BloodHorse.com

How does a horse establish a legacy in six starts, only four of them stakes? It’s not easy taking such a dramatic shortcut into history, but you have to give Justify credit. So far, he's done a great job making an abridged version of a classic book an enjoyable, meaningful, and important read. The younger generation won't remember the ...

There are few secrets in the Thoroughbred game anymore. Regarding Triple Crown winner Justify, rumors swirled several weeks ago about his standing at stud somewhere other than WinStar Farm…and that we’ve seen the last of him on the track. With the press release on the son of Scat Daddy’s retirement, WinStar president Elliott Walden confirmed: ...

When the “the field is sent on its way to the roar of the Del Mar crowd,” is announced by Trevor Denman, and racing also returns to Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York, the Thoroughbred sport in North America is in its “happy place.” But it wasn’t all that cheerful in the Bluegrass over the weekend as a weather phenomenon best described as a ...

Nick Zito has trained many special horses in his Hall of Fame career, having won all three legs of the Triple Crown, having orchestrated two of the biggest upsets in the history of the Belmont Stakes, and having run 1,2 in the Travers Stakes. He trained Bellamy Road and Commentator, who scored some of the most spectacular victories ever ...

With all the stories regarding Justify's latest status and the pessimism that is building regarding his future, people ask me what I think. Will he ever race again? So to answer everyone at once, I don't give it any thought. I am immune to this repeated scenario that we have gone through so many times with so many shooting stars. If he never ...

Have we seen the last of Justify? That was a burning question during the week following the July 10 announcement that this year’s unbeaten Triple Crown winner would be “evaluated after some filling in his left front ankle was discovered.” Certainly, trainer Bob Baffert and the crew of majority owner WinStar Farm will do what is best for the ...

A little more than a month ago we watched the replay of the Pennine Ridge Stakes (G3T) from Belmont Park over and over, trying to figure out how Catholic Boy re-rallied to snatch the victory from Analyze It in the final strides to win by a neck. Fast forward to July 7 where Analyze It once again seemed to have the measure of Catholic Boy, this ...

Features editor Lenny Shulman came by my office several weeks ago holding a smallish envelope that contained faded clippings of newspapers, magazines, and other miscellaneous materials. With Bob Baffert threatening to become only the second trainer in history to win two Triple Crowns, Lenny thought it would be interesting to write about the ...