Not only does 33-year-old Dan Schafer, one of the 12 lucky golden ticket holders for the Pegasus Cup, not have a horse to run in the race, he doesn't even have a horse, period....
Read More
What made Elliott Burch such a great trainer is the fact that his seemingly audacious moves usually worked, resulting in numerous championships and three Horse of the Year titles, as well as his own election into the Hall of Fame and thwarting two Triple Crown attempts....
Read More
We tend to forget or simply overlook those hard-knocking, consistent horses, who do not possess the talent of the major stars, but still show up every time, competing at the highest level. These horses always give their all, bringing home checks race after race, while quietly amassing millions of dollars....
Read More
With all the major stakes being run at Belmont Park on Saturday, there is one that has special meaning to me – the Gallant Bloom Handicap....
Read More
That connection unfortunately has been lost through technology, which in many ways has made the life of a horseplayer much easier. But has it also become less rewarding?...
Read More
Will we see the same Nyquist we saw last year and this past winter and spring in the Pennsylvania Derby?...
Read More
Seeing those familiar Juddmonte Stable silks flying way ahead of the others down the stretch in the Travers Stakes, and witnessing the sheer brilliance and dominance of the horse carrying those silks, all you had to do was replace the sandy loam of Saratoga Racetrack with the lush green grass of Europe's finest racecourses and you might as well have been watching the great Frankel demolishing his opponents in unprecedented fashion....
Read More
The date September 30 is so ingrained in my mind I sometimes have to pause for a second so I don't confuse it with the date of my wedding anniversary....
Read More
If you look up Racing Times on Google, you will find only a single one-paragraph item on the racing newspaper being closed down after 10 months in existence. But what a 10 months it was following a full blown battle in which the new publication waged war on the powerful monopoly, Daily Racing Form , which had ruled the Sport of Kings since 1894 and was known throughout racing simply as “The Bible....
Read More
September used to be a month where champions were made, the promise of fall, something to look forward to following the magic of Saratoga....
Read More
It was 1996 and Bob Baffert, then a relatively unknown trainer, made his first impact on the classic scene when he brought Santa Anita Derby winner Cavonnier to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby....
Read More
Let's cut right to the chase. Steve Byk, the voice of Thoroughbred racing, is human in flesh and blood, but it would be difficult to convince anyone that he isn't an android, more simply a robot with human appearance; a mental cyborg....
Read More
Could it be the truly great horses of the past simply were faster and were bred to carry their speed longer distances, or could it be that today’s horses are not given the opportunity to set new American dirt records?...
Read More
Todd Pletcher's once seemingly powerful army of 3-year-olds has pretty much disbanded, with some of the troops retreating from the battlefield, others spending time in sick bay, and two transferred to another outfit....
Read More
It was races like the New Hampshire Sweepstakes that came to mind as I looked out over the beautiful Rockingham Park infield for the first and only time. Soon that infield and the grandstand will be gone, taking with it some of the great moments in racing history and some of the sport's greatest innovations....
Read More
The once ubiquitous Nick Zito has not been as prominent in recent years, but he still has hopes of finding the types of young horses he used to pick out at the sales year after year on a regular basis. To him it was all about finding classic-type horses and then developing them to peak in the spring of their 3-year-old campaign....
Read More
It has been called the greatest rivalry that never was--two magnificent fillies, as different as two horses can be, destined to never meet on the racetrack. ...
Read More
This column is split into two parts. One is a look at the career of Frosted, with comments from those around him, and the other is a repost of a column I wrote early last year that focused on Kiaran McLaughlin's daughter Erin....
Read More
You can't see the forest for the trees...
Read More
My intense feelings of gratitude to my wife and daughter, and all my friends and family who shared in the most special and memorable day of my career....
Read More
As part of the Blood-Horse's 100th anniversary issue on Aug. 6, I have been asked to list my 15 favorite Hangin With Haskin blogs....
Read More
Although it is only in its infantile stages that hopefully will escalate by the time the Breeders' Cup Classic rolls around, one would like to think we have a three-way mixed-gender rivalry in the making similar to the one among Stymie, Assault, and Gallorette in the mid-to-late 1940s....
Read More
I am posting one of my favorite Hangin' With Haskin blogs to introduce the upcoming "15 favorites" blog, which will be posted on or about Aug. 1....
Read More
The more people I come in contact with the more I discover how many are not aware of the history of Saratoga....
Read More
Last week, it was reported that King Glorious had died in Japan at the age of 30, having been pensioned since 2010 due to declining fertility....
Read More
