Dan Blacker

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Jonathan Wong has been suspended for two years and fined $25,000 for a post-race metformin positive from last June. Wong told the TDN he has appealed the ruling which could now go before the Federal Trade Commission, head to federal court, or both. He also said that he would seek a temporary injunction against the ban. Trainer Kari Craddock was issued a seven-day suspension...

The Santa Anita stewards on Sunday issued trainer Dan Blacker a 90-day suspension and a $15,000 fine for 527 separate incidents of failing to undertake the necessary pre-workout veterinary examination reporting process for horses in his care. The three-month suspension is scheduled to run from Feb. 26, 2024, to May 25, 2024. During that time, Blacker will be denied access to all licensed premises in California. Last October, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) charged Blacker with failing to comply with regulations requiring that a horse undergoes a veterinary exam...

Straight No Chaser (h, 5, Speightster--Margarita Friday, by Johannesburg), unraced since posting a powerhouse, front-running victory in the GIII Maryland Sprint S. on last spring's GI Preakness S. undercard, is on the comeback trail for trainer Dan Blacker. After stopping the clock for six furlongs in a razor sharp 1:08.27 and earning a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure in that 7 1/2-length decision at Pimlico, an undisclosed party agreed to purchase a minority interest in the MyRacehorse colorbearer. The deal, however, was called off after a positron emission tomography (PET)...

Trainer Dan Blacker, who has been charged by the California Horse Racing Board with failing to comply with regulations that require that a horse undergoes a veterinary exam within 72 hours of a workout and that the work is entered into a CHRB database, has issued a statement in which he said he takes "full responsibility" for not following the rules. The issue came to light when an unraced Blacker-trainee named Animae (Speightstown) suffered a fatal injury after a July 1 workout at Santa Anita. The CHRB investigated and found...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN also posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These include decisions from around the country. California Track: Los Alamitos Date: 09/15/2023 Licensee: Kent Desormeaux, jockey Penalty: Three-day suspension Violation:...

Like the wildfires fanned by this summer's hot winds, doomsday predictions of horse racing's demise have raged through the mainstream and trade press this year, fueled by a sickening spate of high-profile equine fatalities on the sport's highest-profile stages--tracks armed with some of the most stringent safety guardrails. This means these horses passed before the eyes of a slew of experts--from the riders to the trainers to the veterinarians and the regulators--deemed among the best in the business. If they can't single out these horses before catastrophe happens, who can?...

With Hurricane Hilary approaching from the south over the next 24-48 hours, officials at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced early Saturday morning that the live racing program scheduled for Sunday would be canceled. "For the safety of everyone involved--our horses, our riders and all the workers, staff and fans--we have made the decision to cancel Sunday's races," DMTC President and COO Josh Rubinstein said Saturday morning. "Unfortunately, the forecast calls for substantial rain and winds that appear to be headed our way. We are hopeful this will only be...

A recent PET scan at Santa Anita revealed an "area of concern" in the left front fetlock of graded-stakes winner Straight No Chaser (Speightster), trainer Dan Blacker said Thursday. The 4-year-old colt will be sent to the farm for a 90-day break. He was last seen at Pimlico for the GIII Maryland Sprint on the Preakness S. undercard May 20 where he won by an impressive 7 1/2 lengths. Straight No Chaser had not worked since the Maryland Sprint. Blacker said the 4-year-old Speightster colt recently underwent a medical examination...

Last year, we conducted a popular Q and A series called 'Smaller But Still Super,' where we featured veteran trainers who have built a competitive racing stable with relatively small numbers (click here to view the archive). This year, we will highlight trainers who have already cut their teeth as novice trainers, but now have a few years of experience under their belt and are looking to make a name for themselves as they grow their stable. We'll talk about the challenges that come with hanging out your single, advice...

Hit the Road (More Than Ready), winner of the prestigious GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita last March, has been given some time off following an eighth in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 26. "He's at Kingfisher [Farms] in Solvang [in the Santa Ynez Valley] and he'll be back in the summer," confirmed trainer Dan Blacker. "To win Grade I's you have to have a horse 100 % and he wasn't quite 100 % [at Gulfstream]," Blacker said. "He'll have a couple...

As is the case in the day's feature event on the main track, Gulfstream's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational highlights a returning champion in the form of Robert and Lawana Low's Colonel Liam (Liam's Map). Following a neck win in the 2021 renewal of the nine-furlong test, the Todd Pletcher trainee added a win in the GII Muniz Memorial Classic at the Fair Grounds in March before finishing on even terms with Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in...

Hit the Road (More Than Ready), aiming for the Jan. 29 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park, worked five furlongs in :58.40 (1/1) over the Santa Anita turf Sunday. The 5-year-old, trained by Dan Blacker, capped a four-race win streak with a win in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. last March. He has been off since a third-place effort in the GII City of Hope Mile S. last October. The nine-furlong Turf Invitational will be Hit The Road's first start beyond a mile. Also working...