Sam Calvario, who tied for first in the trainer’s standings at the Golden State Racing meeting at Pleasanton in the fall of 2024, was suspended by Santa Anita stewards for an outstanding debt on Feb. 28, according to a published ruling.
Reached at his home in Richmond, Calif., on Thursday, Calvario said he has left racing. He said he plans to spend more time with his family.
The ruling stated that Calvario owes David Hatanaka’s Dave’s Hay Barn $51,340.
A New York appeals court has sent a nearly four-year-old case involving an overage for a regulated medication in a horse trained by Todd Pletcher back to the New York State Gaming Commission for a new hearing.
The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled unanimously that a hearing that resulted in a 14-day suspension for Pletcher was “fundamentally unfair” because it relied on “hearsay” evidence on the reliability of the drug tests that were used in the case. The ruling mandated that the NYSGC hold a new hearing in the matter.
A federal bankruptcy court in Illinois on Tuesday continued a hearing until Wednesday on a motion by Hawthorne Racecourse in Stickney, Ill., that is seeking approval for the ability to tap into a $16 million line of credit for a reorganization plan under the protection of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy code, according to officials who attended the hearing.
The New York Racing Association and Woodbine Entertainment have joined forces to offer a 14-race series of stakes worth $3.2 million restricted to horses bred in New York and Canada for 2026-27, the two companies announced Tuesday.
Twelve of the races – known as the Empire Trillium Series – will be run over synthetic and two will be conducted on turf, with the latter pair to be held at Woodbine in June 2027.
Like he has for many years, John Kimmel will attend the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. 2-year-olds in training auction next week. This time, however, he will do it solely as a bloodstock adviser.
Kimmel, 71, said this week that he is retiring from training horses, something he has done since 1984. His stable, down to six horses, will have its final starters this weekend at Aqueduct with Protected and Shadyside on Saturday’s card.
Hawthorne Racecourse, the only surviving Thoroughbred racetrack on the once thriving Chicago circuit, has filed for bankruptcy, the track’s owners said in a press release, and will reorganize in the hopes of reversing the track’s fortunes.
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing follows the revocation of the track’s harness license in late January by Illinois regulators due to unpaid bills. Hawthorne, located in Stickney and owned by generations of the Carey family, runs both a harness meet and a Thoroughbred meet each year, but both have struggled for years.
The Jockey Club of Canada has announced the outstanding worker awards and media finalists for the 2025 Sovereign Awards.
Rose Day has been tabbed as outstanding groom; Tove Morgan will get the the outstanding off-track worker award; and Jodie Hiesinger will receive the inaugural outstanding Western Canadian backstretch worker award.
Part of the Woodbine community for nearly three decades, Day has been a groom for 22 years, 13 of them with trainers Sid and Larry Attard. Day has cared for some of the Sid Attard’s top runners, including Kingsport and One Bay Hemingway.
The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association is redirecting the money it previously provided for purses for a series of 2-year-old stakes at Gulfstream Park to a broader program awarding bonuses to Florida-bred owners and breeders of winning 2-year-olds, according to an announcement by the organization.
Sharp growth at its casinos in Kentucky and Virginia led Churchill Downs Inc. to post net income of $383.5 million in 2025, according to financial statements released Wednesday night, though returns at its casinos in other jurisdictions have begun to decline.
