purse

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will offer significant enhancements to its 2-year-old racing program, reinforcing the track's long-standing commitment to developing juvenile runners while expanding opportunities for owners, trainers and breeders, the track announced Wednesday. Beginning with the 2026 Summer season, which opens July 17, Del Mar will offer $100,000 open maiden races for 2-year-olds on the main track. These enhanced purses, for both colts and fillies, underscore the early success of California's new single-circuit structure and reaffirm the importance of juvenile racing to the seaside oval. In addition, Del...

In what is becoming a familiar trend for the sport of horse racing in North America, betting in 2024 declined by 3.35%. According to figures released Friday by Equibase, $11,265,210,514 was the all-sources yearly handle for 2024 for U.S. racing, down from 2023's total of $11,655,726,020. Handle was last up in 2021, but that was an outlier because those numbers were going up against 2020 figures when the pandemic shut down much of the sport. Prior to that, the last handle increase was in 2018. The more alarming trend is...

The owners of Drafted (Field Commission) have appealed a ruling handed down by the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) that could cost them $26,000 in purse money because their jockey Luis Castro violated HISA rules regarding the use of the whip. The incident occurred in the GI Forego S., where Drafted finished fifth. NYRA stewards determined that Castro hit the gelding 10 times during the race. Under HISA regulations that have been in place since July 1, a rider cannot whip a horse more than six times. According...