Horse Racing News

Five years after his last appearance in the Breeders' Cup, wouldn't it be something if ageless iron horse Evening Attire could make a return trip to Santa Anita? That's exactly what the 10-year-old gelding has a chance to do July 19, as he goes to post in the $250,000 Greenwood Cup the first ever Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" event at Philadelphia Park Casino & Racetrack.

The eighth annual National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities and Kentucky Derby Museum Golf Classic will take place at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville Oct. 6.

A subcommittee of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has unanimously recommended that anabolic steroids be banned in horse racing in the state.

Oregon horsemen claim they are caught in the middle of a battle between TVG and Magna Entertainment Corp. over source-market fees, a dispute they claim could jeopardize this year's Portland Meadows fall meet.

Magna Entertainment Corp. has announced the sale of Great Lakes Downs to The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians for $5 million cash, less customary closing adjustments.

Flying Zee Stable's homebred I Lost My Choo seeks her fifth victory of the year and the first graded stakes triumph of her young career, as she takes on nine 3-year-old fillies in the $200,000 Virginia Oaks (gr. IIIT) July 19 on the Colonial Downs turf.

Jess Jackson, whose Stonestreet Stable is majority owner of Horse of the Year Curlin, is appealing to the horse's fans to help him decide which direction he should take with the colt's campaign for the remainder of 2008.

Matt Hook has joined Pinnacle Race Course as track announcer, with additional roles as assistant racing secretary and track handicapper. The announcement was made July 16 by Pinnacle Race Course general manager Allan Plever.

The 2008 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale marked the first sale in which the auction company offered buyers the opportunity to have their horses tested for exogenous anabolic steroids.

Despite registering across the board declines, the results of the 2008 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale, held July 14-15 at the sale company's Newtown Paddocks near Lexington, did not overly disappoint sale company officials.

Perhaps Mark Toothaker of Legacy Bloodstock said it best during the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July select yearling auction: "The bull's-eye is getting smaller on what the marketplace is wanting. It's gone from about the size of a quarter to the size of a dime."

Even as Deep Impact continued to set a lively pace with many of his foals selling strongly during the final session of the Japan Racing Horse Association select sale on July 16, a hard reality emerged from beneath the flashy headlines.

The California Horse Racing Board took a Hollywood twist July 15 when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointment of well-known actress Bo Derek and veteran television producer and writer David Israel as commissioners.

A daughter of Exchange Rate named Wicked Exchange, purchased for $375,000 by Zayat Stables, is the top-priced offering to pass through the sale ring on day two of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale. The $375,000 price tag established a new high price for the sale. The previous top price was $330,000 for a son of first-crop sire Unforgettable Max, purchased by Hidden Brook Farm, agent for Paul Pompa Jr.

Penn National Gaming Inc., second only to Magna Entertainment Corp. in terms of number of racetrack holdings in North America, said July 15 it has developed equine health and safety initiatives it hopes implement at all of its properties in six jurisdictions.

One barn is in lockdown and movement of horses on or off the grounds has ceased, but training continues at Charles Town Races & Slots, the West Virginia track that instituted the precautions after a horse in its stable area displayed neurologic signs considered to be consistent with equine herpesvirus-1.

Despite downward trends in wagering nationwide, Indiana Downs bucked the trend by staying relatively flat during its 54-day Thoroughbred meet that ended July 8.

Pinnacle Race Course, the new Thoroughbred racetrack located near Detroit, Mich., has become a member of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association pending final NTRA board approval, it was announced July 15. Pinnacle will open its inaugural meet July 18.

Prairie Meadows will host a silent auction July 16 during the "Ridin' the Storm Out Flood Relief Concert" featuring REO Speedwagon, with special guest Little River Band.

Tin Cup Chalice has a shot at the $250,000 OTB Big Apple Triple bonus in the Aug. 20 Albany Stakes at Saratoga. No horse has won the bonus, which was instituted in 1999.