Bill Mott

The finalists for the 2023 Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing, were announced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), The Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) Saturday.. Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be handed out on FanDuel TV and other outlets, during the 53rd annual Eclipse Awards, presented by FanDuel Racing, John Deere, Keeneland, The Jockey Club and the NTRA, on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the 2023 Horse of...

Owner Rick Dawson has changed his mind a few times regarding the career of his GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice). One day he's coming back to the races, another day he's to be sold as a stallion prospect, the next day it's back to trying to get him back to the races. It's not that Dawson is indecisive, it's more a matter of him reacting to what is a constantly changing situation. "A few weeks before the sale we had made plans to ship him to Gulfstream...

1st-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 12:20 p.m. ET. Whisper Hill Farm purchased LESLIE'S ROSE (Into Mischief) for $1.15 million at last year's Keeneland September Sale. Bred by John D. Gunther & Eurowest Bloodstock Services, the Todd Pletcher trainee's younger half-sister and stablemate Bo Derek (Speightstown) sadly passed away after making her second start back in January for Siena and WinStar Farms at Gulfstream Park. Second dam MGSP Wildwood Flower (Langfuhr) produced GI Florida Derby champ Materiality (Afleet Alex) and GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song),...

It was 12 years ago this week that a young bloodstock agent found a mare for one of his first clients, deep in the November Sale at Keeneland. Mesa Fresca (Sky Mesa) had won a Belmont maiden in a light career, and Larkin Armstrong knew her family inside out. In fact, her own bloodlines ran almost parallel to his own, his father being a cousin of her dam's breeder Emory Hamilton. Raised the way he was, Armstrong could not fail to recognize this mare as King Ranch royalty, and was...

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), winner of the 2022 GI Kentucky Derby, has been withdrawn from Friday's Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age Sale and will remain in light training, owner Rick Dawson has announced. "After much consideration, I have revised my plan for Rich Strike (KY Derby Champ #148/2022) and will not enter him in Keeneland Sales auction on Friday, 11/17/23," a statement from Dawson read. "At this time Rich Strike will continue his stay and light exercise at Margaux Farm. I would like to thank my family, friends and...

Fan-favorite Channel Maker (English Channel), the 2020 Eclipse Award-winning turf male who made a record six appearances at the Breeders' Cup, has taken up residence at Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky. The 9-year-old was donated to the farm by Adam Wachtel and his fellow owners. Bred in Ontario by Ivan Dalos's Tall Oaks Farm, Channel Maker was a stakes winner at two for trainer Danny Vella and took the 2017 Breeders' S. He was a Grade I winner each year from 2018 to 2020, scoring his first such victory in...

So long has this column been disrupted by sales and travel that this final instalment for a Flat season that seems to have whizzed by faster than ever should perhaps be renamed 28 Days. That's not to say that we are giving you four times the value, however. The last week or so has been spent in California at the 40th running of the Breeders' Cup. Any racing event which draws some of the best racehorses from a variety of nations is a treat, and with its 14 Grade 1...

Cody Dorman, the inspirational teen who was suffering with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome and whose love affair with the two-time GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody's Wish (Curlin) warmed the hearts of everyone in the sport of horse racing, died Sunday while en-route from Santa Anita to his home in Kentucky. The news was released by Godolphin on Monday morning in the form of an announcement from his parents, Kelly and Leslie Dorman. The announcement read: "We are heartbroken to share the news that our beloved Cody suffered a medical event...

MGISW Cody's Wish (Curlin), who just won yesterday's GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile for the second year in a row, will stand at Darley America's Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky next season for $75,000, along with fellow new stallion GISW Proxy (Tapit) whose fee will be set at $25,000, the breeding operation said in a release early Sunday morning. "You couldn't have written a better script on how Cody's Wish would end his sensational career," said Darley Sales Manager Darren Fox. "He always, always, left all he...

A rivalry in any sport makes it more exciting. People tune in to watch a pair of foes with a well-established history of beating one another give it another go. And so it was that Elite Power (Curlin), in his final start before retiring to stud next year, came home first in front of his long-time rival Gunite (Gun Runner) to defend his title in the GI Qatar Breeders' Cup Sprint. Last year's Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter, Elite Power kept his good form going into 2023 and defeated Gunite for...

Knightsbridge (c, 2, Nyquist--Tyburn Brooke, by Bernardini) aired out in his Churchill Downs debut Saturday to become the newest 'TDN Rising Star' and the second overall for his sire. The Godolphin homebred, a half-brother to GISW Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), was outrun out of the chute and raced covered up against the rail in mid pack. Moving up under his own power, the 5-2 second choice ran into a wall of horses all gunning for the lead and had to check back out of a tight spot right at the...

What a way to kick off Saturday's Breeders' Cup action as the sport's favorite fairy tale got its happily-ever-after ending. Cody's Wish (Curlin--Dance Card, by Tapit) made it back-to-back GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile wins in a dramatic running of the first World Championships race on the card Saturday. Cody's Wish had captured the heart of the racing world last year as the story of his incredibly special connection with Cody Dorman, a boy suffering from Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, emerged and grew. There were few dry eyes among...