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Coming off a 10.45% increase in average and a 20% improvement in median at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, vendors at that company's Saratoga Yearling Sale, scheduled for Aug. 5-6, will be feeling optimistic. The upward trend in prices may be less welcome to buyers seeking value, but by way of compensation there is an awful lot of quality to choose ...

Given the longstanding trend of small fields in high-priced stakes (it’s been a trend for a decade), Saratoga horse racing fans should be glad that eight horses’ numbers were drawn for Saturday’s Gr. I Whitney Handicap.  The assignments were made in the walking ring at 11:00 am Wednesday.  New York Racing Association odds-maker Eric ...

Trainer Bill Mott turned 60.  And, yes, he won a race on his birthday again – 15 times in the last 19 years, the seventh in the last seven. Take wagers now that he won’t win in 2014. His 61st birthday falls on a dark day. Birthday boy Bill Mott on the heap of history at Saratoga. Winning took him five tries on Monday.  But the ...

In light of the recent unfortunate breakdown of grade I winner Monzante, which has once again brought the topic of racehorse safety and retirement to the forefront, I thought I would bring you some positive stories about horses that were retired at the right time and able to have lives beyond the track. The point of this blog isn't to point any ...

Wise Dan and Royal Delta are two of racing biggest stars. Wise Dan already has a Horse of the Year trophy and more, and Royal Delta has brought home a pair of Eclipse Awards herself. Both can be considered great horses. But will both be mentioned among the truly greats; the superstars of the Turf? Will they be listed in the next edition of ...

(Originally published in the August 3, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter The public outcry over the injury and subsequent euthanizing of grade I winner-turned-claimer Monzante at age 9 shows just how ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) Unbridled's Song has been one of those horses that people seem to love or hate. On the track he was something of an enigma, flashing enormous talent yet never completely delivering on his potential. Although he won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), outgaming Hennessy in an excellent performance for both colts, his 3-year-old ...

Wherever in the world you're breeding, the search for value goes on, and like we did yesterday with New Zealand sires, today we'll take a look at some Australia sires that we think fall into that category. Choisir (AUS) (TrueNicks) (by Danehill Dancer) strikes us as incredible value at Aus$27,500 when compared to some of the unproven, or barely ...

Azamour is an undervalued stallion in Europe, and at NZ$12,000 looks remarkable value in New Zealand. A champion older horse in England and a group I winner at a mile, 1 1/4 miles, and 1 1/2 miles, he has 18 stakes winners in his four crops, including English champion 3-year-old filly Shankardeh, French Oaks (Fr-I) victress Valyra, and eight ...

by Vic ZastThe free tee-shirt crowd was a little late in gathering. Usually by 10:30 AM, the cars are parked up and down East Avenue and by 11:00 AM the fans here for the giveaways have spun through the turnstiles repeatedly. The pitter-patter of raindrops was a detriment to early arrival.  Channel 9 said the chance of precipitation was 100 ...