09 Mar 2009 2:04 PM
March means many things to owners and trainers of horses on the Kentucky Derby trail. There's the nail-biting, the sleepless nights, and the early morning phone calls that every owner dreads. And for many it sadly means the end of the road....
07 Mar 2009 9:32 AM
The following heartwarming story was sent to me by Carrie Brogden at Machmer Hall Farm in Kentucky. I am relaying just as she wrote it because it's a must for all horse lovers:
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04 Mar 2009 12:55 PM
I Want Revenge is a horse on a mission. The son of Stephen Got Even has traveled across the country to get a head start on his compatriots back home to see how he handles the dirt in the Gotham Stakes....
03 Mar 2009 1:11 PM
Word came the other day of the passing of Phil Marino on Feb. 26. He was 59. Many people don't know who Phil Marino is, and that is a shame. ...
02 Mar 2009 9:57 AM
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....
23 Feb 2009 2:04 PM
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....
17 Feb 2009 9:38 AM
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....
11 Feb 2009 7:15 PM
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....
09 Feb 2009 9:16 PM
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....
04 Feb 2009 7:17 PM
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....
29 Jan 2009 8:53 PM
The first Derby Dozen comes out next week, but we'll get a jump on it with a more comprehensive look before this weekend's stakes. ...
22 Jan 2009 4:44 PM
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?...
19 Jan 2009 9:50 PM
Before we get to this past week's races, there is a pedigree pattern developing this year that you don't normally see to this degree....
15 Jan 2009 10:55 AM
The Derby trail is now upon us. I've posted my first top ten list of the season -- who do you like?...
11 Jan 2009 1:58 AM
Joe Hirsch left an indelible mark on racing and all those who knew him....
02 Jan 2009 1:53 AM
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....
29 Dec 2008 7:01 PM
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....
22 Dec 2008 2:08 PM
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....
15 Dec 2008 2:24 PM
Because our first Cigar experience brought numerous and passionate comments, we're going to light up another one....
12 Dec 2008 12:02 PM
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....
08 Dec 2008 3:01 PM
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....
01 Dec 2008 8:25 PM
People are always asking me who is the greatest horse I have ever seen. I tell them that in my opinion, Secretariat and Damascus had the most incredible 3-year-old campaigns, and Dr. Fager, in 1968, was the greatest horse who ever set foot on an American racetrack. But over the course of an entire career, at ages 2, 3, and 4, Spectacular Bid was the greatest horse I have ever seen....
23 Nov 2008 8:19 PM
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....
19 Nov 2008 9:00 PM
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....
18 Nov 2008 10:26 AM
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....