Month: January 2023

Conor Grant Appointed New Chairman Of Racecourse Media Group

Racehorse owner Conor Grant will be the new Chairman of Racecourse Media Group (RMG), replacing Roger Lewis. Grant will initially join as an RMG Non-Executive Director on Apr. 1, and then become Chairman of RMG on Oct. 1.

Grant has 24 years of experience in the UK and Irish gambling sector, including 14 years in senior executive roles. He was most recently CEO of Flutter UK & Ireland, and, prior to that, was Chief Operating Officer of Sky Betting & Gaming.

The umbrella organisation for 35 British racecourses and the parent company of Racing TV, RMG is owned 100% by its racecourse shareholders and pays 100% of operating profit back to racecourses. In 2021, the shareholders were paid £110 million, and that figure will be exceeded for the media and data revenues generated in 2022.

Grant said, “I am delighted to be joining Racecourse Media Group at such an exciting time for the business and the broader racing industry. RMG has delivered outstanding results for its shareholders in recent years, and I would like to pay tribute to Roger who has done a fantastic job, along with CEO Martin Stevenson, in growing and developing the business. I look forward to working with the RMG team and continuing to deliver for all of our racecourses.”

Nevin Truesdale, CEO of The Jockey Club and Non-Executive Director on the RMG Board, said, “I am delighted to welcome Conor to the RMG Board and to be working with him as we further develop the business for the benefit of its shareholder racecourses. Conor brings significant and in-depth expertise to the industry, acquired over a long period of time, and this will help shape our strategies and address the challenges we are facing.”

Originally due to step down in 2022, Lewis was asked by the RMG Board to stay on through the transition. Independent Non-Executive Director Andy Anson will also be stepping down in April.

The post Conor Grant Appointed New Chairman Of Racecourse Media Group appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Colonel Liam out of Pegasus Turf, Retires to Ocala Stud

Three-time Grade I stakes winner Colonel Liam (Liam's Map–Amazement, by Bernardini) will not return to defend his title in Gulfstream Park's GI Pegasus Turf Invitational, but has been retired to stand at Ocala Stud in Florida, according to Jacob West. His introductory fee will be $6,500.

“Colonel Liam took our whole family on quite a ride over a four-year period,” said owner Robert Low. “Ocala Stud has a proven track record of developing young stallions into some of the most formidable stallions in the business and we are excited to be sending Colonel Liam to them. We love the family aspect of Ocala Stud. Their integrity and horsemanship set them apart.”

Colonel Liam was a $1.2 million OBS April sale purchase by West on behalf of Robert and Lowana Low. He won his first start racing on the dirt, but trainer Todd Pletcher quickly switched him to the turf where he excelled. Colonel Liam ended his 3-year-old campaign with a win in the victorious in the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream. He then rattled off three consecutive graded stakes wins, including the $1,000,000 Pegasus World Cup Turf, the GII Muniz Memorial, and the GI Turf Classic at Churchill.

He returned in 2022 to successfully defend his Pegasus World Cup Turf title.

“Colonel Liam is the total package,” said Low. “He has the pedigree, the race record and the looks to appeal to everyone. He is incredibly good looking and very talented. He is a top-tier horse and we cannot wait to offer him to breeders. Colonel Liam is like part of our family. We look forward to supporting him in the breeding shed and in the sales ring.”

Colonel Liam's second dam is the millionaire and multiple Grade I winner and stakes producer Wonder Again (Silver Hawk.)

Colonel Liam retires with $1,812,565 in earnings and seven wins from 12 lifetime starts.

The post Colonel Liam out of Pegasus Turf, Retires to Ocala Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Will Walden Joins The TDN Writers’ Room

Will Walden' story is a remarkable one. After battling substance abuse issues for more than a decade, he is sober and has just finished his first year as a trainer, winning with 22% of his starters. But the success of his stable extends beyond trips to the winner's circle. Walden's team is comprised of individuals who were also deeply mired in addiction and the group works together not just to produce winners but to support each other.

After an inspirational video on Walden's story produced by the TDN's Katie Petrunyak ran, the team from the TDN Writer's Room podcast presented by Keeneland wanted to hear more. Walden was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

“I was miserable and wanted to get clean and sober,” Walden said of some of his worst days. “And I didn't. I'd gotten kicked out of a house a few weeks prior, and I had basically resigned to the fact that I was going to die a heroin junkie one day. It's a pretty sad state to be in.”

But something finally clicked, and after working at Wendy's, where he proved to himself and others he could show up for work and be responsible, Walden, the son of WinStar President and CEO Elliott Walden, decided to fulfill his long-time dream of being a trainer.  He soon found out that being around horses on a daily basis was a powerful tool that helped both he and his employees stay on course.

“It's kind of difficult to put into words what these horses do for the inside,” Walden said. “I'll put it to you this way. When these guys started working with the horses, I told them, you're not going to be able to know the day or the time. It may happen in two weeks. It may happen in a day, it may happen in four months. But that horse is going to look you in the eye and you're going to get this feeling inside that animal accepts you for exactly who you are and exactly where you're at and doesn't care about your past, doesn't care about your future, but accepts you just for who you are. And that's something that in addiction and alcoholism is a feeling that is long lost.”

Walden's interviews with the TDN were not his first. From the time he opened up his stable he's been open about his past, never shying away from the ugliest details. Why?

“I don't really like drudging up the past all the time and talking about it, but if there's a chance that there's somebody out there listening that's going through it and doesn't think that anybody can relate, doesn't think there's anybody else who's been there, doesn't think that anybody else is eating out of dumpsters or went to prison too they can hear it from me or they can hear it from one of my guys,” he said. “We were in the same spot. You wouldn't think it because of how our life looks like now and what we get to do on a daily basis. But I can promise you, we were there and there were a million hands that reached out and grabbed me when I was in the depths of it. I want to give back and help as many people as I can, because there were so many people that took time out of their day, time away from their family, away from their kids, away from their jobs, lifestyles, what have you to help rescue me. And if I can do that for just one person, it's worth it.”

On the track, Walden's stable seems headed toward bigger and better things. He started his first horses on Sept. 5, 2022 and finished the year with nine wins from 41 starters. In December, he won his first stakes race when Kate's Kingdom won the My Charmer S. at Turfway Park.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds,  Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley discussed the remarkable safety record Santa Anita achieved in 2022 and what could soon be the return of trainer Rick Dutrow. The team also took a look at the 3-year-old colt picture and the depth of the Brad Cox stable.

The post Will Walden Joins The TDN Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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