Latest news with #thoroughbreds
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Oisin Murphy to ride one or more winners at Windsor today is a BOOSTED 2/1 according to Sky Bet
Sky Bet are offering a Price Boost for today's horse racing action - as Windsor plays host to an eight-race card. Enhanced from 6/4 to 2/1 - the boost requires Oisin Murphy to ride two or more winners. Murphy is booked for four rides today - with one being the favourite and a further three thoroughbreds entering their fixtures as second-favourites. The favourite Murphy is onboard is the Andrew Balding-trained Jet Black in Race 7 at 20:30. Jet Black - who reigned supreme in her last start at Redcar - is a 13/8 favourite with Sky Bet to finish first past the post. Meanwhile, if you're anticipating the filly to be dominant en route to a victory - there are enhanced odds of 6/1 for Jet Black to win by two or more lengths. Oisin Murphy to ride one or more winners WAS 6/4 NOW 2/1
Reuters
16-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Cocktails, canapés and million-pound horses set scene for Royal Ascot
LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - In the gardens of a royal palace, Swiss billionaires, Qatari royals and the odd former footballer gathered on Monday night for a one-off chance to bag a racehorse ready to run at Royal Ascot the next day. Over 7.5 million pounds ($10.2 million) changed hands as bidders vied to secure one of 28 thoroughbred horses, 18 of which are due to compete this week for a chance to win a portion of Royal Ascot's 10 million pound prize pot. The Goffs London Sale, now in its 11th year, is an exclusive auction held in the grounds of Kensington Palace where anyone, providing they have a minimum 150,000 pound credit clearance, can bid for front-row access to one of the world's most prestigious sporting events. "You could be standing in the grounds of Kensington Palace at six o'clock and by two o'clock the next day, you could be at the parade ring alongside the British Royal Family with your own runner and your own colours," Henry Beeby, chief executive at the 160-year-old Goffs auction house, told Reuters. Top lot Ghostwriter, who holds an entry for the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday, went for 2 million pounds to football agent Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing while the second most expensive horse, Woodshauna, sold for 625,000 pounds to John Stewart of Resolute Racing - two of the biggest buyers in the sport. Joorabchian, who is known to be a big spender after dropping over 24 million pounds at a single sale last year, said his son had picked out the horse and that it had a good chance in the Hardwicke Stakes, a prestigious Group 2 race held at Royal Ascot. Danish entrepreneur and hotelier John Christensen said he bought Super Soldier for 390,000 pounds so his friends would have something to cheer on at the races on Tuesday. Last year's sale turned over almost 8.5 million pounds ($11.54 million) though Beeby conceded that was an exceptional year. Most years the London sale raises 3–6 million pounds, he said. Horses bought at the sale have some history of success at Ascot, though this is by no means guaranteed. The last time a graduate of the London ring won at Royal Ascot was in 2021 when Oxted won the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes while others, like Givemethebeatboys, sold in 2023, have been well-placed. The most expensive horse ever sold there was the French mare, Sparkling Plenty, who had won a Group 1 in Chantilly just days before. She was sold outside the ring in 2024 for 5 million pounds, beating the previous top price of 1.3 million pounds. The sale acts as an unofficial curtain raiser for Royal Ascot where trainers and top horses from around the world will compete over five days in races worth up to a million pounds. Highlights include the marathon two-and-a-half-mile Gold Cup on Thursday as well as numerous top-grade races featuring some of the world's best racehorses. Horseracing may contribute 4.1 billion pounds to the British economy annually, but it's often a game of risk and chance. While jackpots, - like the 9,000-euro ($10,402) colt, Kodi Bear, who returned 500,000 euro when sold again around 9 months later - do happen, for most buyers, owning a racehorse is a luxury. And it can go badly wrong. An American-bred horse, St James Square, was sold for $2.4 million in 2018 and never finished better than sixth in five starts. "We're dealing in luxury items, nobody needs to have a racehorse," Beeby said. Like all commodity markets, thoroughbred sales are not immune to global trade headwinds and tariffs. And like many trading houses, Goffs is navigating trade tensions with the United States – Goffs' trade with the United States was around 10 million euro worth of horses last year --and the fallout from Brexit, which ended a tripartite agreement on the free trade of horses between Britain, France and Ireland. "We are indelibly linked to the worldwide economy but by the same token, this is an extraordinarily resilient global business," he said. "We could do without [tariffs], we're hoping they're a distraction rather than a barrier." ($1 = 0.8652 euros) ($1 = 0.7366 pounds)
Bloomberg
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Bloomberg
Bet Against Journalism in Belmont Stakes: David Papadopoulos
If you missed the Preakness Stakes, call up the NBC replay. I've been watching thoroughbreds run for a long, long time. I'd never seen one do what Journalism did that day. With a quarter mile to go, he squeezed his big frame through an impossibly narrow hole and then, after careening off rivals and losing all momentum, unleashed a sudden, frantic rally to nail the leader in the shadow of the finish line.
South China Morning Post
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Midak bids to deliver poignant victory in ‘Aga Khan's' Epsom Derby
The imperious Shergar and Harzand book ended the late Aga Khan IV's five Epsom Derby winners and on Saturday Midak can provide a poignant win in the race which is named in his honour this year. Adding to the potential for a fairy tale, Midak is prominent French trainer Francis-Henri Graffard's first runner in the race considered to be the 'blue riband' of flat racing. The Aga Khan, for decades a leading owner-breeder of thoroughbreds and whose grandfather Aga Khan III also won the Derby five times, died aged 88 in February. Graffard, 48, says it is coincidental the 'historic' Aga Khan colours – a green top with red epaulettes and a green cap – will be represented. Midak impressed Graffard so much he persuaded Aga Khan Studs to pay £75,000 (HK$798,500) to supplement him for the race on Monday. 'When I came up with the idea of entering him I did not know it was being renamed in his honour,' said Graffard. Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard (centre) at Sha Tin in April. Photo: Kenneth Chan 'Circumstances have colluded, it is great. It makes me even more excited. Definitely makes the fact Midak is running even more special. They are prestigious and historic racing colours.' HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. Graffard said triumphing at his first attempt would be magical for the Aga Khan's family. 'Yes, you dream about these days,' he said. 'However, we know how hard it is to win Group One races, especially a Derby. 'It is my first runner in the race, we will learn plenty of things and hopefully come back in the future.' Midak will face 18 rivals as he bids to become only the fourth French winner of the Derby in the past 60 years. Graffard has won one classic for Aga Khan Studs this season, Zarigana benefiting from Shes Perfect's disqualification in the French 1,000 Guineas, prompting unsavoury behaviour from the latter's owners who yelled 'It's a joke' at the Aga Khan's daughter Princess Zahra as she was interviewed. The Aga Khan addresses an audience in 2015. Photo: AP Graffard, 54, has been heavily involved in the racing operation for many years. Although he was assistant trainer for a couple of years to Alain de Royer Dupre, the Aga's principal trainer until he retired in 2021, his encounters with him were rare. 'Unfortunately I only met him twice,' said Graffard. 'I would have loved to have gone racing with him and learned from his experience. 'However, Princess Zahra is very experienced and it is really interesting to make plans with her.' This teamwork has resulted in them entering Midak and pitting their wits against Delacroix – bidding to give Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien a record-extending 11th winner – and father-son partnership John and Thady Gosden's Damysus. Midak might never have even been a contender given that Graffard at one point considered gelding him – geldings are barred from running in the Derby – owing to his 'tricky temperament'. Midak remains unbeaten with a straight-forward success in the Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud!🇫🇷 Another progressive type for @GraffardRacing and @AgaKhanStuds! — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 9, 2025 'He was really difficult to train,' said Graffard. 'But I decided I would take him to the races before I resorted to [gelding him] and see how he fared. 'In his second race at Chantilly he was very green and jumped the road crossing the track, but he ended up winning nicely.' Things went smoother on his last start, winning the Group Three Prix Greffulhe (2,100m) – the same race that Pour Moi, France's last winner of the Derby in 2011, also captured. 'He ran much more professionally,' said Graffard. 'He is basically improving all the time.' Graffard says this season has only underlined that he made the right decision in opting to become a trainer rather than pursuing a career as a lawyer. 'It is a little bit crazy to think in the next fortnight we have two runners at Epsom then the Prix Diane and after that Royal Ascot,' he said. 'It is the dream job.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
It's one of the most rowdy US sporting events. Here's what Preakness says about the economy
A woman balancing a dozen cocktails on a tray atop her head inched carefully through the steadily building crowds and chaos Saturday morning at the Pimlico Race Course clubhouse. "How much is that," a man in purple pants yelled towards her, the glassware inches above her eyebrow clanking as she paused. "Twenty dollars," she replied. Ray De Rubin repeated the number in disbelief, mumbled an expletive under his breath, then said: "I'll take two." He and his mother were at Pimlico for the first time - here to wager on US horse racing's esteemed Preakness Stakes on its 150th anniversary. Just two weeks ago, during his 14th trip to the Kentucky Derby, he won big. "This is the exact same outfit I wore on Derby day. Same underwear, same socks, same hat," he said. "I still got my Derby wristband on." His wager at Pimlico? "I can't tell you. I don't want the IRS coming after me," he said with a grin. On the other side of Pimlico – just beyond the thousand-dollar seats, champagne flutes, and air-conditioned tents on the infield – five thoroughbreds idled behind the starting line. Mr De Rubin had bets on three of them. There was a brief moment of quiet before the race. Boom! The gates flung open, the horses took off. Mr De Rubin, eyes fixed on the screens above, stood frozen. But only for a moment. "I get really loud when I watch the race. I put a lot of work into this," he said. One of three annual thoroughbred races - along with the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes - that make up what is known as the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes has long been known as one of the most glamorously bacchanal events in US sports. Held at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, it brings together the rowdy and the rich. But this year, its tradition have been thrown into question. In his second presidency, Donald Trump has enforced swift, dramatic economic policy changes, leading to consumer pessimism unseen in over half a century. Virtually no corner of the American market has been spared - from the fast-food hamburger to the Preakness Stakes. Much of the current market-rattling turmoil is a result of Trump's sweeping global tariffs, announced on 2 April. Dubbed "Liberation Day", he said the new economic strategy would usher in "the golden age of America". Instead, in the 48 hours after his announcement, the S&P 500 had its worst two-day sell-off in years, as trillions of dollars were wiped from the stock market. Three weeks later, the International Monetary Fund warned of a global recession. Even McDonald's reported a drop in sales, which the burger chain's CEO attributed to customers "grappling with uncertainty". But while the stock market has mostly recovered following tariff agreements with the UK and China, the tariffs' impact may be just beginning; mega corporations like Walmart and Amazon recently warned of price increases. But at Pimlico, the state of Maryland is betting big, with plans to demolish the track right after Saturday's event and rebuild a new course in its place, plus a state-of-the-art training facility. The tariffs' shadow looms here, too. "We expect there to be some kind of impact," the Maryland Stadium Authority told the BBC in a statement. But for now, they said the effects on the half-billion dollar project remains unclear. Aside from tariffs, horse race attendance has shrunk in recent years. Just over 46,000 people attended the Preakness in 2024, down from the 131,000 that attended in 2019. The Derby drew a much larger crowd of roughly 150,000 this year but was still well under its peak of 170,000 in 2015. Bill Carstanjen, CEO of the Derby's home, Churchill Downs, said a dip in sales this year was due to buyer "hesitancy" that "correlates perfectly" with Trump's swinging tariffs. "We didn't have the endless pool of demand that we've seen in prior years," Mr Carstanjen told the Lexington Herald. Still, gambling records this year were broken at the Derby and Preakness. Over a week before the Preakness and before the horses running were finalised, a Preakness record of $348,000 was wagered on betting futures, up from last year's record of $260,000. All just a drop in the bucket compared to the millions that will be wagered by the time the last horse crosses the finish line. University of Kentucky economics professor Justin Balthrop told the BBC that a rise in gambling also could be a sign of economic distress. "People who reach a certain level of despair will start to take on more risk, in an effort to literally gamble their way back to a place where they feel like they can be more comfortable," Professor Balthrop said. "You combine that with this idea that maybe they are so pessimistic, that this gives them the dopamine rush or endorphin release." Waiting in a long line on Pimlico's infield, Anthony Walker was among those looking for "a little reprieve". He was glad "to be able to take a few hours away from all that instability" of the stock market and federal employee layoffs, also stirred by Trump. Mr Walker planned to gamble – "you can't come to the race without putting a little something out there" – but a bit less than he might've in more certain times. "I'm wagering 50% less, for sure," he estimated. "Because of what's happening in the economy – the way this administration is taking a wrecking ball to the longstanding traditions and institutions that give credence to the American way of life." At the Preakness, there are still endless ways to get a quick dose of gambling-induced dopamine. Even for as little as 10 cents. "I've seen a 10 cent (wager) pay $75,000," said Peter Rotondo, who heads racing and wagering for 1/ST, the organisation running Preakness. To do so, one would have to wager on what's called a superfecta: correctly guessing which four horses will place in the top four in the exact order, odds that are about on par with getting struck by lightning. "That's the beauty of the super," Mr Rotondo said. The pricey cocktail Mr De Rubin grumbled about is the Black-Eyed Susan, also Maryland's official flower. The crazed concoction - bourbon, vodka, and a splash of mixers - leaves one to wonder whether it's truly a tribute to the state flower or a wink to the likely black eye after having too many. The drink is one of many traditions at the annual event. There's also the decades-old Tiffany & Co-made trophy called the Woodlawn Vase, considered "the most valuable trophy in sports". Made of 30lb of sterling silver, it's valued at an estimated $4m (£3m), and thus is kept in a museum most of the year. The Preakness winner leaves with a replica. But for many, the Preakness wouldn't be the Preakness without the party on the infield. "I went a lot in my 20s and 30s. It was an absolutely crazy party," Bobby Duke, 51, said in an email to the BBC. "In 1998, a guy jumped the fence and tried to punch a horse while racing. It's on YouTube." Though Pimlico always had offerings for elegant, fans like Mr Duke fondly remember piling into the infield for "the most salacious party on the sports calendar", as ESPN once put it, where patrons would race across a long row of porta-pottys while dodging beer cans hurled at them by inebriated onlookers. (That tradition ended around 2009, when Pimlico stopped its BYOB policy.) Maryland officials said the new Pimlico will become a year-round racing facility, and hopefully bring an economic boost to the low-income Park Heights neighbourhood surrounding it. In his purple paints and every-colour-of-the-rainbow shirt, Mr De Rubin grew agitated as his luck began to unravel during the five-horse race. "(Horse number five) is dead last. I don't think they're going to catch this," he said with growing animation, rattling the ice in his Black-Eyed Susan. He placed bets on horses one, three and five. "Oh, (crap), the three horse. Here comes the one horse. Come on, one!" In a span of about three minutes, the anticipation, anxiety, fear and hope all came crashing to an end. Mr De Rubin didn't win. But he didn't lose either. The even spread on the winning horse basically gave him back what he put into it. He compared the experience to today's seesaw stock market. "Investing, and betting on horses, is gambling. You have ups and downs," he said. His stock portfolio has taken a wild downward spin through Trump's global tariff tit-for-tat. But recently it sprang back into the green and is up around 20%, he said. Unlike the horses, "you can't watch the market. It'll give you a heart attack", he advised. "I have faith in Trump. He's a little crazy with it right now, but it'll all work out."
