A number of individuals providing crucial behind-the-scenes work at racetracks and farms were honored at the 2023 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards on Tuesday night at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Knockemdown, a son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, was the champion of the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover following several days of competition at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington that awarded a total of $100,000 in prize money.

Maryland’s horsemen, breeders, and racetrack operators all appear to agree on one thing: Maryland can no longer afford two tracks. In the long-term, they say, racing needs to be consolidated at Pimlico Race Course, the home of the Preakness, with support provided by a new year-round training center.

But from there the differences widen, to a degree that seems unresolvable.

Larry Collmus will call the races at the 13-day Del Mar autumn meeting from Nov 10 to Dec. 3 for the fourth consecutive year, the track announced on Friday.

Trevor Denman calls the races during the summer, but has not worked an autumn meeting since 2019. Collmus was the announcer for the Del Mar summer meeting in 2020 when Denman opted not to work because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Jockey David Cabrera is progressing ahead of schedule as he works to come back from a broken femur sustained when thrown from his mount in a Sept. 21 race at Remington Park.

Cabrera underwent surgery the next day to address the injury, which is located just above the knee. He met with his surgeon Wednesday and she has cleared him to start physical therapy right away, agent Jose Santos Jr. said Wednesday.

“She was super happy with how he’s progressed,” Santos said.

In a move it terms a commitment to the New York breeding industry, the New York Racing Association, through a wholly owned subsidiary, purchased Sugar Maple Farm in Dutchess County, N.Y. for a price of $12.1 million, according to property records.

The 466-acre property, located in Poughquag, N.Y., was owned by Howard and Susan Kaskel, longtime New York breeders/owners who campaigned, among others, Alabama winner Maplejinsky and Irish Derby winner Sir Harry Lewis. Other prominent horses raised at Sugar Maple include American champions Sky Beauty and Itsallgreektome.

The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has suspended two racetrack practitioners for possession of a number of banned substances, including bisphosphonates, according to rulings posted on the HIWU website.

Dr. Barbara Hippie and Dr. Scott Shell, who appear to practice in Ohio and West Virginia from internet records, were both cited for possession of bisphosphonates, a class of drugs that has been banned in Thoroughbred racing for several years because of concerns over their ability to weaken bone remodeling processes, especially when used on young horses. 

Given that the No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal will be issued between 12 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. ET (Sunday, 8 October 2023), The Hong Kong Jockey Club announces that in the interest of public and equine safety, the Sha Tin race meeting scheduled today will be cancelled.

All cash bets will be refunded on presentation of tickets at any Off-course Betting Branch (OCBB) or at the racecourses during opening hours within 60 days of the relevant race meeting.

All bets placed through Telebet and Digital Channels will be refunded directly to the respective betting accounts.

Total betting on U.S. Thoroughbred races continued to slide in September and in the third quarter this year compared to the same time periods last year, though the declines were mitigated by a larger decline in the number of races held, according to figures released on Thursday by Equibase.

Opposing sides in a case involving the constitutionality of the legislation that established the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority on Wednesday provided oral arguments to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.