Thursday, December 18, 2008

Canterbury Park To Host Claiming Crown For 9th Time

Shakopee, MN -- Canterbury Park will host Claiming Crown for the ninth time in the event's 11-year history when the one-of-a-kind program for thoroughbred racing's "blue-collar" performers is held there next summer on Saturday, July 25. Patterned after the Breeders' Cup, the $600,000 Claiming Crown consists of seven races offered at varying distances on both dirt and turf.

"Claiming Crown annually attracts some of America's winningest horses and trainers, including such leading conditioners as Steve Asmussen and Scott Lake," said Randy Sampson, president and general manager of the track located in the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee. "We are looking forward to their participation again in 2009."

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

TURF PUBLICISTS OF AMERICA ELECTS NEW SLATE OF OFFICERS FOR 2009

TUCSON, AZ.-- The Turf Publicists of America (TPA) has elected a new president, four regional vice presidents, and a secretary-treasurer to serve the organization in 2009, it was announced today at the TPA’s Mark Kaufman Workshop at the University of Arizona Symposium on Racing and Gaming.

President John Engelhardt of River Downs, Vice President-Eastern Mike Kane of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Vice President-Central Dan Leary of Lone Star Park, and Vice President At Large Wendy Davis of the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program are all newly elected. They will join Vice President-Western Julie Sarno, a consultant, and Secretary-Treasurer Dave Zenner of Arlington Park, both of whom were re-elected to their posts, as the organization's officers for the coming year.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Barbaro Memorial Fund Disburses $90,801 to Support Equine Research Projects

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) today announced that its subsidiary, NTRA Charities, has disbursed $90,801 in support of one new and two continuing equine medical research projects. The disbursements were made from the NTRA Charities - Barbaro Memorial Fund, established in memory of the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who succumbed to laminitis, a disease of the hoof, in 2007. Funds for the studies will flow through the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

All three studies involve laminitis research. The new study, "Effect of Digital Hypothermia on Inflammatory Injury in Laminitis," by Dr. James Belknap of Ohio State University, is a two-year project funded for $82,109.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER FUNNY CIDE TO KENTUCKY HORSE PARK

LEXINGTON, KY (November 26, 2008) Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) winner Funny Cide will become the newest resident of the Kentucky Horse Park on December 5. He will join another Kentucky Derby winner, Alysheba, who came to the park in October.

Funny Cide (Distorted Humor – Belle’s Good Cide, by Slewacide) was bred by William Casner and Kenny Troutt’s WinStar Farm in a collaborative venture with McMahon Thoroughbreds of Saratoga Springs, New York where he was foaled, raised and then sold as a yearling for $22,000 at the August 2001 Fasig-Tipton NY Bred Preferred Yearlings Sale. He was later purchased privately as a two-year old by Sackatoga Stable for $75,000. For them he went on to earn $3,529,412 and an Eclipse Award as Champion Three-Year-Old Colt, becoming the highest-earning New York-bred in history for trainer Barclay Tagg, under Jose Santos. His nine stakes wins also included the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).

Monday, November 24, 2008

Asmussen Breaks His Own Single-Year Record for Training Wins in North America

Trainer Steve Asmussen broke his own single-year record for North American wins by a trainer, when Prophesy captured the first race today at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The win was Asmussen's 556th of the year, breaking his old mark of 555 set in 2004.

Quotes from Steve Asmussen:

"We've had a tremendous year, made possible by some tremendous opportunities and my outstanding help."