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Daily Horse Racing Headlines
>>> Synthetics as savior?... SoCal trainer Mel Stute, "I've had nine horses put down in 40 years, and five of them have been since the synthetics."... And, where have all the blackbirds gone?
>>> Med testing: Many in the industry believe Pennsylvania's testing program is a much-needed reaction to a widely speculated, seldom-discussed issue that threatens to harm horse racing
>>> VIDEO: Behind the scenes -- How vets test for drugs in racehorses
>>> Graphic: Post-race drug testing procedures
>>> Moss: If racing ignores the rainstorm in its living room, the roof may eventually collapse
>>> Research already underway on improving racehorse safety
>>> My, how things have changed: Twenty-four years ago Flip Sal barely survived a serious injury in the Ky Derby -- and yet "there was little commotion or protest... There were no virulent columns or editorials demanding an end to racing."
>>> Kling: We know what needs to be done: fix hard tracks, tighten drug use, breed sounder horses
>>> Wash Post: "People who want to stop horse racing remind me of the folks who don't want kids to play sports, or even play tag at recess, because someone might get hurt by accident."
>>> Presque Isle to kick off first full season on Friday night
>>> Presque Isle: Demand high, but stalls not filled
>>> Good news: Significant growth in attendance, handle, and purses at recently concluded AQU meet
>>> Mid-Atlantic sites, NYRA make deal
>>> Crist: The Trakus system... Much as players like what the system currently does, it's about to get even better
>>> NJ: As Monmouth gets set to open, columnist laments current state of racing in Jersey, "Nowhere in America is racing in worse shape than it is in New Jersey."

Chris Russo on the Derby
>>> VIDEO: Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo's take on the Derby... NBC's coverage, Eight Belles breakdown, and Big Brown's dominance

Daily Horse Racing Headlines

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Preakness:

Friday:
>>> Dutrow on Preakness: "Most likely, as long as nothing bad happens, we are going to get this one."
>>> Kentucky Bear gets a feel for the Pimlico strip
>>> Balt Sun: Economic fallout at the Preakness... Sponsors cutting back; impact expected to be small

Thursday:
>>> Recapturetheglory and Racecar Rhapsody are in
>>> Colonel John to return to California

Previous Derby articles now in 2008 Triple Crown archive


thoroughbred daily news - horse racing news

HOLLYWOOD
Sat preview: Five set to go in G2 $250K Murray Mem Hcp

DOWN UNDER/ASIA
Oz: Leading jock Blake Shinn has been suspended from riding for one month after testing positive to the banned substance ephedrine

Sat results: Samantha Miss upsets Sebring in G1 Champagne Stakes at Royal Randwick

Sat results: No Wine No Song takes G1 Sydney Cup at Randwick

Sat results: Racing To Win scores in G1 All-Aged Stakes at Randwick


KY DERBY
Official Ky Derby website

Free PPs: Ky Derby contenders [pdf]

Prep schedule/results

Latest graded earnings

Courier-Journal's DataTrack tool

Final odds: Future Pool 3 [pdf]

Final odds: Future Pool 2 [pdf]

Final odds: Future Pool 1 [pdf]


WEATHER
Current forecasts for N American tracks

HORSE RACING MEDIA
[AUS] FOXSPORTS.AU
[AUS] RACING AND SPORTS
[AUS] SMH.COM.AU
[AUS/NZ] THOROUGHBRED NEWS
[AUS] VIRTUAL FORM GUIDE
[ASIA] S CHINA MORNING POST
BALTIMORE SUN
BLOOD HORSE
CBS.SPORTSLINE
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
DAILY RACING FORM
DALLAS/FT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM
ESPN
FOX SPORTS
[JAPAN] HORSERACING IN JAPAN
KENTUCKY.COM
LA TIMES
LOUISVILLE COURIER JOURNAL
MIAMI HERALD
MSNBC
NY DAILY NEWS
NY POST
NY TIMES
PALMBEACHPOST.COM
SEATTLE TIMES
SIGNONSANDIEGO.COM
SOUTH AFRICAN HORSERACING
THOROUGHBRED TIMES
TIMES PICAYUNE
[U.K.] BBC
[U.K.] GUARDIAN
[U.K.] RACING POST
[U.K.] SPORTINGLIFE.COM
[U.K.] TELEGRAPH
[U.K.] TIMES
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON POST

GENERAL NEWS
Former trainer Michael Dickinson has put his custom-designed Tapeta Farm on the market for an undisclosed price

Jockey Club commissions Thoroughbred Safety Committee... NTRA schedules speical meeting to examine safety

Will NYC OTB revival plan cost NYRA millions?

Dutrow expecting a 'bounce' from big sheets-number in Derby win: "He's got to react. He's not going to run a minus-1 again. But I'm figuring if he runs like a 5, he can still win the race."

Haskin's Ky Derby aftermath: Final thoughts

White: Ky Derby recap notes

Single ticket sold in Nevada takes down entire pool in Wed's carryover P6 at Churchill... Pays $1.1mil as sequence ends with 49-1 upsetter

Balt Sun: Magna unlikely to meet deadline... Pimlico owner owes $180 million in loans by end of month

Canadian newspaper critical: It is hard to make money in a Frank Stronach enterprise these days. Except if your name is Frank Stronach

Bay Meadows: Track's last lap... "I'll have tears in my eyes when it closes."

Eight Belles jockey vehemently denies wrongdoing

Jumps: Wow! 50,000 attended Virginia Gold Cup Races last Saturday

Lipper: "All PETA is doing is making noise and an idiot of itself."

Hancock: "The real problem with the horse industry is that nobody is in charge. We are a rudderless ship..."

Douglass: "So the wussification of America continues... If everyone in this country was as concerned about the ethical treatment of people as they are the ethical treatment of animals, this might actually be a better world to live in."

Ambrose: Horse racing -- "Reformed? Yes, in some ways. But outlawed? Why?"

Bossert: "The answer must come from the inside, not from those who spend 99% on the outside."

Fans, sponsors say sport will survive Eight Belles tragedy

>P Val gets fine and probation on DUI charge

Canadian Racing Hall of Fame noms announced

>>> VIDEO: Jill Byrne addresses Eight Belles fatality on Tuesday night's "O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News
>>> AUDIO: PBS' 'Newshour' from Monday covers Eight Belles breakdown -- with Andy Beyer debating NY Times' William Rhoden

Curlin possible for June 14 G1 Foster at Churchill

Derby win by Big Brown bittersweet for horse's first trainer, "I could've used the exposure this horse would have given me"

Plonk: The convicted drug offenders have now swept racing's Holy Grail... The inmates officially are running the asylum

Monmouth set for Friday opening

NY: Synthetic racetrack forum planned for July

Ky Derby draws its 2nd-largest TV audience in 17 years

Ky Derby TV ratings 1975-2008


Hong Kong's new jockey challege wager adding excitement to daily betting menu

Montana Lottery developing statewide fantasy football game to raise money to subsidize the sport

Former trainer [now synthetic surface salesman] Michael Dickinson has called for Churchill Downs to switch to a synthetic surface

NJ: Permanent-fix needed for racing industry

Churchill ADW dispute lingers... "We must be prepared. These disputes could continue into next year."

Purse cuts planned at CDI-owned tracks

Churchill turns profit in normally slow 1st quarter

Pricci: Remembering Hall of Famer Frank Whiteley and the legendary Ruffian

Magna Ent 1st-quarter net loss swells to $46.5 mil

Eight Belles' owner would like to see a racing commissioner: "Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying the accident could have been avoided if we had a commissioner," but having an authority figure could "get everybody on the same page."

NTRA prez asks fans to respond: "I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on what you believe racing should do in the wake of Eight Belles' death."

Wall Street Journal: Good idea slow to progress... Database that would allow breeders "to help identify which bloodlines are inclined to produce horses that are durable" still not complete 19 months after initiation, "I will admit to some disappointment that we haven't been able to produce it quicker."

Sulky side is safer: "Harness horses don't have the same bone structure as thoroughbreds."

Eight Belles' jock issues statement: "I remain heartbroken..."

Lexington newspaper editor reacts to reader response to Eight Belles photos: "A picture is worth a thousand words, and images can move people more readily than words alone."

Wall: Debate on track surface revived

Synthetic tracks safer, but have their drawbacks

Q&A: UC Davis equine specialists debate thoroughbreds' safety: "To people who know horses well, today's race horses also look different. They tend to have heavier muscles behind and lighter bones in their lower leg."

UC Davis works to end fatal horse injuries... Lab has fifteen scientists hoping to prevent deaths

Racing deaths have industry looking for some answers... Horse durability, track surfaces are studied; no quick fix likely

PETA protest in Ky on Tuesday countered by equal number of racing supporters

Canadian scribe sniffs at Derby's winning trainer: "The history [at Woodbine] is the problem even more so than Dutrow's career list of suspensions, which is long and impressive."

Balt Sun: Pimlico -- Slowing on the home stretch... Racing fan, "The interest is waning. Look around in here. Everybody is old."

Melbourne Cup prizemoney increases to $AUS5.5 million [US$5.21mil] -- second-richest turf race in the world

Economics: It's not just horse-racing... Vegas casinos facing tough times as well

China: College to offer major in the horse racing industry

Presque Isle meet begins Friday

VIDEO: Trainer Larry Jones adddresses the media on Tuesday [sidebar column]

Belmont/Aqueduct
Tomcito using Peter Pan as Belmont Stakes prep

EUROPE
Frankie Dettori admits his probable ride in next month's Vodafone Derby is up in the air

Finsceal Beo to lead Gold Cup defence at Curragh

Aidan O'Brien believes the Vodafone Derby must be a 'big consideration' for Henrythenavigator


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