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Mary Lou Whitney's acceptance speech upon receiving the 2010 Eclipse Award of Merit, Jan. 17, 2011, Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel: I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award. I have loved the sport of Thoroughbred racing ever since Sonny Whitney introduced me to it in 1958.  I am grateful for the honor—in a small ...

Here's your sounding board for the 2010 Breeders' Cup World Championships. Racing fans certainly have had plenty to say since Nov. 6 about Blame and Zenyatta's remarkable battle in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), but what about Goldikova's three-peat in the Mile (gr. I) and Uncle Mo's big kick in the Juvenile (gr. I)? Share your thoughts here.

Author Mac McBride is the Director of Media at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. He can be seen in this video clip after the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic along the rail next to John Shirreffs with the double fist pump. PRINT VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE   Sometimes—if you’re lucky—you might get lucky at the racetrack. I did. On a lovely ...

By Eric Mitchell @EJMitchellKy on Twitter Seeing the results of a recent ESPN SportsNation Fan poll was a kick because horse racing ranked among the top 10 sports. Not only did racing crack the top 10, it was ranked seventh, getting beat out by the NFL, college football, Major League Baseball, college basketball, the NBA, and the NHL. ...

By Eric Mitchell My memory includes an indelible image of George Steinbrenner standing before members of the then-Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' Association poised with a large sledge hammer painted gold. It was his scepter, given to him in the fall of 1989 when he was elected president of the association's board. Steinbrenner's main goal was to ...

The best news coming out of the Ocala Breeders' Sales February 2-year-olds in training sale was the conscientious effort to moderate the under tack works. No horse worked an eighth in under :10 and the fastest quarter-mile was :21. Last year at this sale, the fastest eighth was :9 3/5, and the fastest quarter-mile was :20 2/5. Now, make no ...

Breeders interested in producing classic horses have long looked for the right genetic mix of speed and stamina. An article by Avalyn Hunter does a good job of examining the different breeding theories and their successes in the Feb. 13th issue of The Blood-Horse. As I read this piece, I could not help but think of the recent announcement by Irish ...

Glencrest Farm announced Dec. 11 it's moving second-crop sire Champali (Glitterman–Radioactivity, by Dixieland Band) to Richwine Farm in East Anderson, Ind. As part of the announcement, Glencrest owner John Greathouse Jr. had this to say: ''Champali is yet another Kentucky stallion being lost to the lucrative slots and casino-supported Indiana ...

I'm looking back at the Feb. 20, 2004, issue of The Blood-Horse MarketWatch awestruck at the numbers representing Bobby Frankel's racing year in 2003. He won 13.6% of the 353 graded stakes run in North America that year and won 35% of the grade I races. Frankel had 25 grade I wins and 48 graded stakes wins. Out of his 189 stakes starts in 2003, ...

A clear example of how hard work and dedication can pay off is New York trainer Linda Rice. After grinding it out every day at the barns for 22 years, Rice captured her first training title this summer at Saratoga. She is the first woman trainer to win the title at this historic track. Rice had 20 wins during the 38-day meet, edging out Todd ...