Alex Solis

DEAUVILLE, France-- On Nov. 19 at Aqueduct, Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief--Wildwood Rose {Ire}) by Galileo {Ire}) made a spectacular debut, demolishing the competition by almost 10 lengths, becoming her sire's 42nd 'TDN Rising Star'. Nothing new there. But the Into Mischief cross with a Galileo mare got Mike Repole thinking. Repole, the American entrepreneur who looks set to earn his second straight Eclipse Award with a champion juvenile, this time with his homebred GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Fierceness (City of Light), has become more and more invested in the...

With a star-studded lineup preparing to go through the ring on a night showcasing some of racing's most prestigious broodmares and broodmare prospects, Fasig-Tipton's Boyd Browning has high praise for Onshore (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire) -- Kalima {GB}, by Kahyasi {Ire}), a royally-bred Group I producer who will sell as Hip 216 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. "I believe Onshore is one of the most exciting broodmare offerings that we've had the privilege of selling in my lifetime at Fasig-Tipton," Browning said. "She embodies everything you look for in...

Three members of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), plus the agency's executive director, on Thursday advocated for the reinstatement of temporarily suspended CHRB equine medical director Jeff Blea on the eve of his hearing before the California Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) to rule on a list of allegations that include administering "dangerous drugs" to racehorses without examination or medical necessity. "For my own two cents as chairman, I think that the issues surrounding Dr. Jeff Blea brought forth by the veterinary medical board are both ill-advised and slanderous," said...

In an attempt to get a revised whip violations penalty scheme on the books before Del Mar hosts the Nov. 5-6 Breeders' Cup, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Wednesday advanced a rule amendment that mostly has the blessing of The Jockeys' Guild because it strips out a previously controversial proposal that would have docked jockeys 50% of purse earnings if they over-whipped while finishing first, second or third in graded stakes. That purse penalization had been proposed by the CHRB in March in an attempt to disincentivize riders from...

As anti-whipping rules continue to evolve nationwide, one problem area that has emerged is the fairness of penalization. Do the various systems of fines and suspensions match the severity of the violations? Or, put more directly, are there ample deterrents on the books to keep a jockey from totally disregarding the number of times and manner in which a Thoroughbred is struck with the whip if the rewards of winning an important graded stakes like a Breeders' Cup race far outweigh the comparatively small dent a penalty might make in...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) voted 4-3 Jan. 21 to grant Los Alamitos Race Course a full-year Quarter Horse racing license for 2021, superseding a 5-1 vote from last month that awarded only a six-month license out of concerns that management wasn't doing enough to mitigate the 29 equine deaths that occurred at the track in 2020. In the immediate aftermath of that controversial interim licensure in December, Los Al owner Ed Allred had threatened to close his track and develop the property for a purpose other than racing,...

Grade I producer Danceforthecause (Giant's Causeway) was the second mare of the day to reach $925,000 when selling to Gainesway Farm as Hip 587 from the Sam-Son Farm broodmare dispersal. MGSW Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) (Hip 403) brought the same price at the start of the session as part of the dispersal of the Estate of Paul Pompa, Jr. The unraced Danceforthecause's first foal was GI Northern Dancer Turf S. winner Say the Word (More Than Ready) and her next foal was GII Canadian S. victor Rideforthecause (Candy Ride {Arg})....

After initially being deadlocked on a Thursday vote to put off implementing anti-whipping regulations that have been repeatedly delayed since first proposed in March 2019, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) finally voted 4-2 to pass a rule that will prohibit a jockey from striking a mount more than six times during a race, and then only in an underhanded position with no more than two strikes in succession using whips that must meet new CHRB standards to soften the blows. Representatives from the Jockeys' Guild, plus California riders Mike...

For the Roth Family's LNJ Foxwoods, topping 2019 will be a tall order. The spring got off to a good start when Country House (Lookin at Lucky), who the Roths had bought into after he broke his maiden five starts earlier, posted a 65-1 upset victory in the GI Kentucky Derby. But for Jaime Roth--the 'J' in LNJ alongside her parents Larry and Nanci-there is no question about what the highlight of the year was. That honour falls to Covfefe (Into Mischief), the winner of five of her six starts...

For the second straight month, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has postponed voting on a motion pertaining to the exact specifications of whips that jockeys and exercise riders would be allowed to use. After 35 minutes of input from jockeys and the public at Thursday's monthly meeting in Sacramento, the board made a unanimous 4-0 vote to table the measure. Several CHRB members cited a desire to seek broader input that they hoped would help fine-tune the proposed amendments to CHRB Rule 1685. That was the same reasoning given...

Maximum Security (New Year's Day)'s sophomore season had plenty of ups and downs, but, in the end, he proved he truly was the best of his generation. Dangled for a $16,000 tag when winning his debut in December of 2018, the homebred kicked off 2019 with a pair of dominant starter optional claiming scores at Gulfstream Jan. 24 and Feb. 20, respectively. The bay jumped right to the top of the class ladder after that and showed that he belonged there with a 3 1/2-length victory in the GI Xpressbet.com...

Covfefe (Into Mischief) flashed her brilliance during her dominant debut win in 2018, but proved to be a forced to reckoned with on the female sprinter circuit in 2019, as well as the best 3-year-old filly of the year. Opening her sophomore account with a facile optional claimer score at Keeneland in April, the flashy bay set a new track record when romping by 8 1/2 lengths in Pimlico's GIII Adena Springs Miss Preakness S. May 17. Third behind Grade I winner Mia Mischief (Into Mischief) when facing her elders...