The Wire

Real Writing on Racing 💯...

Jay Privman @DRFPrivman. Recap of @DelMarRacing's Graduation Stakes, won by The Big Wam, who overcame some early trouble to prevail under ......

John Sadler has had some very good horses throughout his 45-year training career, going back to the speedy roan filly, Melair, who upset Preakness winner Snow Chief in the 1986 Silver Screen Handicap at Hollywood Park. He's saddled the winners of 44 Grade 1 races and his runners have earned...

Joe Gorajec, retired after a lengthy career as executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, wrote in a commentary earlier this week that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has failed to operate with the same transparency shown by state agencies that historically have regulated the sport. Since Gorajec's...

Detailed analysis of the 2022 Arlington Million field by Vance Hanson of TwinSpires....

Real Writing on Racing 💯...

Saturday's Race of the Day is Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap. @DRF_DanIllman and @DRF_Beer analyze here on #DRFTV #DRF ... Jay Privman @DRFPrivman....

Most of the time, you'll see new sponsored series pop up on our website without a lot of fanfare. Maybe we'll put an intro on the first piece explaining what we endeavor for the series to cover, but that's about it. That's why I want to tell you the story...

DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more ... Jay Privman @DRFPrivman....

In our previous post about Saratoga summer reading, we highlighted several book options for reading about John Morrissey, the Irish-born pugilist from nearby Troy who founded the Saratoga track. Aside from the race course, we recently visited other sites around town that continue to honor Morrissey’s memory. The building known...

Real Writing on Racing 💯...

Big Wam has big figure edge in Graduation Stakes. Jay PrivmanAug 10, 2022 ... DRF Race of the Day for Wednesday, August 10. SARATOGA, Race 10...

Real Writing on Racing 💯...

Jay Privman @DRFPrivman. Ironic this named horse sells on day @caCHRB comes out with edict requiring frequent media members get licensed, ......

The new Horseracing Integrity andYou Safety Authority (HISA), despite repeated pledges of transparency, has failed to disclose even the most basic information about its own manner of governance.  This failure is well below the standards and practices of state racing commissions. Background On July 5, 2022, Marty Irby, executive director...

Gross domestic product or GDP is often used as a benchmark to evaluate how well an industry or a company is performing.  I quantified how closely pari-mutuel handle for flat racing in the United States has mimicked U. S. GDP in the twenty-first century. The correlation between the annual growth...

Dear Editor: This letter is to briefly address the “House of Cards” article by Natalie Voss relating to Medina Spirit's pre-race screening. Ms. Voss focused on the pre-race screening testing for Medina Spirit performed by Industrial Labs on April 18, 2021, preceding the May 1, 2021 Kentucky Derby. As now...

With stakes winners on the West Coast and the East Coast on successive days, at Del Mar on July 28 and at …Continue reading →...

Real Writing on Racing 💯...

Detailed analysis of the 2022 Whitney Stakes field by Vance Hanson of TwinSpires....

Pan the camera away from Saratoga and Del Mar, where the glamorous juveniles debut one after another, and focus for a moment on two lower-profile tracks that hosted two eye-popping performances this weekend. On Saturday at Prairie Meadows, Tyler's Tribe, a 2-year-old Iowa-bred gelding by Sharp Azteca (Freud), won the...

With a one-two finish in the Grade 1 Haskell on July 23, Cyberknife defeating Tiaba by a head, leading sire …Continue reading →...

The Fasig-Tipton 2022 Saratoga auction of selected yearlings is being held on August 8 and 9.  Last year, 135 yearlings were sold for an average price of $488,556 and a median price of $350,000. In 2021, the average yearling auction price in the United States was $80,145, with a median...

Detailed analysis of the 2022 Jim Dandy Stakes field by Vance Hanson of TwinSpires....

Yesterday was a sad day at the farm. We had to say goodbye to two valiant elders. We were coming to love them both very much. Swain and Dumaani lived most of their lives at Shadwell Farm until they joined … Continue reading →...