New York Racing Association

Twenty-five local nonprofit organizations will be provided with reserved picnic tables for each day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga June 6-9, the New York Racing Association announced Tuesday. The nonprofits primarily comprise those with the mission to deliver human services and provide direct assistance to individuals experiencing food insecurity, financial hardship, homelessness and mental and physical disability. Organizations were also selected for their support of veterans, families and children, and promotion of the arts. "NYRA is pleased to recognize the important role that nonprofit organizations play in...

Anthony Stabile has been named track announcer at Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack. Stabile will become just the third announcer in Finger Lakes history when the upstate New York track opens for its 63rd season of Thoroughbred racing Apr. 29. "Since I was a young kid, I've wanted to be a racetrack announcer and am proud to say my first full-time position will be at Finger Lakes," Stabile said. "I'm looking forward to being a part of a place that is rich in racing tradition, where one of my favorites,...

The Big 3 Pick 3, a new wager encompassing the GII Wood Memorial, GI Toyota Blue Grass S, and GI Santa Anita Derby, will be available to bettors this Saturday, the New York Racing Association, Keeneland, and 1/ST announced jointly Monday. The Big 3 Pick 3, which will be hosted by Aqueduct, will be offered with a $3 minimum and mandatory payout. The Big 3 Pick 3 will appear as a separate wager/track on wagering machines or online account: Big 3 Pick 3. All three races are contested at nine...

Linda Rice continued to assert her dominance on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit when capturing the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet training title with 23 wins at the 45-day meeting which ran from Jan. 1 through Mar. 30. Rice has now won the training title at six of the last seven NYRA meetings, along with year-end honors last year as the circuit's top trainer with a record-tying 164 wins. She also came out on top at last year's Big A winter meet with 37 wins. "It's great," said...

The $150,000 G1 Beverly R. Steinman S., a 2 3/8-mile steeplechase event for older horses, will be held June 9 as part of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. The race is named for Beverly R. "Peggy" Steinman, who has successfully balanced decades of ownership in both the steeplechase and flat racing worlds with stars such as Dark  Equation, who captured the 2008 G1 New York Turf Writers Cup, and Colstar, a multiple graded stakes-winning filly who won more than $1 million on the flat. "The New...

Highlighted by the 155th GI Travers S. Aug. 24 and the GI Whitney S. Aug. 3, the 40-day Saratoga meet features 19 Grade I races as part of 71 stakes worth $20.75 million in total purses, the New York Racing Association said concerning the release of the schedule on Friday. Following the four-day opening week, which starts on Thursday July 11, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from closing week, when the 2024 summer meet will conclude on Monday, Sept. 2. Saratoga Live, the...

With a strong coastal storm predicted to impact the New York metropolitan area Friday evening and into the majority of Saturday, Aqueduct has moved the Saturday card to Sunday, officials at the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Thursday. Highlighted by the $100,000 Biogio's Rose S., Saturday's eight-race card will move in its entirety to Sunday, while the original Sunday races will be carded as extras beginning Thursday, Mar 28. First post Sunday will be 1:20 p.m. EDT. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcasting on Saturday.

The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Thursday released the report covering its investigation of the rash of fatalities that occurred during the 2023 Saratoga meet. The report found some factors that may have contributed to the fatalities, while also concluding that there was no link that covered all 14 deaths. "This report concludes that there are a multitude of risk factors that likely contributed to the fatalities during the 2023 Meet. These findings will drive HISA's data collection, recommended racetrack practices and regulatory scheme going forward." the...

The quarantine of Barn 15 at Belmont Park will expire next Saturday at 3 p.m. The barn had been placed in quarantine Feb. 3 when an unraced filly trained by Danny Gargan presented acute neurological symptoms and was subsequently euthanized. Cornell University then returned a positive test for EHV Feb. 4. An additional horse in Barn 15 developed a fever Feb. 5, which extended the quarantine through Feb. 26. That horse tested negative for EHV Feb. 6. Upon review of the circumstances, the New York State Department of Agriculture and...

The New York Racing Association has announced the formation of an All-Weather Surfaces Committee to study the impact of various racing surfaces on equine injury rates. According to a Wednesday NYRA press release, the committee, which first met last October, will evaluate safety metrics from tracks utilizing all-weather racing surfaces, as well as study the feasibility of broader adoption of all-weather surfaces nationally. The committee, chaired by NYRA CEO and President David O'Rourke, was formed at the request of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, as part of HISA's strategic...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) have placed Barn 15 at Belmont Park under a precautionary quarantine until further notice due to a potential case of Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) in that barn. Cute Curls (Tapiture), an unraced 3-year-old filly trained by Danny Gargan, exhibited acute neurological symptoms on Saturday and was subsequently euthanized. As of Saturday afternoon, no additional horses in Barn 15 have presented symptoms. Samples are in-route to Cornell University for analysis with results expected within 48 hours. Barn...

Racing official Victor Escobar has been appointed New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) Steward, NYRA announced late Thursday afternoon. The former Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission (OHRC) State Steward, where he'd been since 2021 and where he had played a central role in the implementation of Category 1 rules at Remington Park, Escobar will join NYRA Feb. 16. As OHRC Steward, Escobar was also responsible for public communication with the betting public immediately following stewards' decisions. He has also served as State Steward for the New Mexico Racing Commission and as...