The last Saturday in November is NYRA's farewell to grade I and grade II racing, with the running of the Cigar Mile (gr. I) and the grade II Remsen and Demoiselle Stakes for 2-year-olds. But last year, there was a buzz in the air that had nothing to do with any of those three races....
Read More
Because of the lack of 3-year-old races this past weekend, we're going into full detail on Dunkirk's race. Another reason we're giving it a good deal of space is the big buzz it created....
Read More
Although there was nothing over the weekend to knock your proverbial socks off, there were a few races that could steer you toward a horse or two as potential Derby material....
Read More
So, 23 "elite" 3-year-olds have been chosen to make up the first Kentucky Derby Future Wager field. Well, several of those who didn't make the cut are up in arms over the selections and are offering a challenge to the so-called leading Derby contenders....
Read More
It was an excellent weekend on the old trail, with some first-class performances, not only by the winners, but several of the losers as well....
Read More
Because the Top 30 list took up a great deal of Monday's column, we'll go double duty this week and catch up on some updates and ramblings and look at the Risen Star Stakes....
Read More
What do the following horses have in common? Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Spectacular Bid, Affirmed, Damascus, Buckpasser, Easy Goer, Riva Ridge, Holy Bull, Spend a Buck, and Swale?...
Read More
The Derby trail is now upon us. I've posted my first top ten list of the season -- who do you like?...
Read More
Joe Hirsch left an indelible mark on racing and all those who knew him....
Read More
So ends arguably the most tumultuous, controversial year in the annals of Thoroughbred racing. The sport no doubt is on the brink -- of what we don't quite know yet. But when PETA protests, congressional hearings, synthetic surface studies, steroids, and anti-horse slaughter bills, infiltrate our normally cloistered world and dim our kaleidoscope of vibrant colors you know change is in the air....
Read More
This final blog of 2008 is to wish everyone a joyous holiday season and say thanks for all the comments over the past six months and all the words of encouragement regarding the historical pieces, most of which combined facts, anecdotes, and personal recollections of the horses and the people....
Read More
First it was Holy Bull's rampage in 1994 and then the reign of Cigar. No chronicle of the mid-to-late '90s would be complete without recognizing Skip Away's career, which football pundits would call smash-mouth racing....
Read More
Because our first Cigar experience brought numerous and passionate comments, we're going to light up another one....
Read More
Any discussion of the era of the mid-to-late '90s would not be complete without talking about Cigar. What follows are several behind-the-scenes stories about Cigar that, it is hoped, will take the readers to places they have never been....
Read More
I'm sure many people are familiar with the story of Holy Bull and Jimmy Croll, but in keeping with the current historical theme I will tell it again for those who are not familiar with it and those who only know parts of it. It's another one of those racing stories you can't make up....
Read More
As the Kentucky Derby hoopla began to quiet down, a stunned racing world was still trying to recover from the bombshell that had fallen on Churchill Downs. An obscurely bred, crooked legged, harlequin of a horse from Venezuela, who had been ridiculed by the press and local horsemen, had just concluded the most bizarre journey and adventure in the history of the Kentucky Derby....
Read More
The 1971 3-year-old crop trilogy concludes appropriately with the remarkable Canonero II, whose story is so improbable it would be scoffed at by any responsible movie producer. Because of that, it must be told in two parts. The second part will follow on Monday....
Read More
You may have noticed the two brief mentions of Jim French in the last blog in regard to His Majesty's exploits early in his 3-year-old campaign. Remaining on the subject of Graustark, it is only appropriate to give his son equal billing. I can't think of any horse who deserves to have his accomplishments chronicled and hammered into our psyche, especially in this era of pampered horses....
Read More
If it were not for Graustark I would not be writing this blog. That's because I would not be writing for the Blood-Horse. ...
Read More
The day after the 1987 Preakness Stakes, I stopped at a service area on I-95 in Maryland on my way back home from the Preakness and called Jack Van Berg, asking if I could do a feature on him for the Thoroughbred Times, which had only been in existence for about a year. I had never met Van Berg, who was on top of the world at the time and who looked like a sure bet to saddle racing's next Triple Crown winner following Alysheba's impressive victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness....
Read More
So, will it be Curlin or Zenyatta for Horse of the Year? That is the question everyone - fans, writers, horsemen - either seem to be asking or are adamant about one way or the other. Obviously, a case can be made for either one....
Read More
How does one even begin to comment on this year's wild and crazy Breeders' Cup? Pro-Ride form, the absence of any injuries, the filly phenomena, the European butt-whipping, Santa Anita, Horse of the Year, ESPN's new camera shots? That's just for starters....
Read More
With the unfortunate retirement of Big Brown, the Breeders' Cup pre-entries, a weekly column to write, and preparation for the Classic occupying most of my time this week, I thought, because of the interest shown in Invasor on my last blog and in several recent e-mails, I would reprint two stories (a commentary and parts of my Classic recap)....
Read More
Thoroughbred racing has always been confined to its own small world, safe and protected from the tumultuous events that surround it. There have been individual stars that have transcended the sport and reached out to touch mainstream America. But never before had the Sport of Kings been woven into the often tattered fabric of history. ...
Read More
It's a little before 6 a.m. Although the sun is beginning to rise back home, Lexington, Ky. is still dark. Outside my window at Old Friends, there is a sprawling network of paddocks, housing a number of top-class stakes winners and champions and some not not-so-well-known horses....
Read More
