Hangin' With Haskin

October 2018 - Posts

Breeders' Cup: Always Room For Improvement

The Breeders’ Cup is always looking to make changes in order to improve the event. It started back when the Filly and Mare Turf was added. Some of the changes since have been good and some bad. For years, I have been an advocate for an all juvenile day on Friday, promoting it by saying, “Come see next year’s Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks horses.” So, I was thrilled to see Breeders’ Cup make the... Read More

A Lot at Stake For Accelerate

Accelerate's connections are just focusing for now on winning the Breeders' Cup Classic. But the truth is the 5-year-old is embroiled in a hot rivalry with a horse he has never faced and never will. We are all aware, especially judging by the weekly NTRA poll, that a victory by Accelerate in the Breeders' Cup Classic could actually snatch Horse of the Year honors away from Justify, who would become... Read More

Is the Derby Winner in This Year's Juvenile?

Here is a rundown of horses pre-entered in this year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile who could join Street Sense, Nyquist, Good Magic, and Classic Empire as major factors in the Kentucky Derby, based on pedigree and performance, mostly visually, as statistics do not always reveal what a brilliant 2-year-old will do going a mile and a quarter at 3.... Read More

Bombs Away! Don't Ignore Pavel in Classic

With the depth of this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, you are going to get some huge prices on horses that don’t deserve to be huge prices. But remember, depth does not always equate to strength, and at this point we really don’t know just how strong the Classic field is.... Read More

Classical Grass

In June of this year, Catholic Boy was winning the Pennine Ridge Stakes on grass at Belmont Park and 17 days later we watched Yoshida run his tail off to be beaten 1 1/4 lengths in the 15-horse Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot following his victory in the Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs.... Read More

Visiting Marchmont Cemetery and Damascus

Looking at Damascus' grave, I could once again vividly see those Belair white with red polka dots silks that he carried to so many spectacular victories. Those colors are ingrained in the memory and still evoke images and feelings of a time long gone; of innocence, the unbridled joy of victory, the gut-pounding sadness of defeat, and butterflies in the stomach.... Read More

Big Red: The Early Years

Since this story was first published in 2002, I have spoken to several other employees of Meadow Stud who remember Secretariat and have wonderful recollections of him as a baby and a yearling, and some of his wild adventures. So, with the annual Secretariat Festival in Lexington, Ky. on October 12-14 just around the corner, I thought I would update the original article to include new stories of the mischievous Big Red and the docile Riva Ridge from those who knew them well.... Read More

Beware of the Classic Prep Losers

The Breeders' Cup Classic preps are in the books, and what we have is, in simple terms, a mish mash on paper. The anticipated East vs. West showdown between Accelerate and Diversify didn't pan out with the performance of Diversify in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.... Read More

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