SoFi Stadium sits on land with a distant history of glamour

We are not glamourizing horse racing — simply telling a story from a glamorous time in the golden age of film making. Horse racing was for many years the biggest, most popular "sport" in the United States. Were the horses treated better then . . . . than they are today? Possibly. Probably. It is…

Police say donkey attacked and killed Texas mayor

When I first saw the headlines for this story, I thought perhaps one of the wild burros (sometimes called donkeys) had retaliated because of the shooting deaths at the Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas. It appears this is not the case. Initial reports say it was a tragic accident resulting in the death…

Out of Bounds out of the Derby, suffers condylar fracture in workout

The second Thoroughbred drops from the Kentucky Derby trail because of injury. Is this happening even earlier than last year, and are more horses doomed to follow? The Blood-Horse reports: Darley Stable's Out of Bounds, winner of the Sham Stakes (gr. III) in only his third career start, suffered a condylar fracture of the left…

Horses injured and two die at Hollywood Park

The deaths of two horses and injuries overshadowed racing at Hollywood Park on Saturday. In the $100,000 Vernon O. Underwood Stakes won by Pacific Ocean, runner-up Irrefutable collapsed and died just after he was unsaddled. Track officials said the 5-year-old, one of three horses in the race for trainer Bob Baffert, probably had a heart…

Jockeys refuse to ride last three races because of unsafe track conditions at Hollywood Park

Cross-posted from the Daily Racing Form Written by STEVE ANDERSEN INGLEWOOD, Calif. (Nov 20, 2011) -- Hollywood Park canceled the final three races of its nine-race Sunday program after jockeys deemed that the Cushion Track surface, primarily areas on the backstretch, was unsafe after sustaining an estimated inch of rain. As a result, a pick…