(Edited Arlington Park release)

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Illinois racing lost one of its most ardent supporters when longtime trainer Tom Tomillo passed away Wednesday evening at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, Ill. He was 66 years old. 

A fixture in Chicago racing for more than more than five decades, first as an owner and later as a trainer, Tomillo won his first race as a trainer at Arlington Park in 1971. Tomillo’s barn won at least…

NTRA release

A fund raiser for seriously injured Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred jockey Tad Leggett will be held at racetracks across the country on Labor Day, Sept. 6.  

On that day, both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse jockeys are asked to donate a losing mount fee to assist Tad’s family and help with costs associated with his care and rehabilitation.  Tad suffered a broken neck on June 30 immediately after the third race at Fair Meadows Racetrack in Tulsa, Okla. 

After…

Jenny Kellner
NYRA/Saratoga Race Course

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The training title at Saratoga Race Course, one of the most coveted in the sport of horse racing, will be named in honor of Hall of Famer H. Allen Jerkens, himself a four-time leading trainer at the Spa.

“Mr. Jerkens epitomizes the highest standards any horseman can aspire to and NYRA is extremely pleased to be able to name racing’s most prestigious training title after him,” NYRA Executive VP and…

Mike Gathagan
Vice President-Communications
Maryland Jockey Club

LAUREL, Md. – The 11-day Laurel Park summer meeting ended Sunday with Chris Grove and Forest Boyce winning individual titles. Live racing shifts to Timonium for the Maryland State Fair stand before returning to Laurel for the balance of the year on Saturday, Sept. 11.

(Edited NYRA/Saratoga Race Course report)

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jockey John Velazquez swept the early Pick 4 en route to an five-win day at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.

After narrowly missing aboard his mount in the first race, Velazquez broke a pair of maidens in races 2 and 3, piloting 2-year-old Curlinello ($5.40) and 3-year-old We Need V L T’s ($12.60) both to neck victories. In race 4, Velazquez rode favored CallideValley ($4.20) to a 10¼-length allowance victory before…

(Edited NYRA/Saratoga Race Course report)

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jockey Rajiv Maragh was discharged from the hospital tonight after a spill earlier Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course.

Maragh fell to the ground when his mount, Pico Dinero, stumbled and lost his footing on the backstretch in the 7th race at Saratoga, a one-mile maiden claiming race on the inner turf course.

“YOUNG GUNS VS. CAGEY VETERANS” RACE AT ARLINGTON PARK

David Zenner
Arlington Park

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – When Triple Crown winning jockey Jean Cruguet had to take off his mount in this Friday’s “Young Guns vs. Cagey Veterans” race at Arlington Park, fellow Triple Crown winning peer Ron Turcotte said he’d like nothing more than to be able to pinch hit.  Of course, Turcotte is unable to do so but suggested that the track tap Otto Thorwarth, who portrays…

(Edited NTRA and Blood-Horse report)

Jockey Russell Baze registered the 11,000th win of his career when he guided Separate Forest to victory in Saturday’s fourth race at Santa Rosa, Calif (Sonoma County Fair).

(Edited NYRA/Saratoga Race Course report)

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jockey Robby Albarado, a fixture at the Saratoga meet for much of the last decade, will be sidelined for an undetermined period of time after breaking his clavicle and left index finger and thumb in a fall Wednesday afternoon at Saratoga Race Course.

(Edited NYRA/Saratoga Race Course report)

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – John Velazquez, currently the leading rider at Saratoga Race Course, rewarded his fans in the crowd of 43,505 by bringing home four winners on Sunday’s card.