ALTOONA, Iowa – Jockey David Mello, who was injured last Saturday in the paddock when the gelding Aksel G T flipped over on him, underwent reconstructive surgery on his broken pelvis on Monday in Des Moines.
According to his wife, Stephanie Mello, "David's surgery was successful, and he has already begun physical therapy."
Mello, a 29-year-old native of Foster, R.I., won a record 100 races during the 2014 Thoroughbred meet here and was off to a promising 6-for-26 start after three cards.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Bob Baffert and owner Bernie Schiappa made a visit on Tuesday to Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Ky., about an hour from Churchill Downs, to visit some old friends, Silver Charm and Game On Dude.
Silver Charm, the 1997 Kentucky Derby winner, was repatriated from Japan after being retired from stud duty. Game On Dude, a gelding, was retired last year after a distinguished career in which he won eight Grade 1 races, including three runnings of the Santa Anita Handicap, and earned $6,498,893.
The 2015 meet at Hazel Park Raceway brings with it a sense of stability not seen in Michigan’s Thoroughbred industry for quite some time.
The northwest Detroit-area track switched its focus from harness racing last year to become the state’s primary Thoroughbred venue, ending a 30-year hiatus for flat racing on the grounds. Hazel Park is Michigan’s fourth home for Thoroughbred racing since 2007 and was the only track left standing after Mount Pleasant Meadows shut down last winter and Northville Downs abandoned plans to convert from Standardbreds in the middle of 2014.
U.S. District Court Judge Sandra Feuerstein issued a stay of a scheduled New York State Gaming Commission administrative hearing for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott in his appeal of penalties issued against him by the commission for the overages of two therapeutic medications in one of his horses last fall at Belmont Park.
CHURCHILL DOWNS
WEATHER: Clear
TEMPERATURE: 48
TRACK: Fast/firm
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the majority of the Kentucky Derby starters finally on the grounds, Tuesday was a busy morning during an Oaks/Derby session dominated by gallopers, many of whom were stretching their legs for the first time over the Churchill Downs main track.
:: KENTUCKY DERBY WORKOUTS: Purchase Mike Welsch's Derby/Oaks Clocker Report
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – As a poker player, Kiaran McLaughlin appreciates the feeling of having a strong hand. As a horse trainer – with the goal of winning a Kentucky Derby – McLaughlin knows it’s better to have more than one ace in the hole. A pair is better, three of kind even more so, and so on.
McLaughlin, the horse trainer, entered 2015 with a full house of Derby prospects. But a flop here, a bad turn there, and well, McLaughlin was close to having to fold.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – His two best 3-year-olds have combined to win all their races save one, and both come off victories in important final preps for the Kentucky Derby. Yes, that outline obviously applies to American Pharoah and Dortmund, the Bob Baffert-trained duo that has dominated the talk of this year’s Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Carl Nafzger has won the Kentucky Derby twice and was voted into the Racing Hall of Fame, but he might be best known, both in racing and outside it, for one of the greatest unscripted moments in sports history, his impromptu narration to owner Frances Genter of Unbridled’s charge to victory in the Kentucky Derby.
It happened 25 years ago.
Bill Nader, the former chief operating officer of the New York Racing Association, will leave his job as executive director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club early next year and return to the U.S., the HKJC announced on Tuesday.
Nader was hired by the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 2007. The release said he would leave his position as executive director at the end of his current contract and would remain with the company through January “to help with the transition.”
Churchill Downs Inc. had a net loss of $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2015 on record revenue of $250.9 million, according to financial statements released Monday. The loss compares with a $700,000 loss in the first quarter of last year.
