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It doesn't matter what month it is on the calendar, Horse of the Year debate is always fun. And since some of you brought it up on the previous blog, let's examine it a little deeper. Before we do, let me preface this by saying what we are doing here is pure speculation. There are a ton of ‘what ifs' in these scenarios and we are assuming many ...

Welcome to Breeders' Cup Chat and the second half of the Thoroughbred racing season. The Breeders' Cup Challenge ''Win and You're In'' races are well underway and Del Mar and Saratoga are right around the corner. Because of the various divisions and these premier racing meets, in many ways I look forward to the Breeders' Cup more than the Triple ...

As I do many times when my family and friends come in from out of town, I took my uncle and his family over to the good folks at Three Chimney's Farm as part of our July 4th weekend. Being from Philly, they were very anxious to meet Smarty Jones. Although it was a Sunday on a holiday weekend, Three Chimney's stallion manager Sandy Hatfield was ...

Here's wishing everybody a safe and fun July 4th weekend. If you are playing the races, below are a few of my spot plays from some feature race around the country. Whatever you might be doing, have a great time. I'll be back next Tuesday for the final Triple Crown Talk post of the season. Suburban Handicap - (6) Rising Moon: This lightly-raced ...

Last Thursday was cleaning day for me. For any of you that work in an office, you know all about cleaning day. The cluttered paperwork on your desk becomes unbearable, the dust on your computer screen must go, and your drawers full of old, useless papers must be thrown out. It has to be done. While in the middle of my cleaning chores, I can ...

Over the last two days we have learned that Zenyatta is likely not leaving California and Rachel Alexandra won't be going to California. Great, isn't it? The two most popular horses in training this year will not meet one another. Sound familiar? If it does, that's because we went through this same thing last year when we all envisioned a Big ...

On Saturday, Zenyatta will put her perfect 10-0 record on the line in the $250,000 Vanity Handicap, a race that she won by a half-length a year ago. The sensational 5-year-old mare will likely get her first real test of season in the 1 1/8-mile contest at Hollywood, mainly because she will be forced to carry 129 pounds. The most popular ...

This Friday, for the first time in its 135-year history, Churchill Downs will race under the lights. It what they are calling ''Downs After Dark,'' it will be the first of three night programs offered by Churchill this summer (also on June 26 and July 2) and will offer patrons ''a dramatically different paddock scene accented by special ...

There were several quick interviews done with Hal Wiggins after the sale of Rachel Alexandra and the day after she won the Preakness. But now a few weeks removed, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit her former trainer. It's easy to forget but important to remember that he and his team are the ones who deserves all the credit with this ...

It can be argued that after nearly six months of racing and three Triple Crown races, we still have not determined who the best 3-year-old is. This is debatable not only because we had different winners all in three classics, but because some of the top 3-year-olds, like Quality Road, were sidelined by injury. Here is the latest NTRA 3-year-old ...