Ask Karen Mort about her life with horses, and she might demur, saying that she’s not really involved in the equine industry. Don’t let her get away with that, though: for decades, her life has been enriched by horses, and it takes only a few sentences for her to reveal her deep love for the…
Back in 2017, the future looked bright for Wendell Fong. That it’s still bright today is the result of an unlikely confluence of circumstances and people combining to give the gelding a soft landing. After selling as a weanling for $47,000, he was purchased for $160,000 ten months later by Al Gold, who has campaigned…
From the windows of his childhood home in Ocala, FL, Carlos Manresa could see J.J. Pletcher’s training facility, and in the mornings, he would look out the back windows to see young Thoroughbreds training. “It’s a very vivid memory that I shared with my dad, which is really special,” said Manresa, sitting outside the Sequel…
Two colts by grade 1-winning Kentucky sires led the first session of the Fasig-Tipton sale of preferred New York-bred yearlings, purchased by buyers with deep ties to New York racing. Hip 315 is a Constitution (Tapit) colt out of the Forestry mare See the Forest and sold for $300,000 to West Bloodstock, agent for Repole Stable. Consigned by ELiTe,…
Enter, Sandman . The two-year-old colt owned by D J Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, and CJ Stables has a long way to go before he reaches Mariano Rivera status, but he showed the promise of an elite athlete in winning a maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course on July 11. The son of Tapit was consigned by…
John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock got its third seven-figure yearling at Fasig-Tipton’s The Saratoga Sale, going to $1.2 million for a Ghostzapper filly (Hip 147) consigned by Gainesway during the Aug. 6 second session. Payson Stud bred the filly out of the Arch winner Seeking the Blue, who has already produced graded stakes-placed winner Janis Joplin (California Chrome) and stakes-placed…
Over the last year or so, Caitlin Clark has made women’s basketball front-page news, first as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes, and now as point guard with the Indiana Fever. To fans of horse racing I ask, Is Brett Beckwith the Caitlin Clark of harness racing? They are virtually the same age (Clark 22,…
Kristen and Matthew Esler may be relative newcomers to New York’s breeding industry, but the experience that they bring to their farm is rooted in decades of some of the state’s most successful breeders. Their Saratoga Springs property is the site of the old Stepwise Farm, owned for decades by Bill Wilmot and Joan Taylor,…
With his Churchill Downs suspension having been lifted, trainer Bob Baffert wasted no time in setting his sights on the first Saturday in May. For Zedan Racing, agent Donato Lanni signed a ticket for $3.4 million for Hip 72 after a protracted bidding battle on the first night of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale for a Not This Time colt…
Of first-crop stallion’s Volatile’s six winners from 20 starts, two have come at Saratoga Race Course—a small sample size to be sure but also encouraging for Three Chimneys, where the son of Violence stands for $15,000. “It’s really exciting for a horse that was super fast but not particularly precocious,” said Three Chimneys’ COO Chris Baker. “His 2-year-olds are doing it…
Brooklyn Backstretch 