Dane Kobiskie to step away from training

Dane Kobiskie, who rode 290 winners as a jockey from 2005-09 before winning another 672 races in 14 years as a trainer, has stepped aside as the trainer for the Haughey family to serve as a part-time consultant. Kobiskie ran his last starter on July 1, with Doug Cowans taking over the horses owned by PTK, the nom de course of Tom Haughey and his daughter Kaitlin.

At his career peak, Kobiskie was a perennial contender for leading trainer in Maryland and Virginia while also being highly active in Kentucky and surrounding states. He won 105 races in both 2011 and 2012, with the stable earning more than $2 million in 2012.

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Kobiskie, 43, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1997-99. He continues to live in Lexington while maintaining a variety of business interests in his native Kansas in partnership with his father. He said he intends to “enjoy the things the racing industry never allows a man the time to enjoy” and that “PTK and I remain like family, and I wish them all the best.”

PTK has remained active following the March 2020 death of Paula Haughey, Tom’s wife and Kaitlin’s mother.

Bauer back in town

Trainer Phil Bauer made it back to Louisville from Saratoga in time for a Tuesday night scrimmage in which the oldest of his three children participated, giving a gratifying ending to a terrific summer. “He’s playing third-grade tackle football,” said Bauer. “It’s better to be there in person, rather than seeing it on video and pictures. Being away from the family is the hardest part.”

Still, Bauer, 37, made up for missed time with an unforgettable meet at Saratoga, where he had six winners from just 13 starters.

“Oh man, you couldn’t even dream up something like that,” he said. “It was very fun and exciting. You just try to enjoy it, because you know how quickly it can turn around.”

* Five stakes will be run next Saturday at Churchill, including the first two points events toward the Kentucky Oaks and Derby next May. The Pocahontas and Iroquois are those respective races toward the spring classics, with both being Grade 3, $300,000 events at 1 1/16 miles.

The other races among the first of 11 stakes at the 14-day September meet are the Grade 3 Locust Grove, the Open Mind, and the Louisville Thoroughbred Society. The all-dirt meet starts Thursday with an eight-race twilight card and runs through Oct. 2, with the lone night program set for Sept. 24. Entries for Thursday will be drawn Monday.

* Three stakes will be co-featured on a 12-race card that ends the Kentucky Downs meet Wednesday. They are the $400,000 Gun Runner and $400,000 One Dreamer, along with the $500,000 Juvenile Mile, which was postponed from its original Sept. 3 date by weather.

* Stay Lost, the first-ever starter at Kentucky Downs for trainer Joseph O’Brien, finished a late-closing third in a one-mile maiden race Thursday. O’Brien, 29, is the son of legendary Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien.

* Jimmy Riccio will begin booking mounts for Ricardo Santana Jr., effective with the start of the Churchill meet. Riccio also will continue to work for Kendrick Carmouche in New York.