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Last week I wrote about the dramatic decline in the number of top stars participating in the big Breeders’ Cup preview weekends. Whether or not this is the beginning of a new trend likely will depend on how the “fresh” horses perform in the Breeders’ Cup. But for now, perhaps it is more important to try to figure out the reasoning behind this ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Get ready, everyone! The first ''Super Saturday'' of Breeders' Cup prep races is coming up this weekend, with Belmont Park, Santa Anita, and Churchill Downs hosting impressive cards filled with graded stakes races, including eight Grade 1 events. There are plenty of races to choose ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea  Both the human and animal population of Puerto Rico are struggling to regain their footing after the island was pounded by Hurricane Maria Sept. 20. Many are scrambling to secure food, water, electricity, and signals for mobile phones, and included in the chaos are approximately 950 horses at Hipodromo Camarero. One ...

I have long admired the work and perspectives of Bill Oppenheim, and we are proud to announce that the esteemed bloodstock analyst will be joining our team to write a regular column beginning in the Oct. 9 edition of the BloodHorse Daily. He will bring his well-respected insights and analysis relating to bloodstock, breeding, and sales from ...

Doesn't anyone run in preps anymore? We have entered a new era on the Triple Crown trail, where many trainers now plan only two preps for the Kentucky Derby. It has proven successful over the past decade, so more and more trainers are adopting that philosophy. But before we embrace this method, let's take into consideration that it might be ...

It's one thing to pass the torch, but the torch Bob Baffert's horses have passed the last two years has been more like an inferno. Winning the Triple Crown is the ultimate achievement in Thoroughbred racing. There is a reason why there have been interminable gaps of 25 years and 37 years. If Baffert had never come close to having a horse ...

When Arrogate goes to the post for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, not even the most astute handicappers will have any idea what to expect. Are we going to see the four-race terror that was unleashed on the sport or the horse who was made to look somewhat flawed in his last two starts at Del Mar? Uncertainty breeds intrigue and there surely will ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Few races have climbed as high in recent years as the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (gr. I) at Parx Racing. The nine-furlong race for three-year-olds has attracted so many accomplished runners as of late that the race will be run as a Grade 1 for the first time this year, and the ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea Racing and three-day eventing are separate sports requiring different skills and training methods, but the one thing that's needed to succeed in both is serious athleticism. One newly created event is trying to bring the eventing world and the racing world closer together, and celebrate the one breed with endless ...