Horse Racing News

A Chapter 11 reorganization plan that Thoroughbred owner Ahmed Zayat has filed projects that he will sell 100 percent of Kentucky Derby favorite Eskendereya this year.

Tiz Chrome, a Bob Baffert-trained colt who was being pointed to the Derby Trial next weekend, broke down in a Sunday workout at Churchill Downs and had to be euthanized on the racetrack.

The parlors and account-wagering operation run by New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation will remain open this week and for at least another year after the corporation on Saturday backed away for a second time from a plan to shut down.

As if trainer Todd Pletcher won't have enough on his mind in the final two weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby, with as many as six potential starters in his barn including the current favorite, Eskendereya, now he has to stress about the weather too.

Trappe Shot, a 3-year-old who has won his last two starts by a combined 23 lengths, will not run in next Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct because of an ankle injury, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said.

Racehorse owner Ahmed Zayat's Zayat Stables, owner of Kentucky Derby favorite Eskendereya, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan Friday that would pay off creditors, including Fifth Third Bank, within five years.

An influential medication advisory group has recommended that U.S. racing jurisdictions significantly lower the threshold level for widely used painkillers such as phenylbutazone and Banamine, according to members of the group.

Live racing returns to Pimlico for six weeks starting Saturday with a fan-friendly program that features a ceremony honoring former general manager Chick Lang, who died last month.

At a hearing Wednesday, a New Jersey bankruptcy court judge denied Fifth Third Bank's claim that prominent Thoroughbred owner and breeder Ahmed Zayat's stable violated the terms of a cash collateral agreement.

Champion Stardom Bound, whose five consecutive Grade 1 victories included the 2008 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, has retired from the racetrack.