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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') In what may very well go down as the race of the year, the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) on March 8th will feature a spectacular showdown between Mucho Macho Man and Will Take Charge—the 1-2 finishers in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I)—as well as Game On Dude, who is shooting for an unprecedented ...

A dates compromise between Calder Casino & Race Course and Gulfstream Park might have been expected after the two South Florida racetracks—located only eight miles apart—began racing head-to-head on weekends last July. Calder might have seemed most eager for a truce since the Miami Gardens track has suffered the harshest blows during this ...

1 Top Billing Shug McGaughey Curlin—Parade Queen, by A.P. Indy No, he was not gaining with authority in the final yards of the Fountain of Youth (gr. II), as those critical of him point out, but to me that can be excused when you have to run your second and third quarters in :22 2/5 and :23 1/5 just to get within 7 lengths of the leaders and ...

It was 25 years ago this spring. There hadn’t been a sweep of the Triple Crown in what then seemed to be an interminable 11 years. Racing fans had been spoiled by the Roaring Seventies when three horses swept the Crown and two others captured the first two legs. And on three other occasions, a horse won either the Derby and Belmont or Preakness ...

By Ed DeRosa One of racing’s great ironies is the common lament, “I don’t regard weight to handicap races” (or some such). In today’s parlance, “to handicap a race” usually means to figure out who’s going to win (or what chance each horse has of winning), but the origin of the term has to do with assigning weight to horses in a race. Weight ...

A set of young 2-year-olds strutting across a grassy field in pairs, as dripping strands of Spanish moss hang over their heads. It is the summer of 1965 and Ocala, Fla. is alive with a new crop of Thoroughbreds. The area, rich in limestone, is still in its fledgling stages that year as an alternative to the Kentucky bluegrass. In 1943, ...

There is no shortage of opinions regarding a horse’s performance following races on the TwinSpires.com Kentucky Derby Championship Series, and the beauty of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager is that it allows bettors to put their money where their mouths are (assuming the price is right). Pool 3 is now open and closes Saturday before the Gotham ...

Saturday, Aqueduct, Race 9, Local Post Time 4:17pm ETThe G3 Gotham Stakes, 1 and 1/16 miles, Dirt, 3YOBy Jason PerlmutterWith only nine weeks remaining until the first Saturday in May, Derby fever comes to the rough and tumble neighborhood of Ozone Park, New York, home of Aqueduct Racetrack.  There, 11 three-year-olds will compete in the ...

Alex Cutadean films the cheeky subject of 'Saving New Lives' LEXINGTON, KY  (Feb. 28, 2014) -- Astute followers of bloodhorse.com probably noticed our latest project, one I'm extremely proud of, when it rolled out on the website Feb. 5. ''Saving New Lives,'' a behind-the-scenes look at one of the top equine neonatal intensive care units in ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'')  The road to the Kentucky Derby will take a few more twists and turns this Saturday, with the Gotham Stakes (gr. III) marking a rematch between Withers Stakes (gr. III) 1-2 finishers Samraat and Uncle Sigh, and Gulfstream’s Swale Stakes (gr. II) featuring the return of Champagne Stakes (gr. I) winner ...