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Equinox Repeats As Japanese Horse Of The Year; Palace Malice’s Jantar Mantar Named Top Juvenile Colt

Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), the Longines World's Best Racehorse for 2023, has been named the Japanese Horse of the Year for the second consecutive year, the Japanese Racing Association (JRA) Award Winner Selection Committee announced on Tuesday.

The Silk Racing Company-owned 4-year-old received 293 votes out of a total 295 votes cast by reporters. A flawless four-for-four last term, Equinox equaled his sire's achievement of two Horse of the Year titles in 2016/2017. Beginning his campaign at Meydan in March, the Tetsuya Kimura trainee won the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, and returned to his native land with a thrilling score in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen in late June. Benched until the autumn, Equinox won both the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) in October and the G1 Japan Cup a month later and retired in style.

Another dual award winner is the 2023 Japanese Champion Miler Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), who claimed the Champion Older Female title and the Champion Miler award. A representative of Sunday Racing Company and trainer Toru Hayashi, the 5-year-old won both the G1 Vitoria Mile and the G1 Yasuda Kinen last spring.

Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), who was also in the running for Horse of the Year, won the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown and was second in Equinox's Japan Cup. Already the champion juvenile filly in 2023, the Sunday Racing Company silksbearer was awarded the champion 3-year-old filly title. Her male counterpart, Tastiera (Jpn) (Satono Crown {Jpn}), won both the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and the G2 Deep Impact Kinen, and was runner up in the other two legs of the Japanese Triple Crown for Carrot Farm Company.

G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. and G2 Daily Hai Nisai S. winner Jantar Mantar (Jpn) (Palace Malice) was named the top juvenile colt, and the award is timely, as it was announced last year that his sire would stand at Darley Japan. The Shadai Race Horse Company colourbearer won all three of his starts in 2023.

Sunday Racing's Ascoli Piceno (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) was best of the juvenile fillies with victories in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and G3 Niigata Nisai S. in a similarly undefeated campaign.

Tops for the sprinters was G1 Sprinters S. heroine Mama Cocha (Jpn) (Kurofune) for Kaneko Makoto Holdings, while the dependable Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) led in the dirt horse category for Godolphin after wins in the G1 February S. and G1 Champions Cup.

The complete list of award winners is as follows:

Horse of the Year/Champion Older Male: Equinox

Champion 2-Year-Old Colt: Jantar Mantar

Champion 2-Year-Old Filly: Ascoli Piceno

Champion 3-Year-Old Colt: Tastiera

Champion 3-Year-Old Filly: Liberty Island

Champion Sprinter: Mama Cocha

Champion Miler/Champion Older Female: Songline

Champion Dirt Horse: Lemon Pop

Champion Steeplechaser: Meiner Grand (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn})

Special Award: Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn})

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Churchill Downs, Sports Illustrated Partner With New SI Club

A multi-year partnership between Churchill Downs Racetrack and Sports Illustrated for exclusive naming rights of a new luxury dining experience, Club SI, ahead of the 150th running of the May 4 Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Tuesday. Originally planned as the 1895 Club, Club SI will be unveiled opening night of Derby Week.

Club SI is part of the $200 million renovated Paddock Project at Churchill Downs, offering a new luxury equine-focused dining experience with a view of the all-new paddock and paddock runway giving guests behind-the-scenes experiences. The interior design of Club SI will showcase iconic Sports Illustrated magazine covers, editorial featuring past Kentucky Derby races, and a sneak peek into Sports Illustrated's new SI Resorts vertical art.

Each year, celebrity ambassadors will act as hosts for Club SI during the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks for a premium race day experience.

Open on premium race days, the club will include dining tables to accommodate parties of two, four, six or eight guests who will enjoy gourmet dishes from the curated Chef's Table Buffet, designated wagering windows, private bars and outdoor trackside viewing for live races. Steps from the club, guests will be treated to the SI Enclosure which will deliver a front-row experience of the paddock with covered outdoor dining tables to accommodate parties of four.

“Sports Illustrated shares our goal of combining exciting sports moments with upscale entertainment, and Club SI will provide the perfect space to achieve this,” said Mike Anderson, President of Churchill Downs Racetrack.

Michael Sherman, SVP Media Brands at Authentic Brands Group, owner of the Sports Illustrated brand, added, “It is an honor to bring Club SI to Churchill Downs Racetrack, which has such a rich history that we've showcased through the pages of Sports Illustrated for decades. Club SI will celebrate iconic elements of the brand, while hosting celebrity talent and offering guests gourmet cuisine and cocktails, a unique vantage point of the new Paddock, and a once-in-a-lifetime horse racing experience for Derby 150.”

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2024 Maryland Thoroughbred Career Program Dates Announced

The 2024 Maryland Thoroughbred Career Program (MTCP) has been scheduled for June 3-7, according to the Maryland Horse Foundation. The online application can be completed by Apr. 19. Interviews will take place in the two weeks after the application deadline and selected participants will be notified in early May.

“The Maryland Thoroughbred Career Program offers a great opportunity to see behind the scenes in the various components of the industry from reproduction to racetrack operations,” said Cricket Goodall, Executive Director. “We hope to show these young people that love horses that you can make a career out of that passion.”

Graduates of the MTCP are eligible to apply for Career Development Funds, one-time funding that can be used to further career pursuits within two years after the program ends.

For more information on the Maryland Thoroughbred Career Program, click here or contact Jeanne Schnell at jeanne@marylandthoroughbred.com.

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Transparency Pledge from Jockey Club as it Boosts Prize-Money to £60.1m

The Jockey Club has pledged to extend its “commitment to openness” in sharing figures relating to media rights payments to each of its 15 racecourses and other revenues.

The news came on the back of an announcement of increased prize-money of £60.1 million across the 334 fixtures due to be staged by the Jockey Club in 2024. Of that, £31.8 million will come from Jockey Club funds, referred to as “executive contribution”, representing a 66.5% increase across the last decade.

In 2023, the Jockey Club's executive contribution was projected to be £31.1 million with total prize-money of £59 million for 342 scheduled fixtures, subject to abandonments.

As well as prize-money, a total of £11.7 million has been included in the budget for the next 12 months for the upgrading of facilities.

.”It's really important to us at The Jockey Club to continue to be transparent in sharing details of our business performance with industry participants and stakeholders,” said the Jockey Club's chief executive Nevin Truesdale in announcing the intention to share financial information with the Thoroughbred Group, which represents breeders, owners, trainers, stable staff and jockeys.

“By agreeing to extend this commitment to provide the Thoroughbred Group with more information around our revenues and costs, we are seeking to drive critical industry collaboration to work together to grow the sport, while also providing a clearer picture of the challenges we face as a racecourse operator.”

He added, “Given the unprecedented financial headwinds the horseracing industry is currently facing, we are pleased to be able to announce today that the Jockey Club's executive contribution to prize-money will be increased to £31.8 million in 2024, taking our overall prize-money past the £60 million mark for the first time.

“Our mission is to power racing's future and to ensure that our sport thrives for generations to come. That would not be possible without our participants and all those whose jobs not only help British racing prosper but rely on the industry.

“So, while we continue to take important steps to improve our business efficiency in the face of significant and unprecedented economic challenges, there is also an ongoing focus on investing across our estate and in participants, which includes a commitment to prize money. This has led us to some very difficult decisions in our financial planning for 2024 and we are pleased to be able to deliver an increase in prize-money investment in these very challenging circumstances.”

The Jockey Club's attempts to improve communication regarding its business decisions with the wider industry includes having conducted 39 “transparency meetings” in the last two and a half years with 120 individuals, including owners and trainers. This stance was welcomed by the chair of the Thoroughbred Group, Julian Richmond-Watson, and also by Paul Johnson, chief executive of the National Trainers' Federation.

Johnson said, “The announcement from the Jockey Club is most welcome on two fronts. Firstly, amid concerns that the sport's financial headwinds could see prize-money fall from 2023 levels, it is very positive to see that the Jockey Club has been able to deliver an increase. Secondly, and looking further forwards, we are delighted to be able to have agreed on a commitment to greater transparency over finances. We believe that this is an enormously important step in being able to agree commercial partnerships with racecourses, something that we see as a foundation stone for working together to improve the sport's future.”

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