Ohio racing

Bobby Cline's R.C. Cline Thoroughbred Farm in Ohio, where he now stands three stallions, boards a broodmare band and maintains his role as an active trainer, has acquired Higher Power (by Medaglia d'Oro) from Darby Dan Farm in Kentucky, according to a press release from the Ohio operation on Friday. While standing at Darby Dan, Higher Power has four crops and 211 foals. Out of a 160 foals of racing age and 35 lifetime winners, the stallion claims 67 current 2-year-olds. As far as Higher Power's racing career is concerned,...

Thistledown Racino in Ohio fired its track superintendent on Monday, and management at the Cleveland-area track has brought in outside racing surface consultants and is working with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) in the aftermath of four lost days of racing and training this week because of escalating safety concerns with the dirt surface. But Sean Wright, who was only on the superintendent's job four months before his abrupt termination July 21, told TDN in a Wednesday phone interview that Thistledown's troubles on its one-mile dirt oval extend...

Hugh Drexler has been appointed to the position of Director of Racing while Candy Wetzel will serve as Assistant Director of Racing at Mahoning Valley, the track announced Tuesday. Drexler will begin his duties Sept. 2, pending normal regulatory approvals. Drexler formerly served as the Racing Secretary at Thistledown in 2020/2021. The University of Arizona Racetrack Industry graduate has most recently been general manager of the North Dakota Horse Park where he has overseen racing, gaming and facilities for that organization. Drexler is a Level III accredited ROAP graduate and...

A money disagreement that has simmered for nearly a decade got a step closer to settlement Thursday when a federal judge ruled the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (OHBPA) is entitled to $2,769,652 in gaming revenues that the present and former owners of Belterra Park withheld between 2014 and 2018. The dispute arose from Belterra's failure to pay the OHBPA its share of net-win video lottery terminal (VLT) commission from Belterra Park. The quarrel was exacerbated when the two sides disagreed over the rate that was supposed to be...

The annual Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Mixed Thoroughbred Sale is to be held at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio, Wednesday Oct. 19 and it has drawn enthusiastic participation. The sale will start at 2:30 p.m. The grounds are open for previews/inspections at noon Oct. 18. There are a record-setting 120 entries with a variety of prospects among the 23 weanlings and 74 yearlings as well as 2-year-olds and broodmares. The 2022 edition of the sale includes a 36-entry dispersal from Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm, which has been atop...

Amadevil (Dominus) backed up her 24 1/4-length victory in maiden company when winning her second career start Monday at Thistledown, running away from seriously overmatched rivals in an Ohio-bred allowance race. She paid $2.10 in what was maybe the biggest overlay of the year. Racing for owner-trainer David Wolochuk, the 3-year-old filly debuted June 21 at Thistledown, winning by nearly a sixteenth of a mile while earning a 94 Beyer figure. That number indicated that she has the ability to win graded stakes, but, having won nothing more than a...

David Wolochuk understands that there's only so much a horse can prove in a five-furlong maiden race for Ohio-breds run over a sloppy track. Then again, he's excited about a horse named Amadevil (Dominus). And who could blame him? "Now I see why they say no one has ever died when they have a good horse in the barn," he said. "She makes it real easy to get up in the morning." On a quiet Monday afternoon earlier this month at Thistledown, the horse owned by and trained by Wolochuk...