Invaluable winning last fall's $100,000 Claiming Crown Glass Slipper at Churchill Downs under Luis Saez. Photo by Gwen Davis/Davis Innovation The mare Invaluable has been selected as the 2022 Claiming Crown Horse of the Year, her name neatly summing up the hard-knocking warhorses that populate America’s racing cards largely out of the limelight. Trainer Mike [...]
For the past two years, we've heard nonstop from the other side of the HISA debate that our lawsuit was frivolous, ill-intended, and a waste of time. At every turn, we have said our goal is simple: to ensure that the regulations that govern our industry are in line with the Constitution. Earlier this [...]
The 2023 Claiming Crown will be staged for the first time since 2011 at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans on Saturday, Dec. 2, announced Claiming Crown co-founders National HBPA and TOBA along with the Fair Grounds. The event will feature eight races totaling $1 million in base purses, headlined by [...]
National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback response to Gagliano’s statement: While we will not respond in a tit-for-tat with The Jockey Club, we want to make one thing abundantly clear. That is to quote the Authority's own statement in response to these tragic deaths last week: "Churchill Downs has been cooperating with HISA since its inception and [...]
Statement from Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (HBPA), and Daniel Suhr, lead attorney representing the National HBPA and 12 of its affiliates, on the ruling today from the Northern District of Texas at Lubbock that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is constitutional. “We’ve been down this road before. After a loss in the district court, we [...]
Students in UofL’s Equine Industry Program get real-world experience through internships, field experience and contact with industry professionals from throughout Kentucky’s famed horse country. (Photo courtesy University of Louisville) As the world’s eyes turn to Louisville’s Churchill Downs in anticipation of this week’s Kentucky Derby, the city’s hometown university highlights its decades-long [...]
Angel of Empire training May 2 at 5:30 a.m. at Churchill Downs. (Photo by Coady Photography) For a small racing state, Iowa will have a super-sized presence in Saturday’s 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs with three horses owned by Ankeny’s Dennis Albaugh entered in America’s greatest race. Leading the way in [...]
Photo courtesy Ron Hillerich The following is an editorial written by Louisville attorney, horse owner and breeder Ron Hillerich: I am a practicing attorney in Louisville, KY., and have been involved in the racing and breeding of thoroughbred horses since 1992. Over the years my partner and I have been blessed to [...]
Photo provided by the Von Hemel family In his case, “V” stood for victory. Don Von Hemel of Hot Springs will retire May 6, final day of the 2022-2023 Oaklawn meeting, drawing the curtain on a 67-year career that saw him rise to legendary status in Nebraska and becoming one of the leading trainers [...]
Today, in a bench trial in the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Texas, Judge James Wesley Hendrix heard evidence and arguments on whether Congress can grant lawmaking and law enforcement power to a private corporation to govern a nationwide industry. The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) and 12 of its affiliates [...]