Tags ‘Santa Anita’

Commentary: Horse Racing’s Chance Of A Lifetime

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the greatest advantage for horse racing above all other sports in the U.S.:  interstate online wagering. Other sports do not have a similarly significant... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website... Read More...

Santa Anita Hoping On-Site ‘Jockey Colony,’ Other COVID-19 Protocols Will Lead To Racing Resumption

Santa Anita Park officials are hoping to get word early this week from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the county's Department of Public of Health on whether racing can resume at the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websi... Read More...

California Racetrack Veterinarian To Colleagues: Don’t Fear Medication Reform

When The Stronach Group announced a slate of reforms aimed at improving equine safety and welfare last spring, there wasn't much debate that new policies were needed, but not everyone in horse racing... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my webs... Read More...

Commentary: Don’t Concede Higher Moral Ground To Critics Of Horse Racing

As the horses paraded up to the Churchill Downs starting gate last May at the Kentucky Derby, America's greatest horse race, months of eager anticipation gave way to sudden bursts of applause from... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website... Read More...

CHRB’s New Chairman: Expect Further Reforms In Medication Policy

“The days of permissive medication are over.” So began the tenure of Dr. Gregory Ferraro, a former racetrack veterinarian and past director of the University of California-Davis veterinary teaching... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websit... Read More...

‘A Gun To Our Heads’: California Trainers Struggle With What Lies Ahead

The Sunday morning after the Breeders' Cup dawned over horses working at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., just as they had on Saturday, as they had a year ago, and probably as they had 40 years ago.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websit... Read More...

View From The Eighth Pole: On The Surface, Woodbine Deserves Another Breeders’ Cup

It's been 23 years since the Breeders' Cup was held at Woodbine in Toronto, Canada, the first and only time the world championships were conducted outside of the United States. What I remember the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website... Read More...

The Whats And Whys Behind Santa Anita’s Nightmare Spring Season

Santa Anita is preparing to launch its fall meet under more scrutiny than ever before. As racing ticks down the weeks to this year's Breeders' Cup, some racing fans are still wondering – what... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for ... Read More...

Commentary: Uniform Rules In Horse Racing Won’t Happen Without Compromise

For as long as I've covered horse racing, I've been asking people to define their biggest concern about the sport. For my entire career, the top two, conveniently dovetailed answers have been the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website ... Read More...

By The Numbers: Hollendorfer’s Fatality Rate On Par With National Average

Only one active Thoroughbred trainer has more lifetime starts or wins than Jerry Hollendorfer, who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2011.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website ... Read More...

View From The Eighth Pole: Breeders’ Cup Can Run But Not Hide From Safety Concerns

The Breeders' Cup board of directors meets on Thursday, June 27, and a key topic for discussion almost certainly will be whether or not to maintain the organization's commitment to hold this year's... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websit... Read More...

Hall Of Famer Hollendorfer Told To Vacate Stalls At Santa Anita, Golden Gate

Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was told Saturday by The Stronach Group, owner of Santa Anita Park, to vacate his stalls at the Arcadia, Calif., racetrack after the euthanasia of American... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website ... Read More...

Further Safety And Welfare Reforms Added At Santa Anita, Upcoming Del Mar Meet

Ten weeks after introducing significant reforms in California aimed at reducing racing fatalities and improving the safety and welfare of horses and riders, The Stronach Group is now requiring all... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website... Read More...

The Friday Show Presented By The Match Series: Family Feud

This week, Frank Stronach went public with his grievances about how the racetrack ownership company he founded has been run by his daughter, Belinda Stronach. Ray Paulick attended the meeting in... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website f... Read More...

Stronach Takes Family Feud Public; Wants Santa Anita Put In Trust

A standing room only crowd of over 200 people turned out on Tuesday evening in Arcadia, Calif., to hear Frank Stronach discuss his vision for the future of California racing while bitterly... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for ful... Read More...

The Friday Show: A Game-Changer For The Horse Racing Industry?

The owner of Santa Anita Park announced a list of unprecedented reform measures Thursday, in the wake of the 22nd equine fatality at the current meet. According to its proposal for Santa Anita and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website... Read More...

Lamoreaux To ‘Industry Bigwigs’: Time To Stand Up, Unify And Be Counted

“I just like to be there when the charge begins, whether the horses emerge from the starting gate, walk up to a tape as they used to when I was a boy, or come bursting out of a clump of trees... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websit... Read More...

Tim Ritvo Q&A: ‘There Are Things That Aren’t Acceptable Any More’

Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of The Stronach Group's Racing and Gaming Division that owns Santa Anita Park, sat down with Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick to discuss the current situation... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websit... Read More...

The Friday Show: The Bigger Picture From Santa Anita?

The shutdown of Santa Anita Park due to a rash of horse racing fatalities has been hard not only on all of the people who work at the Southern California racetrack but the racing industry as a whole.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my webs... Read More...

Opening Day At Santa Anita: One Of Our Sport’s Greatest Treasures

I'll never forget my first visit to Santa Anita. It was the winter of 1979 and I was living in Chicago. I should say I was eager to flee the Windy City after a January that saw sub-zero temperatures... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websi... Read More...

‘We Believe In The Future Of Horse Racing’: Belinda Stronach Outlines Plans For Company’s Assets

While the lawsuit filed Oct. 1 by Frank and Elfriede Stronach against their daughter Belinda over her management of the family's privately held business and various trusts plays out in Ontario... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for... Read More...

The Friday Show Presented By Cal Racing Cares: Redesigning The Future?

A visit to most of the newer Major League Baseball stadiums is a vastly different experience than it once was, thanks to a rethinking of the location and design of modern ballparks. Is horse racing... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websit... Read More...

The Friday Show Presented By Cal Racing Cares: What Now For California Racing?

It's been one of the most devastating weeks one can imagine for horse racing, in particular, California's equine industry. The massive outpouring of support and assistance in recent days reminds us... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websit... Read More...

Saratoga Start Unlikely For Songbird; Porter Says No Plans To Retire Two-Time Champ At Year’s End

Owner Rick Porter and Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer have long indicated that a race at Saratoga Race Course was among the stops they intended to make as part of two-time champion Songbird's... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my webs... Read More...

Nakatani Seeks To ‘Rejuvenate’ Career With Son Matt As Agent

After a seven-month hiatus, jockey Corey Nakatani has made plans to return to the saddle. The 46-year-old has not ridden a race since April 13 at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, but for the past five weeks... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my webs... Read More...

The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine Racetrack: World Champs And Championships

The Triple Crown aside, there is no event in North American racing with more buildup than the Breeders' Cup, and this year's edition looks like it should live up to or even surpass the loftiest... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website fo... Read More...

Paulick Report 10/11 News Minute

The Paulick Report sends out its headlines newsletter every weekday morning at 9 a.m ET (10 a.m. weekends), but the news doesn't stop after you've had your morning coffee. Each weekday at mid-day,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website... Read More...

The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Watchful Eyes And A Slam Dunk?

Santa Anita announced this week the completion of a state-of-the-art surveillance system featuring 1,000 HD video cameras that are monitoring the backstretch. In this edition of The Friday Show,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website f... Read More...

Paulick Report 9/29 News Minute

The Paulick Report sends out its headlines newsletter every weekday morning at 9 a.m ET (10 a.m. weekends), but the news doesn't stop after you've had your morning coffee. Each weekday at mid-day,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website... Read More...

Piece Of The Pie: Bottom Line Reunites Breeders’ Cup And Churchill Downs

Whenever someone says it isn't about the money you can be sure of one thing: It's about the money. Money is the reason that, when the Breeders' Cup returns to Churchill Downs for a record ninth time... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websi... Read More...

The Friday Show: No Heavy Lifting Required?

Welcome back to The Friday Show, the Paulick Report’s look at leading stories of the week in the racing and Thoroughbred industries, plus some items you may have missed. In this week’s... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

Shared Belief, California Chrome Give Racing A Moment To Savor

There are no guarantees in life and certainly none in horse racing. A quarter century ago, two tremendously-talented horses – Sunday Silence and Easy Goer – blazed their way through the 1989 Triple... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

Goldencents repeats in Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Michael Compton | 9 years ago
Goldencents, with Rafael Bejarano up, became the first back-to-back winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Friday, holding off Tapiture to win by 1 ¼ lengths on the first of two Breeders’ Cup days at Santa Anita. “I knew I was going fast and I had to find a way to give him […](Read more...) Read More...

Goldencents repeats in Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Michael Compton | 9 years ago
Goldencents, with Rafael Bejarano up, became the first back-to-back winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Friday, holding off Tapiture to win by 1 ¼ lengths on the first of two Breeders’ Cup days at Santa Anita. “I knew I was going fast and I had to find a way to give him […](Read more...) Read More...

On the Ground at Breeders’ Cup: Standouts and Longshots?

The anticipation is building at Santa Anita Park for Friday and Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The track’s famous Clockers’ Corner is buzzing each morning with... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

‘He Lied Like Nobody’s Business’: A Racing Con Man and His Trail of Deception

Five months ago, Jonathan Pippin was living large. A small-time Ohio grifter who had convinced a handful of Twitter followers to invest in horses he didn’t own, Pippin had been working for months at... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

Easy, Chicken Little: Southern California Racing Holding Its Own

The sky is not falling – at least not in the Southern California horse racing world, where I am in the midst of an annual summer pilgrimage. Hollywood Park has closed for good, and the Los Angeles... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

Keeneland, Santa Anita and Del Mar to host next 3 Breeders’ Cups

Michael Compton | 10 years ago
The Breeders’ Cup announced June 24 the sites of the next three Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The announcement marks the second time in the event’s history and the first time since 1993 that it has revealed on the same day more than one future host site for the World Championships. The multi-year strategy represents the […](Read more...) Read More...

California Stewards Investigate Race Ride, Barn of Churchill Maiden Winner

California Chrome wasn’t the only California-bred to make an impression at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. Seven hours before the Kentucky Derby, trainer A. C. Avila sent a 4-year-old... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

Breeders’ Cup: Past, Present, and Future

Did you know that the first Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park in 1984 drew a bigger crowd than the first Super Bowl at the Los Angeles Coliseum did in 1967? It’s true. When the Green Bay Packers of the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

Breeders’ Cup Marathon: Blueskiesnrainbows takes unusual path

DRF | 10 years ago
For a Breeders’ Cup runner, Blueskiesnrainbows has had an unconventional schedule in advance of the $500,000 BC Marathon at Santa Anita on Friday. Read More...

Breeders’ Cup or Bust: A Journey of Giving and Getting Back

Just a little over four years ago, Paulick Report co-founder Brad Cummings and I met in our Lexington, Ky., “office” – a neighborhood Panera Bread (with WiFi!) – to go over a number of details... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

Can Santa Anita Bring Fans Back to the Track?

When I drove into Santa Anita Park Thursday morning to get a glimpse of the extensive renovations the track has undergone for the autumn meet that begins today, I flashed back nearly 35 years to my... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my websit... Read More...

RIP Hollywood Park: Land ‘Simply Has a Higher and Better Use’

We all knew the end was near, but officials with Bay Meadows Land Co., the real estate development operation that owns Betfair Hollywood Park, have made it official: There will be no more live racing... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my webs... Read More...

High Anxiety in California

Can’t blame horsemen in California for having a little high anxiety. Bay Meadows Land Company bought Hollywood Park from Churchill Downs in 2005. The owner is a development company, not a racing... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Read More...

Road to the Kentucky Derby, Three More Races

Three more races will run as part of the Prep Season in the Road to the Kentucky Derby series with 51 precious points on the line. The Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs, Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita and Withers... Read More...

2013 Sham Stakes Begins Derby Trail

It was another solid year for two year old colts and gelding hoping to make their early mark for the 2013 Kentucky Derby. Of those who should be considered early contenders for the Run for the Roses on May 4, 2013 are Shanghai Bobby (Breeders... Read More...

2012 Breeders Cup Results – Day 1

After all the wait, the 2012 Breeders Cup Championships was finally here. What makes this event so special is that it brings the best of the best, for the most part, from around Europe, North America and other parts of the World to compete against... Read More...

Breaking Down the 2012 Breeders Cup Turf

The 2012 Breeders Cup Turf is set to run on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 3:18pm PST. A field of 12 will face each other for the 1 1/2 miles event on the turf. This is good mix of European and American talent. Included in... Read More...