Castleton Lyons

Kim Wickens has been named the winner of the 2023 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature for her biography of the great 19th century stallion, Lexington. The book, Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse, creates a vivid time capsule back to the pre- and -post Civil War era. This was the second straight year a book about the peerless sire was honored, following Geraldine Brooks's 2022 win for her novel, Horse. Lexington is the first book authored by Wickens, a...

The owners of seven Thoroughbreds killed or injured in a Mar. 25, 2024, accident on the Bluegrass Parkway when a trailer driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel and careened off the road while en route from Fair Grounds to Keeneland are suing the equine transport company and the driver in federal court, seeking "not less than" $3 million in compensatory damages and a separate amount in punitive damages that the plaintiffs want decided at a trial. The collective owners of the three horses that perished and the four that...

When he succumbed to colic in October 2011, aged just 14, there was a poignant sense that Bernstein had never quite lived up to his glamorous billing. He was a celebrity even as an embryo, carried through the Keeneland ring at the 1996 November Sale by a $1.9 million mare--La Affirmed (Affirmed), the second most expensive broodmare auctioned in America that year--as a full-sibling to two graded stakes winners by Storm Cat. On his safe delivery, his dam's purchasers at Brushwood Farm sent Bernstein back the following November to defray...

The first U.S.-based horse to sell on the Tattersalls Online platform, Moqadama (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) (lot 101) duly topped the July Sale, when ended on Thursday. Andrea Brereton of Fortune Bloodstock, bidding online, secured the 6-year-old mare for 160,000gns post-sale from the consignment of Castleton Lyons for an unnamed client. In foal to 2015 American Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, the bay is a full-sister to dual G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes hero Khaadem (Ire) and stakes winner Log Out Island (Ire). "Obviously the Khaadem update was a...

With a $10,000 prize to the winner, the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award named its semi-finalists, the competition said in a Thursday release. Inaugurated in 2006 by the late philanthropist and global executive Tony Ryan, and sponsored by his family's Castleton Lyons Farm near Lexington, Ky., the award honors the best writing related to the Thoroughbred industry published in 2023. Three finalists will be revealed this summer, with the winner announced during a reception at Castleton Lyons later in the year. The semifinalists are (in alphabetical order, by author name):...

Castleton Lyons Farm has filed plans to subdivide over 1,000 acres of their farm into 16 individual lots, according to a story in the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday. The story says that the lots range from 40 to over 80 acres along Mount Horeb Pike. Castleton Lyons lies outside the urban service boundary, meaning that there are restrictions on the land use and lot sizes. The original farm dates back more than 200 years, and was purchased by Dr. Tony Ryan in 2001. It underwent major renovations, and the breeding...

An extraordinary time-hopping, historical novel; a compelling biography of potential greatness and a life cut short; and a powerful, category-bending work of fiction told as the oral history of a hard-luck horsewoman. Horse, by Geraldine Brooks, Landaluce: The Story of Seattle Slew's First Champion, by Mary Perdue, and Kick The Latch, by Kathryn Scanlan are the three finalists for the 17th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, decided upon by a panel of racing and literary judges. "The 2022 nominees included a refreshing group of voices new to this Book Award,...

Frank Fletcher Racing Operation's Rocket Can (Into Mischief) turned in his penultimate workout ahead of the May 6 GI Kentucky Derby with a five-furlong drill in 1:01.00 (11/41) at Churchill Downs Sunday. The gray colt, who broke off six lengths behind stablemate Game Warden (Tapit), completed early fractions of :12.20 and :36.60 with regular exercise rider Guelser Cardona in the saddle. He finished even with his stablemate at the wire and galloped out several lengths in front through six furlongs in 1:14.20. "It was a nice, steady work," trainer Bill...

6th-Keeneland, $99,588, Msw, 10-19, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:46.95, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. CYCLONE MISCHIEF (c, 2, Into Mischief--Areyoucominghere, by Bernardini) nearly wired the field at first asking, just getting nailed by a pair of closing ivals on the line to be third by three-quarters of a length at Churchill Downs Sept. 16. With an extra sixteenth to work with Wednesday, the $450,000 Keeneland September grad raced closest to pacesetter Permafrost (Frosted) into the first turn. Settled just a path off the rail for the backstretch run, Cyclone Mischief stuck a...

Three finalists, selected by a panel of judges from nearly two dozen submissions, have been announced for the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. The finalists are: Death by Equine, a fictional mystery about a young racetrack veterinarian named Jessie Cameron who fills in for her vacationing mentor, only to be faced with his sudden and startling death, written by Annette Dashofy; Racetrack Rogues: One Woman's Story of Family, Love and Loss in the Horse Racing World, a fictional story of loss, love, and redemption, written by Dawn LeFevre; and...

Second Crop sire Protonico (Giant's Causeway-Alpha Spirit, by A.P. Indy), standing at Castleton Lyons, will stand for $10,000 LFSN in 2022, up from $5,000 this season. From his initial crop, the dark bay is responsible for GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, who is also among the leading candidates for Champion 3-year-old colt honors this season. Campaigned by Zedan Racing Stables, the Florida bred won this year's GI Awesome Again S., GIII Robert B. Lewis S. and Shared Belief S. Additionally, he finished runner up in GI Breeders' Cup Classic,...

The entry deadline for the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented annually by Castleton Lyons, is Dec. 31. The award is given to the author of the best book--as judged by a panel--on any aspect of Thoroughbred racing for work published this past year. Named for the late Castleton Lyons owner, the award rewards the winner with $10,000 and a Tipperary Crystal trophy. For further details, including the entry form, visit castletonlyons.com.