For at least 18 years The Blood-Horse has been providing the industry with its most comprehensive schedule of stakes races in the National Stakes Conditions Book quarterly supplement.
We've faced challenges for a couple of years now in compiling the NSCB because racetracks have begun waiting closer and closer to the start of their meets to set race schedules and purses. With a quarterly print product, if a racetrack didn't have its schedule locked in by the deadline then another three months had to pass before the information could be incorporated with the rest of the year's stakes schedule. Granted, we have continually add stakes dates to the calendar on BloodHorse.com but it is certainly more convenient for trainers and owners to have the most current information in one place.
Well, a better NSCB is coming soon.
We've created a simple, easy-to-navigate Web-based version of the NSCB. The clean design makes it as easy to use on a mobile device as it will be on a desktop computer. Races will be simple to find by date range, racetrack, age or sex of the runner, distance, or even by racing surface. For trainers in the Mid-Atlantic region who ship to multiple tracks, they can search for upcoming stakes--by their race dates or their nominations closing dates--for the entire region. Special icons let trainers and owners know which races are restricted stakes, races restricted by state-bred status, or are part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. An "Edit Search" feature makes it easy to modify any search criteria to find the right races, with the right conditions, at the right time.
Some people may be accustomed to using the PDF version of our NSCB, maybe even prefer this format. We urge everyone to give the online tool a try. We think once you've used it a few times, you'll see the immediate benefits. The biggest benefit is the immediate availablility of the most current information. As soon as we get it, you get it. No more waiting.
Keep visiting BloodHorse.com every day as we'll be announcing soon when this powerful new online service will be available
Once you've tried it, let us know what you think. We recognize that anything can be improved, so we'd love to hear from you.
Good luck and good racing,
Eric Mitchell
Editorial Director
