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.

Let's face it, we know just enough about our Derby suitors to start some serious speculation. Have you been writing The Pamplemousse over and over again in your notebook?

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...

Patrick Patten takes a look at how the horse racing industry can take advantage of Twitter.

With all of the bad news out there in sports lately, isn't the timing perfect for a horse to capture a nation and propel our sport back on the front pages?