One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a veterinarian is the camaraderie that exists in the barn. Outside of the business of the day, health of the horses, and specific cases, there is always discussion about yesterday's races, upcoming races, or what's going on in the news....
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Early on the morning of Jan. 31, our sport suffered the loss of one of its greatest living treasures. Eddie Logan, Santa Anita Park's shoeshine attendant since the track's opening day Dec. 25, 1934, died at his home at the age of 98....
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Had you told me at the start of the last season that I would begin this one as a free agent, I would never have believed you. I expected to work in Lexington, fulfilling my aspirations to make it big as a Turf writer, for the next 25 years or so. ...
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We ran Curlin as much or more for the enjoyment and inspiration of the fans and sport than for ourselves....
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The Jockeys' Guild has made substantial progress in many areas over the past year. Most importantly, the bankruptcy judge approved the Guild's plan to emerge from bankruptcy Dec. 3....
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The note was slipped to me at the press table. It was from a fellow journalist covering the 1999 University of Connecticut men's basketball team in its first national championship year. But this night, the game is a blur. All I can think about is the note. It would transform me from a lifelong horse racing fan to the owner of a Thoroughbred....
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On racing's biggest days the information mill grinds with monumental force. And the rumblings can be heard everywhere, even in the equalizer of all stations lofty and somewhat lower--the men's room....
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My love for the sport of Thoroughbred racing was born on a gray, August dawn at Saratoga. The great Texas sportswriter Blackie Sherrod had written that Saratoga was "the granddaddy of American racetracks," so I had to go....
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I'm terrible with good-byes. I cry at Hallmark commercials and dopey movies. So I knew the day that I said farewell to Rewrite, the mare my sister Kathy and I owned, would require plenty of Kleenex....
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Michael Tabor strolled down the apron at Santa Anita Park, shielding the bright California sunlight with a baseball cap and a dark pair of shades. Peering out at the Pro-Ride surface the morning before the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships would begin, the Coolmore principal answered a simple question with a response that was as clear as the day's view of the San Gabriel Mountains....
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The passing of Cozzene Oct. 8 made me reflect on what my life would have been without our "introduction" when I was young. His presence has been a constant thread throughout my life, beginning when I was about 3 years old....
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Arlington fans said goodbye to Earlie Fires on a recent Sunday afternoon, the final day of the 2008 meeting, 42 years after he first rode at Chicago's showplace racetrack. ...
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With racehorse rescues becoming news today, it is not uncommon to hear a story of a horse that was "rescued" and how he became a successful jumper, hunter, dressage champion, child's show horse, etc. This is a story of a rescued horse that didn't go on to the show world, yet became a champion in any case....
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Except for the Triple Crown races, and before the inception of the Breeders' Cup, Belmont Park's Jockey Club Gold Cup--run intermittently at Aqueduct--was the preeminent event in Thoroughbred racing and a true test of stamina and class....
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Few of us are ever close to "great" persons. The family of Winston Churchill comes to mind; the sisters of Mother Teresa's convent; the inner circle of John F. Kennedy. Our casual and usually inappropriate overuse of the adjective "great" may even diminish the person we are trying to praise....
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When the mayor of New Orleans (referring to the approaching Hurricane Gustav) described the Doppler radar image as the "mother of all storms" and decreed a mandatory evacuation of the city, I packed my bags in a hurry. The fear factor was escalated when reporter Geraldo Rivera followed with a description of the storm as "an awesome killing machine."...
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I testified as part of the "Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse" Congressional hearing June 19. It was both disillusioning and enlightening. I naively thought I was invited along with three other veterinarians to talk about all the issues influencing fatal injuries in racehorses....
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David Mullins, who operated Doninga Bloodstock agency, died Aug. 18 at Saint Joseph Hospital's hospice center in Lexington after a lengthy illness. He was 51....
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"Why are Thoroughbreds not as tough as they used to be?" That is the question of the day, being asked by racing columnists, editors, and punters. It should surprise no one that the answer turns out to involve money....
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It is my belief that today's racetrack executives are prone to treating patrons as a commodity. They don't honor the fact that fostered by familiarity and memories of days gone by, most fans have a strong identification with their local tracks. This attitude is not unlike the allegiance that fans often have to their local sports franchise. However, it is a double-edged sword, since the same fans may, at times, be harshly critical and vocal about the problems suffered and mistakes committed by such entities....
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Through the HBO documentary "Running for Their Lives" I recently became aware of the pipeline of sending horses from the backstretch to the slaughterhouse. We need to establish a core value system with a policy plan whereby we can expose and eliminate these pipeline participants....
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Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Aug. 11, 1972 - From inside the darkened recesses of Primrose Path, where the power players and wannabes sit down with Jack Daniel's and Jim Beam to schmooze and make deals, a cry rose above the revelry, "You guys better sharpen your pencils."...
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When are we going to wake up to a very public problem: What happens to racehorses when they finish their racing careers?...
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Storm Cat, who was pensioned a few months ago, has a genetic right to be what he has become....
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For six weeks in late summer, top Thoroughbreds, owners, and trainers assemble in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to put on a one-of-a-kind equine display. Saratoga Race Course is often referred to as "America's Great Race Place" or simply "The Spa." My wife and I have made the sojourn each August since 1999 and we admit--we're hooked! ...
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