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As many of you know, Lava Man makes his much anticipated and publicized return to racing on Saturday at Hollywood Park in the Native Diver Handicap. It will be the first race for the 8-year-old gelding in nearly 17 months after returning from retirement. A seven-time grade I winner and earner of more than $5.2 million in his remarkable career, ...

While everyone seems to be focusing on the Horse of the Year voting, there are a few other divisions offering plenty of intrigue--namely the juvenile, older male, turf female, outstanding jockey, and male sprinter. We'll examine each of these in the coming weeks, but today let's focus on the male sprinter. Some are assuming that Kodiak Kowboy ...

By Larry Sealy  ''My horse is faster than yours.'' ''You're joking right? Mine is way faster than yours.'' ''Oh yeah.'' ''Yeah.'' ''Okay then, let's race.'' ''Okay, you're on!'' If history is to be believed, this conversation took place sometime around 4500BC and the result was the sport of horse racing. As the centuries passed, the ...

Okay, everyone have all the Zenyatta/Rachel stuff out of their system? I didn't think so, but we'll move on to some actual racing anyway. This weekend's lineup is tremendous, with 16 graded stakes at Churchill, Aqueduct, and Hollywood. I'm especially looking forward to the 2-year-old races, as well as the Cigar Mile and Clark ...

This will be my final thoughts on racing's hottest current debate--Horse of the Year. After this, I'll let everyone else continue to drill on a subject that surely will not go away any time soon. First of all, let me say that I am not in favor of having a separate ''both'' option on the Horse of the Year ballot. I say let the writers vote for ...

Anyone else have a Breeders' Cup hangover? Maybe it's the euphoria wearing off after a terrific weekend of championship racing, or the impending long, cold Kentucky winter that is just around the corner, but whatever the reason, it feels like I downed a 12-pack the night before and it has zapped all of the racing enthusiasm from my body. I ...

Let's start out by announcing the winner of the Breeders' Cup handicapping contest. First of all, thanks to everyone who played; we had a great turnout, more than 50 entries. And the winner is: Larry Sealy, whose picks added up to a total of $146. Larry's big score came in the Juvenile, as he had the exacta cold including Vale of York to win ...

My fellow bloggers, I humbly stand here before you to eat some crow, take the heat, face the music--whichever cliché you want to use that suits such an occasion. So here I am to say, I was wrong: Zenyatta is that good, and then some. As most of you know, I was very outspoken in the days leading up to Breeders' Cup Classic. I did not believe she ...

After a long week of handicapping, here are my Saturday thoughts... Juvenile Turf When considering morning-line favorite Interactif, there are two ways to look at the full field that he is facing: If you like him, you should be thrilled that you are likely to get a more than fair price. Or if you think he is vulnerable, there are no shortage of ...

Ok fellow handicappers, the time has come for Breeders' Cup selections. I have received many of your picks for the contest, so I have an idea of what you guys are thinking. I don't like picking winners two days out and I will be handicapping up to the races on Friday, but I do want to get this out there so that we can open up dialogue on each ...