New York Yankees partner Steve Swindal said his Excelsior Racing Associates group is already discussing future track management and laying plans to take over racing in New York on Jan. 1, 2008 when, he believes, Excelsior will begin operating Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks.
"We're going full steam ahead,'' Swindal said in an interview with The Blood-Horse, adding that he is "very confident'' the state legislature will back a recent recommendation from a state panel picking Excelsior over the New York Racing Association and Empire Racing Associates for the next Thoroughbred franchise.

Since the 1st running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875, the 40-acre Churchill Downs infield has been a gathering place to exercise the first rite of spring.
Attracting folks from all over the country, the infield at Churchill Downs regularly becomes home to 80,000 fans for Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby days. For many, one visit to the infield is enough to last a lifetime (about all you may see of the races is a cloud of dust and a flash of silks); others come back year after year, graduating from the fun of their youthful college days to family picnics with the little ones.

The second most entertaining parade on the first Saturday in May, next to the Kentucky Derby "post parade", is the parade of hats on display at Churchill Downs. From the fantastic to the sublime, there are no rules or limits.
In the Clubhouse and Paddock, women of grace and taste sport classy, fashionable styles. In the infield, the headwear has a zanier character. Does a Derby hat improve one's luck at picking winners? Some say, "yes, it certainly helps." 
 

Charles Castille Jr.'s Costa Rising, coming off a win in Delta Downs' Gold Cup last month, faces 2005 winner Badtotheboneandrew and nine others in the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic Saturday at Fair Grounds Race Course.
The Classic and nine other Louisiana Champions Day races return to their traditional home for the 16th running of the state-bred festival and are joined by the inaugural running of the $100,000 Ladies Sprint at six furlongs to complete the 11-race card.

Two extraordinary racing days on the New York Racing Association’s 2007 stakes calendar – Saturday, July 28 at Saratoga Race Course and Sunday, September 30 at Belmont Park – are sure to draw rave reviews from a national audience, as NYRA will be an active player in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Challenge.

The 2006 Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) Awards, of which 12 of the 14 are announced Dec. 7, acknowledge the achievements of a diverse selection of British breeders, both large and small. Ouija Board is the undoubted darling of British racing and the 5-year-old mare's exploits during the summer in winning the group I pair of the Prince Of Wales's Stakes and Vodafone Nassau Stakes,