3 horses die in first 2 days at Belmont Park fall meet
NEW YORK (AP) — Three horses died during the first two days of Belmont Park's fall season, mirroring the start and end of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course. According to the New York State Gaming Commission's equine database, two horses died last Friday, opening day. Royal Inheritance collapsed and died during training, and […]
Scopolamine – the drug Justify tested positive for?
The Racing Medication & Testing Consortium provided further insight this week into scopolamine, the regulated substance that reportedly triggered a failed post-race drug test for 2018 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Justify before his Triple Crown run. The RMTC, which domestically strives to develop and promote uniform rules for racing, and is chaired by NTRA […]
Attorney: New York Times' Justify story 'short on facts
An attorney representing trainer Bob Baffert on Thursday issued a statement, in the form of a letter to New York Times reporter Joe Drape, calling Drape's article revealing Justify failed a drug test before the 2018 Triple Crown run "long on sensationalism" and "short on facts." Drape reported that Justify tested positive for a high […]
Baffert: Justify's positive test came from contaminated food
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert denied giving 2018 Triple Crown winning horse Justify a banned substance that caused a positive test prior to last year's Kentucky Derby and blamed the result on contaminated food. Baffert said Thursday that he "unequivocally" rejects the implication he'd give Justify or any other horse scopolamine, which the colt […]
US RACING: Trainer Bob Baffert speaks on Justify’s positive test
A day after the New York Times reported Justify tested positive for a banned substance prior to making his 2018 Triple Crown run, trainer Bob Baffert issued a statement saying he rejects the notion that scopolamine "was ever intentionally administered" to Justify or other horses in his barn. The Times' Joe Drape revealed that Justify failed […]
Most expensive filly ever sold at Keeneland September Sale – US$8.2 million
What will be the final foal sent to auction out of blue hen mare Leslie’s Lady, who has produced champion Beholder and sire Mendelssohn, hammered for a sales-topping — and historic — US$8.2 million on Wednesday at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The total made Hip 428 the most-expensive yearling filly ever sold at Keeneland […]
Report: Justify failed drug test before Triple Crown run
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times says Justify won the 2018 Triple Crown after a failed postrace drug test at a California track that could have kept the horse out of the Kentucky Derby. The newspaper reported Wednesday that Bob Baffert-trained Justify tested positive for the drug scopolamine after winning the Santa Anita […]
Global racing rivalry heats up at Keeneland September Sale
A global rivalry on the racetrack entered Keeneland's sales pavilion on Tuesday, with time seeming to stand still when a Curlin colt out of a champion turf sprinter hung at US$3.7 million on the board. “We were gasping for air at that stage," said Anthony Stroud, a trainer acting as agent for Godolphin. But Godolphin […]
Sheik Mohammed makes his mark at Keeneland September Sale
As the old adage goes, money talks—but wealth whispers. Nowhere was this more apparent than this year's renewal of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum made a surreptitious entrance into the bidding area before lighting up the afternoon's action with a multi-million-dollar bidding war. Acting as agent on behalf of […]
Good start to Keeneland September Sale
The Keeneland September Yearling Sale got off to a rousing start September 9, with two yearlings bringing prices in excess of $2 million and five others reaching the seven-figure level. Keeneland reported that from 190 catalogued, 107 head sold for $46,231,000, an average price of $432,065 and a $325,000 median price. While direct year-to-year comparisons are […]