LOS ANGELES -- The California Horse Racing Board, faced with a crisis over a spike in equine deaths, on Thursday voted to implement the most stringent use of the riding crop by jockeys in North America.

The riding crop, or whip, has not been proved to be a factor in the series of deaths, but the optics of a jockey hitting a horse repeatedly has...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. -- On the day that it had to cancel its Thanksgiving Thursday racing card due to predicted storms, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club took a semantical stab at looking on the bright side.

In a press release, Del Mar's turf stakes "festival" became a "bonanza," and that's not just a public relations spin.

All seven stakes races ...Read more

DEL MAR, Calif. -- From his seat beyond the finish line Saturday at Santa Anita, Josh Rubinstein was focused on the celebration in the seconds after Vino Rosso won the Breeders' Cup Classic.

It was only when the president of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club turned his gaze to the left that he saw the ambulance on the track and the 4-year-old ...Read more

It appeared that Santa Anita had a safe Breeders' Cup, but in the last race, at the top of the stretch, Mongolian Groom was pulled up in distress. He suffered a life-ending injury to his left-hind leg and was euthanized on Saturday. It was the 37th death at Santa Anita since Dec. 30 and will raise the temperature even higher on the track with ...Read more

There were 13 Breeders' Cup races run without incident over the last two days at Santa Anita Park.

But in the 14th and final race, the Classic, Vino Rosso's win was overshadowed by the breakdown of Mongolian Groom, a 4-year-old gelding who was vanned away after pulling up and not finishing.

The Breeders' Cup later announced horse had been ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Horse racing has never experienced a year like this one. A spike of deaths at Santa Anita, Keeneland and tracks in New York, mixed with a controversial finish in the Kentucky Derby that prompted a lawsuit, have left the sport with a crisis-a-week feel.

This week, there is plenty more anxiety as attention turns to the Breeders' ...Read more

Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who has been banned from California's two biggest tracks after six of his horses died during racing or training in the past year, will not be allowed to compete in the Breeder's Cup at Santa Anita Park, organizers of the thoroughbred championships announced Friday.

Breeder's Cup officials said in a ...Read more

BALTIMORE -- Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach said Wednesday he believes the deal to keep the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore should be amended ? and he pledged to continue trying to force out his daughter as president of the international horse racing company he founded.

"I would like to point out very strongly, that Belinda does not speak ...Read more

BALTIMORE -- While Baltimore leaders celebrate a deal to keep the Preakness Stakes in the city, tough questions await the proposal in next year's General Assembly session.

Wouldn't the money proposed to renovate the Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park tracks be better used for teachers and schools? When will lawmakers be able to see written ...Read more

BALTIMORE -- Willie Kee could not bring himself to join the chorus of acclaim for a new plan to rebuild Maryland's aged racetracks. Instead, the 60-year-old horse trainer thought about traffic, specifically the daily drive he might have to make from Pikesville to Laurel if the plan passes muster in the General Assembly.

"Have you been on the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Santa Anita, under intense scrutiny because of 30 deaths in the winter-spring meet, had a racing fatality on Saturday during the 17th race of the current fall meeting. A horse died on Sept. 16 while training.

Emtech was in the stretch when it appeared he broke his left front leg and crashed to the dirt. It happened in full view ...Read more