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The question was not whether fewer mares were bred this year, but exactly how many? With a struggling economy, stallion owners were talking about a reduction in mares for all but the hottest stallions. Now, The Jockey Club has answered the question: roughly 12% fewer. Though the complete Report of Mares Bred will not be released for a few months, ...

The influence of steeplechase and quarter horse racing on the Thoroughbred sport was in abundant evidence at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony Friday.  Of the sixteen honorees, presenters and acceptors on the program, four had their roots in quarter horse racing, six were linked closely to steeplechasing ...

Courtesy of Becky Johnston    There is something about a deep closer in horse racing that elicits the inner underdog in humans.  We can relate.  Who hasn’t had their back up against the wall in some task in life?  Whether through procrastination or others simply having a better start.  It is hard to beat that ...

.postComments, .commentsContainer, .commentForm{display:none;} .questionForm{display:block} Editor of the Chicago Tribune from 1981-89, Jim Squires has been a Thoroughbred breeder since 1977. Since 1990, he has bred horses in Kentucky and operates Two Bucks Farm, where he resides with his wife, Mary Anne. Among his successes as a Thoroughbred ...

The general economy in the United States is starting to show signs of recovery, elements of which are necessary to improve individual industries, such as the business of breeding and racing Thoroughbreds. On Aug. 6, the U.S. Senate approved a measure already passed by the House for $2 billion in additional funding for the program known as “Cash ...

Jack Knowlton of Funny Cide fame used to be known as the man who got the most for himself by the grace of one horse, but that honor might go now to Bennie L. “Chip” Woolley, Jr. the trainer of Mine That Bird. There’s no doubt that the lanky cowboy is a presence.  From sipping a drink on his crutches while talking to the press opposite the ...

Courtesy of Becky Johnston  This weekend’s races offer a feast for the fans, but they also honor some important people and equine athletes in our sport’s history. Arlington Park The Beverly D. Stakes will be run on Saturday. This is a race named in honor of Churchill Downs’ board member Richard Duchossois’s late wife, Beverly E. ...

The Daily Racing Form handicapping seminars that used to be televised from Siro’s have been mercilessly transplanted to the Carousel Restaurant.  Now Saratoga gives its patrons tips on the horses in the conventional format that all other tracks do – three suit and tie-wearing people sitting on a stage, talking in code, giving opinions to ...

Rivalries come in all shapes and sizes. Some can last for 10 races, like Affirmed and Alydar; others four races, like Damascus and Dr. Fager; and the rare ones that last only two races, like Swaps and Nashua, but still capture the public’s imagination. In 1986, we had a two-race rivalry that in many ways was unlike anything seen before, because ...

It is what every person who has worked in the horse industry, ever watched a horse race, or ever tossed away a losing ticket, waits to see: greatness in the Thoroughbred. Those within the industry, who come from so many special interest groups that they never seem to agree on anything, can surely agree on this. Rachel Alexandra defines greatness ...