The Paddock Archives - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report

View From The Eighth Pole: Why Is It So Hard To Learn From The Past?

You’d think the Thoroughbred industry would have learned something from the death of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who suffered what would ultimately be a fatal injury in the opening stages of that year’s Preakness Stakes. Or the 2008 death of Eight Belles, who was euthanized on the racetrack with two broken legs after finishing […]

Making Claims: Let’s Talk About That CNN Interview With Dr. Mick Peterson

In “Making Claims,” Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills shares his opinions on the Thoroughbred industry from the breeding and sales arenas to the racing world and beyond. National coverage outside of the three Triple Crown weekends has been coveted by horse racing for as long as I’ve been following the sport, but what we’ve […]

The Friday Show Presented By The Jockey Club: A Statistical View On Racehorse Injuries

The discourse around the rash of fatal equine injuries at Churchill Downs has onlookers inside and outside the horse racing industry searching for causes and solutions. Many have examined the 12 fatalities at Churchill from the beginning of the meet on April 29 through the end of the day on June 1, looking for patterns […]

Mack: Switching Triple Crown To Synthetic Surfaces Is ‘An Ethical Imperative’

Longtime owner and breeder Earle Mack wrote an op/ed for the Thoroughbred Daily News this week proposing a solution to the 12 fatalities at Churchill Downs and burgeoning public relations crisis facing the entire racing industry: a switch to synthetic surfaces. “Tradition holds great power in our sport, with our most prestigious races historically being run on […]

Voss: On Churchill Fatalities, HISA, And The Answers We May Not Find

If I’ve learned anything from our readership through the years, it’s that it is human nature to seek answers in the wake of disappointment or confusion. People like simple, concise explanations for things they find upsetting. Unfortunately, horses (and horse racing) have taught me that reality is rarely so simple. In each of the so-called […]

Tinky: The Met Mile Rescheduling A Business Win? Not So Fast, Ray

While I typically find Ray’s View From the Eighth Pole columns to be insightful, his most recent offering appears as though it may have been written on one of those foggy Saratoga mornings when it’s difficult to see the finish line 100 feet out, let alone from an eighth of a mile. The problem that […]

View From The Eighth Pole: Met Mile’s Move Proved Good Business Decision For NYRA

It’s been 10 years since the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, better known as the Met Mile, has been run on the Memorial Day holiday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The race landed on Memorial Day in 1971 when the federal holiday was moved from May 30 to the last Monday in May. The race […]

The Friday Show Presented By The Jockey Club: David O’Connor On Equine Sport’s Social License To Operate

The past several weeks have seen a rise in mainstream media coverage of racing fatalities in the lead-up to this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness. So far, nine horses have died at the Churchill Downs spring meet, while the Preakness undercard saw one fatality from the same barn as Preakness winner National Treasure. All this […]

Letter To The Editor: Therapeutic Drug Rules Necessitate A Change In Triple Crown Schedule

Dear Paulick Report Team, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to you as an enthusiastic follower of Thoroughbred racing and a regular reader of your website. I would like to express my opinion on the dates of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing in the United States, with which I totally […]

Thoroughbred Idea Foundation: Triple Crown Races Need Vet Inspections Made Public

There were more than 33,000 races for Thoroughbreds in the U.S. in 2022, but if you asked anyone to name just three of them, chances are they would be the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. They represent the seven most important minutes to the sport on an annual basis. But tens of hours of […]