Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association

Griffin Johnson may not be well known within horse racing circles, but that doesn't mean he can't help the sport. For decades, racing has been fighting a losing battle when it comes to attracting a younger audience. That's where Johnson comes in. He is a social media influencer who has 9.7 million followers on TikTok and 2.6 million on Instagram. He's also a horse owner. Johnson is part of the West Point Thoroughbreds group that owns GI Arkansas Derby winner and GI Kentucky Derby contender Sandman (Tapit). He'll be at...

During his 22 years serving in the Kentucky State Senate, Damon Thayer was known as a fierce advocate for the horse racing industry. Thayer decided not to run for re-election in 2024, but that doesn't mean that he stopped trying to help the sport, using his considerable political acumen to do so. Thayer has accepted the job as the senior advisor to the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative--a group formed to try to fight off efforts to decouple the racing and casino and card room licenses in Florida. To talk about his...

Watch out for the "Little Guy." Sold for just $70,000 at a yearling sale in Texas, owned by a grocery store owner from Alabama who has had just a few horses and trained by a veteran who had never won a graded stakes race before last weekend, Coal Battle (Coal Front) isn't exactly your typical GI Kentucky Derby horse. But the son Coal Front did it again last week, winning the GII Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn. Having also won the Smarty Jones Stakes, he is obviously for real. To talk...

Saffie Joseph, Jr. has had some big days since he came to the U.S. from his native Barbados in 2011, but perhaps none bigger than last Saturday at Gulfstream Park. He had three stakes wins, including a score with Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhahaarar ({GB}) in the GII Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes and a win with Mystic Lake (Mo Town) in the GII Inside Information Stakes. But the one that really mattered was the victory by White Abarrio (Race Day) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes....

The catalog for the 2025 Inglis Digital USA February Sale will feature a selection of Pennsylvania-bred offerings, presented by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association. The auction will take place Wednesday, Feb. 12, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern. The slate of Pennsylvania-bred offerings continues a years-long working relationship between the PHBA and Inglis Digital USA staff to sell horses from the Keystone State online, reaching back to the auction company's previous iteration with Liza Hendriks and her team. "We've been using Inglis Digital USA for the past few years with success,"...

Canadian champion Tyson (by Tapit), purchased for $175,000 by Darryl and Jill Myers when topping the final session of last week's Keeneland November sale, will stand his first season at the couple's Stone Jug Ranch which is a new Thoroughbred operation in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, the breeders said in a release on Sunday. "We've talked about [standing stallions] in the past," said the Myers's bloodstock advisor Ed Price. "But things got serious a week or two ago when we saw this horse." Bred and raced by Hill 'n' Dale Equine and...

When bloodstock agent David Ingordo bought Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) for just $60,000 out of the 2005 Keeneland September Sale he probably thought he had found that once-in-a-lifetime horse. Little did he know that the 2010 Horse of the Year, who was admitted to the Hall of Fame in 2016, might not be his very best purchase. Fourteen years after he discovered Zenyatta, he picked out Flightline (Tapit), paying $1 million for the future superstar. There was nothing coincidental about any of these selections. Over the years, Ingordo has solidified...

It was another banner weekend for Godolphin as the stable swept the two Grade I races for 2-year-olds at Keeneland. The filly Immersive (Nyquist) won Friday's GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes and finished things off with a very impressive win by the colt East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity. Both will appear next in the Breeders' Cup where they could garner favoritism in their respective races. Leading the cheering section for Godolphin was its Director of Bloodstock, Michael Banahan, whose duties include overseeing the U.S.-based Godolphin runners....

As recently as 2015, it looked like Dylan Davis's career was stuck in neutral. He won just 57 races that year with earnings of $1,859,318. He was, at best, a middle-of-the-pack rider on the NYRA circuit. Fast forward to 2024 and a new Davis has emerged. With three months to go on the year he's already won 147 races and earned $11,318,656 and is on schedule to have the best year of his career. His win aboard Todd Pletcher trainee Tapit Trice (Tapit) in last Saturday's GII Woodward Stakes was...

Peter Rotondo picked a good time to go to work for 1/ST Racing. The company's new Senior Vice President of Racing and Wagering joined a team who is ready to put on an extravaganza this weekend at Santa Anita. It's called the California Crown and consists of three races, the GII $750,000 John Henry Turf Cup, the Grade II $750,000 Eddie D. Stakes and the $1 million GI California Crown Stakes. Meant to be Santa Anita's version of the Pegasus World Cup, the day will also include entertainment meant for...

It's early, but maybe not too early to start dreaming of the GI Kentucky Derby. At least it's not for owner Richard Rigney. Rigney is the owner of 'TDN Rising Star' Jonathan's Way (Vekoma), the winner of last Saturday's GIII Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, the first of many races that award Derby points to the top five finishers. Making his second career start after overcoming trouble to win a maiden at Saratoga, Jonathan's Way was an impressive winner, suggesting there could be bigger and better triumphs in his future....

Aidan O'Brien has never won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. But it hasn't been from a lack of effort. He's had 13 starters in the race and has run some very good horses, including Galileo (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Giant's Causeway (Storm Cat). But his luck could very well change this year as he will take aim at the Classic with one of the best horses of this generation. The O'Brien trained City of Troy (Justify) has had an outstanding campaign in Europe, winning six of seven starts, including four...