Saratoga

Saratoga Season Passes On Sale March 20

Season tickets and passes for the 2024 Saratoga summer race meet will become available to the general public Wednesday, March 20. The sale, announced by NYRA Monday, will begin at 10am and includes admission along with reserved seating in the clubhouse or grandstand. Season passes grant access to the track for all 40 race days including the GI Travers S. and can be purchased for $95. "Season ticket plans allow fans to secure some of the best seats in the house for all 40 days of the Saratoga meet," said...

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Longtime NYRA Employee Michael Prunetti Dies At 77

Michael F. Prunetti, a veteran NYRA employee, passed away March 15 at the age of 77. Remembered by his NYRA colleagues in a note released Saturday, Prunetti spent over 40 years as a racing official around New York tracks including time as the Assistant Racing Secretary. "What a kind gentleman he was," recalled NYRA Stakes Coordinator Andrew Byrnes. "Mike took the time to teach me how to do things the right way. I learned a tremendous amount under him. He was one of the best. He was a jewel." Prunetti...

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Woolford Named Head Of Donor Engagement At The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation has appointed Meredith Woolford as the organization's new Director of Donor Engagement, the non-profit said in a release late Friday. She will spearhead initiatives to cultivate and expand relationships with donors and further TRF's mission to provide a lifetime sanctuary for retired racehorses. Woolford brings extensive experience and a passion for non-profit work. Before joining the TRF, she served the Saratoga Hospital Foundation as the manager of institutional advancement and later as its executive director. "I am honored to join The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and contribute...

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Tickets On Sale For Horse Racing Women's Summit

Tickets are now on sale for the 2024 Horse Racing Women's Summit (HRWS) Annual Summit and HRWS Events. Events at Keeneland (Apr. 18) and at Saratoga (July 23) kick off the year, all leading up to the third annual Horse Racing Women's Summit at Santa Anita Sept. 25-26. There will be another gathering prior to the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar Oct. 31. Attendance at each event is limited and it is expected that events will sell out. Click here to purchase tickets. "Coming into our third year of the...

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National Museum Of Racing To Celebrate Secretariat's Birthday With Children's Event

Secretariat's birthday will be celebrated Saturday, March 30 with a special children's event hosted by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, NY. The afternoon, which will run concurrently with the final day of the Museum's exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Triple Crown, will feature a showing of the 2010 Disney film starring Diane Lane along with a variety of children's activities. Fans are welcome to an Easter egg hunt and will have the opportunity to color silks and design a birthday card....

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Oklahoma Training Track To Open Apr. 18

The Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga Race Course will open Thursday, Apr. 18, officials at the New York Racing Association (NYRA), with the barn area opening to licensed trainers and staff from Monday, Apr. 15. As Saratoga prepares to host the 2024 Belmont Stakes Fesitval June 6-9, the main track will open one month earlier than customary on Monday, May 6. Due to the ongoing construction at Belmont Park, there will be significant changes to the usual NYRA training schedule. The Belmont main track will remain closed for training through...

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Due To Knee Injury, Locked Will Miss Triple Crown

'TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner), the winner of last year's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, has come down with a knee injury that will prevent him from running in the upcoming Triple Crown races. The injury is not considered career-threatening. The news of his injury was first reported by David Grening of the Daily Racing Form. Aron Wellman, the managing partner of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, the co-owners of Locked, described the injury as "a very minor ligament fray in the upper part of the left knee." Locked was first expected...

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'Unfinished Business' — Champion Nest Back in Training for 5-Year-Old Campaign

After an abbreviated three-race campaign in 2023, Nest (Curlin) has returned to training for her 5-year-old season. Mike Repole bought out his partners in the champion 3-year-old filly of 2022--Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House--for a co-topping $6 million at last fall's Fasig-Tipton November sale. "When we put her in the sale, I really went there with a game plan of she might retire as a broodmare," Repole said. "The Japanese were bidding on her and I've seen so many of these horses go to Japan, and, honestly, I didn't...

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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Watercress Farm

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Rob Tribbett, General Manager of Fred Hertrich's Watercress Farm. Comic City (8, City Zip--Comic Marvel, by Distorted Humor) will be bred to Olympiad. Comic City is a City Zip mare from a top Juddmonte family. Olympiad is the total package. He is a beautiful horse by a top sire, he was a Saratoga 2-year-old old winner himself over some fantastic horses, then showed the ability to consistently dominant at the top levels at four....

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NY Governor Hochul Provides Belmont Park Update

Edited Press Release New York Governor Kathy Hochul provided a project timeline and additional updates Monday on the construction of new racing facilities at Belmont Park. The New York Racing Association, which will oversee construction, also released a series of architectural renderings to bring the project's vision to life. Expected to be completed in late 2026, the multi-year project to build a new Belmont Park will generate $1 billion in construction-related economic impact and create 3,700 construction-related jobs. Following the return of thoroughbred racing to Belmont in 2026, additional racing...

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Slight Uptick in Rate of Fatal Injuries in 2023

According to numbers compiled by The Jockey Club for its Equine Injury Database (EID), there were 1.32 fatalities per 1,000 starts at North American racetracks in 2023. That was slightly worse than in 2022 when the number was 1.25, the lowest rate of fatalities since The Jockey Club started compiling numbers in 2009. It was the first time the number had increased year-over-year since 2018 when there were 1.68 fatalities per 1,000 starters. Nonetheless, the figures showed that the sport has made obvious strides since 2009 when it comes to...

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HISA Review Finds A Multitude of Factors Contributed to Saratoga Fatalities

The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Thursday released the report covering its investigation of the rash of fatalities that occurred during the 2023 Saratoga meet. The report found some factors that may have contributed to the fatalities, while also concluding that there was no link that covered all 14 deaths. "This report concludes that there are a multitude of risk factors that likely contributed to the fatalities during the 2023 Meet. These findings will drive HISA's data collection, recommended racetrack practices and regulatory scheme going forward." the...

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