Barry Irwin

What will racing look like in 10 years? We asked some of racing's best and brightest to give us their predictions. Want to submit an answer? Email suefinley@thetdn.com BARRY IRWIN, CEO OF TEAM VALOR INTERNATIONAL Racing will contract in size and be conducted at fewer venues. The names Stronach and 1st Racing will disappear and become as remote as the names Adena Springs and Magna. NYRA and TwinSpires will control the game. In 2036 there will only be racing in New York (Belmont/Saratoga), Florida (Ocala), Maryland (Pimlico), Kentucky (Keeneland, Churchill,...

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Barry Irwin's Team Valor will offer a handful of accomplished racemares, consigned by Bluewater Sales, during Monday's Fasig-Tipton November Sale. And in a business where timing and asset appreciation is everything, the operation's Special Wan (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) (hip 155) comes into the boutique sale just as her connections might hope. Trained by Brendan Walsh, the 5-year-old mare has won four of her six starts in this country and enters the 'Night of the Stars' off victories in the GIII Ladies' Turf Stakes at Kentucky Downs on...

Courtesy Santa Anita The news late Saturday of the passing of Jeff Siegel, the legendary handicapper and longtime member of the Santa Anita Park family, hit with an unexpected weight. Not that his passing at age 74 was unexpected, as he had been fighting aggressive cancer since earlier this year. But the finality of the news brought with it the realization that Jeff was gone and the hole that he left behind is unlikely to be replaced. "Jeff Siegel was, and will always be the epitome of Santa Anita Park,"...

Trained by Brendan Walsh, the 5-2 morning line favorite Special Wan (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) has been scratched from the GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes by the state veterinarian, according to Team Valor's Barry Irwin on Saturday morning. "Brendan [Walsh] told me that the state vet was there this morning and jogged her and thought she was just a tick off," said Irwin. "Brendan jogged her himself and thought she looked fine, but did it again later and she was off. She was supposed to have a workout two...

Barry Irwin is the first person to admit that he wasn't a fan of digital sales when they first came on the scene about a decade ago. "I make my living buying and selling in the private marketplace, and when the digital sales first came around in Europe, I was very upset," he said, adding that he thought that at the time, sales companies were promising owners unreasonable prices on their horses which made it harder to buy privately for an appropriate price. "I didn't like the fact that I...

Over the past week, the TDN has been asking racing personalities with no family involvement in racing what the moment was that got them hooked. Jason Beem, track announcer and podcast host I grew up about five miles from Longacres Race Course in the Seattle suburb of Renton, Washington. My dad was a gambler and loved the playing the horses and started taking me from a very early age. I thought jockeys were the coolest thing ever and my dad has photos of me at age three sitting on the...

Edited Press Release David Ingordo, David Sykes and Jonathan Coyles have been added to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)'s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Standing Committee, HISA said in Monday release. A horse owner and bloodstock agent, Ingordo currently heads up Ingordo Bloodstock LLC and manages the Belladonna Racing Partnership among other equine-related roles. Sykes is an Australian-based veterinary consultant with strong ties to international racing and currently serves as the head of anti-doping for the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia and consults for Racing Victoria on the...

Frederic Heyman, a Baltimore-based lawyer, has been named the new President of Team Valor International, the company's CEO Barry Irwin announced Tuesday. Heyman is active in the Mid-Atlantic, having managed the racing and operations of the late Baltimore Orioles' owner Peter Angelos's Marathon Farms. He also sat on the board of Fair Hill training center. Irwin noted that he has no plans to step back or retire. "I plan to spend more time each summer and fall abroad, where we source most of our stock. I want to focus on...

Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl-winning tight end Travis Kelce, along with the Zoldan family, have acquired a significant share of Team Valor International's interest in Gary Barber's Swift Delivery (Not This Time), Team Valor's Barry Irwin announced Tuesday. The Zoldan family have been members of Team Valor's syndicates for nearly four decades, including as partners in 2011 GI Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom. Bruce Zoldan, founder and CEO of Phantom Fireworks, attended this year's Derby along with Ohio native Kelce, who is friends with Zoldan's son, Alex. Irwin said the...

In a massive digital catalogue featuring 2-year-olds, horses of racing age, breeding stock, weanlings, yearlings, and a stallion prospect, the Fasig-Tipton July Digital Sale closed Tuesday evening with 161 horses sold for $4,296,200. The full results are available at Fasig-Tipton's site. "This was our inaugural July Digital Sale and we're thrilled with the results," said Fasig-Tipton's Director of Digital Sales Leif Aaron. "It was a very strong digital sale with record participation from buyers and sellers and a rock-solid 83 percent clearance rate." Graded winner Nadette (Fr) (Outrstrip {GB}) topped...

Group 3 winner Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) will likely start next in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. on British Champions S. Day at Ascot if the anticipated wet weather holds, Team Valor's Barry Irwin said Sunday. The 4-year-old gelding was most recently third behind Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Prix Du Moulin de Longchamp on Sept. 3. "It's the plan and he could run on any type of surface, but he's better with some give in the ground and the wetter the better, like when he...

Regarding T. D. Thornton's Weekly Roundup, I would like to chime in to say that, as opposed to baseball in their juice era, Thoroughbred racing has only begun its purge. Only the tip of the iceberg has been shown so far. Wait until investigations reach the Midwest and the West Coast. The round up of miscreants is going to be very large in terms of numbers of cheaters who will be forced to find something else to do in life besides doping horses and robbing honest horse trainers and owners....