Denis Blake, Author at National HBPA

TRI/Florida HBPA Feasibility Study Marks Start of Identifying Lasting Solutions for Florida Racing

Racing at Gulfstream Park. (Andie Biancone/Coglianese Photography) Feasibility study’s executive summary The Thoroughbred Racing Initiative (TRI) has taken its first big step toward determining the best way to preserve and strengthen Florida’s thoroughbred racing and breeding industry. And if a feasibility study doesn’t sound glamorous or provide immediate answers, it’s the crucial underpinning [...]

Denis Blake2025-12-23T14:36:43+00:00

The Interactive, Electronic Edition of The Horsemen’s Journal Winter 2025 Issue is Now Available

The interactive, electronic version of The Horsemen’s Journal’s Winter 2025 issue is now available online. It is an enhanced version of the printed magazine, which is currently being mailed. To view it, click here. Features in the issue include: Firm Footing Perfect weather, big fields and close finishes contribute to a successful 27th Claiming Crown. [...]

Denis Blake2025-12-18T21:58:18+00:00

Iowa HBPA Calls Out HISA’s Legal Fees Duplication at $1,500 an Hour

The Iowa HBPA is calling out the non-profit Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority (HISA) for needlessly paying millions of dollars to outside legal counsel for work that is virtually indistinguishable from filings and oral arguments made by the Department of Justice in defending the Federal Trade Commission in litigation challenging HISA’s constitutionality. The Iowa [...]

Denis Blake2025-12-18T18:17:24+00:00

Claiming Crown Recap: Double Your Money Lives Up to Name in $224,943 Jewel

Photo by Coady Media Parx invader Double Your Money, runner-up in the $200,000 Greenwood Cup (Grade III) in September, emerged as 1 ¼-length winner over Cadet Corps in a wild and competitive stretch run for Saturday’s $224,943 Claiming Crown Jewel at Churchill Downs – the most lucrative of eight starter allowance races on [...]

Denis Blake2025-11-17T13:16:13+00:00

Claiming Crown: “This will be our KY Derby,” Loy Says of Iowa Standout Happy Strike

Owner-trainer Dewaine Loy with Happy Strike at Churchill Downs Happy Strike cost $6,000 as a yearling purchase at Keeneland’s 2022 September sale. At the same auction, Point Dume cost $450,000. The two horses and 12 others square off in Saturday’s $200,000 Jewel, the most lucrative of the eight races comprising the $1.1 million Claiming [...]

Denis Blake2025-11-14T23:51:03+00:00

Claiming Crown: Roberts and Poston Work to Overcome Odds

Trainer Joe Roberts and apprentice jockey Amanda Poston with Empire's Best at High Pointe Farm & Training Center near LaGrange, Ky. This fall he uprooted his life and downsized his stable to relocate to Kentucky instead of wintering in his native Texas. He’s going into Saturday’s $1.1 million Claiming Crown at Churchill Downs [...]

Denis Blake2025-11-13T22:52:19+00:00

Old Friends’ Belmont Stakes Winner Touch Gold Euthanized

Photo by Laura Battles Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement facility in Georgetown, Ky., is saddened to report that 1997 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner, Touch Gold, has been euthanized at the age of 31 due to the infirmities of old age. The two-time Grade 1 winner had resided at Old Friends since 2015. “Saying [...]

Denis Blake2025-11-13T21:14:48+00:00

New Jockey Club Chair Everett Dobson to Deliver Keynote Address at HBPA Conference

Dobson addressing The Jockey Club Round Table in Saratoga as the new chair (courtesy The Jockey Club) Everett Dobson, the new chair of The Jockey Club, will deliver the keynote address at the annual National HBPA Conference on March 4. The telecommunications entrepreneur and philanthropist from Oklahoma City is a horse owner and breeder and [...]

Denis Blake2025-11-13T13:25:02+00:00

Claiming Crown: How Goats On a Tree was Named

Goats On a Tree, the namesake, at Churchill Downs. Gwen Davis/Davis Innovation The background on Goats On a Tree is a wild story. Not that it would be surprising if the 4-year-old filly wins Saturday’s $150,000 Claiming Crown Tiara at Churchill Downs. After all, she’ll be among the favorites in the 1 [...]

Denis Blake2025-11-12T01:16:59+00:00

Claiming Crown: Joseph Looking for More ‘Concrete’ Results in Express

Concrete Glory returns to defend last year's victory in the Claiming Crown Ready's Rocket Express. Check out the extended blinker over his right eye. Photo by Gwen Davis/Davis Innovation Even though the 6-year-old gelding Concrete Glory has competed in graded stakes and most recently won a top-level Saratoga allowance race, trainer Saffie Joseph [...]

Denis Blake2025-11-10T21:03:36+00:00

About Denis Blake