Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots announced Jan. 3 a 15% purse increase across the board. Maiden special weight races will now be worth $52,000.

Trainer Bert Sonnier, conditioner of two-time champion male Nodouble, died Dec. 26 in Claremont, Calif., according to his daughter Sheila Solis. He was 84.

Inspired by a strong handle during the first five weeks of the 150th racing season, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has announced Jan. 3 that there will be a 15% purse increase across the board.

The New York Racing Association has updated its statement of charges against trainer Bob Baffert in advance of a Jan. 24 disciplinary hearing.

Stakes winner Lentenor, a full brother to Kentucky Derby hero Barbaro, has been purchased by Ryan Campbell’s RisenStorm Company from Calumet Farm and will stand the 2022 breeding season at Cabin Creek Farm in Bernville, Pa. for a fee of $1,000.

Godolphin established a single-season record as the leading owner by earnings, according to final statistics from Equibase. Brad Cox established a single-season record as the top earner for trainers. Joel Rosario was the top money-earning jockey.

As breeding season draws closer, Thoroughbred broodmares are being prepped for another year of being productive members of the herd.

La Verdad Stakes

In the battle between two top-tier sprinting fillies, Edgeway parlayed her runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) into a decisive wire-to-wire tally over Merneith in the $77,028 Kalookan Queen Stakes Jan. 2 at Santa Anita.

Hidden Brook Farm and Joseph and Anne McMahon’s Bank Sting secured her third career stakes win with a gutsy performance in the $97,000 La Verdad Stakes, battling back to defeat Eloquent Speaker by a neck on a muddy track at Aqueduct Racetrack.