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The term “October surprise” is usually pegged to the presidential election cycle, but the Thoroughbred world received a pretty good one when John Sikura and Ken Ramsey announced that Kitten’s Joy, the leading sire of 2013 and a four-time leading turf sire in the U.S., would be moving from Ramsey Farm near Nicholasville, Ky., to Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ ...

Keen Ice may have lost the battle, as in the $750,000 purse of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but don't be surprised when the war is over on the evening of November 4 he is the last one standing. Yes, we are all well aware that Keen Ice is not known for hoisting many victory flags, and no one would be brazen enough to say he is going to go to the ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea Even though the primary goal of the 21-year-old ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption is to find second careers and new homes off the track for retired Thoroughbred racehorses, the organization gets significant attention from a few of its permanent residents.  One of the most popular is Saratoga Snacks, who won almost ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman With just four weeks remaining until the Breeders' Cup, the second ''Super Saturday'' of Breeders' Cup prep races is coming up this weekend. All told, ten Grade 1 races are scheduled to be held from Friday through Sunday at Belmont Park, Santa Anita, and Keeneland. Let's take a look ...

How good are things in the Thoroughbred world these days? Well, there’s always the doomsday brigade, but in actuality, the breeding and racing business was on a pretty good roll in September. Why the upbeat mood? Spirited action in the auction arena through the summer and early fall and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s good work on ...

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 ...