by Natalie Voss|02.21.201402.22.2014|10:47am8:17am Three Chimneys Presents Good News Friday: Writing For a Cause Much like horse trainers, writers are never truly retired from their craft. After a lengthy career that has included seven books, numerous legal articles and time spent as an editor of a regional weekly newspaper in California, Merle Horwitz isn’t done writing yet. His latest book, a novel called “Winners,” was released in December. This […]
by Natalie Voss|02.14.201402.15.2014|9:57am8:04am Three Chimneys presents Good News Friday: Breaking the Advertising Mold What would horse racing in the United States become if some 22 percent of the population placed a bet each year? In a world with increasingly diverse entertainment and gaming options and the sport’s fan base shrinking by 4 percent annually (according to the 2011 McKinsey Report), the Jockey Club and American racetracks are struggling to […]
by Natalie Voss|02.07.201402.08.2014|1:14pm9:04am Three Chimneys presents Good News Friday: CANTER Kentucky Making New Strides The Communication Alliance for Networking Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses’ Kentucky division took its operation to a new level this month when it opened its first official retraining facility in Georgetown. For both CANTER Kentucky executive director Amanda Graham and trainer Stephanie Calendrillo, the event marks the realization of long-term goals. Graham has been saving money to open the […]
by Natalie Voss|01.31.201402.01.2014|1:44pm8:38am Three Chimneys Presents Good News Friday: A State of Cooperation The racing industry isn’t exactly known for having an atmosphere of cooperation. The conflicts within the sport stack up fast after a quick glance at the headlines. Change is on the horizon in at least one area, though—drug regulation. Officials are coming together around the Mid-Atlantic Uniform Medication Program, an initiative promoted by the Racing […]
by Natalie Voss|01.24.201401.25.2014|11:37am9:03am Three Chimneys Presents Good News Friday: ‘A Guardian Angel’ To this day, Mike DeMent isn’t sure what drove him to look over the entries at Beulah Park in early January. The Chicago-based art director was idly clicking through a claiming race when he spotted 11-year-old Oh So Awesome. Something about the name seemed familiar to DeMent, who manages his family’s small racing operation Brigade […]
by Natalie Voss|01.17.201401.18.2014|11:38am7:56am Three Chimneys Presents Good News Friday: A Win-Win Parlay At least one contestant in the upcoming National Handicapping Championship on Jan. 24-26 will be playing for more than the sizable winner’s purse. Brent Sumja, a former trainer who recently emerged the winner of the 2013 National Handicapping Championship Tour, will be eligible for a $2-million bonus on top of the Championship’s $750,000 winner’s share. […]
by Natalie Voss|01.10.201401.11.2014|1:08pm8:00am Three Chimneys Presents Good News Friday: A Horsey New Year New Year’s Day dawned rainy and windy as London’s New Year’s Day Parade took to the streets. The weather didn’t deter the crowds though, and it couldn’t rinse the smiles off four riders who tacked up their off-track Thoroughbreds for the parade. The quartet, sporting the yellow, red, and black quarter sheets that are practically […]
by Natalie Voss|01.03.201401.04.2014|2:54pm12:04pm Three Chimneys Presents Good News Friday: Racing in the Blood When Courtney Hernandez took to the track for her first start on December 7, she and mount Wildshoes for Me had tougher competition than the horse’s $5,000 claiming pricetag would suggest. Hernandez left the gate just two spots away from older brother Colby Hernandez. “My brother rode at the side of me the whole time. […]
by Natalie Voss|12.27.201312.28.2013|12:21pm9:08am Three Chimneys Presents Good News Friday: All About Heart Gallyn Mitchell has been on a streak of bad luck lately. It started in 2012 when he had a thumb snapped off by a horse’s hoof in a gate accident. He recovered, but wasn’t back in the saddle long before he had a spill that left him with two spinal fractures and a broken ankle. […]
by Natalie Voss|12.20.201312.21.2013|11:57am10:42am Three Chimneys Presents Good News Friday: A New Year of Horses and Hope The world of horse rescue isn’t easy for anyone to take day in and day out. For volunteers who frequent horse auctions along the Canadian or Mexican borders, bidding against agents for meat processing plants, the constant onslaught of confused, homeless horses can be enough to make them lose faith in the world. Photographer Sarah […]