Breeders' Cup

Unraced since finishing second in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic, 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) is nearing his 4-year-old debut, which will most likely come in the May 4 GIII Westchester S. at Aqueduct. His comeback was put on temporary hold because he was turned out for 60 days after undergoing an elective surgical procedure on a hind ankle. He had his first published workout this year when breezing three furlongs in :36.23 Mar. 13 at Palm Beach Downs. "He's come back very well," trainer Todd Pletcher...

Grade I winner Shirl's Speight (Speightstown--Perfect Shirl, by Perfect Soul {Ire}) has had his first mares checked in foal, Darby Dan Farm announced Tuesday. The 8-year-old stallion won the 2022 GI Maker's Mark Mile Stakes, as well as that year's GIII Tampa Bay Stakes and the 2020 GIII Marine Stakes. He was second in the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Mile and 2023 GI Woodbine Mile. Shirl's Speight stands at Darby Dan for $5,000, S&N.

The TDN European division produced a wonderful article about our recently deceased friend Clem Murphy last Saturday. I wanted to offer a few observations from an American who respected and loved Clem for all the things he did not just in Europe, and the list is long, but for what he did here in America. As background, I met Clem about 40 years ago, just as the Coolmore empire was exploding under John Magnier, with the help of a quiet young genius named Clem Murphy. Clem was part of the...

Del Mar and SeatGeek have partnered to provide new seating and pricing options for the 2025 Breeders' Cup, the track announced via a press release Tuesday. Tickets for the general public will go on sale April 23 but fans may already browse ticket options and pricing and are encouraged to register for presale access now. As part of its new multi-year partnership with SeatGeek, the Breeders' Cup will leverage cutting-edge technology to enhance the ticketing purchasing process and create a more seamless and memorable on-site experience. New for 2025, in...

In 1976, 23-year-old Trevor Denman took a vacation from his race calling gigs at three tracks in Natal, South Africa, to venture to the United States to see what racing in a different part of the world was like. Because it was January, he left in the middle of a long, hot summer at home, packing only lightweight clothing and traveling in a dapper Palm Beach suit. His wardrobe choices left him ill-prepared for the first several stops on his cross-country tour of America, which happened to be the winter...

According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, a self-fulfilling prophecy is the "process through which an originally false expectation leads to its own confirmation." Horse racing's self-fulfilling prophesy appears to be the belief that only a select few trainers are capable of eliciting from the sport's finest Thoroughbred athletes their optimum talent. This notion reached an absurd low last month when a commentator for the UK's Racing Post argued that owners in possession of the best steeplechasers in England and Ireland should essentially have their heads examined for sending their horses to...

The first mare has scanned in foal to GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner More Than Looks (More Than Ready--Ladies' Privilege, by Harlan's Holiday), Lane's End announced Monday. The mare, Spirited Storm (Stormy Atlantic), is owned by Tag Stable, and is the dam of graded-placed Uncaptured Spirit (Uncaptured). In addition to last year's Breeders' Cup Mile, More Than Looks also won the 2023 GIII Manila Stakes and was second in both the GI Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes and GI Fourstardave Stakes in 2024. More Than Looks is standing his first season...

The deadline to nominate foals of 2024 to the Breeders' Cup is Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The $1,500 nomination fee grants each foal lifetime eligibility to the Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup racing programs. All foals sired by a fully nominated North American Breeders' Cup stallion are eligible for nomination to the Breeders' Cup program in their year of birth and up to Feb. 28 of their yearling year. Nomination fees for 2024 foals not nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by Feb. 28 will...

On the back of a year which saw Kentucky-breds thriving at the pinnacle of domestic and international competition, the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation has paid out a record $20-million through its Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders' Incentive Fund (KTBIF) to participating breeders for races won in 2024, it was announced via press release Friday afternoon. Consistently in elite company at home, Kentucky-breds won 289 of 401 graded races in the U.S. including all three legs of the Triple Crown--all by different horses--and captured 10 Eclipse awards led by Horse of...

Tickets for the 42nd running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, Apr. 23 for the two-day event scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2025, at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Fans may click here to enroll for special pre-sale ticket access. Beginning in 2025, fans must have an account on SeatGeek in order to purchase tickets to the Breeders' Cup. Accounts may be created free of charge by clicking here. More than $34 million in purses...

C2 Racing Stable, Agave Racing Stable and Ken Reimer's champion female sprinter Soul of an Angel (Atreides) is being pointed towards the Apr. 5 GI Madison Stakes at Keeneland, trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. confirmed Sunday. The 6-year-old mare had been on the alternate list for the Feb. 22 G1 Saudi Cup and, had she kept that engagement, would have shipped to Riyadh on a Tuesday flight. "She's not going for sure," Joseph said of the overseas trip. "That's official. She's going to go to the Madison. We're going to give...

Hosted by the Keeneland Association, the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) annual training and networking conference is marked for Sunday, Mar. 2 through Wednesday, Mar. 5. Central to ORI's mission is the pursuit of integrity and education for its members. By sharing best practices, interactions among investigators creates lasting relationships between jurisdictions. Representatives from every state racing entity will be in attendance, as well as regulators from national and international entities. With sponsors such as the AQHA, Breeders' Cup, NYRA, Parx Racing, PENN Gaming, The Stronach Group and Woodbine, this...