Belmont

As the calendar flips to a scorching July and with several meets ready to start their summer engines, potential Thoroughbred owners are on the hunt for racing prospects. The Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale for June wrapped on Tuesday and there was no shortage of runners ready for their next draw. The $190,000 topper from the sale was Long Pour (Tom's d'Etat) (hip 2), a 4-year-old colt who was consigned by Taylor Made Sales on behalf of Calumet Farm. A New York-bred, the dark bay was taken home by Sullivan Lane Stable....

Following the tragic fire that claimed the lives of 17 horses at Saratoga Casino Hotel on June 16, a New York State Gaming Commission panel will review the circumstances of the fire and all fire prevention and suppression infrastructure at horse barns at the 11 racetracks located in New York State. In an announcement Friday afternoon, Commission Chairman Brian O'Dwyer said, "The fire at Saratoga was a terrible tragedy, and we offer our deepest condolences to the connections of the horses that were lost. We are conducting an immediate, top-to-bottom...

3rd-Saratoga, $115,000, Msw, 6-5, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:16.34, ft, 3 lengths. Tab at Zanzibar (Candy Ride {Arg}), second behind 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Sea Strike (Midshipman) in his debut at Aqueduct Apr. 25, came back one better Friday to graduate at the Belmont at Saratoga meet for owners Robert LaPenta and Madaket Stables. Drawn inside and forwardly placed in this 6 1/2-furlong spot, the 3-1 second choice was outrun only by longshot Onepac (Cupid) to his inside as that front pair opened up a small gap back to...

1st-SAR, 115K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 7f, 11:00 a.m. What CROWNING GLORY (Uncle Mo) may lack in race experience, she makes up for in pedigree power. A daughter of Eclipse-winning older mare and MGISW Close Hatches, this filly is a half to a trio of talented runners each sired by the legendary Tapit in MGSW/MGISP Tacitus, GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Scylla and GSW Batten Down. Close Hatches is of course herself a full-sister to SW/MGISP Lockdown, the dam of two-time champion Idiomatic (Curlin). Bill Mott, who...

John Heims joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to talk about the future of racing at Monmouth Park. The Writers' Room team also discussed highlights from Memorial Day weekend racing and looked ahead to Belmont Stakes weekend and what is likely to be a star-studded GI Stephen Foster.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. and the Elmont Chamber of Commerce will host the return of the Paul Sapienza Elmont/Belmont Parade, which will be held on Saturday, May 30, NYRA announced Tuesday. This year marks the 18th edition of the parade, which serves as the traditional kickoff to the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and celebrates the Elmont community. The parade is named in honor of the late Paul Sapienza, a lifelong Elmont resident and former president of the Elmont Chamber of Commerce. This year's parade will posthumously honor Nassau...

The New York Backstretch Employees Pension Trust has a bit of a "well-kept secret" shroud to it. Even longtime Thoroughbred owners who compete on the New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit are sometimes unaware that a pension fund exists for the backstretch workers, and that 2% of the purses at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course are invested toward the retirements of the people who provide daily, hands-on care for horses. Despite the under-the-radar nature of the fund, those who oversee it are continually trying to make sure...

Contrary Thinking (Into Mischief), who ran in a trio of Grade I races as a 5-year-old last year, has a new home as Amanda Gillman, acting on behalf of Lucky Hat Racing and Eric Bensussen, went to $130,000 to acquire him through the Fasig-Tipton May Digital Sale. Consigned by EliTE as agent for White Birch Farm, the gelding recently came off the bench at Belmont's Aqueduct meet Apr. 25. "He's a lightly-raced 6-year-old with a 2X condition, which is rare to find," Gillman said. "He's such a classy horse and...

Michelle Cuozzo Borisenok has been elected as the new president of the New York Race Track Chaplaincy, the organization's chairman Terry Finley announced Thursday. Celebrating its 40th year of service to the New York backstretch community, the Chaplaincy was previously headed by Hall of Fame jockey Ramon Dominguez, who will remain as a board member. "It is hard to adequately convey the countless ways Ramon Dominguez helps our organization thrive and we are thrilled that he has agreed to stay involved as a member of our board of directors," Finley...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and Woodbine Entertainment have joined forces to create the Empire Trillium Series, a 14-race program of stakes races restricted to horses foaled in New York or Canada worth $3.2 million in total purses, the pair announced Tuesday. The Empire Trillium Series will begin at the new and reimagined Belmont Park with eight stakes to be contested between December 2026 and February 2027 on the one-mile Tapeta course. "NYRA looks forward to partnering with Woodbine Entertainment in this unique venture to create additional black...

On Thursday in Palm Beach, Bob Duncan was honored with a Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence acknowledging his contribution to the sport of horse racing through his work at the starting gate. I loudly applaud the NTRA, DRF and National Turf Writers & Broadcasters for recognizing Bob's unique talent and gift to racing with this award. I applaud Bob himself for his approach to his craft and the shining example he has set in handling horses with respect as partners in winning races. Bob and his craft are known...

Godolphin homebred 3-year-old Sovereignty (Into Mischief) has been named the 2025 Horse of the Year. In the final award of the evening, the Champion 3-Year-Old Colt added the ultimate prize to a 2025 campaign which saw him win five of six starts including three Grade I's. Beginning the year with a win in the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream, he was defeated just once when second in the GI Curlin Florida Derby. He would go undefeated from there, piling up wins in the GI Kentucky Derby, the...