Royal Victory Thoroughbreds - December Newsletter

Hello Royal Victory Thoroughbreds Partners and Racing Enthusiasts,

It was less than a year ago when the Pleasanton Racecourse in Northern California was closed. This was the result of the CHRB (California Horse Racing Board) unwillingness to provide racing dates to Pleasanton and the California Fair Circuit in 2025, succumbing to pressure from 1st Racing (The Stronach Group). While the number of horses stabled in Southern California and average field size have slightly increased, the abrupt change has undoubtedly hurt those barns, workers and owners with a previous presence in Northern Cal.

According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, 12 former Northern California barns have left the state and 22 have quit altogether. In the same article, it states the remaining barns have shrunk an average of 50% in both starts and earnings. In 2024, Royal Victory Thoroughbreds triumphed four times in Northern California and were competitive in almost every race. However, in 2025, we struggle to find competitive races for our horses in the condition book at Santa Anita or Del Mar. This is truly unfortunate. Racehorse owners typically maintain an irrational optimism and we are no exception, but competing against top national trainers and wealthy owners with unlimited bankrolls is pure fallacy for a modest operation like RVT.

What does this mean for Royal Victory Thoroughbreds? In the immediate term, we’ll point our horses to compete primarily at Emerald Downs. This is less than ideal given its short season (May-Sept), limited race days and a single racing surface, but it represents our best short-term option. Waiting until May 2026 requires patience. By opening day on May 2, RVT plans to have several horses (Jess in Time, Native Empress, Princess Hekawi, Bang and a Boom and Chief Wild Eagle) ready to fire to provide us with a strong presence at Emerald Downs next year.

For the second consecutive month, a ‘Tin Tin’ has been retired. In October we retired Kitty Tin Tin and in November, it was Flinny Tin Tin. Regarding the former, we are pleased to share that Kitty Tin Tin was accepted into the Fingerlakes Thoroughbred Aftercare Program (FLTAP) and will be given a great opportunity for a robust second career. Similarly, Flinny Tin Tin is being prepared for a second career at Warwick Farm in Maryland. With these retirements, there remains just one more ‘Tin Tin’ in the RVT barn; the unraced 2YO Lucky Tin Tin who could return to training as early as January 2026.

On the racetrack, November represented another quiet and uneventful month with just two races on the books. In one of those starts, Flinny Tin Tin had her final race at Penn National in mid November and in the other, Snowboarder made her third career start at Laurel Park. In that race, Snowboarder led a group of 12 maidens for a half-mile before running out of gas and fading in the stretch. Based on this last race, we expect she will learn from this latest experience, build up her fitness and continue to improve in her next outing.

Looking ahead to December, it will be another light month on the track with just another race or two to close out 2025. Bang and a Boom should get a start at Los Alamitos as he seeks to break his maiden. Chief Wild Eagle has also recently returned to training and breezed at Santa Anita to close out November. It’s possible he could also get a start before year-end.

🐴 RVT Horses - In Training 🏇

• Chief Wild Eagle (CA)- Last race at EMERALD DOWNS (8/17), 2nd place. In training at Santa Anita - next projected start is December/January.

• Bang and a Boom (CA) - Last race at SANTA ANITA (10/19), 6th place. In training at Santa Anita - next projected start is December.

• Snowboarder (KY) - Last race at LAUREL PARK (11/29), 11th place. In training at Laurel Park - next projected start is December/January.

🚜 RVT Horses - Turned Out 🧺

• Lucky Tin Tin (MD) - Unraced and turned out in Virginia. Projected to return to training at Laurel Park in January.

• Princess Hekawi (CA) - Turned out in Yakima. Projected to return to training at Emerald Downs in March/April 2026.

• Louisville Liam -Unraced. Remains on the IR in Virginia. Projected to return to training in Spring of 2026.

• Jess in Time - Turned out in Yakima. Projected to return to training at Emerald Downs in March/April 2026.

• Native Empress - Turned out in Yakima. Projected to return to training at Emerald Downs in March/April 2026.

Entry Alerts ⚠️ Upcoming RVT Races

Check the website regularly for latest RVT entries

Timed Workouts: November 2025:

• Bang and a Boom g, 21 worked 5f in 1:03.2 on 11/29 at Santa Anita Park.

• Chief Wild Eagle g, 19 worked 5f in 1:02.6 on 11/29 at Santa Anita Park.

• Snowboarder f, 23 worked 4f in 49.0 on 11/25 at Laurel Park.

• Bang and a Boom g, 21 worked 5f in 1:02.2 on 11/22 at Santa Anita Park. 

• Snowboarder f, 23 worked 4f in 50.4 on 11/25 at Laurel Park.

Race Results: September 2025

• Snowboarder f, 23 finished 11th in the 6th race, a MCL race, on 11/29/25 at LAUREL PARK

• Flinny Tin Tin f, 21 finished 7th in the 9th race, a CLM race, on 11/19/25 at PENN NATIONAL

In the Spotlight < Flinny Tin Tin, 21

After 17 races, 3 wins, 2 seconds and a third for $55k in career earnings, Flinny Tin Tin (by Flintshire out of Run Tin Tin) was officially retired from racing on November 20. After winning back to back efforts in August and October of 2024, she seemed to lose her edge and was unable to find her previous form. As she continued to race in 2025, it became obvious she would not recapture her previous form. Similar to Kitty, we made the decision to retire Flinny as a sound and healthy racehorse rather than push on her and risk injury.

Foaled on April 7, 2021 in Ellicot City, MD, Flinny Tin Tin made her debut in a maiden race at Laurel Park as a two-year-old and finished 2nd. Following two tough races to finish up her juvenile season, she broke her maiden at Penn National in her first race as a 3 year-old in 2024. She would win again at Timonium and Laurel Park in 2024, to complete a 3-win year (at three different racetracks). At that time, her future outlook looked super promising with 3 wins and 2 seconds in just nine career starts. However, her form precipitously dropped over her final 8 starts, with just a single third place finish since October 2024.

Flinny Tin Tin is currently transitioning to become an OTTB (Off-The-Track Thoroughbred) at Warwick Farm in Maryland. This is the same program where former RVT horses and Flinny siblings Straightouta Congtin and Running on Entry were successfully rehomed.