riders at the Aqueduct fall meet to not only claim the riding title at the 31-day meeting with 37 wins, but also cement his place atop the yearly jockey standings at the New York Racing Association Inc. for the third time with 238 wins across the circuit's six race meets. Franco, […]

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Manny Franco paced all riders at the Aqueduct fall meet to not only claim the riding title at the 31-day meeting with 37 wins, but also cement his place atop the yearly jockey standings at the New York Racing Association Inc. for the third time with 238 wins across the circuit's six race meets. Franco, […]

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