Ulcers, good news? Most definitely when it not only provided an explanation for Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming's abrupt form reversal, it virtually plucked him out of retirement and put him on the path for a 4-year-old campaign.
...
Read More
Once upon a time, not too long ago, Thoroughbred trainers considered prep races, well, prep races; short for prepare. As in prepare your horse for the ultimate goal. As in have him or her primed, fit, and sharp for their big test, which in the case of the Breeders' Cup, often determines the Eclipse Award winners....
Read More
We have entered a new era on the Triple Crown trail, where many trainers now plan only two preps for the Kentucky Derby. It has proven successful over the past decade, so more and more trainers are adopting that philosophy....
Read More
Why spend a million dollars on an untried yearling with an uncertain future when you can buy a piece of history that will endure forever? We're not talking just any piece of history, but items that represent three superstars of The Turf, Secretariat, Dr. Fager, and Arts and Letters. ...
Read More
Humans and animals overcoming physical handicaps and going on to achieve great things has always been a sure way to bring out the sentimental side of people, who admire grit and resolve in the face of adversity. It most certainly sparks tremendous fan interest and inspires heartrending features in all forms of publications. In today's animal-conscious society, where such stories trend daily on YouTube...
Read More
As I have done the past several years, I thought it would be interesting to go back week by week and re-live the observations, race reports, workout reports, and any news regarding the eventual Kentucky Derby winner, who in this case first appeared in the Knocking at the Door section on February 28....
Read More
Looking back, Brooklyn in the 1950s and ‘60s was a concrete and asphalt Wonderland, a constant whirlwind of activity, a time when sports were born of the imagination, not just on the ball fields and basketball courts. The streets were the arena where stickball, punchball, Johnny on the pony, kick the can, ring-a-levio, and stoopball ruled, and where a kid's place in the pecking order depended on how...
Read More
Steve announces his final selections and wagers for the 2017 Kentucky Derby....
Read More
Racing fans who were not around before the 1980s may find it difficult to appreciate just how much the dynamics of the Kentucky Derby have changed since then and how much more difficult the race is to win since they incorporated the graded earnings and now points system. In fact, today's Derby bears little resemblance to the Derby of the past....
Read More
Steve Haskin shares memories of covering the Kentucky Derby...
Read More
Throughout the 1960s and '70s, the name Darby Dan Farm and the Galbreath family were synonymous with the Triple Crown, especially the Kentucky Derby....
Read More
Winston Churchill once said, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” No one can really put into words the centuries-long bond between horses and humans, especially the emotional and sometimes mystical attachment we have had with these magnificent creatures throughout history. But there are times when Churchill’s quote is taken to a far deeper level, and...
Read More
What better way to bring color to winter than to envision roses in bloom on the first Saturday in May, scented green leaves adorning glasses of mint juleps, and the famed Twin Spires piercing a bright cerulean sky. Each year those images beckon all those who dare to dream. ...
Read More
There have been many, myself included, who were shocked by the Graded Stakes committee's decision to downgrade two of the most historic Kentucky Derby preps, the Wood Memorial and Blue Grass Stakes, from grade I to grade II....
Read More
This year we not only have a deep, talented field for the Juvenile, but the vast majority of them also look like Derby horses in terms of class, pedigree, and running style. ...
Read More
So, just what did we learn about Lani in the Kentucky Derby?...
Read More
Part Two of Canonero's story, covering the Preakness and Belmont....
Read More
It took eight races, five grade I victories, and a Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby victory, but Nyquist finally closed the book on the American Pharoah saga and began scripting his own legacy. ...
Read More
Steve's observations, strategy, and wagers for the 2016 Kentucky Derby....
Read More
nearly a quarter of a century later, another Arkansas Derby runner-up is being equipped with a shadow roll in the Kentucky Derby....
Read More
With Venezuela once again invading the Kentucky Derby in the form of Grupo 7C Racing Stable, Gustavo Delgado, and Emisael Jaramillo, owner, trainer, and jockey, respectively, of Florida Derby runner-up Majesto, I thought this would be a good time to once again re-tell the remarkable story of Canonero....
Read More
With Uncle Mo taking the Kentucky Derby trail by storm this year, it's only natural for Mike Repole to want a piece of the action. After all, it was Repole who first struck the mother lode with Uncle Mo as a racehorse and potential superstar, and after watching his sons running amok on the Derby trail all winter, he finally has a chance to join the party when he sends out Uncle Mo's brilliant son Outwork in Saturday's Wood Memorial. ...
Read More
So, how do you deal with a horse who showed great promise, but nearly killed your son, changing his life forever; a horse who was now being branded as a rogue?...
Read More
In following Peyton Manning's speech, I decided to look back and remember all the things I am going to miss about covering the Derby....
Read More
It's difficult trying to pick the winning Kentucky Derby horse at this early date. But what about trying to pick the winning trainer? Some have one or two live horses, and then there are the powerhouse stables that can reach six or seven deep....
Read More
