OBS

Despite a few downgrades due to weather and a cancellation here and there, the U.S. and Canada still combined to run 446 graded races in 2025. What stands out after another full year of North American graded racing is in the books? All 98 scheduled Grade I races were run, with just three horses scoring a trio of successes at the elite level: Journalism, Sovereignty, and Ted Noffey. Another nine horses doubled up with two Grade I wins on the year. In addition to the 98 Grade I events, there...

The first decoupling salvo of Florida's 2026 legislative session that could lead to Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs being able to cease live racing while retaining their gaming rights was fired Tuesday morning when Rep. Adam Anderson submitted a bill that shares similarities to a controversial initiative he backed in 2025 that cleared the House and one committee in the Senate. Like the 2025 attempt, the bill that will be in play when the new legislative session begins Jan. 13 would allow either of Florida's two Thoroughbred tracks to...

Edited Press Release Leadership representing Florida's five principal Thoroughbred industry organizations gathered in Ocala recently for a collaborative summit with the goal of uniting the Thoroughbred industry to help preserve and promote our Florida racing and breeding legacy by providing a clear and concise message to our elected officials at the local, state and national level to support our interests. The organizations represented included leadership from the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (FHBPA), Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA), Ocala Breeders' Sales Company (OBS), Tampa Bay Downs Horsemen's...

The OBSOnline January 2026 Sale, offering horses of racing age and 2-year-olds in training, will run in conjunction with the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's January Winter Mixed Sale, which will be held Jan. 27 in Ocala, Florida. The Winter Mixed Sale, featuring newly turned yearlings, broodmares, and broodmare prospects, has 282 head catalogued. The single-session auction will begin at 11 a.m. ET. OBSOnline January 2026 Sale Dates Entry deadline - Jan. 19 Optional Under Tack - Jan. 22, 10 a.m. ET Bidding Begins - Jan. 26, noon ET Bidding Closes...

Did you hear the one about the wrestler who opted for three foals and a submission? Understandably, Jeff Kerber feels a little conflicted about the "submission." In his youth, as Iowa's first high school wrestler unbeaten through four years of varsity competition, everything came down to what he could do with his bare hands. In lately discovering a flair for a second walk of sporting life, however, Kerber had to make a pragmatic concession to the economic odds against him. His entire Kentucky program comprised four mares, and one of...

Will Douglass is to join Ocala Breeders' Sales Company as its international representative. The agent established Will Douglass Bloodstock in January of this year. Previously, he had worked for Charlie Gordon-Watson since 2010 and as an assistant to Classic-winning trainers Luca Cumani and Ed Dunlop, and Australian champion trainer David Hayes. "I am looking forward to working with [the] team at OBS and helping them expand their international client base," Douglass said. "OBS has a long history of selling outstanding horses that are successful all over the world such as...

Ocala Breeders' Sales Company has partnered with Carlos Morales of Agentes 305 to provide Spanish-language coverage on site for the upcoming October Yearling Sale taking place Oct. 7-8, the auction company said via a release on Wednesday. Founded by Morales in 2019, Agentes 305 provides bilingual coverage of Thoroughbred racing's top events through video interviews with owners, trainers, jockeys and backstretch workers. "As the second largest segment of the United States population, the impact of the Spanish-language community cannot be overstated," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "Our partnership...

Dear Editor: A July 31 letter printed by Thoroughbred Daily News criticized Florida's racing and breeding programs. This letter, seemingly targeted at the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' & Owners' Association, compels a direct response, particularly given the source and timing. Considering the Source The author of this letter has not appeared as a breeder-of-record on a registered Florida-bred foal that we know of since 2019, holds no current Florida racing license that we are aware of, appears to have no recent Florida starts as an owner or trainer, and is not...

Marcelo Cardoso, who suffered two extensive brain bleeds when the horse he was breezing June 12 at the OBS June breeze-up show broke down, has been transferred to the Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, where he will undergo intensive physical and speech therapy. His friends are starting a Gofundme account to help defray the expenses of what will be a long, if not a lifetime, recovery. Cardoso, 41, a father of three who had a 12-year career as a jockey, was riding hip number 482, an Upstart filly, when...

4th-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 2:52 p.m. ET. John Stewart's Resolute outfit went to $500,000 during Keeneland September to acquire BLUE MADAME (Dubawi {Ire}). The Chad Brown trainee is the first foal out of English & French Group 1 stakes winner Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Ire}), who is a half-sister to French MSW Casterton (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and is herself out of the full-sister of dual U.S. champion grass horse High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). Making the races is Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale grad Scratch...

The Florida breeding program has a long and proud history that we all recognize is a major component of the racing industry in the state. Traditionally, we have been the strongest of the regional (non-Kentucky) programs, ranking ahead of California and New York despite our year-round racing program not being up to par with those two locations. Yet when The Stronach Group (TSG) took control of South Florida racing years ago, that status as a third-place racing state changed as our purses and handle numbers all trended upward while New...

Baoma Corp's 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (c, 3, Nyquist--Zetta Z, by Bernardini), who is a neck away from being undefeated in six career starts, made just his second trip around two turns Saturday, resulting in a victory in the 1 1/16-mile GII San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. His fellow Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Mirahmadi (Into Mischief), a $1.05-million Keeneland buy who finished second in the GI Del Mar Futurity two years ago, set all the pace, holding off all but Nysos to complete the silver-haired trainer's exacta. MGSP Tarantino (Pioneerof...