The IHRB and BHA are now formally conducting joint out-of-competition-testing operations across both jurisdictions. These inspections started this week with almost 250 samples taken from more than 120 horses that are entered for the upcoming Cheltenham Festival in an operation across 14 training premises in Ireland over the last two days.

In Ireland, the organisations will work together and operate under IHRB Standard Operating Procedures, and all samples will be considered as IHRB samples. BHA protocols will be in effect when the BHA and IHRB are working together in the UK, and they will be under BHA jurisdiction. In both instances, there will be transparent exchange of any adverse results or screening findings that arise from these tests, with all samples being tested by LGC Laboratory, one of six laboratories worldwide which is recognised as a referenced laboratory by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA).

Dr Lynn Hillyer, chief veterinary officer for the IHRB, said, “The IHRB Strategy 2024-2027 commits us to close engagement with international horseracing bodies and benchmarking ourselves against best international practice. This new venture shows stakeholders and the racing public that we collaborate as professionals across both sides of the Irish Sea, sharing best practice and resources and demonstrating equally stringent regulatory processes and standards to the extent that our anti-doping and medication control programmes are interoperable.”

James Given, director of Equine Regulation, Safety and Welfare, said, “Not only will our Medication Control and Anti-Doping (MCAD) team have access to more information about visiting horses, but there will be opportunities for our wider team to share ideas and best practice in other areas of our work.”

The post New Equine Anti-Doping And Medication Control Initiative Launched By BHA And IHRB appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The global leaders for Thoroughbred racing and breeding will work together on matters of mutual interest which impact the breeding industry. Through a dedicated working party of senior officials that represents members' interests from around the world, the two federations will meet regularly to discuss ideas, share information, provide expert advice, and develop policy on breeding matters.

“This will prove to be a positive development for the future of Thoroughbred breeding and racing globally,” said IFHA chair Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “Breeding and racing are intertwined in every aspect of the equine value chain, and with the importance of welfare at every stage of a Thoroughbred's life, it is important that we work together in harmony. I look forward to everything that we can achieve together in the years ahead.”

ITBF chair Kirsten Rausing said, “ITBF warmly welcomes this collaborative foundation stone between our two organisations, upon which we can build further. A fully functioning working relationship between our inextricably connected industries is the basis for ensuring a secure and successful future for the Thoroughbred breed and the sport of horse racing.”

The post IFHA And ITBF Sign Memorandum To Collaborate On Breeding Issues appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings are established by international handicappers according to the performance of the horses in top races. The highest-rated race is determined by averaging the rankings of the first four placed horses. The full list and further information on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings are both available on the IFHA website.

“Over the past year racing fans have been thrilled by some remarkable athletic performances across the globe,” said Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chair of the IFHA. “Together with our partner Longines, the International Federation is excited to honour those horses which have excelled on the world stage through our World's Best Racehorse Awards and to also celebrate the World's Best Horse Race.”

The post London Will Host Longines World Racing Awards Once Again appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“Integrity lies at the foundation of our sport and must inform every decision that we make,” said IFHA Chair Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “The pandemic has inherently changed the way that fans and punters enjoy and participate in horse racing. A good digital customer experience is key, and the general trend of digital evolution further emphasizes that all industry players need to adapt quickly to emerging technologies and behaviors.”

The conference also featured an address by Jockey Club Chairman Stuart Janney. Janney was among delegates from 40 different countries.

Janney used his opportunity to update the delegates on the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), the advancements the sport has made in recent years in the U.S. and the challenges it will face in the years ahead.

Janney said that if HISA had not been passed into law, the sport in the U.S. faced a perilous future. Lisa Lazarus, CEO of HISA, also provided the attendees with an overview of the establishment and work of HISA, its current challenges, and its future plans.

“There was no certainty of success,” Janney said of the chances the bill would be passed. “But we did know that the state-by-

state regulatory process in the United States was a failure, and with our partners in support of the bill, including Breeders' Cup and the IFHA, we needed a dramatic change if the sport was to be sustainable.”

Still, Janney was clear that the sport in the U.S. still has its problems and that its long-term success depends on viable solutions to those issues.

“Things will still have to change for American racing–and perhaps for all of us–as challenges remain,” Janney said.

He touched upon several issues, including changing attitudes regarding animal welfare.

“First off, the urbanization of America means four out of five people now live in densely populated communities, which means that fewer and fewer people are directly familiar with farming and livestock,” he said. “As a result, we've seen matters of animal welfare become policy drivers for important parts of our governments as well as lead stories in mainstream media. And beyond America, we see the same in many other corners of the world: how well we treat our equine competitors will become an important component for the growth and popularity of Thoroughbred racing.”

Other issues he raised included the Jockey Club's mission to ensure the integrity of the breed, and his comments touched upon his group's desire to maintain diversity in the breed.

“There is no doubt that there has been a narrowing of the genetic profile of many of the horses in our stud books, and we need to study the effects of these practices and consider remedies,” he said.

Noting the high-profile arrests in March of 2020 that came after an FBI investigation into doping in the sport, Janney said the industry must continue to be rigorous in its efforts to catch the cheats.

“With what is at stake in purses, betting pools and in the sales ring, collective actions to prevent crimes like these must be a top priority,” he said. “To that end, the American Jockey Club will continue to use our human and financial resources to protect the integrity of the game and to grow the sport. And we enthusiastically support the work of HISA, which we believe will help the sport in America…”

Despite his concerns, Janney said he believes the are plenty of reasons for optimism when it comes to U.S. racing.

“In a lot of ways, American racing is very much on the upswing and again leading the world in many important measurements,” he said.

Those measurements, he said, include rising handle totals, expanded TV coverage, booming horse sales and the ever-increasing popularity of meets like Del Mar and Saratoga and the major events like the Triple Crown races and the Breeders' Cup.

Following a discussion of HISA, several experts were interviewed on the subject of fan engagement. Tony Parker, the former NBA star who has become a prominent Classic-winning Thoroughbred owner in his native France, said racing needed to convey a message that it is not just a sport for the wealthy.

“Everyone, the vision they have of horse racing is that it's for billionaires,” said Parker. “They think normal people can't come into the horse world. It really is the total opposite. How can we change that image and get everyone involved? Use social media and try to do different stuff. I want to bring something different and try to make it more fun for younger people for people to come and watch horse racing.

“My friends, because I am on social media, they are like, 'Okay, how do you go into this world?' If you are worried about it or you think it's too much money, just start with 5%. Go slow and you can learn the horse world. We have to do a lot more if we want a bigger audience. You have to go to them and promote it.”

Near the end of the conference, Carly Dixon, Executive General Manager, Stakeholder, Customer & Corporate Affairs, Racing Victoria, presented on the upcoming 39th Asian Racing Conference (ARC), which will be held in Melbourne in February 2023.

The post IFHA Conference Focused On Building Engagement, Future Challenges appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“As the first in-person conference in three years, this event convenes at a critical junction of our industry as we examine the key reforms and issues impacting the sport and look forward to the key opportunities and challenges ahead,” said IFHA Chair Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, who will deliver the Conference's opening and closing remarks. “I personally look forward to the sharing of ideas that the conference will bring, and for us to connect in person once again.”

Additionally, Carly Dixon, Executive General Manager, Stakeholder, Customer & Corporate Affairs, Racing Victoria, in her capacity as Executive Director of the 39th Asian Racing Conference (ARC) Organizing Committee, is scheduled to showcase the 39th ARC, which will be held in Melbourne in February 2023.

A live video stream of the Open Forum of the International Conference of Horseracing Authorities will be available on the IFHA's website.

The post IFHA Conference Returns To Paris After Two-Year Break appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The 6-year-old Knicks Go earned a rating of 129 for his Classic win at Del Mar, and is widely expected to be named the U.S. Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards on Feb. 10 off a campaign that also included victories in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., the GI Whitney S., the GIII Cornhusker H. and the GIII Lukas Classic S. Knicks Go, who is trained by Brad Cox and owned by the Korea Racing Authority, is set to defend his title in the Pegasus this weekend before heading to stud at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky.

“He's got a ton of class and he's a very intelligent horse,” said trainer Brad Cox during the virtual ceremony. “He's been at this for a few years now. Some of the things that set Knicks Go apart from other very good horses is definitely his ability to shut off things mentally. He's aggressive training, but when he's finished training he takes a deep breath and relaxes. He's gotten better as he's gotten older mentally and I think that's one thing that really benefitted him this past season.

“Going into the Classic we had a lot of confidence in him. He was training really well and he obviously had a fantastic start to the season. We had a little bit of a setback with a race in New York, the [GI] Met Mile [when fourth], but then he really started capping off a nice string of races. Obviously his second half of the year was fantastic with big wins at Saratoga and Churchill, and ultimately the Breeders' Cup Classic was the race that put him in a position to become the top-rated horse in the world.

“He had a fantastic year and this was the cherry on the top with regards to what he could accomplish in 2021. It's a very prestigious honour to be mentioned along with the past recipients of this award, champions throughout the world, and to be at the top is just a true honour and something we're very proud of.”

A trio of European-trained runners were joint-second with ratings of 127. Godolphin's G1 Derby winner Adayar (GB) (Frankel {GB}) earned that mark with his win over older horses in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S.-the Charlie Appleby-trained colt was the first 3-year-old to record the Derby/King George double since his grandsire Galileo 20 years earlier.

“It was a great performance from a great horse, and the horse is very straightforward to ride,” said jockey William Buick. “He won at Epsom, he won the King George against older horses. He's won in big fields, small fields, slow ground, faster ground, so he's very versatile. He is everything a good horse should be.”

Adayar, who stays in training at four, was the joint highest-rated 3-year-old in the world last year with the Coolmore partners' St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who went unbeaten in four starts on the season encompassing the French Classic double of the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and the G1 Prix du Jockey Club, the G1 Coral Eclipse S. and the G1 Irish Champion S. to be named Europe's Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old colt. St Mark's Basilica, who covers his first book at Coolmore this season for €65,000, earned his rating of 127 in the Coral-Eclipse.

“St Mark's Basilica was a tremendous horse,” said jockey Ryan Moore. “He'd relax so well in his races and he'd just do whatever you wanted him to do; whatever you asked him to do, he'd do it straight away. So he was very unique, and the turn of foot was something exceptional. He was an excellent racehorse.”

Adayar and St Mark's Basilica were joined at 127 by Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), who compiled an intercontinental Group 1 campaign. The 2020 G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner won the Saudi Cup before it achieved Group 1 status, as well as the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in the Gulf region. He returned to Europe to hit the board behind St Mark's Basilica and Adayar in the Coral-Eclipse and the King George before romping by six lengths in the G1 Juddmonte International, where he earned a rating of 127. Mishriff is preparing to defend his Saudi Cup title next month.

Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) flew the flag for Japan last year, returning from his Triple Crown-winning campaign of 2020 to scoop the G1 Japan Cup, earning a rating of 126. Contrail's compatriot and G1 Tenno Sho Autumn conqueror Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) was also a worthy representative for Japan, earning marks of 124 for that victory and also for his win in the G1 Arima Kinen. Both of those were victories over older horses for the then-3-year-old. A rating of 124 was also earned by American runners Flightline (Tapit), Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Medina Spirit (Protonico), as well as Australian sprinter Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}).

Four runners from three different nations are tied on a rating of 125. Shadwell's Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) burst onto the scene in June last year as a 3-year-old and eventually went unbeaten through a six-start campaign, culminating in wins in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. The William Haggas-trained Baaeed earned a 125 for his win in the QEII, in which he beat the subsequent European champion older horse Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}). That was the John and Thady Gosden trainee's lone defeat during a season in which he took the G1 Lockinge S. (125 rating), G1 Queen Anne S. and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois. Palace Pier stands this season at Dalham Hall Stud for £55,000.

Torquator Tasso also achieved a mark of 125 for his victory in last year's world's highest-rated race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in which he defeated a star-studded field at odds of 72-1. Torquator Tasso, owned by Gestut Auenquelle and trained by Marcel Weiss, had previously bested the G1 Deutsches Derby winner Sisfahan (Fr) (Isfahan {Ger}) in the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden, and was Germany's highest-rated horse last year.

Golden Sixty (Aus) proved the highest-rated Hong Kong-trained runner of 2021, earning a rating of 125 for his title defense of the G1 Hong Kong Mile. The 6-year-old Golden Sixty had a 16-race win streak snapped on the weekend when he was second in Sha Tin's G1 Stewards' Cup.

ParisLongchamp's 'Arc' was named the World's Best Horse Race for the fifth time in its 100th running. The World's Best Horse Race is based on annual race ratings, which are calculated from the first four finishers, and in the Arc last year those were Group 1 winners Torquator Tasso, Tarnawa (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), Hurricane Lane (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Adayar. The Arc achieved a rating of 124.75, and was followed by the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (124.5) and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Qipco S. (123.5).

Jockey Rene Piechulek, who rode Torquator Tasso to victory on the first Sunday in October, talked the audience through his ride in the Arc during the ceremony.

“We jumped off and I had a good position behind Adayar so I stayed behind him,” he said. “I spoke with the trainer before and he said, 'we have to run on the outside so we don't go between horses' and that's why I was happy with my position. William Buick [on Adayar] took the lead after a slow race and I said 'ok, I can't follow him, I have to stay where I've been'. I was happy with my position going around the last bend and I was waiting for somebody to try to pass me. [Deep Bond] was the first one to try this so I waited until he was close to me, and when he was close to me I started to push. When I switched the whip to the left side he started to run very fast. The last 200 metres I thought, 'I'm going to earn money', but I didn't think I could win the race. In the last 100 metres, I knew I was going to win.

“It was an amazing race and I still can't believe it. It's the dream of every good jockey.”

Ryan Moore was announced in December as the Longines World's Best Jockey of 2021, an award decided based on performance in the 100 highest-rated Group and Grade I races in the world. Moore, who was also the world's best jockey in 2014 and 2016, said, “I've always felt throughout my time riding that racing was a global sport and the most important thing was to be competitive all around the world, then you know where you are.

“You only win these awards because of the horses you're riding and I'm very lucky I get to ride some of the best horses for some of the best owners all around the world. You can't do anything without the horse, so it's only because of them.”

The Longines World Racing Awards are co-organized by Swiss watch brand Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. Click here for the complete list of ranked horses and the top 100 Group 1 races for 2021.

The post Knicks Go Crowned World’s Best Racehorse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The ceremony will be released on multiple digital platforms including the social media accounts of Longines, the IFHA and World Horse Racing.

The post Longines World Racing Awards Ceremony On Tuesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The ninth edition of the ceremony will be released on multiple digital platforms including the social media accounts of Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, which collaborate to organise the event.

The post Longines World Racing Awards To Be Held Virtually appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Can these be the future of North American horse racing, and of the greater sport around the world?

“Our customers, the bettors, must be at the center of everything we do,” Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges told the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF) last week.

“This approach applies to everything we do as a sport. Customers must be satisfied with our approach to horse welfare, to harmonizing betting rules, interference rules, the race schedule we offer and presenting races with full fields of competitive horses.”

What bettors want should drive how racing evolves. But that has not been the case in North America.

Customer centricity has not been a focus.

Hong Kong finds itself at the heart of a customer-friendly approach to racing and Engelbrecht-Bresges is the new chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). While he acknowledges the IFHA is not a rule-making body itself, the push for harmonizing the global racing experience for customers is moving beyond just recommended best practices.

“We can talk about the importance of a customer-centric approach and harmonizing rules all we want, but with the global commingling business–through World Pools–we are proving the commercial value of it. World Pools is creating the financial incentive to change.”

The World Pools concept is simple.

Instead of having separate pari-mutuel pools for major race days in America, Great Britain, France, Ireland, Hong Kong and South Africa, just to name a few, one massive pool can be created, maximizing liquidity and financial interest for all participants. On 17 days of commingled World Pools run across Britain and Ireland in 2021, total handle eclipsed the equivalent of $481 million.

Hong Kong is a major cog in the process, with bettors in the region often comprising roughly 60% of the liquidity in World Pools offerings, according to Engelbrecht-Bresges. In November, the HKJC provided its local customers simulcasts of two Breeders' Cup races for the first time since 2014, and the hope is to offer more later.

“I really commend the Breeders' Cup and their global vision. It was important for us to recognize the steps that have been taken to adopt racing free of medication and I hope we can expand wagering opportunities over the next three to five-year period.”

While U.S. customers have been participants in World Pools offered on key race days, such as Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and other major race days, American races have not yet been chosen as targets for World Pools.

The Modern Games fiasco sharpened attention on America's lack of a customer-centric focus, exhibited through disparate rules which disproportionately disadvantage betting customers.

To continue reading, click here.

The post TIF Paper: American Racing Lacks Customer-Centric Focus appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Second in the standings was William Buick with 104 points, while James McDonald was third with 96 points. Moore will be honoured in mid-January when the 2021 Longines World's Best Racehorse and Longines World's Best Horse Race winners are announced. For more information, please visit the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities website.

The post Ryan Moore Named Longines World’s Best Jockey appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post