Tapeta

The GI Kentucky Derby aspirants Paladin (Gun Runner) and Renegade (Into Mischief) have a nice little rivalry going after facing each other twice in the span of seven weeks at Aqueduct. Even though the Chad Brown-trained Paladin ($1.9 million FTSAUG) has bested the Todd Pletcher-trained Renegade ($975,000 KEESEP) both times-once via DQ on Oct. 17, and an outright win Saturday in the GII Remsen Stakes-the two colts might not be as far apart as their records indicate. Paladin (owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Brook Smith, Peter...

Parx will begin installing a new turf course in March with the goal of racing on it by late summer 2026. There has been no grass racing at Parx since September 2024. In August of that season the course was closed after a catastrophic equine injury during a stakes resulted in a euthanization, triggering a safety review by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). The track was cleared to reopen by HISA within several weeks, with Parx agreeing to put new protocols and maintenance procedures in place. But another...

Multiple graded stakes winner Arzak (Not This Time--Delightful Melody, by Tapit) has been purchased by Amsterdam Two Farm in Middleburgh, New York, where he will retire to stud for a fee of $6,000, with special consideration to approved mares. A $575,000 OBS Spring 2-year-old in 2020, Arzak won the 2023 GII Woodford Stakes and 2024 GII Shakertown Stakes on the grass at Keeneland and he was also runner-up behind Cogburn (Not This Time) in the 2024 GI Jaipur Stakes. He won the 2022 GIII Jacques Cartier Stakes and Thorncliffe Stakes--where...

Let go at odds of 24-5 shipping down from Saratoga to debut going a mile on the Presque Isle Tapeta track, the well-related The Big Con (GB) (c, 2, Dark Angel {Ire}--Nakuti {Ire}, by Mastercraftsman {Ire}) made an eye-catching sweep for the lead when asked fully three furlongs from home and shot away from four overmatched rivals to graduate by a highly impressive eight lengths en route to 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Top local jockey Pablo Morales looked to be asking the 115,000gns Tattersalls October graduate for some speed to...

Maryland's Fair Hill Training Center will replace its seven-furlong Tapeta Footings track this summer, an upgrade from one of the synthetic surface's earliest installations to the company's newest iteration Tapeta 13. Work is slated to begin in mid-July and take approximately six weeks, depending on weather and other factors. Fair Hill, home to approximately 700 Thoroughbred racehorses in 18 privately owned barns, was founded in 1983 with a seven-furlong wood-chip track and upgraded to include a one-mile dirt track shortly thereafter. The wood chips were replaced 19 years ago with...

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with Woodbine after it conducted an investigation into a rash of equine fatalities in the fall of 2024. Woodbine did not contest the AGCO findings. Between Oct. 28 and Dec. 15, 19 horses sustained injuries while racing and training over Woodbine's synthetic surface. Ten of those horses had to be euthanized. Two horses died on Nov. 9 and the remainder of that day's card was cancelled. The breakdowns were not expected as Woodbine's Tapeta...

Helped by race-fitness on Friday, Ka Kui Ho's Glittering Legend (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) proved too strong in the Listed Burradon Stakes to emulate the win of his half-brother Megallan (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the Newcastle feature. This looked a deep renewal of the mile contest staged on the Tapeta, with last year's G2 Royal Lodge Stakes runner-up Royal Playwright (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Lordship Stud's TDN Rising Star Bowmark (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in attendance and the focus was sharply on the latter who started as the...

Kevin Plank has listed the 400-acre Sagamore Farm in Reisterstown, Maryland for $22 million, according to a report in The Baltimore Sun. "It's time for the next steward to carry the torch and continue its legacy for generations to come," said Plank, who purchased the historic property for $4.99 million in 2007 with plans to operate a Thoroughbred breeding and racing operation. The Under Armour founder discontinued breeding and training on the property in 2020 and announced plans to use the land to grow corn and rye for his Sagamore...

Woodbine, which cancelled both racing and training effective two races before the end of Saturday's card after three separate incidents on the Tapeta surface, will reopen to training Wednesday morning and is scheduled to resume live racing Thursday. The all-weather surface underwent "a thorough review and extensive maintenance conducted over the last couple of days," said officials from Woodbine Entertainment in a Wednesday afternoon release. "The safety of our horses and riders is our highest priority and we have been working diligently over the last couple of days to ensure...

Timelines for the massive-scaled, $455-million rebuild of Belmont Park were brought more clearly into focus Wednesday during a construction update presented by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) at a meeting of the New York State Franchise Oversight Board (FOB). In chronological order: 1) Belmont's new one-mile Tapeta track could open for training as early as the spring of 2025. 2) NYRA is keeping open the option of running the 2026 GI Belmont Stakes back downstate at the new facility under a festival-meet scenario in which all four racing surfaces...

As renovations continue at Belmont Park, The New York Racing Association (NYRA) divulged a plan July 1 to conduct approximately three months of winter racing annually at Belmont exclusively on an all-weather surface. A one-mile Tapeta track is currently under construction at Belmont, while the facility is scheduled to reopen in 2026. Lisa Lazarus, the CEO of the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority (HISA) provided a letter Friday to NYRA in support of the decision. The letter appears in full below. To Whom it May Concern: The Horseracing Integrity and...

June was the warmest month on record-the twelfth consecutive month of record global temperatures. Climate change is hitting all walks of life. Horse racing, too. Last year, unusually hot temperatures coupled with unusually little rain fueled huge wildfires in Canada, impacting air quality and causing the cancellation of racing and training in both Canada and New York. Just last month, New Mexico's Ruidoso Downs narrowly avoided a wildfire that tore through the area. The track hasn't been so lucky in the aftermath, thanks to frequent flash flooding leading to the...