Living well is the best revenge.
That’s why officials of the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association are imploring the membership to vote against repeal of the Massachusetts expanded gaming legislation in a Nov. 4 statewide referendum. They want to reap the rewards of the bill’s built-in benefits for the state’s racing industry.
Will Take Charge, the 3-year-old champion of 2013, has been retired and will begin stud duty next year at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky.
An announcement was released to the media Sunday, saying the colt had suffered a mild suspensory strain, forcing him to miss his final two scheduled starts, the Jockey Club Gold Cup next Saturday at Belmont Park and the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
Suffolk Downs Chief Operating Officer Chip Tuttle called a meeting with the horsemen on Saturday evening to assure them that even though the track's owners have no intention of racing next year, they will consider an alternative plan as long as it is economically feasible.
"We're willing to listen if they want to come up with a proposal. While we have no plans to race, if someone else does and it makes sense economically, we'll keep an open mind," Tuttle said.
BENSALEM, Pa. – Pennsylvania Derby Day got off to a rough start Saturday as Res Judicata and his exercise rider, Lisa Whitaker, were injured in a morning training accident.
Res Judicata is a multiple stakes winner trained by John Servis. According to Servis, Whitaker is hospitalized with a broken eye socket, a punctured lung, and fractured ribs.
Princess of Sylmar, a four-time Grade 1-winning filly, has been retired from racing, her connections announced via press release Friday evening.
Princess of Sylmar was diagnosed with a severe case of the thumps, an electrolyte imbalance, following her fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 22 at Saratoga. Her connections had hoped to get her back to the races this fall, but she wasn’t training well enough to be considered for races like the Grade 1 Beldame at Belmont Park on Sept. 27 or the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland on Oct. 5.
Mike Mayo, chairman of the NTRA Players’ Committee and a tireless advocate for horseplayer rights, died at his home in Texas, surrounded by friends and family, on Thursday. He was 59.
Mayo, who never smoked, was diagnosed with lung cancer this summer. He decided to forego treatments that were unlikely to help, instead choosing to spend his final months doing what he loved – spending time with his family, especially wife Marsha, and seeing friends in Las Vegas and at Del Mar.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita is adding two racing days to its upcoming autumn meeting – Thursday, Oct. 16, and Wednesday, Oct. 29, track president Tom Ludt said Friday.
The race meeting begins Sept. 26. The additional days will give Santa Anita 25 racing programs through Nov. 2. The season is highlighted by the Breeders’ Cup races Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
Ludt said the decision was made after consulting with the Thoroughbred Owners of California and gaining approval from the California Horse Racing Board. Plans were finalized Friday.
After watching Game On Dude finish fourth in both the Gold Cup at Santa Anita in June and the Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August, co-owner Bernie Schiappa said on Friday that the time had come to end the 7-year-old gelding’s illustrious racing career.
Thursday, trainer Bob Baffert announced Game On Dude would be retired after a career of 16 wins in 34 starts, earnings of $6,498,893, and eight Grade 1 wins from 2011 to earlier this year.
As Suffolk Downs management was forced to notify employees and horsemen Wednesday that the track’s closure is imminent as a consequence of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Tuesday decision to award the Boston casino license to Wynn Resorts, another track owner stepped forward with a plan to keep Thoroughbred racing alive in the state.
Some names have changed, but Del Mar’s November race meeting will offer a program of 14 stakes similar to what was offered at Hollywood Park before that track closed last year.
Del Mar announced its stakes schedule, worth $2,250,000, on Wednesday. The race meeting runs from Nov. 7-30 and will include nine graded stakes formerly run at Hollywood Park.
