Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance

Signs of Spring

To me, the surest sign of approaching spring is the debut of turf racing in the mid-Atlantic. And though yesterday dawned cold and gray and rainy, spring announced its arrival in Laurel's fifth race, a 1 1/16 mile turf test for maidens.... Read More

This Horse Was in Good Hands; Farrier to Be Remembered at Virginia Farm Where Secretariat Was Foaled

By Fran Jurga, Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog This photo just showed up in my email a while ago. I thought it was quite beautiful...and even moreso when I realized "the rest of the story". This horse's toe crack has been patched with PMMA adhesive, which will harden into a shell-like covering that closely mimics the hoof wall. Plastic wrap is placed over the material while it sets and the farrier is smoothing... Read More

My Kentucky Derby Top Ten

There are several good horses out there now, but I have a feeling the Kentucky Derby winner might not be on the radar quite yet. Even so, here is my take on who the top 10 contenders are right now.... Read More

The Jurga Report

Has the nationwide obsession with the economy (Just how poor am I? I dunno...how poor are you?) pushed some other close-to-the-heart issues to the back burner?... Read More

What's In a Name?

When True Quality snuck off to win yesterday's General George at Laurel, he not only earned his first graded stakes victory but also struck a blow for that hoary old chestnut of name type: the aspirational name.... Read More

Reversal of Fortune: Hirsch Jacobs's Searching

This Ones for Phil's victory at Gulfstream in the Sunshine Millions Dash over the weekend has occasioned much conversation about the horse's massive improvement. How could this horse have run this race? What's with the trainer change? Oh, that Dutrow again - look what he's done.... Read More

Managing Expectations

While there is much excitement in certain quarters over the upcoming debut of brother, Barbaro's brother Nicanor, it's a good idea to temper expectations with a bit of reality. ... Read More

Signs of the Times

The Keeneland January 'Horses of all Ages' sale ended with a drop in gross of 53.4% from last year. The steady and steep drop in prices, that started to make itself evident late last summer, is no longer surprising or really even "news", merely a reality of the times. ... Read More

The Legendary Football Team That Horse Racing Built

The fifth-oldest NFL franchise endured over 40 years without a championship season, yet its team founder Art Rooney Sr. and his family never gave up, committed as they were to their hometown. However, many folks don't realize that the Pittsburgh Steelers may never have existed, or at least survived all those hard financial times without...horse racing.... Read More

Chance to Pat Myself on the Back

You think I'd miss a chance to pat myself on the back? Just read Alex Waldrop's new blog post and read this quote: "And a plan for the next 100 days will be presented to the Alliance Board in late January".... Read More

Something Missing

Here's what wasn't in Sunday's Washington Post: One word about horse racing nationally or locally. Not one word about, for example, Laurel's What a Summer Stakes, in which young filly Access Fee ran her record to four-for-four at Laurel and punched her ticket to next month's Grade II Barbara Fritchie.... Read More

Who's Writing About Racing?

Last August, Jessica Chapel of Railbird and I were invited by Seth Merrow of Equidaily to appear on his show on Capital OTB to discuss how the Internet is affecting the relationship between racing and its fans. Among the questions he asked: "Do you consider yourself a journalist?" ... Read More

Gratitude

Finding an industry that has friendlier and more helpful people than horse racing would be quite a task. I can remember when I first gained interest in racing, and decided to start a blog. ... Read More

Image is Everything

Andre Agassi is the perfect poster boy for image trumping reality. He was the rock star of tennis from the moment he set foot on the court in 1986, but he didn't win his first Grand Slam event until 1992. Anna Kournikova might be example #2 as she did the same thing in 1999, being the #1 searched item on Google, but only reaching #12 as a singles player that year.... Read More

Coffee

Once I get a cup of coffee in me and the family is off into the world, I usually make my way out to Arlington to watch the morning workouts. I bring a set of binoculars but they are more of an affectation because I have no idea what I am looking at; it's just a lot closer.... Read More

The Men Behind the Curtain

Back in September, Gathering the Wind had an excellent post titled with another word I had to look up (stochastics) regarding horse racing stewards and how they are simply out of the public eye. This being unlike the big four, wherein the referees or umpires must make a call in plain view and in the case of hockey and football are miked to explain the foul or decision at hand.... Read More

100 Days

Presidents are given 100 days to set the tone and get the ball rolling on fixing the problems of America. The industry must take the same initiative, and go big to solve current problems. ... Read More

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