SOVEREIGN AWARDS/WOODBINE OPENING The 64th Woodbine Thoroughbred season opens Saturday and from  a walk around the backstretch this weekend one could feel the excitement ready to burst from the dedicated grooms, exercise riders, hotwalkers and trainers who work with our racehorses. Opening weekend should offer mostly rain-free weather and temperatures in the 12-14 degrees C […]

  HORSEPEOPLE VOICE CONCERNS ABOUT RACE-DAY MEDICATION BAN Nearly 100 participants in the Ontario Thoroughbred industry attended an information session held by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission at Woodbine on Saturday morning. Horsepeople were generally unhappy about the directive issued by the AGCO in late March, a race-day medication ban which goes into effect 24 […]

SATURDAY MORNING UPDATES:  Arkansas Derby will likely be run on a very sloppy track today, the last major Kentucky Derby stakes ‘prep’. At Keeneland, Canadian owned ANOTHERTWISTAFATE must win the Lexington Stakes at 1 1/16 miles to be assured a spot in the Derby field. 11 a.m. this morning, an important information session at Woodbine […]

SATURDAY INFORMATION SESSION ON RACE-DAY MEDICATION BAN IN ONTARIO The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is holding an information session regarding the upcoming race-day medication ban, this weekend at Woodbine. Since AGCO released Thoroughbred Directive No. 1: Standards, the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario says its members have many questions. In a statement […]

  MICKEY WALLS, JOSIE CARROLL, BORY MARGOLUS AND LEXIE LOU AMONG CHRHF INDUCTEES The Class of 2019 to be inducted August 7 at Mississauga Convention Centre   Mickey Walls – riding sensation                       A career in racing was inevitable for Mickey Walls, born in Vancouver, BC […]

KEENELAND 2-YEAR-OLD SALE TUESDAY                 Keeneland hosted a large crowd of potential buyers for Monday’s Preview Show held in advance of today’s April Two-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale. The April Sale begins at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday. List of horses, interactive index – http://flex.keeneland.com/saleindex/saleindex.html […]

 WOODBINE NEWS: UNBEATEN FILLIES FOR STAR SHOOT Grade 3 Whimsical matches Silent Sonet and Shakopee Town The Woodbine season begins Saturday April 20, day one of 133 dates and two days after the Sovereign Awards ceremony honouring the 2018 champions. Stakes race action starts right away with sprint events for the gals and the probable […]

  TACITUS charges to to top of Derby Points List Vekoma, Roadster win in NY and CA Tacitus – 97 Beyer Speed Figure Roadster – 97 Vekopma = 94   A week ago, JUDDMONTE FARMS and trainer BILL MOTT watched their impressive 3-year-old HIDDEN SCROLL fizzle in the Florida Derby but the famous colours of […]

TIME FOR FLATTER TO GET AT ‘ER Queen’s Plate favourite scheduled to race today (Friday) in Kentucky Ivan Dalos’ homebred 3-year-old colt AVIE’S FLATTER, currently a strong Queen’s Plate favourite, makes his 2019 debut today in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes on day two of the Keeneland meeting. The son of Flatter-Avie’s Empire by Empire […]

MAXIMUM EXCITEMENT Offered for $16K claiming first time out Maximum Security is KY Derby-bound Taking advantage of a scenario where no other horse wanted to set the pace, Gary and Mary West’s homebred MAXIMUM SECURITY led all the way to win the prestigious Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream on Saturday at 9 to 2. The […]

                            Good morning racing fans! Dubai is sent to get underway with its $35 million Dubai World Cup card. On this side of the world, there is a cool card at Gulfstream, that begins later on, with the highlight being the FLORIDA […]

 CALIFORNIA HORSE RACING BOARD MEETING “Horse racing is an insular society and far too many people were completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation. It’s not 1935 anymore. People love animals and don’t want to see them be abused. That’s why there’s no more circus, no more SeaWorld and why 41 states have laws […]

  BIG RACING, BIG DECISIONS Tune in Thursday around 1 p.m. to listen to CHRB meeting   Don’t plan to stray from the TV or computer screen Saturday as it is one of the biggest and most important weekends in the sport. Beginning Saturday morning with the DUBAI WORLD CUP card from Meydan, the day […]

WILD RIDE ON THE KENTUCKY DERBY TRAIL War of Will bobbles in La.; Canadian-owned ‘Fate’ finishes strong 2nd in N.M. Four weeks from this Saturday and the current top 3-year-olds in America will compete for the most famous race of all, the Kentucky Derby (G1). As expected, this year’s crop continues to provide surprises with […]

RACING AND THE WINDS OF CHANGE Ban of race day medication expected to be announced by AGCO Haven’t we had this discussion before? A quick Google search of ‘banning race day medications’ in horse racing will yield a plethora of news items going back five, 10 years and more. The Toronto Star featured a story […]