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Overshadowed by equine medication issues at the Aug. 11 Jockey Club Round Table was a presentation on Thoroughbred racing in Ireland by Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Brian Kavanagh, who signaled increased competition for the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Though not designed to compete with the Breeders' Cup, the ''Irish Champions ...

With the first two major summer yearling sales in the books, we'll take a quick look at the top 10 commercial sires of 2013 by yearling average and ponder on the potential for them to extend their lines. The millennial stallion crop, whose first foals were born in 2000, included Awesome Again (TrueNicks,SRO), Indian Charlie, Elusive Quality ...

by Vic Zast Someone who knows more about epiphanies can perhaps explain why The Jockey Club has risen from its marketing doldrums.  Harvey Pack, the wise-aleck horse racing color man, used to joke that the organization’s Round Table Conference, held on Sunday for the 61st time, was for squares that couldn’t excite coffee. But earlier this ...

The following is a much condensed version of a four-part feature I wrote 28 years ago during my first year as a feature writer for DRF. I reprinted a shortened version of it six years ago, but several people who never read it have expressed an interest in reading it and I felt others who missed it the first time might enjoy taking a peek into ...

by Vic Zast A crowd of 31,894 fans pushed its way into the racecourse to see the reigning Horse of the Year. From his humble beginnings to his strolls through the streets to the bars of the city to his amazing eight-year win streak, Richie Bomze’s “Sultan of Saratoga” - Fourstardave, became a horse of the people.  On a sparkling summer day, ...

The best action of the day began in a cool, fan-packed room where about a dozen and a half heroes of the sport gathered to welcome six more to their circle.  Calvin Borel and five horses, including Invasor - a Horse of the Year in three countries and a champion on three continents, became new members in the National Museum of Racing and ...

Sunday, Saratoga, Race 10, 5:45 PM EDTThe Grade 2 Saratoga Special, Six and a Half Furlongs, Two-Year Olds And Up, Main Track Foal crop sizes have gotten smaller since the mid 1980s, and as a consequence, trainers have become much more patient in their handling of juveniles. When City Zip won the 2000 edition of the Saratoga Special, he did ...

Unbeaten filly Stopshoppingdebbie, a daughter of Curlin (TrueNicks), will try to become the first horse to sweep the Emerald Downs 3-year-old filly stakes division in tomorrow's Washington Oaks. She's bred on the emerging nick of Smart Strike (TrueNicks) and his sons over Wild Again mares. Photo: Erin Palmer/Emerald ...

Thursdays have become known as Steeplechase Days.  But the racetrack tried something new this Thursday that fell flat on its face.  The inaugural International Day, a promotional event aimed to replace and expand on the upbeat Irish Day, was a snoozer.  Imagine belly dancers instead of cute little girls in bubbly wigs tapping ...