Saratoga Race Course

In racing, there is nothing more horrific than watching a horse break down in front of you. My heart goes out to every person connected with each of the horses that has lost its life in this manner and to each fan who's witnessed this. As my husband said after Maple Leaf Mel's tragic end, "They're just innocent animals!" He left immediately after her death, horrorstruck, and, fortunately, was not at the track on Travers Day. Like countless other casual fans who've seen such awful things, it is unlikely that...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY. - In the wake of two fatal breakdowns during the Travers day program Saturday, New York Racing Association officials faced the questions of if they should immediately cancel the remaining races on the card at Saratoga Race Course and whether to run on Sunday. After fact-finding sessions both days, NYRA President and CEO David O'Rourke said the courses were deemed safe for competition--the jockeys were in agreement--and racing continued as scheduled. The catastrophic leg injuries that led to two horses being euthanized Saturday brought the total of...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - During a ceremony Sunday morning prior to the annual upstate New York Showcase Day, some of the ashes of the late GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness winner Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) were interred at Saratoga Race Course. The popular New York-bred foaled at the nearby McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, and owned by the New York-based Sackatoga Stable, died at the age of 23 on July 16 from complications of colic at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. He won the 2003 Derby and Preakness...

After getting brushed and shuffled in the early stages of Saturday's GI Travers S. while losing momentum and position, Javier Castellano decided to wing his trip aboard 2.7-1 second choice Arcangelo (Arrogate). He would later explain with a laugh--in the way that only winning jockeys can find humor when their riding tactics go off-kilter--that "it seemed to me that everybody had a plan, except myself." Sometimes no plan ends up being the best plan, as demonstrated by Arcangelo's artful dissection of a "loaded" Midsummer Derby that brought together not only...

After watching the best horse he ever trained, New York Thunder (Nyquist), suffer a catastrophic injury in Saturday's GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., trainer Jorge Delgado had to get out of Saratoga. Shortly after the race, he drove back to his base at Monmouth Park, arriving there about 4 1/2 hours after the field crossed the wire in the Jerkens. It was 9 o'clock, but he needed to be with his horses. "I had to go to his stall to make sure he wasn't there," Delgado said. "It was...

6th-SAR, $136.5K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 2:31 p.m. With some bullet works under her belt at Saratoga (Aug. 23, 3f, :36.00, 1/11), $475,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase SHOP LIFTING (Into Mischief) heads to the post for Team Spoor for her debut. The bay filly's dam GI Personal Ensign S. heroine Miss Shop (Deputy Minister) is a half-sister to the dam of GISW Power Broker (Pulpit) dam and GSW Trappe Shot (Tapit). She also produced GIII Miss Grillo S. winner Tin Type Gal (Tapit). Trained by Tony Dutrow, she will...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Unbeaten and hardly challenged so far through four starts, New York Thunder (Nyquist) will not be an unknown Saturday in his second visit this summer to Saratoga Race Course. New York Thunder made a grand entry on the big stage at the Spa on July 28 with a resounding victory in the GII Amsterdam S. Sent off at 11-2 in his first race on dirt, he rolled to a 7 1/2-length score under jockey Tyler Gaffalione. Though he was eased up in the stretch when the...

Connections from champions Dayatthespa (City Zip), Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) and Saratoga Dew (Cormorant) will be honored by the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. during their Showcase Day program after the sixth race on Sunday, Aug. 27 at Saratoga Race Course, the organization said in a release Thursday. The trio were chosen by a panel of New York turf writers and represent the second class of honorees, joining last year's inaugural group of Fio Rito (Dreaming Native), Commentator (Distorted Humor), Fourstardave (Complicance), Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) and Tiz The Law...

1st-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:10 p.m. Purchased by St. Elias Stable, Repole Stable and breeder LNJ Foxwoods for $875,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, Tireless (Not This Time) will take on two turns in his first career start over the grass. Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., the dark bay colt's dam Kitty Union (Union Rags) was purchased by Rosilyn Polan at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale for $160,000 carrying a colt by Improbable. His third dam Tizso (Cee's Tizzy) produced GI Haskell Invitational...

Horses entered to race at New York Racing Association tracks will be subject to enhanced veterinary scrutiny beginning Aug. 30 and those examinations will be extended to horses who will have timed workouts at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course later this fall. NYRA will require private attending veterinarians to perform a physical examination and attest that a horse is sound and fit to race starting next Wednesday. This examination is a condition of entry that must be performed by the private attending veterinarian within a 72-hour window prior to...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. California Track: Del Mar Date: 08/17/2023 Licensee: Tiago Pereira, jockey Penalty: Three-day...

Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) received a bequest from the Cathy D. Perry Trust, the organization said in a release Tuesday. The bequest was presented to TCA board members and staff by Perry's son Brandon and daughter-in-law Diannah in the winner's circle at Saratoga Race Course in early August. "Diannah and I have been supporters of the TCA, through the purchase of seasons at the annual Stallion Season Auction for years and are extremely proud to donate to them now and help make a scalable difference," said Brandon Perry. The...