Member of the Month

Robin Murphy

With the recent addition of slots to Ohio, the Buckeye State has grown into a regional powerhouse in the Midwest racing scene. At the same time, its breeding program is blossoming. Leading the pack of Ohio breeders is Robin L. Murphy, who stands nearly a dozen stallions at her 80-acre Poplar Creek Horse Center in Bethel, Ohio. Her very first racehorse, stakes winner Tidal Volume, has just returned home to round out her stallion roster.

Murphy showed Quarter Horses for years, but that changed in 2009. At that time, Art Preston of Preston Stables regularly sent the experienced horsewoman horses to condition over her half-mile track. One of those was Tidal Volume, an injured son of Tapit who had yet to race. “Art Preston gave him to me after he had fractured a knee in training as a late two-year old,” said Murphy. She rehabbed Tidal Volume for two years, then, placing him in the barn of trainer Tom Amoss, she “ran him from the farm the first time and he broke his maiden.” As a five-year-old in 2011, Tidal Volume won the Temperance Hill Stakes at Louisiana Downs en route to earnings of $231,476. Read more. 

Last Chance to

Expand your Education at the

Thoroughbred Ownership Seminar!

TOBA’s last educational event of the year, Thoroughbred Ownership Seminar, will be held on December 6 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Industry professionals such as Kathy Ritvo, Nick and Alex Zito, Robb Levinsky, David Fawkes, Cruz Gonzalez and Amanda Simons Luby will educate participants on the various aspects of ownership like the owner/trainer relationship, acquiring horses, business issues and Thoroughbred retirement. Kathy Ritvo, Mucho Macho Man’s trainer, will conduct a special morning workout segment track-side early in the morning. Seminar participants will enjoy an afternoon of racing at Gulfstream following the seminar. Listen to Trackside on Radio’s piece about the event.

Click here to register online or call 888-606-TOBA to register over the phone. Check out what attendees are saying about TOBA’s seminars and clinics!

Record of 314 Nominations

for Eight-Race Showcase

A record 314 horses were nominated to the 16th annual Claiming Crown, the $1 million showcase for the country’s top claiming horses being hosted by Gulfstream Park for the third consecutive year on December 6.

Created in 1999 to honor the blue-collar horses that are the foundation of the racing industry nationwide, the eight-race Claiming Crown will help launch Gulfstream Park’s 76th Championship Meet and will feature nominations from 128 trainers throughout the East Coast and Midwest.

Entry day is Wednesday, December 3. Visit www.claimingcrown.com for more information.