Tim Thornton

“The Toughest Game Played Outdoors”

We are all the products of our environment. Tim Thornton could see as much, when he saw a foal that had been delivered at sea trying to walk on dry land for the first time. "He was, like, six weeks old," he recalls. "It was so funny to see him get off that ship, rocking everywhere, giving it the sea legs." But then that's pretty well how Thornton himself might have felt, as one born and bred for horses, had he ever been torn away to work in some other...

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Making New Memories: Airdrie at 50
Making New Memories: Airdrie at 50

A lot of you will know the feeling. Day three of the January Sale, back ring, and your horse is coming back out after a matter of seconds. The digital board had stalled at $2,500, and then cleared. Bret Jones exchanged a grimace with farm manager Ben Henley. Pretty terrible, no getting away from it. But what can you do? It wasn't the first time Airdrie has had to cut its losses on a horse, and nor would it be the last. As his father has always told Bret: "Better...

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Broberg & Thornton Repeat Atop Delta Standings

Trainer Karl Broberg took his 11th consecutive Delta Downs leading trainer title; Broberg and Matt Johansen's End Zone Athletics, Inc. won their seventh straight leading owner title and 10th in the last 11 years; and Broberg's go-to local rider Tim Thornton sat atop the jockey standings for the fourth year in a row as the Vinton, LA bullring's 2021-2022 meet concluded Mar. 5. The Broberg barn saddled 105 winners and racked up $1,928,820 in earnings, coming close to matching its 107 wins and $2,017,120 during the 2018-2019 season. A total...

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Woolf Award Finalists Announced

Jockeys Joe Bravo, Glenn Corbett, Julien Leparoux, Rodney Prescott and Tim Thornton make up the list of finalists for the prestigious 2022 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. Presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, the award--named for the legendary and highly respected George "The Iceman" Woolf--"recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character garner esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing." Voted on by jockeys nationwide, the Woolf Award winner will be announced in February.

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Dispute Over Safety of New Lights Keeps Delta Dark at Night

Strenuous safety-related objections from Delta Downs jockeys about the allegedly inconsistent lighting from a new system that has been installed and tweaked over the course of several months kept the Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) from approving a return to night racing when regulators met for an emergency session to address that one item Monday morning. Mindy Coleman, an attorney representing The Jockeys' Guild, told commissioners on the Dec. 13 Zoom call that while the Delta-based riders recognize and appreciate the efforts track management has made to try to improve...

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