Florida Racing

With an elite-level victory under his belt, jockey Diego Herrera will move his tack east to set up at Gulfstream Park in South Florida, the track announced Sunday afternoon. The 21-year-old Herrera was the pilot aboard British Isles (Justify) last Saturday when the gelding pulled the upset to take home the Big Cap. An Inglewood, CA native, he's also won the 2025 GIII Cecil B. DeMille on Unrivaled Time (Not This Time) and the 2024 GIII Autumn Miss Stakes with Watchtower (Demarchelier {GB}). His move comes after Herrera traveled to...

Gulfstream Park and the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA) are currently developing a 2026 fall racing schedule designed to provide expanded opportunities for Florida-bred horses with fewer restrictions, 1/ST Racing said in a press release on Friday. As part of this effort, FHBPA President Tom Cannell expressed strong support for owners purchasing Florida-bred 2-year-olds at the upcoming Ocala Breeders' Sales (OBS). "We are committed to providing prospective owners of these 2-year-olds with a quality and worthwhile racing schedule," Cannell said. "While the full schedule is still being finalized,...

At 78 years of age, Dana Halvorson is looking to move out of Washington State and live permanently at his farm in Ocala, Florida. He leaves behind a decades-long, storied career in the bloodstock world in Washington. He also leaves behind a state breeding industry in free-fall. Between 2005 and 2025, the number of mares bred dropped 94%, from 1214 to 70. Only two major farms remain in the whole state. "The West Coast has just taken a beating," said Halvorson, president of the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association...

The Gulfstream grass very quickly became trainer Brian Lynch's lawn Saturday when the conditioner took home three victories over the course with two being stakes--the Kitten's Joy earlier on the card and here in the Sweetest Chant with Sister Troienne (Munnings). With her conditioner (and rider) claiming the earlier 1 1/16-miles Listed feature, and stablemate Thousandsticks (Twirling Candy) garnering high praise from Lynch after the effort, Sister Troienne went into the gate with even higher expectations. She was riding a four-race win streak here with back-to-back stakes wins to her...

Edited Press Release Prior to riding his first race on the Thanksgiving Day opener of the 2025-2026 Championship Meet, Mario Gutierrez hadn't been part of the action at Gulfstream Park since he rode Nyquist to a popular victory in the $1-million GI Florida Derby April 2, 2016. "I was going to stay in Kentucky, but I got a great opportunity from Mr. Brian Lynch to come here for the winter," Gutierrez said. "I'm extremely happy with the support I'm getting from the local trainers. I'm very, very happy. I'm relatively...

A Florida senator pre-filed Thoroughbred decoupling legislation Friday that contains similar language to a bill that got introduced pre-session in that state's House of Representatives 17 days ago. This latest move was expected, according to a Jan. 9 post by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA) on the X social media platform. "The FTBOA built Florida's protective framework. A Senate companion is how these bills move, and we are prepared," said Lonny Powell, the FTBOA's chief executive officer, in the X post. Like HB 881 from Rep. Adam...

When Diane Crump died last week at the age of 77, the tributes and obituaries penned in her honor naturally led with the pioneering accomplishment that, more than five decades ago, she was the first woman to ride against men in a North American pari-mutuel horse race. Today, nearly 57 years from that landmark achievement, it can be difficult to grasp just how challenging and arduous a breakthrough that was. It wasn't, for example, just a matter of some trainer deciding, "This young lady can horseback a little bit. I...

Maiden special weight, allowance, maiden optional claiming, and open stakes races at Gulfstream Park will get a Florida-bred purse boost beginning Jan. 1, according to a Friday afternoon release from the Hallandale oval. Gulfstream will increase the purses by using funds from the Florida-Bred Incentive Fund (FBIF). The FBIF for all maiden special weight and allowance races will increase from $5,000 to $10,000, maiden optional claimers will be upped from $43,000 to $50,000, and all open stakes purses of $150,000 or less will get an increase of $25,000. 1/ST Racing...

On this week's TDN Writers' Room, former Kentucky Senator Damon Thayer discusses where the decoupling fight stands in Florida.

Earlier this week, Carlo Vaccarezza reported to the BloodHorse that his trainer son, Nick, had been denied stalls at Gulfstream Park for horses owned by his father. Additionally, Carlo Vaccarreza claimed that despite taking steps to remove his name from the stable's limited liability ownership company--effectively shifting ownership of the horses to his son, Michael--track officials told Nick Vaccarezza that they would deny his entries. Carlo Vaccarezza described the action as an act of retaliation for his involvement in the contentious fight to stop the track's owners from decoupling its...

6th-Gulfstream, $40,000, Msw, 8-15, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.51, ft, 9 3/4 lengths. EPIGRAM (f, 2, Code of Honor--Rockin, by Hard Spun) ran her rivals off their feet to become her late freshman sire's third winner at 7-2 odds. Breaking in at the start but recovering well to lead the pack, they were never given a second opinion as she put up an opening quarter in :22.95 and was on a clear advantage entering the stretch. From there it was how much she wanted to win by and the answer was...

After this past spring's failed attempt to get a controversial bill passed in the Florida legislature that would have stripped a 40-days-minimum live racing requirement from its casino licensure, the owners of Gulfstream Park have filed a lawsuit against the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC), alleging that the 2021 statute that allowed all classes of pari-mutuel licensees except Thoroughbreds to "decouple" from live racing as a condition of operating slot machines is an "unconstitutional special law and violates the equal protection clause of the Florida Constitution." Daniel Wallach, a Florida-based...