Jon Green

The daily number of U.S. deaths from the COVID-19 virus neared 1,000 per day last week, the highest level the country has seen since February. The seven-day moving average of COVID-19 cases reported by the CDC, is at 149,263, and continues to rise. There are currently four variants circulating in the United States; Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma, with Delta making up over 99% of all cases. It seems like every day, someone we know in racing has contracted COVID, from trainer Todd Pletcher to the TDN's own Christina Bossinakis,...

by Joe Bianca & Katie Ritz SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--The Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale completed a successful return Monday at the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion in Saratoga, as a lively day of trading built on a strong Sunday opener to conclude the auction with average, gross and median numbers up and the RNA rate down compared to 2019 numbers. "We got the sales superfecta: average was up, median was up, gross was up and the RNA rate's down. So we hit the super today and we're obviously very pleased,"...

Following the tragic loss of Coolmore's cornerstone stallion Galileo, champion sire Into Mischief has suddenly found himself at center stage as the top stallion in the world in just about every category. On this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, the crew sat down with Eric Gustavson of Spendthrift Farm, a new sponsor of the show, to talk about their rise of success with the son of Harlan's Holiday. "For us to have Into Mischief is the classic case of how a rising tide lifts all boats," said...

"That's it, time to go home." - Unnamed Churchill Downs usher, at approximately 7:15 pm EST. I let those words pass through me after watching our horse Helium run his eyeballs out for over nine of the 10 furlongs, in arguably the most important races of his (and my) career. A few minutes prior I felt like I was living in an alternate universe. I was so excited when Julien Leparoux guided Helium out of the starting gate to sit a mere 2-3 lengths off the eventual winner, Medina Spirit,...

The NFL Draft is one of my favorite non-sporting events of the year. Since I was a little kid, I pored over NCAA guides, NFL magazines and mock drafts. It is probably one of the primary reasons why I wanted to be a sportscaster/writer when I was growing up. I always marveled at professionals who could consistently and accurately predict if a college player was going to be a professional athlete. So, one day before the Kentucky Derby, I took a page out of that book and went to Lexington...

We departed New Jersey today-destination Louisville. The flight took almost two hours and thankfully was without incident. But, in reality, the journey to this time and place began almost 40 years ago when my dad tore his Achilles while playing tennis. Back then, the best way to treat a ruptured tendon was to be placed in a cast from your ankle to your upper hip and keep your body as immobile as possible. Well, anyone who knows my dad understands that this directive was going to be short-lived. As someone...

One after another, the lights were turning red on the young Leonard Green. He had a bad stutter that made him an introvert in mixed company. Dyslexic, too. Couldn't keep numbers in his head: hardly, as such, an accountant in the making. Sure enough, he'd now been fired from a fourth job in a row. "I didn't even know what an entrepreneur was," Green recalls now. "But it turned out to be somebody who thought outside the box, and took calculated risks, and spotted opportunities. And--boom! I suddenly realized that...

In an industry steeped in history, the post position draw seems to be the most antiquated process. This system for post position selection is basically a mini lottery conducted by a pair of racing officials. One person randomly selects an entry page while the other pulls a numbered ball out of a bottle which represents a horse's post position. Imagine having a horse who has jumped through all the hoops--won or placed in a major prep race, traveled around the countryside, stayed sound and healthy all year long--earning a spot...

Being a Certified Financial Advisor, and the son of a CPA, I follow trends and calculate odds constantly. You can say it is in my blood to rationally analyze a set of variables and predict a logical outcome. When the Kentucky Derby entries were announced, it was no surprise mathematically that those horses represented such a small amount of the overall foal crop. The 20 horses who line up in this Saturday's starting gate represent approximately 1/10 1% of the registered foals born in 2018 (20 of 19,925). Basically, the...

OCALA, FL--There's been a palpable good feeling all week at OBS for the auction house's marquee Spring 2-Year-Old Sale, and you need look no further than the full parking lot to explain why. Business is booming, but perhaps equally responsible for the positive vibes is the easing of coronavirus restrictions as the country rapidly becomes vaccinated, which means old friends seeing and hugging each other for the first time in a long time. Wednesday morning, Joe Bianca and Jon Green talked about that and much more with four consignors and...

So just what are those Derby gods up to now? What seeds of comfort, of commemoration, did they sow in the grief of last summer? Bernardo Alvarez Calderon was not just patriarch of a large and loving family, but something of a godfather for the entire Thoroughbred racing and breeding community of Peru. Its esteem was palpable after his loss last August, aged 78, following a fall. The president of the national breeders' association described him as "a horseman par excellence, whose contribution to our breed will last forever; an...

Helium (Ironicus), an impressive winner of the Tampa Bay Derby Saturday, will not have another Kentucky Derby prep and will go straight to the race in Louisville the first Saturday in May, according to Jon Green, the general manager of DJ Stables, the owner of the colt. Green announced the news on the TDN Writers' Room podcast Wednesday. "I'm pleased to make the formal announcement on our podcast that I sat down with the owners, my parents and Mark Casse, who between them have a collective 80 years of experience...