Buyers of Thoroughbred racehorses in 2014 got an early Christmas present when H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, became law earlier this month. Retroactive through this past year, a provision of the law renews the three-year tax depreciation for racehorses, which allows taxpayers to depreciate racehorses 24 months of age and younger…
“Jack on the Rocks roars back to win under Sheldon Russell! It’s Sheldon Russell—make his a double on Maryland Million Day! Jack on the Rocks!” That call by Dave Rodman is one of Richie Munk’s favorite racing memories, and he’s got no shortage of them from which to choose. Munk has nearly 20 years in…
If you look at the numbers, it’s a very good time to be a breeder in New York. Yesterday the New York Racing Association held its first Saratoga Showcase Day of New York-breds, building on the success of the original day in October at the Belmont fall meet and last year’s addition of the Big…
Sally Rohrbach stands by a fence behind her sprawling house in Harwood, Maryland, a short ride from Annapolis. Glimpses of the South River are visible down the hill from the front yard. She whistles, looking across several paddocks, over the heads of the three miniature horses that live closest to the barn, a handful of…
In early March, Maryland-based trainer Pat Dale was preparing Third Regiment, a Pennsylvania-bred retired Thoroughbred racehorse, for the next step in his second career: a performance in the Battle of the X’s in Texas, after which he’d be auctioned off to a buyer approved by Remember Me Rescue, which was coordinating the event. With thirty years…
When retired Thoroughbreds take to the show ring this weekend at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, Third Regiment and his trainer Pat Dale will be there to do the Mid-Atlantic proud. A 2007 Louis Quatorze gelding out of the Smart Strike mare Acts Well, Third Regiment was bred in Pennsylvania by Kim…
Anyone connected electronically with Lisa Molloy began seeing her queries pop up on social media earlier this month. On Twitter and on Facebook, on personal and organizational pages, she began her own investigation, trying to get to the bottom of what she suspected was a scam. Late in 2012, a Booster.com t-shirt was set up,…
Frisky Cat’s mother wasn’t much of a racehorse, but his sire, Tale of the Cat, was a multiple graded stakes winner, as was his damsire, Dynaformer. It seemed reasonable to expect that Frisky Cat, foaled in 2009, might be a moderate success on the racetrack. But, not infrequently, even horses with good bloodlines don’t find…
On a Sunday afternoon in October, Steuart Pittman stood on the track at Pimlico, surrounded by jumps and horses. A microphone in his hand, he spoke to hundreds of people sitting in the stands as Thoroughbreds trotted, cantered, and jumped around him. The track was his pulpit, the audience his congregation, and the message of…
At Pimlico last month, more than 600 people attended a two-day exhibition produced by the Retired Racehorse Training Project. Dozens of retired Thoroughbreds performed in a variety of disciplines, showing off newly learned skills in hunting, jumping, polo, and even police work. The weekend provided an opportunity for retired Thoroughbreds to demonstrate their adaptability and usefulness…
Brooklyn Backstretch 