Group 1-winning sprinter Arizona Blaze has been retired from racing and will stand his first season at the Irish National Stud for a fee of €12,500 in 2026. The son of Sergei Prokofiev ran out an impressive winner of the first 2-year-old maiden of the season in Ireland in March last year and on his…
Trainer Kenny McPeek confirmed Nov. 7 that 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan has been officially retired. Fans at Churchill Downs will have one final chance to see the colt beneath the Twin Spires Nov. 8 when he parades in the paddock before the fourth race from approximately 2:05-2:30 p.m. ET. Owned by Lance Gasaway, 4…
Multiple stakes winner and millionaire Bango , the winningest horse in recorded Churchill Downs history with 12 wins under the twin spires, has been retired from racing at age 8, trainer Greg Foley said Nov. 7. The decision follows two subpar performances this year, the most recent of which was a seventh-place finish in a Nov. 6 allowance…
Drexel Hill , runner-up in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), returns to the starting gate for her first race since the Run for the Lilies in the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes (G2) Nov. 8 at Aqueduct Racetrack. Trained by Whit Beckman for Legion Racing, Drexel Hill outran her 32-1 odds in the May 2 Oaks when closing…
Noted racing journalist and horseman Josh Pons has been named the 19th recipient of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by the Ryan family’s Castleton Lyons, for excellence in thoroughbred racing literature published in 2024. He received the winner’s $10,000 check during a Nov. 6 reception at the Lexington, Ky., farm. The ceremony was…
The Sport of Kings and a Sporting King come together at BUDDS racing auction on November 12 & 13 in Newmarket’s racing museum in partnership with Weatherbys. Under the spotlight at this BUDDS auction is memorabilia linked to King Edward VII, legendary horses, jockeys and a royal mistress, Lillie Langtry. Queen Victoria, mother to Edward…
For some who breed and race Thoroughbreds, the decreasing foal crop is regarded as a bellwether for a business in decline. Yet, a clear-eyed look that goes beyond numbers—and the efforts to turn them around—offers an important reminder: North American Thoroughbred breeding and racing still has real strengths. But to ensure its future we need…
Day 3 of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale got off to a running start when the fourth horse to go through the ring, Taylor Swifter (Hip 624), sold for $700,000 to Pursuit of Success. The daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah was offered in foal to 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline by Gainesway,…
A colt by top sire Nyquist claimed honors as the highest-priced weanling of the day when he sold for $600,000 during the second session of Book 2 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale Nov. 6. Offered as Hip 830 by the Indian Creek consignment, the colt was one of five purchases made by Thursday’s leading…
Nyquist , sire of four grade 1 winners in 2025 including Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Nysos , will stand for a fee of $175,000 at Darley’s Jonabell Farm near Lexington in 2026. Nyquist will again top the Jonabell roster after a 2025 season which also included grade 1 victories by Cavalieri , Velocity , and Argos , plus…
