Category Archives: What’s Happening!

Spendthrift Farm’s General Manager Ned Toffey has reported that the superstar mare Beholder has had a healthy Curlin filly this afternoon. We wish mother and daughter well! 

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.’s Grade 1-winning mare Aerolithe arrived at Gulfstream Park early Wednesday at approximately 3:15 a.m. to prepare for the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), North America’s richest grass race, Jan. 26. The mare’s excellent adventure went from Tokyo to South Korea to Anchorage to Miami. Total travel time, including layovers, was 21 hours and 25 minutes.

From the “a good horse can come from anywhere” file, the La Canada S.-G3 at Santa Anita, run on Saturday, January 12, 2019, proved a total anomaly because of its one-two finishers. Winning the race was Manitoba Wonder Mare Escape Clause, who has been racking up wins at such tracks as Assinoboia and Canterbury, whose race record now reads 28 starts, 19 wins, three seconds and three thirds. Talk about consistency! And iron-leggedness! Her bank account contains $423,500 for owner/trainer Don Schnell. By little known Canadian sire Going Commando, by Unbridled’s Song, Escape Clause became his first graded stakes winner.

Champion, current Eclipse Award nominee, winner of six Grade One stakes races, and multi-millionaire Abel Tasman provided all the thrills at the 2019 opening day of the Keeneland January Sale when she sold as hip number 288 for five million dollars, tying a Keeneland January record that stood for 19 years when the beautifully bred Mackie (Summer Squall/Glowing Tribute, by Graustark) fetched the same amount. Bidding opened at three million dollars, then hardly paused until Abel Tasman reached the five million mark.

Beloved Triple Crown winning, Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza returned to the saddle for the first time on January 5, 2019. Before July 22, 2018, this wouldn’t have been news, but on that day, at Del Mar, the horse he was on suffered a fatal breakdown. Espinoza hit the dirt hard, fracturing his C3 vertebra in the process. It was unclear if he would ever ride again, and his depression as he worked his way through the pain of the injury itself, and the process of rehab and physical therapy, was well documented.

The Keeneland sales can be an overwhelming experience for the uninitiated and initiated alike, with 49 barns full of horses, selling on numerous days, with horses continually shipping in and out and various types of thoroughbreds available: in-foal mares, barren or maiden mares, broodmare and racing prospects, weanlings, and even geldings, stallions, and among these both racing and stud prospects. With luck, there may even be a mare who has already foaled, and will be brought through the ring with her new baby at her side, a rare two-for-one deal that both takes the guesswork out of foaling a mare whose habits you don’t know, and getting the late Christmas present of the cutest thing in the world, a new foal.

At Lingfield Park in Southern England on Saturday, the nine year old gelding Captain Lars won his 11th race of 2018. He won the 5 furlong sprint on the synthetic track in 57.72 seconds, and is rated the equivalent of an American older male $10,000 – $12,500 claimer. The Captain’s prolific race record this year is remarkable by US standards, but not unusual in the UK and Ireland. He clearly thrives on racing, and like all horses that run in the UK and Ireland, he does not run on Lasix.

The news Saturday that Michael Wrona had been suddenly and unceremoniously released by Santa Anita as their Track Announcer was a shock move by track management and a highly puzzling one. With his succinct and accurate race calls, Michael had greatly impressed many and won over most initial doubters in the two years since he had won the job in a highly competitive auditioning playoff with other top announcers. Trevor Denman was always going to be a tough act to follow, but Michael was welcomed and considered to be the new long term voice of Santa Anita by California racing fans.

Although the 2017 Summer Meet consisted of 16 racing days, Golden Gate Fields all sources handle for the first 16 days this year was $33,049,592, a whopping 30 percent hike over last year’s $25,323,799. “We are very happy with the gains made at this year’s Summer Meet,” said David Duggan, General Manager and Vice President of Golden Gate Fields. “There are a lot of people to thank for that. Our dedicated horsemen, jockeys, backstretch workers, our hard-working front-side staff, and of course, the horseplayers and fans who support our product.”

Press Release: Justify, undefeated winner of the 2018 Triple Crown, has been retired from racing, it was announced today.

“Justify had some filling in his ankle, and he is just not responding quick enough for a fall campaign,” said trainer Bob Baffert. “We all wanted to see Justify run again, but ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure he is perfect. Without 60-90 days, I can’t be definite.”