BloodHorse.com

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Starting today and continuing through Sunday, a total of 20 graded stakes races will be held across North America, which means that the post-Breeders' Cup lull is over at last. One of the highlights is the $500,000 Clark Handicap (gr. I) at Churchill ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea  A hard-knocker who gave his all on the track, Saratoga Boot earned $267,372 in his 73 starts. Racing from ages 2 until 10, the gelded son of Storm Boot compiled an impressive 16-10-13 record. Not wanting to see the horse break down, trainer Eddie Clouston retired him after he ran fourth in a claiming race in ...

Robert Courtney Sr., who left us last week at 96, is celebrated not only for his long and distinguished career as a breeder and horseman, but as somebody who was always willing to help the next guy. Courtney had a way with words, every sentence holding pearls of wisdom. “Courtneyisms,” is what Alex Rankin, one of Courtney’s protegés, calls them, ...

It was the winter of 1986, and I was in a major lull in my potential writing career. Still toiling aimlessly in the library of the Daily Racing Form after 18 years, I had stopped writing freelance features for the Thoroughbred Record. In addition, Stud & Stable, England’s version of the Blood-Horse and Thoroughbred Record where I had been ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman This coming weekend of racing is a bit of a quiet one with not a lot of stakes action on the agenda, but the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar has attracted a promising-looking field containing several fillies that appear to have bright futures. Let's take a quick look at that ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea  The Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Incentive Program Youth Ambassadors are a special group of young off-track Thoroughbred supporters who want to share their passion for ex-racehorses with the equestrian world. Twelve individuals are selected each year to help promote the T.I.P., which encourages the retraining of ...

While folks were hanging out at Fasig-Tipton or at Keeneland over the last week, it was the first thing they wanted to talk about…but not on the record. It’s not exactly a new story, but with this year’s rising market for Thoroughbreds, it is one everyone has an opinion on. We’re talking about the “rivalry” between a certain pair of sale ...