Is it time to change the way stakes are scheduled?

Graded stakes scheduling across the country has become farcical in recent years, says Sid Fernando, with too many races for the same types of horses clustered together to make them meaningful events in their own right, on many levels.

By Sid Fernando

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)

Weight allowance – do fillies and mares get a raw deal?

How many would disagree if I said that the weight-for- age scales currently being used in horseracing is full of flaws? How many would disagree if I said that these scales, meant to give horses of different ages an equal chance, in many cases do exactly the opposite? Quite a few, I suspect, since I heard no protesting voices after looking into this matter in a previous Trainer article. Protesting voices are not in short supply in horseracing circles. So, will there be any when I share the essence of my more recent ponderings that the current system of filly and mare allowances leaves a lot to be desired? Let's find out, says Geir Stabell

By Geir Stabell

First Published (21 October 2010 - Issue Number: 18)

Should medication-free horses be given preferential treatment?

From next year, any trainer who has violated rules regarding use or possession of Class 1 drugs over the past twelve months, will be barred from having runners at the Breeders’ Cup races, it was announced following a Breeders’ Cup board meeting in September, says Geir Stabell.

By Geir Stabell

First Published (20 October 2010 - Issue Number: 18)

The Advance of Turkish racing on the international scene

For centuries extending back to the Roman Empire, Turkey and its cosmopolitan center now known as Istanbul have been the crossroads of civilizations, straddling Europe and Asia and connecting the commerce, art and religions of the world. Today Turkey is diligently working to also achieve recognition as a significant new crossroads for horseracing.

By Michele MacDonald

First Published: (21 July 2010 - Issue Number: 17)

The decline of East Coast fair racing

In his 47 years of working at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, Max Mosner, the fair’s president and general manager, has seen Thoroughbred racing at Maryland fairs, and at other fairs on the East Coast, slow to a crawl.

By Bill Heller

First Published  (21 July 2010 - Issue Number: 17)

Rescinding claims - is it time to change the rules?

Last October, during a regular meeting of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) at then-CHRB chairman John Harris’s Harris Ranch Inn and Restaurant in Coalinga, California, commissioner Bo Derek, the actress and horsewoman, brought up an agenda item that sooner or later will likely have national ramifications. The issues: should long-held claiming rules be changed to void claims when a claimed horse doesn’t finish (DNF) a race or tests positive for prohibited substances?

By Sid Fernando

First Published (21 July 2010 - Issue Number: 17 )