Let us first acknowledge the fact that from strictly a historical standpoint, this year Belmont Stakes (G1) is closer to a one-turn Wood Memorial Presented by NYRA Bets (G2) with a three-hour NBC telecast than it is to the Belmont Stakes....
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Sometimes, we just don't appreciate the gifts we are given. It took a $20 million race halfway across the world in a place Americans know little about to finally make many people appreciate the gift that is Maximum Security, who is to the new Saudi Cup what Cigar was to the Dubai World Cup. He has made the race....
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Secretariat, Dr. Fager, Affirmed, Hoist the Flag, Cougar II, and now Maximum Security. This is quite an elite group, and to be included would link you with four Hall of Famers and five champions. But, alas, in this context it is a list trainers and owners would prefer not to be on. You see, all these horses were disqualified from first in major stakes; some warranted, some questionable, and some extremely...
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The most fascinating aspect of 2019 is trying to envision how historians are going to treat this unique crop of 3-year-olds, whose adventures read something like an Agatha Christie novel, with twists and turns on every page. You just never know what is going to happen next. Not even Christie's super sleuth Hercule Poirot could decipher all the bizarre events that have unfolded this year. But no matter...
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History has proven that it is extremely difficult for a Triple Crown race winner to maintain his form and capture the Travers. That is, except the Belmont Stakes for some reason....
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King Lear, MacBeth, Henry IV, Maximum Security. The more Maximum Security races the more Shakespearean his career becomes. ...
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Every January, well before the roses are in bloom, jockeys and their agents begin the arduous and often times stressful task of finding the Kentucky Derby winner. It is a pressure-packed four months, first finding a horse early on, then hoping he’s good enough to continue on the Derby trail, then hoping he stays sound, then hoping the trainer sticks with them and doesn’t start shopping around for a bigger name jockey....
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Speaking as a writer searching for storylines, if anyone deserved to win the Derby as much as Mott it was Gary and Mary West....
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We have seen the late defections of Kentucky Derby favorites and leading contenders before, but this was the most heartbreaking I can remember. It has created a major void in the race. But it is still the Derby and it is finally time to decipher all the clues we've been given, as puzzling as they may be. One thing is for sure, opinions are scattered all over the place. It is best to break it all down...
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