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It’s doubtful the second half of the racing season—read Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar—could have gotten off to a more interesting start over the past weekend. The two grade 1 races at Saratoga delivered drama with both outcomes requiring photo finishes—and stewards’ approvals—before being made official. At Del Mar, Arrogate, number one on ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea The words used when Thoroughbred aftercare is discussed may not paint an accurate picture of what actually happens when a horse leaves the track. While arguing semantics about off-track Thoroughbreds may seem unimportant, one group views changing the conversation as a major piece of the larger equine welfare ...

Kentucky purses continue to benefit from the success of historical racing, which registered another strong year. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission this week released final fiscal year 2017 handle reports for the gaming, which continues to thrive as gross commission improved 41% to more than $71.61 million. That increased handle for the ...

It was August 17, 2014 and Sol Kumin and Jay Hanley couldn't have been more thrilled. They were about to see the immediate results of their recently formed partnership. Hanley, a building contractor who previously had owned one New York-bred filly, had built a summer house for Kumin on Sheep Pond Road on Nantucket Island and the two soon became ...

It was 40 years ago, July 29, that a mean spirited 2-year-old named John Henry, who had sold for a paltry $1,100 and then $2,200, toppled over a fallen horse during an overnight handicap at tiny Jefferson Downs in Louisiana. Fortunately he somehow emerged unscathed and the rest as they say is history. But this chapter in John Henry’s life is far ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The eagerly-anticipated Saratoga meet kicks off on Friday, and the action-packed opening weekend includes several top-notch graded stakes races, led by the Diana Stakes (gr. I) and the Coaching Club American Oaks (gr. I). Although both races feature heavy favorites, a couple of ...

I posted a column this week about Secretariat’s widespread popularity after 44 years, which elicited a large number of comments, most of them illustrating the reverence in which he is still held. Someone also posted a photo of him working on Facebook that I took, and I noticed a lot of people had never seen it and marveled at what a ...

Racing has many—we might say too many—naysayers, or “neigh-sayers,” which immediately reminds us of Bob Dylan’s lyrics from “Tangled Up in Blue:” “Her folks they said our lives together sure was gonna be rough, they never did like Mama’s homemade dress, Papa’s bankbook wasn’t big enough.” Dylan’s words came to mind the day following Songbird’s ...

It was 1973, and America was desperately looking for a sports hero. By June they had found one in the form of a flashy powerful chestnut horse named Secretariat, who was so popular he appeared on the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated in the same week. And this was before his iconic procession into history in the Belmont Stakes, in ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea Two major questions arise when horses first retire from racing: where will they go, and who will fund the next chapter of their lives? For individuals not cut out for the breeding shed, welcomed home to a private farm, or placed into a program to be purchased for a second career, the future can be dicey, especially ...