Paco Lopez celebrates a five-win day, including four Claiming Crown victories. (Photo by Coglianese Photos/Ryan Thompson) (from Gulfstream Park news releases) Jockey Paco Lopez put the finishes touches on a five-win afternoon by guiding Patricia Generazio homebred Mid Day Image to a front-running 1 ¼-length triumph in the $95,000 Claiming Crown Emerald [...]

Max K. O. winning at Kentucky Downs (Photo by Grace Clark) Ten Twenty Racing’s Max K. O. earned a berth in Saturday’s $95,000 Emerald by winning a Sept. 8 qualifying race at Kentucky Downs, which paid the $100 nominating fee and would have paid a shipping fee up to $1000 had the [...]

(from Gulfstream Park news release) Very much the ‘poster horse’ for what the annual Claiming Crown at Gulfstream Park represents, Mastic Beach Racing’s Tune In will seek his seventh win in his last 10 starts in Saturday’s $75,000 Jewel. The Jewel, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up who have run for a [...]

Beantown Baby (Photo by Maryland Jockey Club/Laurel Park) (from Gulfstream Park news release) Team Valor International’s 5-year-old mare Beantown Baby, a six-time career winner, looks to break through with another big victory in Saturday’s $90,000 Claiming Crown Distaff Dash at Gulfstream Park. Beantown Baby earned an automatic berth to the Claiming Crown [...]

(from Gulfstream Park news release) At the age of 79, Frank Russo is enjoying his time in the sun. That doesn’t mean he’s content to just watch the time go by. Far from it. The Brooklyn native is in his 46th year training Thoroughbreds, a career that has touched parts of six decades dating back [...]

Jennie Rees (Photo courtesy Kentucky HBPA) Lucky 7 Stable’s Mike Mackin, horse owner/celebrity bettor Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and Kentucky Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer are among the guests as Kentucky Racing Spotlight presented by the Kentucky HBPA debuts Friday. The weekly radio program will air 6-7 p.m. ET Fridays through March [...]

A trio of thirty-something trainers has been elected as newcomers to the Kentucky HBPA board with the addition of Jason Barkley, Norm Casse and Bentley Combs. Rick Hiles was re-elected as Kentucky HBPA president, with Frank Jones re-elected as the owner vice president and Dale Romans as the trainer vice president. Also re-elected to the [...]

Photo by Jennie Rees D. Wayne Lukas — the most transformative horse trainer in the modern era — will be the keynote speaker at the National HBPA’s annual conference in March in Hot Springs, Ark. “When we seek out our keynote speaker, we look for inspiration and passion,” said Eric Hamelback, chief [...]

Expanding purse supplements for Kentucky-breds to include claiming races would shore up the state’s year-round horse-racing circuit, keeping horses and jobs in Kentucky, the leading horsemen’s association told a legislative committee Friday. Rick Hiles, president of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association (KHBPA), said that while Kentucky’s racing industry is thriving on many [...]