The people in charge are right (that is the ethereal "they"): this is not the time for big grandiose ideas. I just think the correct time was 3 years ago and they want to wait another three years,[rimshot]. ...
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In 1969, an ordinary coin was tossed into the air that held three sides – winning, losing, and everything beyond the two polar outcomes....
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So how do you think the year is shaping up so far for the sport of thoroughbred horse racing? Do you think the glass is half empty or half full? It's time for my annual half year inspection of the Best and Worst of thoroughbred racing....
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While checking out some of John Daly's funky golf pants the other day, I started thinking about the Skins Game, a made-for-TV golf event, usually held around Thanksgiving which would bring together that year's hottest names in golf. ...
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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...
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Patrick Patten takes a look at how the horse racing industry can take advantage of Twitter. ...
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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?...
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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....
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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....
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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. ...
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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. ...
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A outstanding post by Valerie at Foolish Pleasure on Steelers founder Art Rooney and his 2 day killing in 1936 at 2 New York Race Tracks has inspired me to write about my favorite football team and last year's Super Bowl Champs the New York Giants....
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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....
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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"....
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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....
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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?"
...
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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. ...
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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....
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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....
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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....
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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. ...
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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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