Will Walden

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm OCALA, FL - Without a breakout horse and numerous outs, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training dutifully marched through its paces Thursday, with a colt by Nyquist attracting the session's highest price of $550,000 late in the day. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of Zedan Racing Stable, signed the ticket on the session topper for the third straight day. From a catalogue of 302 horses, just 187 went through the ring Thursday and the session, which started...

Stable Recovery is a rehabilitation program in Lexington, Kentucky that provides a safe living environment and a peer-driven, therapeutic community for men in the early stages of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Along with going to 12-step meetings and support groups, residents attend the School of Horsemanship at Taylor Made Farm to learn a new vocation in the Thoroughbred industry. The School of Horsemanship is a project that was created by Taylor Made two years ago and has since seen over 100 men go through the program. Many of...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale opened Tuesday with a solid session, and while the 2-year-old sales are usually all about speed, the day was topped by a colt by Tapit who galloped during last week's under-tack show. From the Lothenbach dispersal, the youngster sold for $1.2 million to the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds and D. J. Stables. He was consigned by Tom McCrocklin. "I think it points to the fact that the under-tack show is one metric," said...

Stable Recovery is a rehabilitation program in Lexington, Kentucky that provides a safe living environment and a peer-driven, therapeutic community for men in the early stages of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Along with going to 12-step meetings and support groups, residents attend the School of Horsemanship at Taylor Made Farm to learn a new vocation in the Thoroughbred industry. The School of Horsemanship is a project that was created by Taylor Made two years ago and has since seen over 100 men go through the program. Many of...

Andrew Warren and Rania Warren's Raise Cain (Violence), who romped home in the Mar. 4 GIII Gotham S., will likely forego a return trip to Aqueduct and make his next start in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 8, according to trainer Ben Colebrook. Raise Cain had his first work since the Gotham when going four furlongs in :49.00 (1/3) at Keeneland Mar. 22. "He's been training great and put on weight," said Colebrook. "He'll breeze again [Thursday] at Keeneland. I think he really gets it now...

Will Walden' story is a remarkable one. After battling substance abuse issues for more than a decade, he is sober and has just finished his first year as a trainer, winning with 22% of his starters. But the success of his stable extends beyond trips to the winner's circle. Walden's team is comprised of individuals who were also deeply mired in addiction and the group works together not just to produce winners but to support each other. After an inspirational video on Walden's story produced by the TDN's Katie Petrunyak...

Trainer Will Walden joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss his remarkable stable that is based on substance abuse recovery.

LEXINGTON, KY - In the end, not even Mother Nature could slow down the steady progress of the Keeneland January Horses of Racing Age Sale, which concluded Thursday in Lexington on par with its 2022 renewal despite a short delay to the start of the final session due to tornado warnings in the area. "We've got to be very happy with the way the sale turned out," said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. "It's been very busy in the barns.  A lot of sellers have been very pleased...

Kyle Berryman has a lot to look forward to as he opens a new chapter in 2023. He recently celebrated six months of sobriety and, two weeks ago, his boss Will Walden asked him if he would be interested in running the stable's shedrow. "It's just a title, but it's pretty cool," Berryman said after wrapping up a busy morning at Turfway Park. "I only have maybe five months of experience working with horses right now, so I'm still brand new and still learning a lot." He may shrug off...

Dazzlingdominika (Ghostzapper), a two-year-old filly who broke her maiden at Churchill Downs May 13 for trainer Will Walden, sold for $120,000 as the sole offering in Fasig-Tipton Digital's Ready Made Racing Flash Sale, which closed Thursday. Eric Waller purchased the filly from consignor Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Ready Made Racing. Bidding opened on Monday, May 23 at noon EDT and closed Thursday, May 26 at 2 p.m. EDT. A new venture, Ready Made Racing bought the Ghostzapper filly as a yearling for $30,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September...

When Dazzlingdominika (Ghostzapper) won a May 13 maiden special weight race at Churchill her connections were ready to pounce. The 2-year-old filly had become a hot commodity and they wanted to cash in. In year's past that would have meant selling her privately or waiting for the next horses of racing age sale on the calendar. Instead, she will be sold Thursday by Fasig-Tipton in a one-horse digital, "flash sale," a new means of selling horses that promises to make it easier for those looking to move horses fast. "This...

2nd-Churchill Downs, $86,540, Msw, 5-13, 2yo, f, 5f, :58.73, ft, 1 length. DAZZLINGDOMINIKA (f, 2, Ghostzapper--Trappingsofsilver, by Trappe Shot) improved for a seventh to 'TDN Rising Star' Love Reigns (Ire) (U S Navy Flag) sprinting over the Keeneland turf course Apr. 29 to become the first winner in the young career of trainer Will Walden Friday at Churchill Downs. Quickly into stride from her outside draw, the chestnut was overtaken to her outside by Ski Slope (Frosted) with 3 1/2 furlongs to race, but held her spot at the fence...