The Jockey Club board of stewards voted Aug. 21 to deny New York resident Ernie Paragallo and Ohio resident Chad M. Moore all privileges of The American Stud Book effective Jan. 1, 2011. The action against Paragallo was taken based upon information received by The Jockey Club’s registrar. The Jockey Club said the information included the judgment entered March 10, 200

The Jockey Club announced Aug. 21 a projected 2011 North American registered Thoroughbred foal crop of 27,000, a decline of 10% from the estimate of 30,000 registered foals for 2010.

The foal crop projection, traditionally announced in mid-August, is computed by using Reports of Mares Bred (RMBs) received to date for the 2010 breeding season. RMBs are to be filed by Aug. 1 of each breeding s

Santa Anita is about to become the first California racetrack to abandon the 2006-mandated synthetic surface experiment and return to dirt. Frank Stronach, chairman of MI Developments that owns the track, made the announcement Aug. 18 an evening meeting of horsemen and racing followers he had called at the Surfside Race Place satellite wagering facility adjacent to the Del Mar tra

Richard Rettele, a 70-year-old who trains Thoroughbreds and rides Quarter Horses, just keeps on going—he won a $15,000 stakes aboard Fearles Fred in the $15,000 Queen City Dash at River Downs in Ohio Aug. 10. Rettele is a Kansas native who began training Thoroughbreds in Michigan at Detroit Race Course and Hazel Park. His wife, Carol, trains the Quarter Horses, which compete

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance will host the first NTRA Professional Education Seminar–Presented by Pfizer Animal Health and Keeneland Oct. 19 at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. Attendance at the seminar will help satisfy continuing education requirements for racetracks as mandated by the alliance code of standards.

The seminar will feature speakers f

Graded stakes winner Odysseus, a hot contender on this year’s Triple Crown trail, was euthanized Aug. 9 at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute near Lexington because of complications from laminitis while receiving treatment for colitis. The son of Malibu Moon hadn’t run since finishing unplaced in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes April 10 at Keeneland for Satish and Anne Sanan’s Padua S

Tattersalls will introduce a testing program for corticosteroids in yearlings during its sales this fall, according to the Racing Post.

The publication reported that the England-based auction firm has contacted sellers of all yearlings to inform them their horses “will be subject” to testing for the man-made drugs, which closely resemble cortisol (a hormone produc

Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Farm and Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables announced Aug. 2 that Eskendereya, the favorite for this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands before being withdrawn due to injury, will stand at Taylor Made Stallions in Nicholasville, Ky., beginning in 2011.

Rachel Alexandra’s trainer Steve Asmussen said that he and co-owner Jess Jackson would soon sit down soon to discuss what’s next for the reigning Horse of the Year after her facile victory in the Lady’s Secret Stakes on a hot and humid day at Monmouth Park July 24. The 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro arrived back at her current home base at Saratoga Race

Scott Blasi has been close to Rachel Alexandra ever since Steve Asmussen took over training the filly in May 2009. As Asmussen's main assistant, Blasi has traveled with the champion, supervised her exercise, and has watched her grow up the past 14 months. So when Blasi says Rachel Alexandra is better than ever, he knows what he's talking about.

"I feel great abo

Del Mar canceled training on its main track the morning of July 22, when it was determined that there had been some separation of its Polytrack materials in the stretch area that caused some inconsistencies in the surface makeup.

A life-size bronze statue of Seabiscuit and his jockey, George “The Iceman” Woolf, was unveiled July 17 at the Remington Carriage Museum in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Woolf, one of the greatest riders of his era who died soon after a spill on the clubhouse turn at Santa Anita Jan. 13, 1946, was a native of Cardston.

The statue, by Lethbridge artist Don Toney, was commissioned by ranchers Jac

Multiple grade I winner and prominent sire Dixie Union was euthanized July 14 at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital near Lexington because of a deteriorating neurologic problem. The 13-year-old stallion stood at William S. Farish’s Lane’s End Farm near Versailles, Ky.

His death came shortly after his son Gone Astray took the July 3 Salvator Mile Stakes at Monmouth Park. Last year, Gone Astray won

A growing network of horse rescue operations, anti-slaughter policies at racetracks, and other industry equine welfare initiatives have taken root in Thoroughbred racing, but keeping track of where horses go when they’re finished racing remains a serious challenge. Volunteers do a lot of the work developing contacts at tracks and looking out for horses before they are shippe