There are few things more exciting in horse racing than rivalries and epic showdowns to decide championships. But when these rivalries or showdowns have an East vs. West storyline, it makes it all the more intriguing....
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We don't have horses like this come around very often, so we should embrace Catholic Boy, as we should any gifted horse who brings a distinctive flair to the sport, on one hand specializing in nothing, and on the other hand specializing in everything....
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Editor's Note on removal of "Hangin' With Haskin" feature about Dina Alborano's I Care I Help organization....
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When Forego won his four straight Woodwards, each was a competitive affair and an important race in deciding the championships....
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All of Chad Summers' horses had their heads out the stall anxiously awaiting dinner. One was pawing the ground, some were nickering, some were squealing. Well, all but one. In the end stall, Mind Your Biscuits had other things on his mind. The seventh race was going off and he peered intently out the back window taking in all the action. ...
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Now it is as if New York-breds have lost their identity, melding into society to such a degree that you tend to forget that horses like Diversify and Mind Your Biscuits are New York-breds. Many breeders now plan their strategy regarding where a horse is foaled to make sure they have a horse classified as a New York-bred in order to cash in on the lucrative incentives. ...
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How does a horse establish a legacy in six starts, only four of them stakes?...
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What do the 2018 Triple Crown winner, the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn, and Coaching Club American Oaks winner, the Haskell and Blue Grass winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up, the Belmont Derby winner, the Golden Shaheen winner and Met Mile runner-up, three of the leading contenders for the Whitney, and the Curlin Stakes runnerup have in common? They are all owned or co-owned by residents of Fifth Avenue in...
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Despite racing until he was 7 and being a complete horse, Wanderin Boy made only 24 career starts, winning nine, with six seconds and three thirds for earnings of $1.2 million....
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People wonder why I often hark back to the horses of the '60s and '70s, and don't reminisce as much about incredibly gifted horses such as American Pharoah, Bernardini, Barbaro, Point Given, I'll Have Another, Big Brown, Uncle Mo and other brilliant horses who were retired at 3. ...
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As I approach the 50th anniversary of my first visit to Saratoga, I can’t help but think of all the wonderful events in my life that occurred at this magical horse haven in upstate New York...
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The $400,000, grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on August 11 at Arlington Park looks like the logical spot for Catholic Boy to continue his brief but drama-filled rivalry with Analyze It....
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Baffert, from 2015 to 2018, has trained the greatest horse of all time; only that horse occupied three different bodies....
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With the Haskell Invitational the next big step on the 3-year-old calendar, this is a perfect time to go back 30 years to one of the greatest races I have ever seen. The three big horses – Forty Niner, Seeking the Gold, and Private Terms – all grew up in the fields of Claiborne Farm and were broken and trained together....
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There is a wide variety of opinions when it comes to your favorite racing movies, mainly because we all have different standards. Racing movies can be viewed with a critical eye for realism and historical accuracy or they can be viewed on an emotional level, with less regard to detail. As for biographies, people who have seen the subject matter compete might have a tendency to be more critical when it comes to accuracy, while younger viewers who did not might focus just on what they see on the screen, how it is presented, and how it makes them feel....
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In the realm of history, Justify has become a pioneer. He did more than just sweep the Triple Crown a mere 16 weeks after making his career debut and do it without having raced as a 2-year-old, and win the Kentucky Derby with only three lifetime starts. In many ways, he has made us shut the history books for good....
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Our thoughts turn to the second wave of 3-year-olds, who were late developing and appear to be coming into their own, and should be peaking in August. This is where we find the Arrogates and the West Coasts and the V.E. Days....
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The thank you is for a man without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today. He in his own way made it possible for me to enter the world of horse racing and become the writer I eventually aspired to be, meet and marry the most wonderful and beautiful woman, have the most wonderful and beautiful daughter, and complete the cycle by becoming a grandfather this past February. My regret is that my father did not live to see any of it, at least not in an earthly sense....
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History is a never-ending chain of events, trends, and discoveries that determine how we think and look at the present, and often the future. When history tells us something cannot be accomplished, it provides us with new and seemingly unreachable targets at which to aim. And if and when that target is hit, it provides a sense of timelessness and perpetuity. Some call it immortality....
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Four days after the Derby, a race was run at Aqueduct that seemed to have no bearing whatsoever on the Triple Crown, as a striking golden chestnut colt with a white blaze owned by Greentree Stable named Stage Door Johnny broke his maiden in his fourth attempt, romping by six lengths in a sharp 1:35 1/5 for the mile. ...
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But first and foremost, I am sticking with my No. 1 ranked Kentucky Derby horse Vino Rosso, who had virtually no chance at Churchill Downs....
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It was the morning of the 1988 Belmont Stakes and all was not well in the Belmont stakes barn, a four-sided barn encircling an English-style courtyard. In a corner of the barn, Risen Star’s troublesome ankle was being tubbed in ice, and it was still to be determined whether the handsome, strapping son of Secretariat would be able to run in the Test of the Champion....
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And then there was 2004 and Smarty Jones, whose defeat at the hands of 36-1 Birdstone still haunts many of those who witnessed it....
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In some ways it seemed appropriate that all we saw of Justify in the stretch of the Preakness Stakes was a ghostly shroud, with his white silks and white face, emerging from the murk that had settled on Pimlico Race Course. This colt has been shrouded in mystery since he burst on the scene in mid-February as if conjured up by some magical potion. Where did this powerhouse of a horse come from? How...
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Slop or no slop, the Preakness Stakes looks pretty cut-and-dried on paper, or perhaps it should be cut-and-wet. The likely sloppy track will be nothing new to Justify and Good Magic, the two standout horses who dominate the morning line odds, with Justify being made an overwhelming 1-2 favorite. The three keys to the running of the race is where Quip, Justify, and Good Magic will be placed early. I...
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