NYRA

When the New York Racing Association (NYRA) barred Hall-of-Fame trainer Bob Baffert back in May over integrity concerns surrounding his five equine drug positives in a one-year span, it was only a matter of time before speculative comparisons began to percolate within the industry along the lines of, "They banned Baffert, but they allow so-and-so to race?" You could have inserted the name of any controversial or rogue trainer of your choice in that above sentence. But it didn't take long for the entries at Saratoga Race Course to supply...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - For sure, trainer Gary Sciacca knows the score. He is well aware and very proud of the fact that he is closing in on a personal milestone: 1,000 career victories. A month shy of 40 years since he saddled his first runner at Belmont Park, Sciacca is sitting on 997 wins. Five Alarm Robin (Fed Biz) moved the 61-year-old New York stalwart a step closer with her victory at 11-1 on the opening day of Saratoga season. Leaning against a rail at the barn that has...

As a Government Lawyer in Residence at Albany Law School and an adjunct professor of law, attorney and educator, Bennett Liebman has long had his finger on the pulse when it come to racing's rules, regulations and laws. He has written extensively on the subjects of due process and whether or not racetracks have the right to exclude licensees, two key elements of Bob Baffert's lawsuit against NYRA in which he sought injunctive relief to have his suspension temporally overturned. For three years, the New Yorker was Deputy Secretary to...

Handle for the opening four-day week of the Saratoga meet soared to more than $90 million, easily besting the corresponding 2020 and 2019 numbers. The New York Racing Association added a day to the previous three-day opening week Saratoga schedule in 2019. The exact handle total for the 41-race week was $90,112,254, an increase of 12.18% from last year's number of $80,325,660, which was affected by the lack of spectators at Saratoga due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also represents an increase of 22.7% from the $73,441,101 total in 2019....

Edited Press Release The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) have placed Barn 86 at Saratoga Race Course under a precautionary quarantine until further notice due to a positive case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 in that barn. The unnamed, unraced filly, who is trained by Jorge Abreu, was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital on Sunday, July 11 after developing a fever. She was subsequently tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive test for EHV-1 was returned on Thursday...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Monmouth Park will partner for an all-graded $0.20 Pick 6 Saturday, July 17. The wager will feature 15% takeout and mandatory payout. Saturday's included races are Saratoga's GI Diana S. and GIII Sanford S., in addition to Monmouth's GI TVG.com Haskell S., GI United Nations S., GIII Monmouth Cup S., and GIII Molly Pitcher S. NYRA is also offering a cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5 Saturday in partnership with the Meadowlands, New Jersey's harness track.

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) will honor health care professionals and first responders Friday, July 16, at Saratoga. All Capital Region front-line workers who show proper identification will receive free grandstand admission to thank them for their service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Billed as Health Care Heroes and First Responders Day, presented by CDPHP, the day will also feature a performance from New York State Troopers Pipes and Drums. In addition, races will be run in their honor with local first responders and health care professionals welcomed into the...

It's been a long 16 months since the crew for the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland were all together in their actual studio to record the podcast, and they reunited at last Wednesday morning, welcoming Fox Sports and NYRA paddock analyst Maggie Wolfendale on the show to share excitement about the opening of Saratoga to fans once again and discuss how to pick winning horses based on physical appearances. "It's not even just the racetrack," Wolfendale, calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, said...

NYRA TV Analyst Maggie Wolfendale joins the TDN Writers' Room on the eve of Saratoga's race meet to discuss the fans' return to the Spa and her process for spotting winners in the paddock.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - With just minutes to spare before rain started falling Wednesday afternoon, the ceremonial ribbon cutting was completed to formally open Faith's House, the new child care center at Saratoga Race Course. The 4,500-square foot building is located across Union Avenue from the track next to what was long known as the Jockey Y and more recently as the Backstretch Recreation Center. It is named for the late mother of Michael Dubb, the Long Island developer, Thoroughbred owner and driving force behind the project of the Belmont...

A federal judge at 5 p.m. Wednesday granted trainer Bob Baffert a preliminary injunction in his lawsuit against the New York Racing Association (NYRA) that will allow him to race at New York's three major tracks pending the resolution of the case. In a civil complaint filed by Baffert June 14, the seven-time GI Kentucky Derby-winning trainer had alleged that NYRA's banishment of him since May 17 over the issue of his repeated equine drug violations violates his constitutional right to due process. That same day he moved for an...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--Precisely 52 weeks ago, King's Tavern co-owner Jason Fitch valiantly tried to be at least a little bit positive about the prospect of a racing season without spectators across Union Avenue at Saratoga Race Course. Closed for three months by the COVID-19 lockdown, King's had reopened in mid-June at the partial-capacity limits of the time. While just being able to operate was better than nothing for Fitch and his brothers and partners, Adam and Patrick, he acknowledged it was going to be a difficult summer without the thousands...