MALES

Day 1 of the 17th annual National Handicapping Championship is in the books at Treasure Island in Las Vegas. The field is led by first-time qualifier Phil Bongiovanni, a 43-year-old Thoroughbred racehorse owner from Yorba Linda, Calif. Bongiovanni’s bankroll sits at $200 after the first day of the three-day tournament.

John Roark, past president of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, died on Saturday in Temple, Texas, according to the Texas Horsemen’s Partnership. Roark was 75.

Roark served as president of the National HBPA from 2001-2006, according to an obituary from Scanio-Harper Funeral Home. He also was a founding member and past president of the Texas Thoroughbred HBPA and a past chairman of the Texas Horsemen’s Partnership. Roark also served as general counsel for the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America.

Here's a collection of some of the biggest stories in horse racing, all in one place. Unless noted, all of the links here are to free stories on DRF.com.

Graded stakes action across the country

The quarantine barn at Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky., burned down early Saturday morning, but the farm reported that all of its horses were unharmed.

Local news station LEX 18 reported that the Scott County and Georgetown fire departments were called to the farm Saturday to fight the blaze. The Old Friends Twitter account said that one firefighter was injured.

Old Friends said in a release that two horses were being kept in the barn and were safely evacuated.

Here's a collection of some of the biggest stories in horse racing, all in one place. Unless noted, all of the links here are to free stories on DRF.com.

Graded stakes action across the country

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Eclipse Awards on Saturday night at Gulfstream Park quite rightly turned into a celebration and coronation for American Pharoah, who was unanimously voted Horse of the Year and champion male 3-year-old, prompting his owner and breeder, Ahmed Zayat, to call American Pharoah “the horse of a lifetime.”

That horse was responsible for five Eclipse Awards: two for himself, two for Zayat Stables as owner and breeder, and one for trainer Bob Baffert, who said, “Every trainer dreams of having a horse like this.”

Britt McGehee, a former trainer who was a successful jockey agent for the last 15 years, died Saturday night at his sister’s home in Lafayette, La., following a lengthy battle with urachal cancer, a rare form of bladder cancer. He was 58.

McGehee worked primarily for jockey James Graham and was extremely well liked by horsemen and his fellow agents when traveling a circuit that consisted mostly of tracks in Chicago, New Orleans, and Lexington, Ky.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Eclipse Awards on Saturday night at Gulfstream Park quite rightly turned into a celebration and coronation of American Pharoah, who unanimously was voted Horse of the Year and champion male 3-year-old, prompting owner-breeder Ahmed Zayat to call American Pharoah “the horse of a lifetime.”

That horse was responsible for five Eclipse Awards: two for himself, two for Zayat Stables – as owner and breeder – and one for trainer Bob Baffert, who said, “Every trainer dreams of having a horse like this.”