Laurel taking entries from off-site runners
With Tuesday morning's announcement by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) that the final 20 samples from Laurel Park's Barn 1 tested negative for neurologic equine herpesvirus (EHV-1), the Maryland Jockey Club has amended its restrictions on off-site runners racing at Laurel Park. more...

 Klesaris entry looms large in Old Hickory: C Karma cuts back in Pontalba
On Saturday, Fair Grounds will revive two juvenile stakes that have not been run since 2001, the Old Hickory S. and the companion Pontalba S. for fillies. Each 5 1/2-furlong sprint is worth $60,000. more...

 Exercise rider dies in accident at Golden Gate
Veteran exercise rider Ignacio Ramirez sustained fatal injuries Sunday morning when the horse he was aboard flipped over and fell on him in the barn area at Golden Gate Fields. more...

 'The Shirt' notches second Colonial Cup, Eclipse Award
GOOD NIGHT SHIRT (Concern) completed a perfect season with a gutsy victory in the $150,000 Colonial Cup (NSA-G1) at Springdale Race Course in Camden, South Carolina, on Sunday, running down Preemptive Strike (Roanoke) in deep stretch to score by a neck. more...

 Little Amapola stands tall in QEII
Japan's newly minted Autumn International series, which groups four prestigious events under a single banner, literally got off to an eventful start in Sunday's 33rd running of the $1,675,000 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup (Jpn-G1) at the ancient capital of Kyoto. more...

 Curlin to be retired at the end of 2008
CURLIN (Smart Strike), the 2007 Horse of the Year, is to be retired at the end of 2008, according to majority owner Jess Jackson, and will begin stud duties in 2009. However, the striking chestnut could have one more start this season if an appropriate race shows up. more...

 Hernandez sidelined following spill
Jockey Constantino Hernandez appeared to escape unscathed from Saturday's 9TH race at Calder when his horse, the juvenile Red Hot Candy (Tiger Ridge), stumbled at the start and unseated the rider. Hernandez, 51, hit the ground hard, but walked away from the incident. more...

 Team USA beats Team World in inaugural Rider Cup
Team USA beat Team World by the slimmest of margins, 10 points to 9 1/2, in Saturday's inaugural "Rider Cup" for charity at Churchill Downs. more...

 Ramseys, Maker earn record win at Churchill
When Ya Think (Broken Vow) scored a half-length victory in the 7TH race at Churchill Downs on Saturday, the three-year-old colt gave owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey their record-setting 16th score on day 16 of Churchill Downs' 26-day fall meet. The previous fall meet record was established in 1965 by T. Alie Grissom during a 23-day meet. more...

 Three Americans accept Japan Cup Dirt invitations
Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) hero MAST TRACK (Mizzen Mast), Suburban H. (G1) winner FROST GIANT (Giant's Causeway) and Indiana Derby (G2) victor TIN CUP CHALICE (Crusader Sword) have accepted invitations to the Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-G1) on December 7. Shortened to about 1 1/8 miles for this ninth running, the $2,646,100 contest will be held at the right-handed Hanshin Racecourse for the first time. With one exception in 2002, all of the other editions of the Japan Cup Dirt have been staged at about 1 5/16 miles at Tokyo Racecourse. more...

 Sunline battling life-threatening laminitis
SUNLINE (Desert Sun [GB]), the beloved Australasian superstar of the late 1990s and early 2000s, has developed a life-threatening case of laminitis, according to reports in the Australian Courier Mail and Herald Sun online at news.com.au. The 13-year-old mare underwent surgery for colic in July, and her battle with laminitis ensued as a complication. more...

 Shipping to and from Laurel restricted indefinitely
The Maryland Jockey Club today announced until further notice no horses will be allowed to ship into Laurel Park except those from the Bowie Training Center on a Maryland Jockey Club shuttle. The limitations were instituted after a two-year-old filly in Barn 1 at Laurel tested positive for equine herpesvirus Thursday. In addition, horses based at Laurel and Bowie are restricted to the grounds. The Pimlico Race Course stable area is closed for the winter. more...

 Zenyatta, Rags to Riches among featured artists in Moneigh auction
ReRun's famous holiday Moneigh auction will run from November 23-30 on ebay. Moneighs are abstract, watercolor paintings created by horses, and trademarked by ReRun, used to raise funds for supporting the horses in its program, and this year's event has some special contributors. Ipi tombe means "Where are the girls?" in the Xhosa language. That's the question ReRun has been asked since the inception of the Moneigh painting project in 2001. Artist assistant "Moneigh Mary" Simons accepted the challenge of finding female artists for the upcoming auction. more...

 Chelokee to enter stud at Vinery
Centennial Farms' CHELOKEE (Cherokee Run) will stand the 2009 breeding season at Dr. Tom Simon's Vinery near Lexington, Kentucky, for $7,500, live foal. more...

 Laurel filly tests positive for equine herpesvirus
The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) confirmed today that Nin (Parker's Storm Cat), a filly trained by King Leatherbury at Laurel Park, has tested positive for equine herpesvirus (EHV-1). The two-year-old, who could not stand Wednesday morning, was sitting up and eating Thursday morning with no fever. more...

 Rahy's Attorney makes himself at home in Japan
Woodbine Mile (Can-G1) hero RAHY'S ATTORNEY (Crown Attorney), the lone international shipper for the November 23 Mile Championship (Jpn-G1) at Kyoto Racecourse, arrived safely at Narita Airport on Tuesday morning, Japanese time. The Ian Black charge was then transported to the JRA Horseracing School Quarantine Center in Shiroi City, completing a 24-hour trip from Toronto. more...

 O'Donnell named Calder President
Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) announced Thursday that Tom O'Donnell has been named president and general manager of Calder Race Course, as well as senior vice president of CDI. more...

 Jones honored with Big Sport of Turfdom award
The Turf Publicists of America (TPA) announced Wednesday that Larry Jones, trainer of the brilliant three-year-old fillies Eight Belles and Proud Spell (Proud Citizen), has been chosen as the 2008 winner of the organization's Big Sport of Turfdom award. more...

 Louisiana horsemen, Churchill come to agreement on Fair Grounds signal
Officials of Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) and representatives of the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (LAHBPA) have come to an agreement on the distribution of live racing signals from Fair Grounds to national advance-deposit wagering (ADW) platforms. more...

 Jerkens released from hospital
Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens' first order of business after being released Wednesday morning from Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in New Hyde Park, New York, was to visit his barn at Belmont Park. more...

 Indescribable flies late in Cardinal
Courtlandt Farms' homebred INDESCRIBABLE (Pleasant Tap) put her best foot forward inside the final furlong to catch Long Approach (Broad Brush) and capture the $113,400 Cardinal H. (G3) over the yielding Churchill turf course on Saturday. more...

 Dry Martini not watered down in Stuyvesant
Carol Nyren's DRY MARTINI (Slew Gin Fizz) swept to the front in early stretch and glided home a convincing 3 1/4-length winner of the $110,500 Stuyvesant H. (G3) on the muddy, sealed oval at Aqueduct on Saturday. more...

 Handicapping Insights
Fair Grounds Race Course will open its doors on Gentilly Blvd. in New Orleans this weekend for the 137th time and this year's meet should be as good as it gets. Record purses have attracted many nationally known stables. more...

 Thoroughbred Beat
Derby Watch -- Any discussion of the 2009 Kentucky Derby (G1) picture begins with Sheikh Mohammed. Through Godolphin, Darley and Princess Haya silks, Sheikh Mohammed has the ammunition to win scores of three-year-old stakes races next season. more...

 Pedigree Handicapping
When the hammer dropped after a final bid of $14 million for BETTER THAN HONOUR (Deputy Minister) last weekend, it marked the fourth year in a row, and the fifth time in six years, that the official world record price for a broodmare had been set. more...

 Commentary
As a fan of racing, first and foremost, it pains me to see the stars of today and tomorrow being taken away from what they do best -- run! It's ridiculous that once a horse achieves success at the highest level that stud plans ensue shortly after he exits the winner's circle, with owners coming up with countless reasons or excuses to shelve their athletes prior to them reaching their peaks. more...

 Justin Time
Please allow me to make a confession. Since the end of this year's Triple Crown, I have paid only minimal attention to the great sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Now understand that "minimal" is a relative term. more...

 Internationals in the Breeders' Cup
The 25th running of the Breeders' Cup features an outstanding brigade of international raiders. Let's take a look at each of them, arranged in order of their respective races. I'll highlight their strengths, and possible weaknesses, before rendering my own verdict. more...

 Three-year-old & Up Diary
Breeders' Cup week is upon us, and I'll make selections for the Classic (G1), Dirt Mile and Marathon below. more...

 Turf Diary
Like an undecided voter in a swing state, I have analyzed, overanalyzed, and agonized over the contenders for the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) and Mile (G1). After all the past performances, trainers' quotes, pedigree trivia and historical indicators have been absorbed, it ultimately comes down to a gut decision. Deep down, at the cellular, or even molecular level, who do you really want to support? Who do you still have nagging doubts about, despite his superficial allure? Who do you still have confidence in, despite his occasional faux pas? more...

 Distaff Diary
Let me begin the final Distaff Diary (next year I will give in to the inevitable and call it the Ladies' Classic Diary) by saying how disappointed I am that ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]) is actually in the Ladies' Classic (G1). The undefeated dark bay filly has proven herself against her own gender on numerous occasions now and this would have been the perfect opportunity for her to demonstrate just how great she is by taking on the boys in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). more...

 Filly & Mare Turf Diary
As with my selections for the Turf (G1) and Mile (G1), my chosen few for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) reflect to some degree my own rooting interests, which tend to influence my attempts at cool, dispassionate handicapping analysis. Since I have written at length about the preps in previous diaries over the course of the season, I'll confine myself to an uncharacteristically brief explanation for each of my selections. more...

 Sprint Diary
I have been guilty of overanalyzing Breeders' Cup races since time in memoriam, and I'm quite confident of not being alone in that regard. Wracking my brain has led me down blind alleyways too numerous to mention, which has led to missed financial rewards of proportions too depressing to recount. While the advent of time travel would be a welcome cure for this melancholy (and other ills), the great fact in the life of every horseplayer is that there is always tomorrow, or, in the case of the Breeders' Cup, there's always next year. more...

 Juvenile Diary
STREET HERO (Street Cry [Ire]) and MIDSHIPMAN (Unbridled's Song) hold a significant home court advantage, having finished first and second in the Norfolk S. (G1) over this distance and Pro-Ride surface. Both should be considered, but Street Hero is confidently expected to confirm those placings. Caught on the inside when full of run, the improving colt was forced to steady briefly turning for home but galloped home strongly to a victory that was easier than the three-quarter length margin may suggest. more...

 Hollywood Notebook
A pair of stakes races was the centerpiece of the week at Hollywood Park. Hermosa Beach S.: Christopher Wright's HIGH HEEL SNEAKERS (GB) (Dansili [GB]) was always well-placed under Victor Espinoza and drew off like a good thing in taking this one as the favorite for Ben Cecil, winning by 2 3/4 lengths. more...

 Aqueduct Notebook
One graded stakes race, a pair of promising two-year-olds, and "foul" weather were the dominant factors during the past week of racing. more...