Panel finds no single factor in horse deaths at Churchill Downs. More screening is suggested
A report from horse racingโs federally created oversight panel found no single cause of death among 12 horses at Churchill Downs this spring, but recommends further action and analysis to mitigate risk at the home of the Kentucky Derby.
Churchill Downs to improve track maintenance, veterinary resources for fall meet after horse deaths
Churchill Downs will implement safety measures for its September meet including new track surface maintenance equipment and additional monitoring and equine care following 12 horse deaths before and after the Kentucky Derby that spurred suspension of its spring meet.
Analysis: Picking Medina Spirit in Preakness is a shaky play
The conversation this week should be about how Medina Spirit ran a sensational race at the Kentucky Derby, raving about how the horseโs rags-to-riches story is just the type of feel-good tale that the world needs in some brutally difficult times.
Viola's Known Agenda prevails in Florida Derby at Gulfstream
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. โ Known Agenda owner Vincent Viola kept asking trainer Todd Pletcher the same question over the last few days. โDo you think we really have a shot in the Florida Derby?" Known Agenda ran away from the field in the Florida Derby on Saturday, and might keep on going all the way to Churchill Downs to start the Triple Crown season. Pletcher won the Florida Derby for a record sixth time, and Known Agenda covered the 1 1/8 miles on the dirt in 1 minutes, 49.45 seconds. Viola had to be talked out of a plan to send Known Agenda to the Santa Anita Derby, simply because he didn't think the horse was ready for the Florida Derby.
Horse racing hopes for return to normal, with fans, in 2021
John Velazquez, right, rides Authentic to win the Breeder's Cup Classic horse race at Keeneland Race Course, in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. Many of its best competitors performed at the top of their games on a record-breaking weekend, sparking high expectations for 2021. The sport just hopes that next yearโs schedule returns to normal and that spectators can be in the grandstands enjoying the races. So, I miss the fans.โโIโll be glad when everything gets back to normal and we have the fans back," he said. โWe had a reason to smile again in horse racing and show off to people who were watching what a beautiful sport it is with the excitement and the nervousness," Baffert said.
In an abnormal year, Breeders' Cup offers a bit of normalcy
Kentucky Derby winner Authentic is taken for a workout at the Breeders' Cup World Championship horse races at Keeneland Race Course Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Lexington, Ky. Authentic is scheduled to run in the Breeders' Cup Classic race Saturday. While it has made for a strange year and compacted path to this weekendโs $31 million Breedersโ Cup world championships at Keeneland, the 14 races running Friday and Saturday at the picturesque track provides some normalcy after a season of upheaval. โThe Breedersโ Cup is perhaps the only sport in which the product on the field has actually benefited from the pandemic,โ NBC Sports analyst Randy Moss said in a network release. Considering concerns about whether the Breedersโ Cup would occur at all, the question almost seems welcome.
Improbable is 5-2 favorite for Breeders' Cup Classic
8 post position for the Breedersโ Cup Classic and is the 5-2 morning line favorite for the marquee race of the season-ending World Championships at Keeneland. Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, a Baffert pupil who held off Tiz the Law in a wire-to-wire victory at Churchill, will go off at 6-1 from the No. I canโt do any more for him.โFilly Swiss Skydiver, who won last month's Preakness against males and was a Classic pre-entry, opted to run against her own gender in Breeders' Cup Distaff over 1 1/8 miles. โShe was 11 of 11 in the Breedersโ Cup in 2018," he said. 7 post for Breedersโ Cup Juvenile that cap Fridayโs five-race feature card for 2-year-olds.
House approves bill to combat doping in horse racing
The โHorseracing Integrity and Safety Actโ comes after a series of doping scandals and a rash of horse fatalities in recent years. "Horse racing has long been woven into the fabric of American culture,'' Tonko said during House debate, citing storied names such as Secretariat and Man o' War that โstir the imagination of racing fansโ around the world. The House bill would empower an independent Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to set uniform, national standards for medication, track safety and testing of horses for performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs. The legislation is supported by a range of groups, including The Jockey Club, the New York Racing Association and the Humane Society of the United States. โHorse racing is experiencing the most profound crisis in the long history of the sport.