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‘Racetracks of America’ Named Tony Ryan Book Award Winner

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“The Racetracks of America,” a sweeping history of present and past U.S. Thoroughbred racecourses, is the 20th recipient of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by the Ryan family’s Castleton Lyons to recognize excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature published in 2025. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s Brien Bouyea and Keeneland Library’s Roda Ferraro, representing the 440-page reference book’s co-publishers, received the winner’s $10,000 check and Tipperary crystal trophy during a Nov. 4 reception held at Castleton Lyons’ historic stallion barn in Lexington.

Several of the 35 turf writers and authors whose essays made up “The Racetracks of America: From the Pre-Civil War Days to the 21st Century” also were on hand, as were Keeneland Library curators who helped assemble the book’s hundreds of historical photos and other memorabilia.

“The broad scope of ‘The Racetracks of America’ makes it a winner on that merit alone,” said historian, author and turf writer Dr. Maryjean Wall, one of four Book Award judges. “But when readers open this book, they will discover an unexpected bonus in the refined writing, the keepsake photos, and the thoughtful presentation of what collectively amounts to one of the greatest stories ever told. Horse racing has been waiting a long time for such a book.”

The book was published by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, based in Saratoga Springs, in partnership with Keeneland Library. Bouyea, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s communications director, assembled the writing team and edited the book.

In his remarks, Bouyea credited Stella Thayer, a longtime Racing Museum president and Tampa Bay Downs executive, with the idea of creating a comprehensive book to celebrate the museum’s 75th anniversary. She saw it as “a love letter to the sport, something to show its tradition and history,” Bouyea said.

The end result, said Keeneland Library’s Roda Ferraro, is a tribute to “these living, breathing places at the core of the American racing experience. The beauty of this book is that it celebrates how we as people have shaped these places and how those places have shaped us.”

Dr. Tony Ryan, the late philanthropist and founder of Ryanair, loved a good book and was equally passionate about horse racing. Observing that book-length racing works such as Laura Hillenbrand’s 2001 bestseller “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” had received no industry recognition, he worked with Thoroughbred Times editor Mark Simon to launch the literature award in 2006. Since Dr. Ryan’s passing in 2007, the competition has been carried forward by his son, Shane.

The post ‘Racetracks of America’ Named Tony Ryan Book Award Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

$240k Blame Mare on Top as Book 4 Opens at Keeneland November

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The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale entered its Book 4 section with the auction’s sixth session Sunday. For the session, 264 horses grossed $9,962,200 for an average of $37,736 and a median of $29,000. With 65 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate for the session was 19.76%.

“The market was good,” said Walker Hancock of Claiborne Farm, which sold all 14 horses it sent through the ring Sunday and also purchased the session topper. “It’s the same song and dance, if you had a young mare that wasn’t exposed, with an early cover, you were going to do very well. We know how the market perceives these older mares that have had a few foals and maybe haven’t hit the mark. Late covers are tough, as well. But the young mares with attractive covering sires sold very well.”

The average (-7.88%) and median (-3.33) for Sunday’s sixth session were down from the corresponding session at the record-setting 2025 auction and the buy-back rate was up. A year ago, 267 horses sold for $10,937,500. The average was $40,964 and the median was $30,000. The session’s buy-back rate was 17.85%.

The sixth session in 2025 produced double-digit gains from the corresponding 2024 session, with the average up 14.7% and the median up 20.00%. The 2026 session average and median were both slightly ahead of the 2024 figures, when the session average was $35,713 and the median was $25,000.

“It’s hard to have a record sale on top of a record sale,” Hancock said. “To me, this is more in line with where the market should be. I think it’s a very fair market. I think horses are bringing what they should, whereas last year, you could probably say horses were at a premium for whatever reason. Maybe it was the market dynamics at the time, but I think this is more of a fair market that we are working with this year.”

Claiborne Farm made the highest purchase of Sunday’s session, going to $240,000 to acquire the 7-year-old mare Hypersport (hip 2150), a daughter of the historic nursery’s leading broodmare sire Blame. A two-time stakes winner, Hypersport sold in foal to Fierceness and was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency.

“Obviously, we are very partial to Blame,” Hancock said. “I don’t think you can have too many of them and we will continue to collect them when we see an opportunity. She’s a Blame mare with some speed and black-type. That’s what drew us to her.”

Of the mare’s price tag, Hancock said, “If she was in a different book, I don’t know that she’d bring that much. But she was well spotted and, to me, she stood out today as a mare that had quality in this book. When you are spotted well, you usually get paid. It was probably a very fair price for her.”

A colt by Yaupon was the highest-priced weanling at Sunday’s session when selling for $180,000 to Clover Creek Racing.

Bred by Deann and Greg Baer and consigned by Scott Mallory, the weanling is out of War Tap (Tapit), a full-sister to stakes winner Siem Riep and a half to stakes winner Please Advise (Palace Malice).

Eighteen horses sold for six figures during Sunday’s session. There were 20 who hit that mark a year ago.

Cumulatively, Keeneland has sold 1,302 horses through the ring at the November sale for a gross of $227,705,900, for an average of $174,889 and a median of $90,000. The average is up 7.81% from $162,219 a year ago and the median is down 10% from last year’s figure of $100,000.

The Keeneland November sale continues through Wednesday with sessions beginning each day at 10 a.m. Keeneland will conduct a one-session November Horses of Racing Age Sale beginning at noon on Thursday.

The post $240k Blame Mare on Top as Book 4 Opens at Keeneland November appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

‘Racetracks of America’ Named Tony Ryan Book Award Winner

---

“The Racetracks of America,” a sweeping history of present and past U.S. Thoroughbred racecourses, is the 20th recipient of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by the Ryan family’s Castleton Lyons to recognize excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature published in 2025. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s Brien Bouyea and Keeneland Library’s Roda Ferraro, representing the 440-page reference book’s co-publishers, received the winner’s $10,000 check and Tipperary crystal trophy during a Nov. 4 reception held at Castleton Lyons’ historic stallion barn in Lexington.

Several of the 35 turf writers and authors whose essays made up “The Racetracks of America: From the Pre-Civil War Days to the 21st Century” also were on hand, as were Keeneland Library curators who helped assemble the book’s hundreds of historical photos and other memorabilia.

“The broad scope of ‘The Racetracks of America’ makes it a winner on that merit alone,” said historian, author and turf writer Dr. Maryjean Wall, one of four Book Award judges. “But when readers open this book, they will discover an unexpected bonus in the refined writing, the keepsake photos, and the thoughtful presentation of what collectively amounts to one of the greatest stories ever told. Horse racing has been waiting a long time for such a book.”

The book was published by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, based in Saratoga Springs, in partnership with Keeneland Library. Bouyea, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s communications director, assembled the writing team and edited the book.

In his remarks, Bouyea credited Stella Thayer, a longtime Racing Museum president and Tampa Bay Downs executive, with the idea of creating a comprehensive book to celebrate the museum’s 75th anniversary. She saw it as “a love letter to the sport, something to show its tradition and history,” Bouyea said.

The end result, said Keeneland Library’s Roda Ferraro, is a tribute to “these living, breathing places at the core of the American racing experience. The beauty of this book is that it celebrates how we as people have shaped these places and how those places have shaped us.”

Dr. Tony Ryan, the late philanthropist and founder of Ryanair, loved a good book and was equally passionate about horse racing. Observing that book-length racing works such as Laura Hillenbrand’s 2001 bestseller “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” had received no industry recognition, he worked with Thoroughbred Times editor Mark Simon to launch the literature award in 2006. Since Dr. Ryan’s passing in 2007, the competition has been carried forward by his son, Shane.

The post ‘Racetracks of America’ Named Tony Ryan Book Award Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

$240k Blame Mare on Top as Book 4 Opens at Keeneland November

---

The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale entered its Book 4 section with the auction’s sixth session Sunday. For the session, 264 horses grossed $9,962,200 for an average of $37,736 and a median of $29,000. With 65 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate for the session was 19.76%.

“The market was good,” said Walker Hancock of Claiborne Farm, which sold all 14 horses it sent through the ring Sunday and also purchased the session topper. “It’s the same song and dance, if you had a young mare that wasn’t exposed, with an early cover, you were going to do very well. We know how the market perceives these older mares that have had a few foals and maybe haven’t hit the mark. Late covers are tough, as well. But the young mares with attractive covering sires sold very well.”

The average (-7.88%) and median (-3.33) for Sunday’s sixth session were down from the corresponding session at the record-setting 2025 auction and the buy-back rate was up. A year ago, 267 horses sold for $10,937,500. The average was $40,964 and the median was $30,000. The session’s buy-back rate was 17.85%.

The sixth session in 2025 produced double-digit gains from the corresponding 2024 session, with the average up 14.7% and the median up 20.00%. The 2026 session average and median were both slightly ahead of the 2024 figures, when the session average was $35,713 and the median was $25,000.

“It’s hard to have a record sale on top of a record sale,” Hancock said. “To me, this is more in line with where the market should be. I think it’s a very fair market. I think horses are bringing what they should, whereas last year, you could probably say horses were at a premium for whatever reason. Maybe it was the market dynamics at the time, but I think this is more of a fair market that we are working with this year.”

Claiborne Farm made the highest purchase of Sunday’s session, going to $240,000 to acquire the 7-year-old mare Hypersport (hip 2150), a daughter of the historic nursery’s leading broodmare sire Blame. A two-time stakes winner, Hypersport sold in foal to Fierceness and was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency.

“Obviously, we are very partial to Blame,” Hancock said. “I don’t think you can have too many of them and we will continue to collect them when we see an opportunity. She’s a Blame mare with some speed and black-type. That’s what drew us to her.”

Of the mare’s price tag, Hancock said, “If she was in a different book, I don’t know that she’d bring that much. But she was well spotted and, to me, she stood out today as a mare that had quality in this book. When you are spotted well, you usually get paid. It was probably a very fair price for her.”

A colt by Yaupon was the highest-priced weanling at Sunday’s session when selling for $180,000 to Clover Creek Racing.

Bred by Deann and Greg Baer and consigned by Scott Mallory, the weanling is out of War Tap (Tapit), a full-sister to stakes winner Siem Riep and a half to stakes winner Please Advise (Palace Malice).

Eighteen horses sold for six figures during Sunday’s session. There were 20 who hit that mark a year ago.

Cumulatively, Keeneland has sold 1,302 horses through the ring at the November sale for a gross of $227,705,900, for an average of $174,889 and a median of $90,000. The average is up 7.81% from $162,219 a year ago and the median is down 10% from last year’s figure of $100,000.

The Keeneland November sale continues through Wednesday with sessions beginning each day at 10 a.m. Keeneland will conduct a one-session November Horses of Racing Age Sale beginning at noon on Thursday.

The post $240k Blame Mare on Top as Book 4 Opens at Keeneland November appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.