I live in a city that takes unabashed glee in the evisceration of its physical history. Tourist and natives alike are hard-pressed to discover any remnants of the Dutch and British settlements that settled Manhattan; little is left of the glory of the Gilded Age; and even the more recent bohemian period is barely discernible in Greenwich Village. ...
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It's a busy week among the bloggers of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance, what with important stories developing both nationally and internationally....
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Fall racing for 2008 was missing what historically had been one of the marquee races for 2-year-olds. For only the fourth time since 1921, Maryland went without the Laurel Futurity. ...
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This is a story about a horse whose retirement won't be generating any headlines, just a tough, hard knocking type that races everyday across North America with little fanfare but carries on his back the hopes and dreams of small time owners....
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Ran into my pal the usher the other day at Laurel. That is, the ex-usher. Because Laurel -- besieged by nearby tracks with slots-infused purses and battling the collapsing national economy -- no longer needs ushers on normal days. ...
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In the spirit of the holiday, I suggest that we suspend our criticism and for a least one day, celebrate what we love about the world of Thoroughbred racing. This particular list trends towards New York, as is appropriate for a Brooklyn-based blogger....
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I argue that the integrity of the catalogue is lacking, that black-type alone no longer separates horses in the way it used to. The original logic guaranteeing integrity, to get owners to race in tough races for a reward has been lost....
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A number of weeks ago, Donna and Dallas Keen received an email from a young woman, "Hi ... I have one of your race horses that you used to have, Kinoko Man. I found him at a auction sale and saved him from the slaughter man." The news was upsetting to Kiniko Man's owners, Bob and Pat Sheetz, because Kiniko Man was living in their backyard!...
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Could Curlin's retirement finally prove that thoroughbred racing needs to do a better job of telling its own story? I've looked ever since the announcement was made - and the general reaction among news outlets (including "sports" outlets such as ESPN) has been not even a whimper....
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With the passage of legislation in Maryland to allow either slots at the race tracks or, at the very least, slot parlors contributing revenue to the racetracks, it got me thinking about what I would do if I could build a racino. ...
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By Cangamble I've written about fixing horse racing many times before. Most notably, June 2007, I wrote a post called How To Save Horse Racing , and in February 2007 I wrote a piece called Thoughts On Track Takeout . In the last year, horse racing has gone even more downhill even more when it comes to the growth and the bettor. Most of this has to do with the current ADW-Horsemen conflict, but in the...
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By Susan Dalebroux, Post Parade Texas voices ... "We view ourselves on the eve of battle. We are nerved for the contest, and must conquer or perish. It is vain to look for present aid: none is at hand." -Sam Houston, before the Battle of San Jacinto "Our tote board is broken." -Sam Houston Race Park officials, canceling live racing. Sam Houston Race Park canceled its 2008/2009 Live Thoroughbred Meet...
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I'm pretty sure that my local card store has already put out their Christmas cards, and while overall I am about as near to thinking about Christmas as I am to thinking about retirement (and that would be not nearly near enough), a recent e-mail from the Belmont Child Care Association with news about their annual holiday party for the children of the backstretch workers has begun to put me in the Christmas spirit. ...
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When Balanced Attack won the feature at Laurel yesterday, it marked the 50th win for our partnership G-Biscuit Stable LLC. ...
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Hopefully you exercised your civic duty earlier this week by voting. Americans often forget how fortunate we are to have a voice in the process. Regardless of where you stand on any issue or how you feel about the outcome of the election, there's something positive we all can take away from the experience. When people make up their mind and take action, change is possible....
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The Europeans took five races on the B.C. card including two on the "dirt." While we have come to expect the "world" contingent of horses to do well on the turf we have more or less owned the dirt from the inception of the Breeders' Cup. ...
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Sometime Tuesday night - or perhaps Wednesday morning - our nation will have a new president-elect. And Maryland racing will have a future. Or not....
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When Frankie Dettori flyingly dismounted from Raven's Pass last Saturday, it marked, in a sense, the end of a decade-long journey for the colorful jockey. It also marked, from my perspective, another link in the chain of interconnectedness that is one of racing's signal charms....
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The very first ownership group I was a part of was right here in Minnesota. Managed by chart caller and bloodstock agent David M Miller we ran under the banner of Star of the North Racing. ...
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Well, it took a while, but there are more and more signs that horse racing isn't being spared the ills that are affecting the rest of the economy....
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Just checked put our pal Ted's post introducing this week of musings from the small-ownership crowd. There, to my surprise, he'd successfully pilfered a photo of me from our That's Amore Stable website. In the picture, I appear to be the living definition of fat and happy....
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I wrote this on the evening of Tuesday, June 17, 2008 after a very long day driving around the Upper Midwest. I preface this way because I had a lot of time to kill. I had time to slip into a favorite American (and most definitely horse owners) past-time: day-dreaming....
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The Breeders' Cup is over. So let's get on to the important stuff. Which is that racing returns to Aqueduct on Wednesday. Well, OK, perhaps Aqueduct isn't the center of the racing world any more...
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I thought I would take this 'quiet' day to introduce you to your TBA bloggers this week. All three run partnerships of various sizes, shapes and forms. No, this won't be a week long commercial of 'join my group', but rather views on racing from one of the many unique perspectives the TBA offers up to readers. In our case: owners....
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What agony to be a fan of the distaff side in November of 1988. Root for the undefeated Personal Ensign, who had beaten colts in the Whitney two months earlier? Or root for the Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors? ...
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