Stronach Group

The June California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting put to bed a problem that has been brewing for a few months in the North of California. Due to the fallout from COVID-19, and the ongoing issues surrounding stabling and staff accommodation in the north of California, commissioners voted to switch the three-week State Fair--scheduled to run July 14 to Aug. 3 at Cal Expo--to Pleasanton to be run over a shortened window: July 14 through July 20. Golden Gate Fields has also been allocated an additional two weeks of racing,...

Thursday's Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) meeting figured to provide an update on the massive main track base and cushion repair project that has kept Laurel Park dark since Apr. 10 and caused the entire backstretch community to relocate to either Pimlico Race Course, the Timonium fairgrounds, or private stabling. But beyond noting that all horses had been moved out of the Laurel backstretch as of May 26 and thanking horsemen for their cooperation, Sal Sinatra, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), which owns Laurel and Pimlico, only reported...

Difficulties with the dirt track base repair and cushion resurfacing project at Laurel Park continue to mount, with the loose-ended timetable for the work now expected to extend at least until the start of July. Executives with The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns both Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, said during a Friday tele-meeting that they now need to pause work on the problematic and expensive project at Laurel until management can relocate of all horses stabled at Laurel to other facilities in Maryland. This news was delivered two weeks...

The quarantine on two barns at Gulfstream Park imposed after a horse died from unknown circumstances Tuesday night at the track has been lifted after tests for Equine herpesvirus type 1 came back negative, according to Dr. Dionne Benson, the Chief Veterinary Officer for The Stronach Group. The the quarantine prompted a number of scratches on the Wednesday card. Benson said that a filly had gotten loose on the track yesterday morning, and run back to the barn area, entering a barn that was not hers. She was walked back...

The Thursday racing card at Golden Gate Fields was on hold after animal rights protesters ran on to the track before the first race and locked themselves together with interlocking pipes over their arms. The first race was scheduled to go off at 12:45 p.m. Pacific Time. As of 4:45 p.m. local time, one hour after the last race was scheduled to go off, no races had been held and the protestors remained on the track. The protest was staged by a group called Direct Action Everywhere, which live-streamed the...

While 2020 has been a year of hardships for everyone in our industry, many people have said the sport has come together in ways it never has before. As we enter into the holiday season, we spoke with several people who helped make this year a little better. We asked them to reflect on the things that have been particularly difficult to deal with this year; what they have learned because of these struggles and what they hope our industry will take away from this year as we look to...

The Stronach Group's Aidan Butler discusses possible changes at Gulfstream Park in this week's TDN Writers' Room.

The Maryland Jockey Club, The Stronach Group and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association have reached an agreement for a Lasix-free pilot program through 2023 that will facilitate Lasix-free races for 2-year-old horses, Lasix-free graded stakes, a minimum number of racing days per week during any Maryland Jockey Club meet and a substantial increase in committed funding for the Beyond The Wire aftercare program. The program, which was the result of weeks of good-faith discussions among all parties, was reviewed and approved subject to the adoption of emergency regulations, which will...

The 49th annual Runhappy Eclipse Awards, presented by Daily Racing Form, Breeders' Cup and The Stronach Group, will air live on TVG, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced Wednesday. Hosted by Acacia Courtney, Britney Eurton, and Gabby Gaudet and highlighted by the announcement of the 2019 Runhappy Horse of the Year, the Eclipse Awards ceremony will be held Thursday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. ET in the Sport of Kings Theatre at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino in Hallandale Beach, Florida. A livestream of the ceremony will be available online...

Jerry Hollendorfer and the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) filed a complaint for emergency relief in the Alameda County Superior Court Monday seeking either a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) or a Preliminary Injunction against the Pacific Racing Association (PRA) which would permit the veteran trainer to stable and race his horses at the association's Golden Gate Fields facility. Just last month, a judge at the Superior Court of San Diego granted the trainer a preliminary injunction against Del Mar, giving him permission to stable and race horses under his name at...

The Stronach Group has announced that industry executive Steve Koch has been appointed Senior Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We are thrilled to have Steve join our team at this pivotal moment in our sport," said Belinda Stronach, chairman and president of The Stronach Group. "Steve has a proven track record as an executive committed to safety and integrity in racing that is fully in line with our company's priority to put horse and rider safety at the forefront." Koch will work in tandem with the company's...