Blood-Horse

Multiple Japanese grade 1 winner Fierement has been retired due to a suspensory ligament injury and will stand at Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm.

Two days into a delayed meet that began Jan. 4, Turf Paradise has suspended use of its grass course for an estimated 2 1/2 weeks, effective Jan. 6, according to the track's general manager, Vince Francia.

Goldikova became the first horse to win the same Breeders' Cup race three times when she landed the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) in 2008, 2009, and 2010, performances that earned her election to the Hall of Fame in 2017.

Funeral services have been established for longtime jockey Kenny "Chopper" Bourque, who died Dec. 29 in Taylorsville, Ky., at age 67 from liver cancer.

The grade 3-winning son of Quality Road has an introductory fee of $2,500.

Arrigo, a group 2-winning son of Shirocco and a half brother to BMW Deutsches Derby (G1) winner and group 1 sire Adlerflug, has been confirmed as having joined the stallion ranks at Yorton Farm Stud in Wales.

Kameko is set for a strong debut book after Tweenhills announced that they and Qatar Racing would be sending 45 of their own mares to last year's QIPCO Two Thousand Guineas (G1) hero.

Goffs has revealed changes to its Doncaster January and Goffs February sales as a result of the lockdown measures imposed by the British and Irish governments due to COVID-19.

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Jan. 5 it will move to a single brand strategy for its online wagering segment by rebranding the company's sportsbook and iGaming platform as TwinSpires.

Dual top-level victress Normcore has been retired from racing and will take up broodmare duties at Northern Farm this year. 

Jockey Kazushi Kimura, the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice of 2019, has begun riding in Saudi Arabia for the winter and will stay through mid-March before returning next spring to Woodbine, agent Jordan Miller said.

While racing saw a quarter of its race days eliminated in 2020 because of restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, bettors supported the available product while owners saw a decline in purses that mirrored the loss of race days.

Veterinarian Dr. James Donovan Smith, a senior partner at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute for more than 40 years, died Dec. 28. He was 86.

Elmhurst, winner of the 1997 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), died Jan. 4 due to heart failure, Our Mims Retirement Haven in Paris, Ky., announced. He was 31.

The U.S. Horse of the Year has a new job as a "lead horse," teaching social skills to weaned foals.

Racing will continue in Britain despite strict new lockdowns announced in England and Scotland on Jan. 4 in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases and fears over a highly transmissible new variant of the virus.

The Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation is pleased to award $20,000 to the Foundation for the Horse, the charitable arm of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, to fund graduate student research.

Jockey Charles Jantzen "C.J." McMahon, who was arrested Jan. 2 by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana, was released on an $80,000 bond Jan. 3 and is scheduled to appear in District Court Jan. 5.

Italian breeders have a new son of Dubawi to choose from when compiling their mating plans with Robiano set to stand at San Paolo Agri Stud near Rome.

Magic Millions chief executive Barry Bowditch is pleased with how preparations are going for next week's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and hopes are high that the majority of Australia's major bloodstock players will be in attendance.